Harp for the Holidays 2012

Each year at this time I am surprised by the sudden arrival of the holidays. No matter that the calendar progresses smoothly from day to week to month. I still experience the arrival of Thanksgiving as unexpected and a little unsettling. Nevertheless, this remains my favorite time of year, and I have some musical traditions that I use to help mark the season.

One is my annual Christmas carol arrangement that I write for my students. This year I will be making it available (for free!) here on the blog as well. Watch for the link later this week.

A new tradition that I am starting this year is making slideshows of photos taken in the past year and setting them to music. This year I will be using music from my solo Christmas CD, “Break Forth, Music for Christmas and the Season of Light.”  You can find out more about the CD at ArsMusica.

The photos in this first slideshow are autumn and winter scenes from around our home in central Pennsylvania. We are fortunate to live in a particularly beautiful area, with 156 acres of our own woods and wildlife. The music is the second movement of Vivaldi’s Winter Concerto. I hope you enjoy the video. Feel free to share it!