it's research i swear, part 1

Lucky me, I have an exciting weekend coming up: I will (hopefully) party-it-up with eighth blackbird tonight at Memorial Hall,1 then leave for Bloomington tomorrow to hear my friend Genevieve Clarkson perform a tuba arrangement of "The Electronic Buzz of Vending Machines." If you want to watch the recital, click here.

In other news, I'm going to share with you something I should have been doing during my spring break—watch films. My librettist had this idea for a new nano opera that features The Ditz: a mute, bright eyed, bubble-gum-chewing college student. She suggested I watch some Charlie Chaplin films for research. (The Tramp comes to mind.) The first one is The Gold Rush.

1. I bought two-day passes to the MusicNOW festival, and unfortunately I can't go to the concert on Friday night. Anyone want my ticket?