Off to Tulane

Yes, it is true. I'm moving to New Orleans. How cool is that? I'm going to Tulane to study public health and infectous diseases. A continuation of the Peace Corps work but now at a more intense and professional level.

What about music you ask? Well, I'm writing more music now than I have since I left school. As my brother put it "You now have a 60,000 dollar hobby". It does feel nice to write for the fun of it and not for the money or scholarship of it. I think that its the first time I have written for myself.

This is the front of the house I was stazing at in South Africa

Actually I was staying arroud back in the shack

It is a standard issue Aparthied era abode, there are literally

millions of these arround the RSA

This is the street in the township that our house was located.
Sebenzisa Street or in English : Make it work Street

The first weekend I was in the RSA I went on a trip to the Kingdom of Swaziland
with the Gauteng Choristers. Its a beautiful country surrounded by
huge mountain ranges.

Greetings from World Cup Land!

So I have arrived in Germany. A week of traveling since I left Afrika. I'm with the sisters south east of Darmstat. I came via Frankfurt via Zurich via Rome via Johannesburg. Rome is wonderful if dreadfully hot now. Switzerland is beautiful and cool this time of year and Germany is not too bad. I go back to Rome on the 6th and back to the states on the 20th. Tommrow I go out of the convent for a trip arround Germany. A nice break from the music writing for the nuns. I will post again when I get to Rome.

Geting ready to go again

In a week my time will be up in South Africa and I will be off to Rome. I have been in touch with the sisters these past months and it would seem that there is quite a bit of work to be done that side. But there will be time to see Rome and the Vatican and there will be a trip to the convent in Germany. I'm tremendously excited.

South Africa has been intresting.
I have learned much about music here.
I have gathered the material for my next two pieces.
But at the same time some of these projects have gone quite wrong.
But that is Africa.

Right now I'm on a small vacation in Botswana visiting people but I leave for South Africa on Sunday. Then I will have a week to wrap things up there. I have to register some of my Zulu/Xhosa/Setswana music in Johannesburg so that it will be open for people to sing in SA. If things go well we will make a recording of my arrangement of Nkosi Sikelel' iAfrika next week. I'm also hoping to set up a few commissions that I can fulfill when I leave SA. I'm hoping to visit the Soweto String Quartet and see if we might beable to strike a deal. We shall see. At least the last few days will be productive ones.

Well, as I was typing this I tried to upload the pictures but blogger crapped out. Or rather the ISP in Africa crapped out, God knows. The internet is such a headache here. Lets just say I'll post when I get to Rome.

Hello again

I have some wonderful images to post but the internet cafe that i'm at wont support my flash disk so we will have to wait... Sorry.

Some things have worked out quite well and other things have failed miserably. I did get to adjudacate in a national choir competition. It was about 40 choirs singing western, african, and gospel music. It was quite an earful but a very intereting experience. Right now I'm finshing a piece that I was commissioned to write for the Twelve Apostles Church national assembly that happens next week. Its one of those deals where the choir is already rehersing the begining and the end is still being written. They only asked me to write something for them 5 days before they wanted to reherse! The audience will be well over 5,000 when they pergorm the piece. We are renting out a whole stadium...

The text for the work comes from 1 Cor. 13:
Love is patient and kind, Love is never angry or spiteful...

People in South Africa use the word 'love' 5 min. after they meet you. That's not love.
I thought that it wold be a good text to set for SA. Its in Zulu, Setswana, and Xhosa. I'll post it when I get a recording.

My music classes failed entirely though. Its quite sad, I did quite a bit of prepatory work back in the states to make these classes the best I could. Well, thats africa. I have lived here long enough to know thats how these things go.

I'm going to try and find a different internet cafe that can take my flash disc or I'll put the images on CD and do it that way.

Peace.

Greetings from Botswana

Its been a very fast two weeks. The first weekend down here I traveled to the Kingdom of Swaziland with the Gauteng Corristers (the premirere semi-professional choir in Johannesburg). They were invited to come and sing at a big music celebration of traditional African Music in Swaziland. It was quite amazing, the music was wonderful (even if the ear tires of tonic-dominant harmony), the country was beautiful, majestic even... deep ravines, sharp mountinans, all very dramatic.

This weekend I'm in Botswana touching base with my host family and letting them know of my plans. Life continues in Botswana much as it has for time out of memory. The country is modernizing but the basic day to day life remains unchanged for the masses of Batswana. And for the most part they are content. Life just is. I think that is one of the elements that I find attractive in this counrty. Everything remains simple.

So, I go back to South Africa on tuesday and I will post some pictures and recordings I have collected. Now, that I'm established here it shouldnt take so long to get to my next post.

I have arrived...

Just to let everyone know that I arrived safely to South Africa. The flight was long but I got bumped to first class for the first half. The second half I had four seats to my self - no complaints!!!!! I will update soon. Peace.

Time to go

Ka mosso, ke a tsamaya.














Tommrow, I leave.



For the Republic of South Afrika














Rephaboliki ya Afrika-Borwa



And the townships of Johannesburg,















Stay tuned and I will update you all when I arrive.