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. …
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu and the Golden Empires of Peru, a special exhibition at the Boca Raton Museum of Art, offered me a view …
Celebrating Births
December is a joyous month for Christians, and particularly for my family. My son David was born on the 18th; his twin …
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 …
The Skinny on Skin
The Frost Museum of Science in Miami currently features a fascinating exhibit, Skin: Living Armor, Evolving Identity. On the day after Thanksgiving, my …
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 …
My Cousin Jerry Raiza
My only first cousin, Rex Gerald (Jerry) Raiza, died on September 17, at the age of 83 after complications of aortic aneurysm …
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 …