May 7, 2025

As I see photos of college graduations occurring that involve past students or family members of current students I find myself reflecting on my years teaching at various colleges. It’s hard to believe that I stopped teaching at college and university a dozen or so years ago. Although I still teach a handful of private students, mostly children, I haven’t accepted a new student in years. This summer several of my students will be heading off to college and will no longer be taking lessons from me. It’s always bittersweet to see the kids grow up and move on.

I don’t know if I will ever fully retire from teaching. I’ve been doing it since 1968 and it’s very much a part of who I am. But as my students slowly grow up and move on my schedule gets increasingly smaller so I may not have a choice. Either way, I wish success and happiness to all of my former students as they begin to take their rightful place in society.

In case you missed it…

Polina Fradkina was this weeks guest. We talked about her concerts and lectures, her educational pursuits, and mixed discipline projects. A truly fascinating artist.

Coming up…

South Korean pianist Yekwon Sunwoo talks about his journey as an artist including winning the gold medal at the Van Cliburn competition in 2017. We also talk about touring and his upcoming appearances.

In other news…

The Mid-Michigan Classical Guitar Society presented our Spring Concert on May 4. The group is made up of professional guitarists and hobbyists. The first half of the evening was a potpourri of members playing solos, duets, and trios followed by the entire group (minus a few who couldn’t be there) playing music as a guitar orchestra. After a brief intermission our special guest Ryan Apple gave a marvelous concert of music by Carlo Domeniconi.

Composer Lee Kesselman has some new music that you can listen to on Soundcloud. You will enjoy spending time on his channel and listening.

Classical accordionist Hanzhi Wang is in concert at the Baruch Performing Arts Center in NYC on May 19. For more information and tickets click here.