Does anyone else think this roofline looks oddly familiar?

Last Friday, the University of Dubuque in Dubuque, Iowa (my one time hometown) broke ground on a new Performing Arts facility.



As I looked at the image, I was struck by the similarity to another performing arts center and it's "wave like" roof.

Is the resemblence there, or am I imagining it?



I remember when conversations about the UD Performing Arts Center began around 2000. It was under discussion when I worked for the Dubuque Symphony, but didn't quite get off the ground.

I'm excited for Dubuque and the possibilities that the UD Performing Arts Center will bring, however, I am also concerned about the fate of the Five Flags Center.



I hope that the City of Dubuque has a plan for the continued use of the historic Five Flags complex. It is a piece of history worthy of preservation and use.

Davide was back

While last week was a concert week, there was still some time to work in some fun as our friend Davide was the guest artist with the symphony. This was Davide's third visit to Amarillo, and he always provides great company while he is in town.

This visit ended with a visit to Wellington where Davide was scheduled to perform a recital at the Ritz theater.



Here Davide and my darling husband pause for a photo to mark the occasion.


And, further proof that Davide does practice. (Everyone once in awhile - oh brother, I jest, I jest!)


Until your next trip to Amarillo, good-bye, friend! But you will be back, yes? What was that program....Brahms? :)

Heard at the office

"It's like an Accoustical Astigmatism"

Photoshoot in the middle of nowhere

This afternoon, Bryan and I joined the Harrington String Quartet for their photoshoot. These are the first images of the newest incarnation of the quartet. The weather was great, except for the wind. What, wind? Wind in West Texas? Clearly you have us confused wiht someone else!

I look forward to seeing the final iamages that Ralph Duke created today - and two the second part of our shoot on Wednesday afternoon!

KinderKonzerts 2010

Nothing gets one into the Christmas spirit more than 5,900 young children singing Christmas carols. For the past two days I've been busy with a team of volunteers and musicians entertaining and instructing these youngsters at the symphony's KinderKonzerts.

Merry Christmas!

A source of chaos

To say my life has been a bit hectic the past month would be an understatement. I offer my new found level of chaos to be an explanation for my lack of blogging.

Hmm, that's probably a fairly pathetic excuse for a lack of blogging. There are many folks who would say that I should blog regularly to find an escape from the chaos.

I'll work on that.

In the meantime, you my blog reading friends are probably wondering what caused all of the extra chaos in my world.

Well, I can't say much - but you should read this as a start to understanding what's going on. I'll try to keep this blog free of the work stuff. But, it's the work stuff that is causing the more chaos than normal type existence.

Here's to a new month, and new experiences.

High Noon on the Square 2010

Today the symphony sponsored a string quartet to perform as part of the Center City High Noon on the Square series.

My loving husband gladly stepped in to serve as my partner in techiness today. And, I think he might have actually liked it! It's a good thing he enjoys a bit of audio work - today was a toasty Amarillo day and we certainly invested some sweat equity into this afternoon's performance.


Several string players in the symphony agreed to play for today's performance despite the incredible heat.


The quartet serenaded the audience with some wedding favorites. Perhaps it was a little marketing for future wedding gigs.

And, yes, there was even a bit of audio gear to entertain Mr. Bryan.

Yes, I'm trying to take a lot of pictures - I'm trying to learn more about my new camera!

I'm a firefighter!

It's true - during the chaos of last week's concert festivities I channeled my inner firefighter.

On Wednesday of last week, this was the site outside of my office.



What's not clear from that image is that almost 10 minutes earlier I had returned to my office and smelled smoke. I asked Chip if he could smell the smoke - he said yes, but he thought it was something burning outside. I continued to sniff out the source of the smoke - I was seeking burning plastic - that's what I could smell.

Then I saw it - the fire was definetely not outside. At this point, if you were within earshot (and even if you weren't) you could hear me scream in shock. I stepped outside of my office and saw 18-24" flames on the catering table that had been placed near the conference room.

I ran down the hallway and grabbed the fire extinguisher. I thought back to my RA training at Loras (yes, we did learn a thing or two!) I worked quickly to use the extinguisher to put out the fire. The flames continued to re-ignite and Chip used the broom to help swat out the flames.

Once we had extinguished the fire Chip and I retreated to the fresh air of the loading dock.

Oddly, it was several minutes before anyone in the building noticed that there was a fire in the hallway. By the time the firetrucks arrived we had been outside for quite a while - but it was a quick response time following the call they received.

The fire caused a bit of excitement during an already hectic concert week and one gnarly piece of art.


The lesson for the rest of you - do you know where the nearest fire extinguisher is - in your home and in your place of work? On that day I learned that most of my building mates had no idea where the fire extinguishers were located in the building. I find that a bit scary. Take a moment tomorrow and find where the nearest fire extinguishers are located. It could save a life.

