John Edwin Mason: Documentary, Motorsports, Photo History

Tonight! John D'earth's "Ephemera": World Premiere with the Youth Orchestas of Central Virginia

Tonight, in Charlottesville, the Youth Orchestras of Central Virginia will perform the premiere of composer John D'earth's Ephemera, a hauntingly beautiful suite for orchestra and voice. The piece revolves around three poems by D'earth's late brother, Paul Smyth. The poems, he says, "deal with exuberant living, loving, and surviving in... Read more →

The Bang on a Can All-Stars @ the University of Virginia

The Bang on a Can All-Stars tore up the joint at Charlottesville's Jefferson Theater, Saturday night. That's the first time in my life I've used that line about a classical music group, and it's absolutely true. Bang on a Can ended its four-day residency at the University of Virginia with... Read more →

An Orchestra in Africa: Marcus Bleasdale & the Kimbangist Symphony Orchestra

Update, 14 May 2010: I'm happy to report that this blog post has been picked up and reposted by A Developing Story: Media for a Fairer World. Many of us who work in Africa, but live in the West spend a lot of time thinking about the ways in which... Read more →

Snow!

Ok, maybe the exclamation point is over-doing it. But we've got about 6 inches of new snow on the ground, right now, and 11 to 17 more are promised, tonight. A few additional inches will arrive tomorrow, if the forecasts are correct. Downtown Mall. Charlottesville, Virginia. 5 February 2010. It's... Read more →

The 42nd Annual Messiah Sing-In: Charlottesville, Virginia, at the University of Virginia

Every December for the last 42 years, hundreds of singers and musicians from the University of Virginia and all over the Charlottesville region have gathered to play and sing arias and choruses from Handel's Messiah. There are no rehearsals, and no one gets paid. The performers have come together for... Read more →

Lowell Greer in Concert @ the University of Virginia

Let me interrupt my posts on diversity in drag racing (here and here) and on the Cape Town New Year’s Carnival (here) and talk about Lowell Greer’s concert and masterclass at the University of Virginia, last Saturday. Despite having held the position of solo French hornist in a number of... Read more →