Fair warning: the following is probably not that interesting, but it’s important to publish the news here for the record . . . Mid-summer last year, I tried to login to my personal Facebook page only to discover that, for some reason, my email and password were no longer being accepted. After some unsuccessful attempts … Continue reading
Dear Reader (including those of you who’d normally only come here for orchestra audition repertoire lists, the rare operatic April Fools’ joke, or military music freebies, and especially anyone who recognizes that I’m apolitically stealing this “Dear Reader” gag from Jonah Goldberg): In the heady pre-pandemic days of February 2020, I was preparing to chat … Continue reading
I am very happy and honored to announce that the good folks at the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra have invited me to host the pre-game show, er, the pre-concert discussion with guest conductor Peter Oundjian this coming Sunday evening, October 15 at UCLA’s Royce Hall. We’ll be on stage 6:00 to 6:30pm chatting about the … Continue reading
Hello, everyone. If you’re shocked that I’ve actually published something three days in a row, join the club. I realize that I’ve not been publishing at the rate I have in the past. I’m working on changing that. It’s not that I haven’t been writing; I have. It’s just hasn’t made it here to All is … Continue reading
Timothy Mangan, renowned classical music critic and friend of All is Yar, recently published a piece in the Orange County Register titled “Concert etiquette baffling? Here’s a hand.” It does a splendid job demystifying and explaining the classical music and opera attendance experience for newbies and veterans alike. The two biggest topics he covers: appropriate dress and … Continue reading
For the past couple of months, Mystic Pete — KXLU radio personality, friend of All is Yar, and all-around man about town — has been trying to get me to back on the air at KXLU. For various reasons, I hadn’t been able to make it work on my end; however, when we all learned of the sad … Continue reading
As you may have noticed, I’ve been on hiatus — an unexpected and unintended hiatus. I’ll spare you the details; sometimes life just gets in the way. It’s a shame because I’ve missed the chance to comment on all sorts of noteworthy things (e.g. the Minnesota Orchestra’s continued perils, Vasily Petrenko‘s rather unfortunate comments about … Continue reading
When I was in college, I helped to resurrect the school’s defunct radio station and eventually became the station’s Music Director. It was the hardest I’d ever worked in my life — and the most fun I’d ever had too. I spent countless hours at the station, on air and off: studying, sleeping, listening to … Continue reading
As you may have noticed, posts during June have slowed down. That’s because the All is Yar IT Department (that’s me) has been co-opting time and energy from the All is Yar Editorial Department (still me) to develop the first design refresh of this website in two years. Unfortunately, like many remodeling projects, this one … Continue reading
Just when I was hitting my stride again with writing and blogging, I managed to injure my shoulder and arm. After trying to fight through the increasing pain and soreness, I finally got in checked out last week and discovered that I had actually torn something — muscle, tendon, ligament — not sure which yet. … Continue reading
It really wasn’t just one single thing. Mostly, various unexpected events got in the way. The kind of stuff that not only takes up time on the calendar, but also space in the psyche. Usually, the trials and tribulations of life motivate me to write more, to use this medium as a respite from . … Continue reading
All is Yar 