A Day in the Life

Some days I struggle to find my place in this crazy world. Not only with the music but in the world in general. What do I bring to the table? What do I contribute to help improve the planet? What can I do everyday to feel that I am a part of a the bigger picture? Of course I could find little details that I could justify as being a contribution to this earth, but it never quite feels like enough. So what to do? I try to live a healthy life and treat everyone with the kind of respect I want to be treated with. I recycle! and I drive a hybrid. But I want to give something more of myself. I like to think that my music is helping to send a message out into the universe of unity and peace--and I hope in it's little way it does. I would love to more involved with concerts that are for good causes and I definitely need to look more into things like that.

Since I'm not teaching this week I think I just have too much time to think about things! I am trying to organize my upcoming CD release concert and looking into ways to go out into the world to research Sephardic music. I was in contact with Dr. Judith R. Cohen--the authority on Sephardic music--and she basically told me that the majority of authentic resources of the music are either getting too old or are already dead. How sad to think that the music might die. I can't let that happen and really want to continue on this quest of keeping not only the music alive, but the language as well. I do have a couple of resources here in the Bay Area and I need to tap into them, but I also want to travel to farther reaches of the world to explore this music. While in Mexico in July I'm going to at least try and visit some of the Jewish temples that exist there. I am also contemplating a trip to Cuba--we'll see.