Friends,

Today is the first day of school for Chicago Public, so both my husband and my baby (Hannah, 16 years) left the house early this morning after a long and luxurious summer.  I count my blessings regularly, but never more so than at the beginning and end of summer.  The privilege of having 2 1/2 months off each year is only one of the blessings of being a teacher (and being married to a teacher).

Daughter Hope is studying in Copenhagen this semester (lucky girl!), so we did not make the roundtrip to Oberlin College in Ohio last month.  I have always loved the start of school, and I am missing the sights and sounds of a new year on a college campus. 

My work continues although I am having fantasies of becoming a painter.  Wish I had the funds for “Come and Make a Circle 3,” as I am eager to start on it, but it will have to wait a bit.  My preschool music classes resume this week and by the first week of November I should be teaching every day with a handful of concerts, workshops and birthday parties on the weekends.  

In October I will be attending the annual Children’s Music Network gathering in Asheville, NC.  Looking forward to reconnecting  and making music with friends new and old.  Like many grass roots organizations, CMN has had its share of challenges over the last year, but I am happy to report that the annual conference is a “go” and local chapter song swaps here in Chicago are enthusiastically attended.  For more information on the Children’s Music Network, I encourage you to check out their website at www.cmnonline.org.

Thanks to all who, in spite of the weak and scary economy, continue to make music education a priority for the early childhood crowd!  People like me really appreciate people like you.

SUMMER 2009

That’s what we say in Chicago, anyway.  Hope the weather is a bit more predictable where you are, or is that a thing of the past?  We survived early summer storms and are now enduring a blistering heat…. but it’s not snowing, so…

In a week I’ll be in Nantucket to vist with my good friend Mollie and her family and make some music on the island!  I am very much looking forward to running into old friends, making new friends in my toddler music classes, and meeting all the new babies from the past year.  You can check out my Nantucket schedule by visiting the website for NCMC, the organization that is sponsoring my visit (http://www.nantucketschoolofmusic.org/files/SUMMER_PROGRAMS_2009.pdf).

I hope to promote “Songs In the Key of Chai” in a bigger way this fall and will begin working on “Come and Make a Circle 3.”  If you haven’t heard, “Songs In the Key of Chai” is oldish, newish and mostly Jewish songsfor all families released at the very end of 2008.  Daughter Hope painted the front cover; younger daughter Hannah took the photo of me on the back cover; husband Jay co-wrote the exquisite song I Should Like (The Gaze of God).  The recording is dedicated to the memory of my parents and in honor of my stepmother, Margot.  I like to think of it as the kind of CD with songs that remind you of and make you feel good about the things you hold dear — family, faith, tolerance, peace-making, and the joy of celebrating holidays with those you love.  Let me know what you think — it is a very personal album.

I’ve got a handful of concerts in and around Chicago this summer and a bunch of birthday parties where I’ll do my best to get everyone, and I mean everyone, singing and dancing.  (How else can we expect our children to sing and dance?)  My family is off to the glorious beaches of North Caroline in August and Hope will be traveling to Copenhagen for her fall semester, lucky girl.  In September I’ll be back at my regular weekday teaching gigs and full of gratitude for the work.

I will have some open times on Thursdays for “Cryin’ Out Loud Music Classes,” so if you’re a new mom and have 6 or 7 friends with babies looking to have a good time, give me a call to book an 8- or 10-week session IN YOUR LIVING ROOM!  That’s right, you do the phone work and I’ll do the leg work getting to you with instruments, scarves, and assorted other fun things to keep everyone busy and entertained.  (That’s a particularly sweet deal during the winter, don’t you think?)

More to come….