Wow, things sure look different than when I wrote my February update!

So far, easily over 100 performances with the Miami Valley Klezmer Ensemble, Easter Services, Senior Centers, Chamber Ensembles, Southwest Ohio Philharmonic, Dayton Philharmonic, and the 2020-2021 school year of my Latin USA school program have all been either cancelled or rescheduled.

On the other hand, the Greater Dayton Brass Ensemble started socially distant and very public rehearsals in my driveway, and is building a program to bring to the area parks. This group will be brainstorming about the flexibility of chamber music compared to a symphony orchestra, and intends to find more ways to bring music to people.

I have continued to teach in my backyard (and garage when raining), and the students keep coming! Now all I need is some San Diego weather in Ohio through the winter. I have also continued my own education in Klezmer with online classes taught by old and new friends.

I have adopted a new hobby/obsession of finding free bikes and bringing them into working condition for those who need them. As of today I think I have been able to give away 5 or 6 bicycles. And of course this stems from my own interest in riding. I am primarily a mountain biker but when I can’t make it to the trails, I’ll ride a road bike. I enjoy it much more than running, but I still run because it burns way more calories. I recently started occasionally bumping my 2 mile run up to 3. Seriously, with fall approaching I need to make some weather-related adjustments to keep all this outdoor exercise going!