Rick Henly, trumpet, who soloed with WSW in 2011, shared this news with me. His former student from Chicago, John Hagstrom, is presenting a virtual Master Class tomorrow, Saturday, July 11, 10:00-11:30 am EDT, to celebrate the beginning of his 25th season with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The details can be found at this link. Note there is a small fee, and reservations are required. I apologize for the late notice, but if you’re free tomorrow morning, I think it would be well worth the time.

I’ve been wondering for days, thinking what I could possibly say to you all today. This morning, this photo popped up as my “On This Day” reminder. When I took this photo on July 4, 2019, I had no idea how it would speak volumes today. I don’t think there’s anything I can add; the photo says it all.

I hope you all will spend the day safely with family, at home, continuing to observe safe health practices. I hope you’ll join me at some point during the day, and stop for a moment to think about the ideals upon which this country was founded, the inequalities that continue to exist, and the steps we all need to take as a democracy to work toward the ideals of the Declaration of Independence. That, I believe, is the true meaning of Independence Day.

Tim and I wish you all the very best for the holiday.

Be sure to join us for our final Zoom of the regular 2019-2020 season, on Monday, June 29 at 7:30 pm.

We’ll be announcing a major development that will be of great interest to everyone. The Zoom info was sent in a direct email. We hope to see you then!