You know the story if you live in this country. On May 25, 2020, a Minneapolis police officer ended the life of George Floyd during an arrest that may have had something to do with a counterfeit bill. The officer in question knelt on Floyd’s neck for almost nine minutes, cutting off his air supply and killing him. Three other officers were on the scene and did not interfere with this act; Floyd was already handcuffed and lying on the ground begging for his life. I cannot begi

For many years, I have read and enjoyed the poetry of Sara Teasdale. Her overall style is most lyric, one that lends itself to musical settings. For a number of years, I have sent my student composers to her as they went looking for texts for their first attempts at classical songwriting. And yet I had not indulged myself; I came close on a couple of occasions, but nothing landed on paper. In 2019 I was planning my “retirement” Faculty Artist recital at Heidelberg and wanted