Wedding at Prescott Park in Portsmouth

This was a lovely wedding that I played at last Saturday. Prescott Park is a historic location in Portsmouth, NH that is next to Strawberry Banke. Located along the waterfront, there are 42 buildings that represent a span from 1695-1950.

"It has numerous houses,reconstructed wharfs, shops, gardens, several WWII era exhibits. The present-day site known as Strawbery Banke has a long and rich history, stretching back to the earliest years of English settlement in New England. In 1630 Englishmen chose this tidal inlet of the Piscataqua River as a safe harbor for their first settlement; they called their outpost Strawbery Banke for the profusion of wild berries they found near the river.

By the eighteenth century the site was a thriving waterfront neighborhood in an important seaport renamed Portsmouth (in 1653); in the nineteenth century it evolved into an immigrant neighborhood known as Puddle Dock; and by the latter half of the twentieth century it had recaptured its original name, this time as an outdoor history museum. Throughout these centuries of change people lived and worked here, experiencing in a small, personal way, the major events and currents of America's history."

taken from this website.


After the readings, there was a special moment when the bride picked Arioso by Bach to be played on solo flute.

I played at a wedding at Robert Frost's House!

Yes, that's right, Robert Frost used to live right down the street from me in Derry, NH. Now his house is a public park, and people can go visit to walk in the meadow, take a hike on a trail, or even get married. What was especially cool about the ceremony was that one of the readers recited one of his poems.

Rose Pogonias

A saturated meadow,
Sun-shaped and jewel-small,
A circle scarcely wider
Than the trees around were tall;
Where winds were quite excluded,
And the air was stifling sweet
With the breath of many flowers, --
A temple of the heat.

There we bowed us in the burning,
As the sun's right worship is,
To pick where none could miss them
A thousand orchises;
For though the grass was scattered,
yet every second spear
Seemed tipped with wings of color,
That tinged the atmosphere.

We raised a simple prayer
Before we left the spot,
That in the general mowing
That place might be forgot;
Or if not all so favored,
Obtain such grace of hours,
that none should mow the grass there
While so confused with flowers.

Here are the pictures! His farm is the white house in the back.

What a Weekend!

This past weekend flew by, packed with loads of events.

New Hampshire Band Directors Honors Band Auditions:
On Saturday I judged the NHBDA Honors Band taped auditions for five hours at the Dover Middle School. There were 38 entrants, and it took five hours non stop to get through all of them.
I was surprised by the high level of playing each applicant demonstrated, and how well prepared everyone was! The competition was steep, and the top ten flutes should be proud!

Wedding at Newton Center Baptist Church
After judging, Chris and I played a beautiful ceremony at the Newton Center First Baptist Church for a holiday themed wedding. We played all the old favorites, such as Ave Maria and Jesu Joy of Man's Desire, and some lyrical Christmas favorites, featuring a version of O Holy Night. It was gorgeous! The bridesmaids wore a deep Christmas red, and they decorated the church with poinsettias. What a wonderful idea for a wedding.

Flute Recital at Plymouth State University
On Sunday, my student at PSU gave her senior recital. I conducted the PSU flute choir as they premiered a new work written for the event titled "Eagle Lake." It was a great performance, and all of the players should be proud.

What a whirlwind of a weekend!