BACK IN RIO
Yes, I am! I’m here for 6 weeks this time– RWU Spring Break & then I’m teaching online for 5 weeks. I’ve got filmed lectures, discussion forums, students presentations, etc. all set up online and ready to go when the students get back from break. It’s a trial run for hybrid courses @ RWU, so I’ve got my fingers crossed that all my hard work setting this up will pay off in the possibility of more time to spend in Rio in future as well as right now.
It’s the beginning of the academic year here & choro school started the day after I arrived. So far I’ve played in 4 rodas in 4 days, and have been in the studio to add my tracks to the Agua no Feijao recording in progress. Lessons w/ Joel start soon & he’s playing a gig in a couple of days. It’s been rainy so far, but today the glorious sun has finally come out, driving away the last remnants of my winter RI cough. Lovely!
MY METHOD IS CIRCULATING
I’ve been getting good feed-back from the US and world-wide as well. It’s really exciting that this long labor-intensive project is finally reaching the people it was intended for. You can get a copy of the book/CD package for a mere $25 @ the Mel Bay website, or Elderly or Amazon. Or request it at your local music store. And to those of you who have sent your thanks– you are absolutely welcome!
AMGuSS WINTER WEEK-END
was a blast! Although it was only a taste of our usual week it was a fun reunion, teaching/learning opportunity, and the final orchestra concert (with an Enigmatica + faculty prelude) was awesome. Good work– to all of you who were here. For those of you who haven’t heard, we won’t be holding a June AMGuSS this year. But we’ll try to have another week-end before 2008 is out, and the June week will be back in 2009, for sure.
My LIVE/WHIRLED Series ended its 1st season sucessfully with the 4th concert on March 9th. We have the dates for next season set already– the 1st Sundays of November, December, February, and March, so mark your calendars. You’ll be hearing more soon. And if you’d like to play in the series, let me know.
SUMMERKEYS 2008
I’m teaching again @ SummerKeys this year, in scenic Lubec, Maine. I’ll be there the week of August 18, and can accept 6 students. I can’t schedule a 2nd week this year, so sign up soon if you want to be part of this one.
The next issue of “MARILYNN ON MANDOLIN” will be out in May, when I’m back from Rio.
As I write this I’ve left New England spring for Rio autumn (I’m wearing a tank top & flip flops, so it’s not fall as I usually know it). I will miss my crocuses & daffodils at home, but the music here still calls me so strongly that I know I will be leading 2 lives, and missing half of each, for awhile to come. I am truly lucky to be able to do this, and to have family, friends, colleagues, bosses, and music groups who understand my musical, geographic, and seasonal duality. So have a happy spring/fall wherever you are! I’ll look forward to seeing you sooner or later, as may be the case. beijinhos,
mm
