Two months in and two programs later, 
I finally have a moment to catch my breath, collect myself, and formally introduce myself. I spent the last week mulling over what my first posting on the CCM blog should be. Would it be best to give insight into our current season or post some thought-provoking entry based on some of the other music blogs/books/articles I've been reading lately? In the end it seemed best to say hello and give some thoughts and observations based on my early experience as a newcomer not only to the CCM community, but to Chicago as well.
I just moved here from Los Angeles, where I was freelancing, teaching, and writing. The differences between the two cities were immediately apparent and incredibly invigorating. My earliest and strongest impression of Chicago is the wonderful feeling of community amongst the fine arts organizations and patrons and the unbelievable public spaces. In my first few weeks I would be strolling past the Gehry band shell at Millennium Park and suddenly find myself looking up at dancers from Joffrey performing on a marathon of free dance performances. Another afternoon, while eating lunch outdoors, the strains of Britten's Sinfonia da Requiem came wafting over the lawn as the Grant Park Orchestra rehearsed. Winter approaches, but I'm looking forward to snow as well (for now…)!
In the future I will write entries that give further insight into the work going on here at Music of the Baroque and hopefully provide thoughts that spark conversation amongst the readers of this blog. For now I thought it best to say hello. I suppose in terms of posting comments, this is a great spring board for bragging rights! What do you love about the Chicago Arts community? I look forward to posting and commenting here and seeing you all at upcoming concerts!
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Art (not verified) | Wed, 10/10/2007 - 9:01am
First, I want to welcome you to Chicago! Are you still teaching and writing (music, I presume)?
What do I love most about the Chicago Arts community? I love that there's so much to experience! While I personally lean more towards Romantic than Baroque music (I can't get enough of late-Beethoven and Mahler), I think it's wonderful to be able to see, hear, and interact with so many different art forms. Chicago is second to none when it comes to culture.
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»johnglover | Wed, 10/10/2007 - 3:46pm
Thank you for the warm welcome! I do a lot of different writing, actually. Mainly music. I'm working on a few commissions at the moment including one with ACT in San Francisco, which should be very exciting. I also do freelance writing about music and have written program notes, articles, and taught online classes for a number of groups. I'm keeping that up as well.
I wholeheartedly agree with you about the abundance of cultural offerings here. Especially with the new spaces (like the Harris - where we perform) around town things seem to have such a great forward momentum. It does seem to be in the air (which, though I still dearly love Los Angeles, is quite a bit cleaner!). Thank you again for your welcome and I hope to see you out and about!
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