and moving right along...

The universe got its way again. With some major signs pointing me out of pretty Portland, I'm finally listening. My life in Chicago will commence on October 1.

This was a difficult decision. The past year, while having some great high points, has been challenging. Illness slowed me way down last fall and winter, and the spring and summer were spent recovering and re-centering. My time on tour in July reinforced several ideas: that I have the capability of going very far, and that it's time for me to get back in the musical fast lane. So, with the combination of big city ambition and a loved one living in that same big city, I'm making the leap.

I already miss my students. They never fail to lift me up. The families I have worked with in Portland this year are utterly unparalleled. I have never worked with such caring, open, flexible, and NICE parents before! Thank you, thank you, thank you. And the young people I work with always teach me something -- even the misfits. Especially the misfits.

With that, so many changes. A fresh design for the website is in the works. A new relationship with Powell Flutes has been established: I have the honor of being part of the their pilot Academy program, something that would not be possible in Portland. It's been great reconnecting with old friends in Chicago. And I'm drooling at the thought of going to regular Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts...I'm just drooling all over the keyboard right now.

The next few weeks will feel like cranking up to the top of a roller coaster: slow, agonizing, scary, and totally exciting.