Welcome, everybody!
I’m excited to be writing my FIRST blog post of Summer 2009. Maybe there will be many more, maybe this will be it–that’s the best thing about summer break; the freedom to choose what you want to do each day!
My husband and I have done lots of fun things this summer, as we both finished up our graduate degrees this past year (hip, hip, hooray!). We have been on a couple of vacations to Ocean City, MD and the weather was great! I like to sit at the pool and read books and my husband likes to golf and fish. So everybody’s happy. (I should mention that both times I decided to fish as well, neither of us caught anything– I am bad luck!) In a couple of weeks, we’ll be spending some time in St. Thomas– our first time in the islands. My brother went in the spring and has an itinerary planned for us that includes beaches, snorkeling, hiking, boating, and island-hopping. Should be a grand ol’ time!
As for music, we spent a full day at the end of June at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival. We saw many famous musicians from Central and South American countries perform in amazingly complex styles with some instruments we had never seen! We also heard performances from several Welch folk groups (as in the people of Wales, UK, not the grape juice) which highlighted fiddle, flutes, and beautiful handmade harps. My favorite part was seeing Ella Jenkins, a famous African-American children’s singer and storyteller, call my husband up on stage to perform chants, songs, and dances with a large group of children. He was about as uncomfortable on stage as a guy can get, but did a great job playing the part. I was so proud!! 
The festival is free and held on the Mall in Washington, D. C. every June-July and I would strongly recommend it to anyone! You can link to video, audio, and articles about the festival at http://www.festival.si.edu/. Here are some pictures of Ella and Mr. Mills (green t-shirt) on stage.
The following weekend I went to see several Patapsco students star in Howard County Summer Theatre Junior’s production of “Thoroughly Modern Millie.” It was THOROUGHLY wonderful, and in my opinion, their best production to date. The acting, ensemble singing, choreography, and costumes were fabulous– kudos to all of the participants.
My family and I have also been attending free outdoor concerts at the Lurman ampitheater in our hometown of Catonsville, MD. The concerts are every Saturday and Sunday evening from 6-8 through the summer and the live music is great, as well as the fun of watching people from ages 3-88 get out there and dance! You can view the concert schedule at www.lurman.com.
I’ll be going to see the American Idol tour at the Mariner Arena on August 5th (can’t wait to see Adam perform live!), but before THAT, I have to tell you about my upcoming plans for Baltimore City’s Artscape. EVERYONE in the area should take advantage of this awesome free weekend showcasing local talent in art, crafts, cinema, fashion, and especially, music. I always get around to see the Art Cars, Saturday’s Jazz Combo competition and Sunday’s Billie Holiday/ Cab Calloway vocal competition at the Meyerhoff. I know we all love American Idol, but these jazz singers can REALLY sing their guts out. It’s amazing. Read about this year’s finalists at http://www.baltimore.biz/blog/billie-holiday-cab-calloway-vocal-competition-2009/. This year, one of my favorite all-time bands, CAKE, will be playing live on Saturday night (again, for FREE). You have probably heard their songs before– if not, look up “Going the Distance” or “Never There” on iTunes. They have cute lyrics and great instrumentation– everything from keyboards to trumpets to harmonicas to vibraslaps. You can also walk around for blocks and browse through artwork and pop into theater, opera, movie, and fashion shows, as well as many stages of live music. DID I MENTION IT’S FREE?!? I hope to run into some of you there– it’s my favorite weekend of the year and makes me so proud to be part of the city of Baltimore. You can link to all artscape news (July 17-19) at www.artscape.org. Here is a photo of my favorite artcar from this year’s festival. I would love to drive it sometime!
Otherwise, I’ve just been reading lots of books, playing instruments, singing with my choir, and getting new CD’s from the library (you got it– listening to new music for FREE– why pay $1.29 per song?) to listen to in my car– I want to expose myself to as much new music as possible this summer and can’t wait to share it with you in the fall. Right now in my car I’ve got Tony Trishka’s Double Banjo Bluegrass Spectacular (featuring Steve Martin of “Pink Panther” fame on banjo) and the cast recording of the short-lived broadway musical, “13″– it’s adorable. You can hear Tony play at www.tonytrishka.com.
It should, of course, be mentioned that I have become completely hooked to the summer’s hottest show, “So You Think You Can Dance,” not only because these young dancers are INCREDIBLE, but because I love watching their solo routines and seeing how they paired movements to some really cool musical selections. It’s awesome to see what challenges the choreographers give the dancers every week. Last night’s episode featured an all-girls Bollywood and an all-guys African dance routine that were absolute showstoppers.
Finally, I should share that I spent the past week working at Marriott’s Ridge High School with other vocal music teachers in the county in fine-tuning our General Music curriculum. It was a great opportunity to get new resources and confirmation that Patapsco is right on track with the rest of the county in what the students are able to accomplish in one short quarter!– you all do such a great job and I was proud to share with the other schools what you have achieved.
Two recommended fun things to experience this summer: Rita’s Mango Italian Ice and Crayola’s 3D sidewalk chalk.
Take care and keep enjoying your summer–
More to come later if I get the chance! ~Mrs. Mills~
