Genghis Khan
In 25 years, the Mongol army subjugated more lands and people than the Romans conquered in 400 years. Genghis Khan, together with …
Chopin for Ukraine
This week, as in 2018 and 2019, I had the great pleasure of attending the Chopin Festival at the University of Miami, just minutes …
Daydreams & Debussy
When I decided to become a piano teacher in the 70s, I began studying with expert teachers. Louise Kupelian assigned Debussy’s Arabesque …
Bach’s Footsteps
In June 2001, my brother Joel Kirkpatrick and I took a two-week tour In the Footsteps of Bach with the Houston Bach Choir, a …
Michelangelo Up Close
The Sistine Chapel is an astonishing place I am lucky to have visited twice–in 1998 with Lilli and in 2010 with Steve. …
Beethoven’s 251st
As the pandemic surged a year ago, there was scant celebration of Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday. Trying to make up for …
Botany and Sweetgrass
Robin Wall Kimmerer is SUNY Distinguished Teaching Professor of Environmental Biology and founder and director of the Center for Native Peoples and …
Indigenous Wisdom
Eva Marie Carney, the mother of Elise Cohen, an outstanding piano student of mine, got me interested in Native American history many …
Art, Books & Movies
Five novels I have read over the last several decades have illuminated my understanding of famous artworks. The artists range from the …
Canopy Meg
What do you call a scientist who discovers a whole new continent above the earth’s forests? Whole tree enthusiast? True, but rather …