Professor Carol 
Childhood memories are powerful triggers. Two nights ago, I found myself telling the grandkids an inconsequential, long-ago story. Yet, as the details of the memory hit me, they stopped me cold. My grandson had sweetly suggested that grandpa should put in an elevator so grandma … Read more
The 1927 musical Showboat is very much on my mind. On January 23rd, Showboat will be our initial opera in this spring’s lineup for the series “A Night at the Opera.” Not the first Broadway musical we’ve offered in the nearly three-years of this series, … Read more
A favorite podcast of mine happens to be Classical Et. Cetera, a production of Memoria Press. In the interests of full disclosure, I adore the people who regularly populate its episodes: Paul Schaeffer, Martin Cothran, Tanya Charlton, and, until recently, Sean Saxon. Other folks move … Read more
Seeing The Great Books of the Western World spread crisply across the upper shelves of the library at CiRCE Institute’s new headquarters triggered powerful memories for me. Indeed, it was precisely this set of books that, long ago, signaled the existence of a world beyond … Read more
Whenever possible, we wait to put up our tree on the morning of Christmas Eve. This year, December 24th falls on the fourth Sunday of Advent, entailing morning services and two Christmas Eve masses for those singing in the choir. Clearly, that won’t be the … Read more
By the time we send next week’s digest, St. Nicholas Day will have come and gone. Consequently, I’ll say a word about it today, and then tell you about an idea that came to me. First, we’re approaching the date (December 6th) for the commemoration … Read more
A shower of sounds comes from under the door of Studio 610, the space where my ten-year old granddaughter has her classes on Wednesdays. Focused on the laptop while waiting, I do occasionally rise to peek through the high, narrow window of the door, trying … Read more
We are embarking on the last stretch of this voyage through the Great European Rivers (Danube, Main, Rhine). As I write, sailors are pulling away the ropes that tied us to Dock 9 in downtown Cologne. Our next port? Amsterdam. By the time this essay … Read more
My phone has thousands of pictures on it. By way of justification, a goodly percentage of the shots were taken in museums. These I made to help me recall images of art works and capture their explanatory labels. Before cell phones changed our lives, I … Read more
I try to imagine growing up in Vienna. In fact, I’m penning these words perched on a bench in Marie Theresien Platz, a glorious square that unites Vienna’s huge Natural History Museum with its equally large Old-Masters’ Art Museum. Both of these buildings stand directly … Read more
