Monthly Archives: April 2024

Sunday was beautiful. The sky was blue and clear, the sunshine refreshing. The pooches loved all their yard time. Many students were coming off their Spring musicals, so we dealt with delving into “post mortem,” a follow-up to their experiences … Continue reading →

It’s Friday, but since I am at Victoria, Schuster, and teaching on Sunday, the weekend means very little to me. However, that’s the way it’s always been as a musician and music educator. Our weekends are often the busiest times. … Continue reading →

It’s another day, and another Sunday, but tt’s the first April Sunday for 2024! Saturday evening was another glorious concert with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra’s “Total Eclipse: The Sun and The Planets,” led by guest conductor Keitara Harada. The ecstatic … Continue reading →

Tomorrow is the big day of the eclipse and I’ve still no major plans to observe it in a collection of others, or otherwise. This Sunday morning, I held tight to my bed as long as I possibly could, hoping … Continue reading →

It is finished. The great anticipation of the 2024 solar eclipse has ended. I first heard of the forthcoming eclipse in January, and it seemed far off. As we grew closer to this event, I still held little interest; however, … Continue reading →

For 60 years, Ball State University’s preeminent ensemble, the Ball State University Singers has thrilled audiences, young and old, with their dynamic repertoire through their songs of faith, hope, laughter, and love.  The Ball State University Singers, thrice named Indiana’s … Continue reading →

It’s Sunday. April 14th, is a big day in the United States’ history. Friday, April 14th, 1865, President Abraham Lincoln was shot by actor John Wilkes Booth while attending the Fords Theatre play, OUR AMERICAN COUSIN. The president would survive … Continue reading →

April 13th is one of my favorite days for United States history and personal remembrances. On this date, our third president and author of The Declaration of Independence, Thomas Jefferson was born. In 1943, the Thomas Jefferson Memorial was dedicated … Continue reading →

This morning’s rain is steady, shrouding the Miami Valley in a dull grey bubble. Severe thunderstorms are predicted for the afternoon, just when I will be heading downtown to Schuster Center. Tina Turner was in the Schuster’s house last night … Continue reading →

We’re nearing the halfway point for April. U.S. author, F. Scott Fitzgerald published THE GREAT GATSBY in 1925 and it went on to become a literary classic, a twice-made movie, a stage play, and a musical. In 1912, the Titanic … Continue reading →

It’s April 8th – it’s the big day for the total eclipse (which may be obscured by clouds), and Hoskins is seven months old. I am glad the yard is mowed, and things tidied up around the house. My grocery … Continue reading →

Today is the 79th anniversary of my mother’s birth. Diana Kay Barmes, born in 1945, entered this world at a historically significant time. Six days following her birth, President Franklin D. Roosevelt died, and was succeeded by Harry Truman who … Continue reading →

Winter has returned this Spring. Although we shall only reach 46 degrees today, there will be a steady climb to 74 degrees on Monday when the world is enraptured by the solar eclipse. I can remember some eclipses when I … Continue reading →

A few days after President Franklin Roosevelt requested Congress declare war on Japan, December 1941, my grandfather, Leroy Barmes, enlisted in the United States Army Air Corps, later to become the United States Air Force. For basic training, he was … Continue reading →

Wednesday afternoon, a cold rain began a little after 5 PM when I rose to let out the dogs. The drops were large globules of water that produced a sting to my bare arms as I held open the door … Continue reading →

It’s been the blahest day of days. The chillier weather has returned, the clouds moved in on us and physically held off the sun, and I have no enthusiasm to accomplish anything but documentaries. Yesterday’s anticipation for incredibly bad weather … Continue reading →

It is April, my favorite month of the year due to all the significant history that hits so many days on the calendar. Another reason I love April is that my Mother’s birthday falls on April 6th. It was a … Continue reading →