Category: Music Monday

Music Monday: “Calon Lân”

Hi, everyone. I’m back from my business trip and mostly recovered from altitude sickness. I am still experiencing some fatigue which, from what I’ve read, is fairly normal in cases like what I had.

Anyway, this week’s song is tangentially related to one of my works in progress, Rose in Bloom. My male main character, Gareth, is Welsh. There’s a huge tradition of male choral singing in Wales; this group is called Only Boys Aloud. The song’s title, Calon Lân, translates to “A Pure Heart.” Enjoy!

Music Monday: “I Guess He’d Rather Be in Colorado”

Hi, everyone. This week’s song relates to the day job business trip I’m leaving on tomorrow. I promise to be careful; I’m fully vaxxed and boosted, and I have N95 masks. I’m on faculty for a conference (which is why I haven’t canceled), and both the event holders and the venue have vaccine and mask requirements in place. I promise I’ll be exercising all other precautions possible and testing when I get home, just in case.

Birthday Fundraiser for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS

Hi, everyone. For my birthday this year, I’ve decided to do a fundraiser (via Facebook) for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS. Of course, you can donate directly if you’d prefer.

Broadway Cares provides grants to organizations all over the US to help people living with HIV and AIDS, with assistance ranging from meal delivery to help with medical bills. While it was started by and for the theatrical community, it has grown to be much more.

If you attend theatre regularly, you may be familiar with Broadway Cares’ twice-yearly Red Bucket campaign. Well, that program is on hiatus due to COVID-19, so they need our help with raising money.

Finally, every donation I make to Broadway Cares is in memory of Byron Nease. Bud, who played Raoul in the original Toronto cast of Phantom of the Opera, became a dear friend during a dark and difficult time in my life. I never found out what provoked him to reach out to me on Twitter shortly after In The Eye of The Beholder was published, but pretty soon we were talking about life, depression, and a whole lot more. Some days, there was just a thoughtful note saying I was on his mind. Bud lived with HIV for many years. He left us in 2013, and I miss him every day.

If you would like to donate to my fundraiser, click here. In the meanwhile, here’s a clip of Bud performing “All I Ask of You” with his Christine, Rebecca Caine, on a Canadian charity telethon.