Accent West: Symphony Ball Edition

Ladies and Gents, I have further proof that my husband is indeed a gentlemen. Bryan and I were included in this year's Symphony Ball spread in Accent West. Yes, he cleans up, wears a tux, and ends up in the society pages. Not bad I say, not bad at all. (In fact, this is not the first time!)



Yes, Mom, we will work on getting you a copy of this issue.

Symphony Ball 2010

Bryan and I attended the 2010 Symphony Ball sponsored by the Amarillo Symphony Guild earlier this month. It was an opportunity to prove that every once in awhile we can clean up and look fairly decent.

The theme for this year's ball was Carnaval - Rio de Janiero. The Heritage Room at the Civic Center was festooned with bright colors and many, many feathers!

Chief Happiness Officer

Earlier this month the Amarillo Symphony was part of the Ronald McDonald House of Amarillo 25th Anniversary Celebration. The Chief Happiness Officer, Ronald McDonald was an active part of the festivites. We paused to share a backstage photo moments before Ronald played his typewriter solo with the orchestra.

Headed to Chicago

It's true! In a few short weeks I'll be headed to Chicago. I'll be in Chicago for the League of American Orchestras National Conference June 10-12. If you will be in the Chicago area during this time and want to meet up, let me know. Most of my days are busy with conference activities, but I do have some down time in the evenings.

Following the conference I'll head to Milan, Illinois. My aunts will be hosting a bridal shower for me. :) Many of my family and friends will be in the area that day. After the bridal shower, we will have a graduation party for my cousin Kate. She graduated from high school last week! (Yikes, that makes me feel a bit old - there was a time when I was changing Kate's diapers!)

Should be a busy weekend in the weeks leading up to our marriage. The countdown is on!

Side-By-Side 2009

The show must go on

The show must go on. Friday night's symphony concert was reconfigured due to the freak Amarillo snow storm. A few minutes before the start of the show this is what the parking lot outside the performer's entrance looked like.



We were able to avoid cancelling the concert because of the generosity of our guest artist, Davide Cabassi. We released the orchestra from the concert service and provided an alternate performace for our die hard concert-goers. Approximately 50 folks joined us for an intimate evening with Davide Cabassi.

Here's some looks from the show:




Thank you for an amazing evening of music, Davide.

Happy New Year!

We would like to wish you all the best in 2009! Here are a few pics from last evening's Amarillo Symphony Uncorked.


Moments after the balloons dropped at midnight.




The fabulous Uncorked stage crew!


Bryan likes New Year's Eve because there are noise makers.

There are not many pics from last evening - in part because I spent a large portion of my evening bartending. Can you believe it? It's a longish story - but in short, there were not enough bartenders for the size of the event so I was drafted into service. Not the way I thought I would spend most of my evening - but I was released from bar duty early enough to ring in the New Year with Bryan.

We wish you all the best in the year to come!

Halloween Hijinks

Here they are, proof of our 2008 Halloween costumes.


That's Bryan in his Wizard of Oz balloon. It's a pretty impressive build. Know anyone who would like to purchase the costume? He's willing to sell for the right price.


Bryan and I pose for a pic. I'm the Wizard. "Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain!"


LJ is the Lion, Jenny the birthday girl is Dorthy, Chip is the scarecrow and Kevin is the Tin Man.


Here the entire staff gathers for a group photo at the end of a successful concert.

Another blog posting...

So, technically this is my 3rd blog posting of the evening. There was the post about costume construction and a little while ago I posted an entry on the symphony blog - check it out here.

OZ costume

Yes, it's true - this week - a concert week - I am crazy enough to be constructing a Halloween costume. As I blogged about earlier this month, the members of our creative staff will all be appearing at the symphony concert dressed as characters from the Wizard of Oz. I have been assigned the character of Oz. It has been determined that the most important element of my costume should be the curtain so I have been dilligently working on the construction of this portion of the costume. Here are some images of the process captured by Bryan.


Here are all of the elements of the project collected before the construction began.


I'm working so hard I didn't even know that he was taking my picture.



I'll do my best to post pictures of the completed ensemble later this week. Rumor has it that while I am at symphony rehearsal tonight Bryan is at home working on his companion costume to my rig - the Wizard's balloon. This should be something to see!

Costume Recommendations

For Halloween this year, our staff will be dressing as characters from the Wizard of Oz. I have been assigned the character of OZ! Yes, the assignment might have something to do with my use of the phrase, "Pay no attention to the woman behind the curtain." So, I ask you, what are the essential elements of an Oz costume? What features make you think - hey, that's the Wizard of Oz? I'd love to read your thoughts.

Amarillo Symphony Blog

You may have noticed a new addition to the blogroll posted on the side of my blog, The Amarillo Symphony. Yes, it's true, this week we launched a blog telling tales from inside the orchestra. Check it out if you have a spare moment or two. You can read of the staffs summer antics and our communication director's thoughts on all things symphony.