A collection of photography and exploration focusing on Upstate South Carolina and beyond.
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On NPR’s Morning Edition last Saturday Scott Simon had an interview with Dame Shirley Bassey on the occasion of her 71st birthday and the release of a new CD. Bassey is best known for singing the theme song from the James Bond Movie Goldfinger, but has many other recognizable hits, in addition to two other … Read More “Shirley Bassey @ 71” »
I tried my hand at editing a bit of video from the William Walker Singing last Saturday. I used just the basic version of the Pinnacle Studio software, and was actually pleased with the results. I find it much easier to work with than the Windows Movie Maker software. This clip shows Bill Burns leading … Read More “William Walker Singing – video” »
Saturday morning I attended the William Walker Memorial Singing at Wofford College. William “Singing Billy” Walker was the publisher of The Southern Harmony in 1835 and Christian Harmony in 1866, as well as a composer of many of the tunes found in these. He was a native of Union County, but lived and worked in … Read More “William Walker Memorial Singing” »
Far back in 1998 Garrison Keillor had this to say about the singing of “Shenandoah“… … And there ought to be a law against the singing of “Shenandoah” by any choir, and the penalty ought to be prison time. No probation. The singing of “Shenandoah” is a main cause of the unpopularity of choral singing … Read More “Death by “Shenandoah”” »
Some years ago I considered myself a purist when it came to taste in Christmas music. All I wanted to listen to were the classics, anything that came out of the Oxford Book of Carols, or anything written and arranged by David Willcocks or John Rutter. Basically, stuff from the British school and Lessons and … Read More “Annoying Christmas Music” »
Today is the first Sunday of Advent. For those of us who refuse to live by the commercial calendar, it’s the start of the Christmas season. Well, not really that even, but the preparation for the Christmas season. I’ve mentioned before that one church where I worked, the minister would not allow any Christmas music … Read More “Gloria” »
This is the song I composed for my parents 60th anniversary. It was performed for my parents by a choir made up of my brothers and sisters, their spouses and children. It hadn’t occurred to me to write a song for them until Thursday night, as I was already gathering the other requested music. I … Read More ““A Delightful Inheritance” – the music” »
As part of Fall for Greenville, the 1970’s group Kansas was giving a free concert Saturday evening. Kansas has been one of my favorite bands. As a high schooler playing keyboards in a band, they were my idols because of their keyboard-heavy arrangements. “Carry on My Wayward Son” is still one of my favorite songs. … Read More “Kansas on a Stick” »
Local Greenville blogger Eric Rogers stumbled across one of my posts about tilt-shift photography and thought he’d give it a try. Eric is a filmmaker, so he took things a step further and tried to tilt-shift a video clip. The results are quite good. Here’s a link to his finished product in Quicktime .MOV format… … Read More “Tilt-Shift Video” »
Sounds like a prizefight – kind of like the "Thrilla in Manilla." In a sense, that’s not a bad description. Most of Mahler’s Second Symphony is a struggle, between despair and hope, musical motifs, and extreme dynamic ranges. I left early to make the drive up and over the mountains to Brevard. I was unsure … Read More “Mahler in Brevard” »