Louise and I traveled to Tiphaine Legrand’s house in Montreal today to meet with her and Ralph Telemacque. Tiphaine is the conductor of the Choeur classique de l’Outaouais. Her husband is also a composer and teaches at the University of Montreal. Ralph serves as a Tiphaine’s accompanist. He is also is a top-notch jazz pianist…
A light kiss on the right cheek, and then the left. This is how my friends in France and Italy greet me. But haven’t crossed the ocean, just the border. While most of the border, from Vancouver to Ottawa, defines English-speaking Canada, we in New York State also share a border with French-speaking Canada. Even…
Birmingham, Alabama University of Alabama I arrived in the deep South yesterday to snow storm shut down big chunks of Birmingham. While my hosts have asked me if I brought this weather with me from Upstate New York, I assumed that they arranged it for me to make me feel welcome. I never want to…
The Taxi Classroom I grabbed a taxi on Sunday to go to the Mass at the Catholic Cathedral in a part of Kumasi called “Roman Hill.” I chose a driver in the middle of a teeming crowd of taxis at a place called Tech Junction. I am not exactly sure how I made the choice,…
The Sword in the Stone: Father’s Day in Ghana Don’t let the title of this blog lead you to think that I grabbed a quick flight to London or to the Disney resort in Hong Kong (they have a replica of the sword in the stone). Yes, I am still in Ghana. Yes it is…