Hi friends, I hope you are all well and making the best of a bad situation. We are all living through a once in a lifetime event that is affecting us all in so many ways.
I have been teaching entirely online since Spring break in mid March, and we have been told that the Summer programs at Berklee will all be online as well. That’s okay. We’ve all gotten used to the idea of teaching using technology. My private instruction has worked very well. My labs and ensembles were a bit more difficult because we can’t play together in time. My students worked very well under the circumstances and we got through the semester without incident. We will be missing the commencement this weekend, and I feel badly for the students who will be missing the culmination of their 4 years of hard work.
But, we must stay safe as we move forward.
**In sports, nothing happening, except the NFL draft.
Interesting first choice for the Pat’s. A Division 2 school player taken with their first pick?? Wow. I’m sure that Bill saw something special in him or that wouldn’t have happened.
And…..Gronk goes to Tampa Bay to join TB12!! Well, I think I’m going to have to find a way to watch the Tampa Bay games next fall. That is, of course, if there are any games.
**As far as gigs, nothing scheduled, everything cancelled.
But…..I do have some music for you!!
If you go to my John Baboian Facebook page, there are a couple of videos that i posted recently.
On Palm Sunday, April 5, I posted my arrangement of a solo guitar version of “How Great Thou Art” the traditional hymn.
https://www.facebook.com/john.baboian/videos/1656915784506771/
And then last week, on April 26, I made use of the Acapella app and recorded a 4 guitar arrangement of “Londonderry Air”, also know as “Danny Boy”.
I hope you enjoy them.
As there will be more free time in the coming weeks, I’ll try to post some more videos.
In the meantime, please stay safe and take care of yourselves. Get a mask and use it. There are plenty of unique and interesting designs out there, so you might as well make the best of it and look cool with your mask.
Thanks, Johnny B!!!!!
www.johnbaboian.com www.bebopguitars.com
****Mid Month update****
30 years ago in the USSR w/ JB
Hi my out of town friends, sorry to interrupt your busy schedules, but this story just came to light today. It was just published in several local newspapers, so I thought I would share it with you.
For those of you that were not aware, I was a brass player before I was a guitar player. I have played in the Waltham American Legion Band since I was 15 years old, along with my father before his passing. The band is well known throughout the state of Mass, and even nationally and, as you will see from this story, internationally as well.
In 1990, the band traveled to the USSR to be a part of the May Day parade in Moscow. It was a special trip, with many memorable moments. We played in Moscow and Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), and I got to teach at a couple of music schools while there.
Since this is the 30th anniversary of that trip, Art Illman, who traveled with us, wrote this story about the trip and it’s anniversary. If you go to the link below, you’ll get the whole story and some interesting pictures as well.
https://stories.usatodaynetwork.com/glasnost/home/site/metrowestdailynews.com
Stay well and enjoy.
Johnny B!!!!!