For the Fourth of July this year, I played an outdoor concert with the Brass Band of Columbus. While the gig itself was fairly routine, I really enjoyed the opportunity to play with that group. When I was a kid, my parents took me to hear them semi-regularly, and I always enjoyed their performances. In so many ways, working on this doctorate at Ohio State is a homecoming, and playing with the BBC was another piece of that.

I spent last week at Lakeside on Lake Erie with my family, celebrating my great-aunt Dondus's 90th birthday. It was great to see so many people there to celebrate with her, and a lot of fun to meet some of my extended family that I'd only ever heard about.

Filed in category: life