The Summerglen Files

When I was in high school, my trombone teacher had an endless supply of laments about the weak state of my lungs (and tone). Unfortunately for both of us, his instructions to “breathe deeper” and “fill up my lungs” lesson after lesson weren’t exactly getting results. But what DID get results was the [...]

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Greetings, and happy new year!
January is one of my favorite times of the year. For one thing, I totally dig chilly weather, and January is one of the only times it gets cold here in North Carolina. But even more than the nip in the air, I love the quiet, reflective [...]

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There’s been some kind of nasty tropical weather system passing over Summerglen for the past couple of days, and it’s made my sinuses and head quite, er, hostile toward trombone playing. During cold and flu season each year, many trombonists are in this same boat, facing the not-so-fun possibility of having to play sick. [...]

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Earlier this week, I stopped by Andrew’s blog and was intrigued by one of his posts about balancing creative input and output. Andrew compares his creative expression to a conversation–just as a totally one-sided conversation gets boring, creating turns into drudgery if it’s always going one way. Reading his post made me think [...]

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As many of you know, I just finished writing my very first book, Women Embracing Creativity: Unleashing Your Inner Artist. Writing the book was a lot of work, but it was fun work. I’m really good at showing up and doing what needs to be done day after day without worrying what the [...]

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For anyone engaged in any activity that puts their work in front of others, criticism is an unfortunate reality. While criticism can be highly beneficial, some forms of criticism can be quite frustrating and painful–especially critiques that are condescending, unsolicited, and off-the-mark.
This morning after a church gig, I was on the receiving [...]

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Feeling worn out? Come take a Fall Break! At the end of this month, my friend Sharon Hayes and I will be leading a retreat to help you relax, nurture yourself, and get in touch with your creative side. All the information is below, and you can register for the retreat on [...]

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Today I performed at the Brass at Bond festival, a free afternoon of brass music at a local park. I didn’t play my best by any stretch of the imagination. It was 90-some degrees out, and reeeally humid–so humid that it was tough to get a seal between the mouthpiece and my face! [...]

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Ugh, this week has been somewhat frustrating, because it’s been a “get back into it” week trombone-wise. Two Tuesdays ago, I was hit with an awful case of food poisoning, and I didn’t have the energy to practice until this past Monday. Looking on the bright side, I did get a week off [...]

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Often, people comment on how fun my line of work must be. After all, I get to “play” for a living! While it’s true that being a musician is a super-cool job, it’s definitely not all fun and games. Like my grandmother said, “The work must be done in order to play.”
As [...]

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