After three years of most of our musical activities cancelled or moved online, 2023 was filled with travel as many of our dance camps and festivals returned to in-person events. Music gigs in Maryland, Atlanta, the UK, New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and Maine made for a busy year. We had a wonderful rendezvous with siblings in California in September, and, as usual, spent many happy days at our New Hampshire lakeside retreat.
Our four grandchildren are often close at hand, and we rejoice in their accomplishments, intelligence, and loving spirit. Catherine’s latest incarnation of her career as a Speech Language Pathologist has her working for an independent contractor, with superior working conditions and benefits. Ben continues to enjoy his work as Farm Manager at the Hampshire Country School in Rindge, New Hampshire.
We were both surprised and delighted to have been the recipients of a “Preserving our Heritage Award” by the National Folk Organization (based in Salt Lake City) in March. Barbara finally took delivery of her new custom-made bass and has been devoting many hours of practice on it, as well as participating in concerts given by the community orchestra of which she is a member, the Waltham Philharmonic.
When she’s not playing the bass or creating art for her online stores, Barbara plays accordion and directs a dance band of women musicians known as the All-Girl Band.
We are apprehensive about what 2024 will bring, but know that the love and support of family, friends, and colleagues, and our continued devotion to our various musical endeavours, will carry us through. We hold you all in the light and love.
Tom & Barbara
Inundated with the same old holiday music? Try these hilarious settings of Auld Lang Syne as interpreted in a range of styles.
Click on the first track to play all 13 parodies.
1. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart wrote pieces for piano four-hands in his youth, primarily to play with his sister Nanerl. This parody spoofs his Eine Kleine Nachtmuzik, Mozart’s most recognisable composition.
2. Giovanni Gabrieli (1557-1612) created grand fanfares for brass instruments which resounded within the glorious acoustics of St. Mark’s, Venice.
3. Johann Sebastian Bach (1684-1750) was a famous improvisor of fugues on the organ. Had he been given Auld Lang Syne as a theme, he might have produced something like this.
4. Domenico Scarlatti (1685-1757) was an almost exact contemporary of Bach, yet they never met. Scarlatti spent most of his productive years in Spain and then Portugal, where he cranked out more than 500 harpsichord pieces.
5. One of Franz Schubert (1797-1828) most famous pieces is one of his last piano sonatas, the Bb D. 960, composed shortly before his death. This parody pays homage to the iconic opening of that magnificient piece.
6. Claude Debussy (1862-1918) was a great experimentalist, and created some of the most iconic representations of the French Impressionst era, including his ubiquitous Claire de Lune.
7. Igor Stravinsky (1882-1971), one of the most pivotal figure in modern music, created his ballet suite Petrushka in 1911. This parody imagines that Stravinsky used Auld Lang Syne as its primary theme.
8. Fats Domino (1928-2017) was one of the pioneers of rock and roll music, and was among the first R&B artists to gain popularity with white audiences. He championed the signature 12/8 piano R&B rhythm of the 1950s.
9. Cajun music is an amalgam of old French dance tunes from Acadia with African influences of New Orlenas creole musicians. This track is the only one on which I play an acoustic instrument, a one-row Cajun accordion made by Marc Savoy.
10. Miles Davis (1926-1991) was one of the most influential jazz musicians of the late 20th century. His legendary 1959 album Kind of Blue broke new ground in modern jazz composition. The first track on that album, So What has become famous among musicologists of every persuasion.
11. Nora Jones (1979- ) is a contemporary pop-jazz-lite pianist and singer, daughter of legendary sitar player Ravi Shankar.
12. This mellow groove is based on a song written by keyboardist-singer Christine MacVie of the rock band Fleetwood Mac.
13. Enya (1961- ) is a contemporary Irish pop singer who favors layers of whooshing synthesizers and hippie-trippy vocals.
All tracks played by Tom on a Yamaha P-525, with additional voices from an Alesys NanoSynth, captured in ProTools. Track 9 also features a 1-row Cajun accordion made by Marc Savoy.