Happy New Year!! My original intent was to write a fairly large post to ring in the new year on my website. I had it all mapped out in my head… I was going to write about what it’s like to be a free-lance musician in December… the grueling schedule of holiday gigs, teaching, and the occasional family or friend gathering. I was going to write about performing in the pit for “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” an extra gig that came up which fit perfectly around my other holiday gigs.

To all my website visitors I would like to extend my wishes for a happy, prosperous, surprising, fantastic and satisfying new year!!

Well, my plan was to have this post published an online right away when we got back from our trip.. of course, the best intentions, etc. etc. Anyway, here it finally is! The International Trumpet Guild annual conference this year was held in Banff, Alberta, Canada. As a certified professional trumpet geek it is my duty and obligation to attend as many of these events as I can, and this was no exception.

Tonight we had a total lunar eclipse, and the conditions were perfect for seeing and photographing it. This is an event where the Earth passes in between the moon and the sun, leaving it in shadow. The moon appears red during the total part of the eclipse, due to light refracting through the Earth’s atmosphere. This was the first time something interesting has come along for me to photograph with my recently purchased Canon SX100 IS camera.

Over the past few years, while I was commuting back and forth to MSU in East Lansing, I came to rely on audiobooks and podcasts to keep me awake on the road. One of the very best I’ve found is RadioLab, from New York Public Radio. Hosted by Jad Abumrad and Robert Krulwich, each episode covers a single scientific idea. What makes the RadioLab podcast different (and great, in my opinion) is the way the material is covered.

I don’t generally put posts up here that have no trumpet content, but my good friend Andrew Wu, violinist with the Michigan Opera Theatre, is exhibiting his latest blown glass creations at the 33rd Art in the Park this weekend. Art in the Park takes place every year at Shain Park in Birmingham. Proceeds from the event benefit Common Ground Sanctuary. The event runs this Saturday (15 September) from 10am to 6pm, and Sunday (16 September) from 10am to 5pm.