June has come and is almost gone. It's been a terrific start to the summer already! Running, tennis, a new frozen yogurt place near my house which has THE BEST frozen yogurt on the face of this earth, summer game nights, and all spent in the company of friends who are very close to my heart.
Two weekends ago I spent some short, but quality time at home with some of my Ohio friends and family - celebrating Carina and Nate's wedding and seeing my dad on Father's day.

Longy's Commencement




With one of our favorite teachers, "Mr." Brian Moll. As Bree said - this picture sums it all up! Great face! Oh, the stories we have...
Now... the nice photo.

Beach Day

The day before Bree moved out she and I spent some fun last roomie time together at the Beach. Oh - and the dogs came too! Simon's first trip to the ocean!

"I've got all my sisters with me!"

2004

2008

Bree leaves on Thursday to move back to Texas so we held a little farewell dinner this evening at John Harvard's - our last night out together . We decided to reenact our "where it all started" photo from 2004 when we were all just Boston babies. Notice the signs of maturity and natural aging beauty 4 years later.

In other news - I'm looking for a subletter for the months of June, July, and August and then someone to join the lease in September. Any takers?

The Stratus Ensemble Weekend Adventures

Yhasmin and Deirdre

Yhasmin and Deirdre showing their instruments to young audience members.

The Stratus Ensemble

Lindsay Albert, piano; Yhasmin Valenzuela, clarinet; Rachael Chagat, soprano; Deirdre Viau, flute


The Stratus Ensemble is a chamber ensemble featuring winds, piano, and voice. Stratus came into existence in 2006, as a wind trio formed by three graduate students at the Longy School of Music to explore the often overlooked chamber music repertoire for winds. Later the group evolved to include piano and voice. The ensemble performs eclectic programs which include traditional classic works, as well as contemporary music and Latin music. The Stratus Ensemble performs in public and private concerts throughout the Boston area, and gives educational clinics at schools.

Lindsay Albert
Lindsay Albert received her Bachelor of Arts degree with honors from Boston College in 2005, with majors in Music and French. Upon graduation, Boston College awarded her their distinguished Father Barthes memorial Award, given in recognition of artistic and academic excellence. During her time at Boston College , Lindsay appeared as both soloist and collaborative pianist with the Boston College Chamber Music Society, the Boston College Symphony Orchestra and the Boston College University Chorale.
In 2007, Lindsay received her Master of Music degree in Collaborative Piano from the Longy School of Music. During her time at Longy, Lindsay collaborated extensively with vocalists and instrumentalists in solo recitals, performance classes, and chamber ensemble settings. She continues to work closely with students at the Longy School of Music, serving as an accompanist for performance classes, vocal chamber ensembles, and private voice studios. Lindsay has had the privilege of performing in master classes given by Sondra Kelly, Martin Katz, and Warren Jones. She is a student of Wayman Chin.

Rachael Chagat
Rachael Chagat, soprano, earned her Bachelor’s degree at Capital University in Columbus, OH in music education. She continued her studies at the Zoltán Kodály Pedagogical Institute of Music in Kecskemét, Hungary where she earned a Certificate. Rachael graduated from the Longy School of Music with both a Master’s with distinction and a Graduate Performance Diploma in Vocal Performance with distinction. While at Longy, Rachael was a 2005 Honors Competition winner and a finalist in the 2007 Concerto Competition. In addition to being a member of the Stratus Ensemble, she is active as a choral conductor in Worthington, OH for a summer choral camp she co-founded.

Yhasmin Valenzuela
Yhasmin Valenzuela, native of Peru, earned her Bachelor’s degree at the Lima Conservatory “Josafat Roel Pineda” in both clarinet performance and music education. She continued her studies in the United States at Texas Christian University where she received her Master’s Degree in Clarinet Performance. In 2005, she obtained a Graduate Performance Diploma with distinction in clarinet at the Longy School of Music. She has performed in ensembles in Peru, Mexico and the United States, including Lima Symphony Orchestra, TCU Symphony Orchestra, TCU Wind Ensemble, Musica Anatolia Contemporary Ensemble. Currently, she is a member of the Stratus Ensemble and clarinet faculty at the Westwood Public Schools and Beaver Country Day School.

Deirdre Viau
Deirdre Viau received a Graduate Performance Diploma in Flute from the Longy School of Music. She studied flute with Julia Scolnik and Vanessa Mulvey, and jazz improvisation with Peter Cassino. Ms. Viau was a featured performer at SeptemberFest 2006, demonstrating free improvisation and participating in a panel discussion. She performed chamber music for Longy's Modern American Music Department concert series in February 2007. Ms. Viau currently performs chamber music with the Stratus Ensemble. She teaches flute at the Longfellow School in Cambridge.

Spring is Coming, Spring, My Joy

Choros #2 for flute and clarinet - Heitor Villalobos (1887-1959)

Three Browning Songs, Op. 44 - Amy Marcy Cheney Beach (1867-1944)

The Year’s at the Spring
Ah, Love, but a Day!
I Send my Heart up to Thee!

Sonatine for flute and clarinet - Andre Jolivet (1905-1974)
I
II
III

As It Fell Upon A Day - Aaron Copland (1900-1990)

Contradanza - Paquito D'Rivera (1948)
arr.Juan Fernando Ruiz

Ganymed - Franz Schubert (1797-1828)
Der Hirt auf dem Felsen

Sonatine en Trio op.85 for flute, clarinet and piano - Florent Schmitt (1870-1959)
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