notes from the kelp

…listen
…info about the music

Click on the blue music icon above to hear some of the Prelude from my “Evensong Suite.”

I’ve always felt that it’s important for a composer to have a life outside of music.
And that it’s also important, no matter how hard you work, to create some down time on occasion to recharge all that creative energy.
Proof, herewith.

I work ridiculously hard, because I’m compelled and manic, in a happy sort of way. I get to sleep anywhere between 5am and 7am, and am up again no later than noon most weekdays; composing and administering said compositions for all the hours in between, when I’m not in town moderating a panel, or speaking on one, or rehearsing a piece, or grocery shopping (see below; one does eventually run out of peanut butter) or chairing a board meeting, or cleaning up kitty erp (see below). It’s a wonderful life.

And this snapshot, taken about an hour ago, and posted just as a late-season storm rolls in off the Pacific as our hot tub warms up (are you tempted to visit yet?), shamelessly represents the Sybaritic, hedonistic, non-Puritanical approach Charles and I share in life that rivals only those sultry Corona beer ads on TV (some of you may be familiar with them).

Sundays are traditionally our day to be together and unwind, and either we’re on our sailboat in Santa Barbara (no, not this one in the photo), or we’re home at Paradise Cove. This winter’s weather– as you can see from many of my photos on this blog– has been cool and overcast, with a fair amount of rain. So more weekends have been spent in Malibu, and our Sunday hallmark is always a walk up the coast (the lower the tide, the longer the stroll), followed by emergency consumption of wine and other less vital yet still important nutrients often found in solid food.

Table on the sand: check.
Chardonnay: check.
Sailboat floating near the horizon: check.
Awestruck visitors poised at the water’s edge: check
Craggy bluffs: check
Incoming waves curling at just the right moment: check
Favorite companionship: check (he claims to be too shy to make a cameo appearance on this blog, plus it’ll blow his ID in the Federal witness protection program)

There is not a moment in my life when I do not celebrate such good fortune, and wish to share it with everyone.

The rain has begun. Out to the deck and the hot tub, to be immersed from all directions.federal allegacy creditcourses polysomnography accredited technologycolorado union credit alliantmlis ala-accreditedaaccess carf program agency accredited houseonline mft couses accreditedcredit union wichita accuacacia creditors hotel gardens Map