Fall semester 2025

I have been blogging so heavily that I forgot to report the news!

The Fall semester was the Fall semester. But it ended with a bang, for sure: 

My fame as the Voice of the Appalachian State University Marching Mountaineers continues to reach farther and wider. :) I read names of our graduates at our fall Commencement ceremony this time around. I'm not sure I have had that much fun in a while, and I hope our deans and registrar might ask me again.

I played the funeral of one dear Barbara Lee, former band chaperone at Statesville (N.C.) Senior High School, when my sister and I were coming up the ranks. Her grandson, the Rev. Dr. Robert W. Lee, sat in on my sacred music courses when he was coming through Appalachian, and we have all stayed in touch. A most kind and grieving family.

Our football team was not bowl eligible but got invited to a bowl, anyway, at which time the Marching Band began to scramble to join them. But alas, we're not going after all. So that bit of potential post-Christmas madness evaporated. I might beg a neighbor to turn to ESPN and let me watch the game.

After Commencement, I made my usual semi-annual trek to Des Moines, Iowa, where my wife lives. And Christmas began to sprout legs and grow. As of this writing (Dec. 22, 2025), I have played for a most wondrous Lessons & Carols for St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, organized and conducted by their new director of music Kyler Brown, formerly of New York City. And I am on deck to host the staff of the Cathedral for Christmas Eve dinner between their services, and I'll play for St. Mark Lutheran in West Des Moines on Sunday, Dec. 28, in pro bono thanks for the practice time.

And then I get to rest. For a week. Before the spring semester begins.

Spring Semester 2025

This is turning into the semester of honors. I never thought I'd win awards for teaching or for anything else. After twenty years at my university, I felt my groove was sufficiently polished and that I'd stay quietly in it.

But lo and behold: In the past month, I have been initiated an honorary Brother of Kappa Kappa Psi Fraternity (for band), I have won my University Provost's Award for Excellence in Research and Creative Activity, and I have won my School of Music's Excellence in Teaching Award.

 

 To the Brothers of Kappa Kappa Psi, I say, "Perhaps my increased visibility as the Voice of the Marching Mountaineers helped lead to my initiation. Whatever the reason, I thank you, and I shall NOT be one of those honoraries who never shows up! You can count on me, and I will look forward to it."

To my dean, James Douthit, I say, "This is not the first time you have nominated me for a campus award. I appreciate your appreciation of me and your using your position to make it known. Thank you. This Provost's Award was a huge surprise."

To the students of the Hayes School of Music, Appalachian State University, I say, "Thank you for thinking of me when it came time to award something this year. Even after all those Theory corrections and long quizzes, you saw fit to put my name forward for this. I appreciate it very much, and I love seeing you in class every day. Please go and be successful, and may what I impart to you change your life so that you can change others' lives."

And on top of all that, a month ago I submitted an expense report for a trip. It was accepted and reimbursed on the first try. I believe the world just might be ending soon.

 

New purpose

The blog is getting busy again. I'm about to launch a new, LONG series on a biography of Richard Forrest Woods. Please enjoy. Bit by bit.

In four years, I'll retire from teaching. That is, if the market [mine] will bear it. This year, I'll hear auditions from students who will 'retire' from college at the same time I do. I'll need something to do in retirement. Broadway coaching? Bus driving for retirement communities? Funeral volunteering? Service playing? Truck driving school? Bicycling all over God's creation? Visiting all the National Parks? I'm all ears.

Happy New Year, dear Reader. It's going to be a ride.

Out of the tunnel

This pandemic has devastated many and affected all. It has merely slowed me down for a time. But things are coming back to life now. I played three virtual recitals, three virtual Morning Prayer rites, one fully in-person super-spreader wedding (sorry to say -- that's for another blog post). And, of course, I had an entire armload of programs and other events cancelled. But now I'm on board to play my third performance in the south of France this summer, and I'm looking forward to a few other side trips. As of this writing, my second vaccination is tomorrow, and my masks are still numerous, clean, and always nearby. Meanwhile, my virtual teaching is in top condition (at least for me -- for my students? Who knows.). Everyone hang in there. We're coming back.

Last rites revisited

My last News update mentioned the final proofs of the final Widor recordings. Well, now I have those completed recordings in my hands! The deed is done, the gift copies have been sent out, and I will now be working out marketing procedures with the various venues. This project is a gift that keeps on giving.