Do you ever have a day like this - when you get up late, breakfast late, lounge about doing not much, remain in your nightclothes far into the day with a feeling of delighted, shameful langour, do a puzzle, write a few things, eat irregular meals (by which I mean snack on one thing and [...]
This concert was broadcasted on 5 March 2021 by the Menino Arts Center as the first in its spring concert series; it was paired with a set by the amazing Lauren Passarelli. The theme of my set was inspiration, including connecting with the inner artist, following the wending path of creative curiosity, and the beautiful [...]
Here is my humble harp hospital - a perfect place for a lovely little harp to heal. I’ve been doing harp rehab for a friend’s lap harp this week, bringing this beauty back up to pitch and teaching her to make music again. She’s been stowed in a closet for many years, which is the [...]
In which I read a beautiful Midsummer poem by Irish poet, Padraic Colum. Ah, Summer and Enchantment! From a few years back. Rediscovered today as I am working on creating a multi-media presentation for "Songs of the Poets." Will share news of that soon!
Last night I sent in the songs and artwork for my new EP, "The Moon Jig and other dances," and I wanted to tell you how it came to be because I think it's an encouraging story. If you've a mind to create something fast, no waiting - well, this is for you. Over the [...]
Cork singer-songwriter John Spillane (pictured) writes: "On my 18th birthday I got a full-time permanent and pensionable job in Bank of Ireland, and two years later I left it to become a full-time professional musician. My mother nearly killed me. 'If you leave your good job in the bank,' says she, 'don't ever come back [...]
This little poem was inspired when my friend's beloved daughter graduated from a three-quarter-sized instrument and into a full-size instrument and a full-size life. The two are, I think, intricately entwined. In Her Hands for Sophie The three-quarter cello, breast-height and smiled-upon, a maker of child-music in clumsy quavers and slurs in pieces adapted [...]
I’m so grateful these days for all the places in music that offer us the opportunity to re-group, re-calibrate, and re-commit. What I mean is this: when you’re playing a piece (and especially when you’re performing it for an audience), it’s perilously easy to get caught in some inner story that leaves you breathless and [...]
It's the most natural thing in the world. There are some who will tell you that you can only do it when you're well-rested, when your throat is "open," when the Moon is in Venus and the Lark hangs on the Eastern Star... They will also tell you that your voice is "delicate," that it [...]
Friends, we are the artists in the world at this time. Let that sink in. We are, to quote Arthur Shaughnessy, the "music makers, and we are the dreamers of dreams." If you're making songs, poems, paintings, dances, or anything else that was born first in your imagination and heart and then brought forth [...]
