very nearly returned

last night i was in the company of a few lovely domaine forget-ers for dinner (burger with avocado and onions - feve, anyone?) and leave today for new york to work.

i have been absent, but not for quietude's sake. i have been traveling on and off for the last 2 months or so, encountering incredible landscapes, places, and folk (sans doute).

i will be sporadically posting photos, perhaps even creating a snapfish link within, if possible.

i started mid-june with a 10-day séjour to new mexico with my mother for topaz's wedding. topaz, the pirate-clad creative anachronist who grew up as a tibetan buddhist in the wilds of santa fe, wed in his brother jeff's backyard (albuquerque or thereabouts) at sunset to the sounds of their favorite songs. perfect.

we spent a few days exploring albuquerque (really hard to spell) - i <3 nob hill, a 'hood right around the university, for its herb store and satellite coffee - , and then took the high road to santa fe (madrid! pronounced maa-drid, not like the capital of spain), stopping to see handmade cerrillos turquoise jewelry and take in the clean air. we stayed "comme l'habitude" at a beautiful inn with many hanging flowers all around and a charming marquez-esque ambiance. we wandered around old town hunting for good pieces of jewelry (a cargo woman weakness) and i tried to eat green chili whenever and wherever possible. on our way back through albuquerque, we stopped on the recommendation of a girl in a store in santa fe at a jewelry wholesale place that sells not only to the public but also to various dealers around the area (and beyond)....i found a fantastic ring that i now wear every day, sans cesse. more to come...

lately

i've been swept up in rehearsals and various things, to the point that i haven't given much thought about the next, oh, 6 months or so. most recently the plan has seemed to be to attend acanthes in austria for two months (music of ivan fedele, bruno mantovani, and hugues dufourt, instructed by the inimitable mario caroli), travel to paris and nice for 2 weeks, hit istanbul for a few days, then back to north america for the domaine forget new music workshop in late august (martin matalon [ircam] will be there). it would be lovely, if i weren't already so broke....

but i digress.

• wednesday april 15, 8 p.m. : jean francaix, sonata for flute and guitar (marc wolf, guitar);
• thursday april 16, 4 p.m. : j.s. bach, triosonata from the musical offering on natalie carducci's senior violin recital (gozde yasar, 'cello and onder cebeçi, harpsichord);
• saturday april 25, 5 p.m.: my final masters recital. repertoire to include telemann sonata in f minor, godard suite, schubert arpeggione sonata, and philippe hurel eolia. my cousin will be there. so should you;
• april 24-26, friday (8 p.m.), saturday (8 p.m.), sunday (3 p.m.): a series of one-acts....puccini, gianni schicci and suor angelica plus the world premiere of raphaël lucas' confessions, a prologue to suor angelica
• Look&Listen Festival, may 1, 2, 3 at OK Harris Works of Art (Fri) and Gary Snyder Project Space (Sat, Sun). tickets are $10. look for me whilst i tear around the galleries.

i have recently discovered the wonders of, in no particular order: savall and the concert des nations triumphant opening to monteverdi's "orfeo" on youtube; the resplendent voice of jessye norman in strauss's last songs; and the aphrodisiac that is sephardic songs.