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Stay connected and discover what's happening in my musical journey.

Living into Liminality: Five Tips for Traversing Transition

I’ve been thinking recently about the concept of liminality. How do we emotionally traverse liminal time? Transition can make us feel uneasy and the sense

Georgia O’Keeffe is following me

I will admit I have a favorite visual artist, it’s Georgia O’Keeffe, hands down! AND she’s following me. Well, technically of course, the artist herself

From the Front Porch to the Stage

Recently, I’ve taken up sitting on my front porch in the evening with a cup of tea and my big white puppy, Joska. She sits

What Does it Mean to Be Inclusive?

I was recently asked to respond to the following questions for an article in the American Choral Directors Association of Minnesota's magazine, Star of the

“Only Kindness” to be Premiered in Documentary Film

"Only Kindness" to be Premiered in Documentary Film What does it mean to be kind? How do we know what kindness really is? How has kindness

I’m Inspired

I'm Inspired! I'm not gonna lie — it's still rough out there in the world and in my office. I'm finding ways to keep busy

Music is Magical: It holds our pain and sorrow, transforming it into radical love!

Music Can Help. In March, just before everything shut down, I was sitting in a church at a Cleveland Chamber Choir rehearsal and I wrote the

Composing is Hard…

I'm excited to announce that I’ve been composing a lot recently! That might sound a bit odd to you, I suppose. “Isn’t that your job,

Uniting in Song Through the Lens of Inclusion

I just finished transcribing the audio recording from my panel discussion at a choral conductors conference in February (many of my readers will know ACDA

Summer Still on Earth

Solstice was a few days ago and we are now fully in the season of autumn! I can taste it in the air and see it in the colors of the trees. The neighborhood is

Guest Post by Converging Consciousness Collaborator Dana Boyle

I asked Botanical Painter and Fierce Environmental Activist, Dana Boyle, to talk about our current collaboration: "When Catherine Dalton reached out with an invitation to participate as an illustrator in this innovative collaboration, I thought

Ummm… ok… sure…

As an artist, I feel like I’m always collaborating with my muse. That voice that gives me compositional and lyrics ideas I never would have come up with myself! She’s always there when I need

Demolishing and Building Anew: Making Meaning out of Chaos

What is the relationship between demolishing and building new? Or, here’s a related question: How does Catherine deal with change? The answer to the second question is, Not so well, which is why I’m blogging. Blogging

Music and Poetry as a Way Forward

I’ve been hearing from folks recently that they feel a bit helpless. We go about our lives each day, as we must, because to shut down completely doesn’t help. As always, the news of the

Finding Kindness

In the following blog, I will be talking about the war in Ukraine. Feel free to make a decision that feels right to you about continuing to read. March 2-4, 2022 Possibly like you, I

How Kate Bush Saved Me!

One thing I love about hanging out with people, especially people of varying ages, is that I get inspired! Because where do composers get ideas? Anywhere and everywhere they can! I’m always listening and looking.

Telling the Whole Story: Bold and Radical Lyrics

Why do we know more about Alice Paul’s contemporary, Ghandi, than about Alice Paul? The Alice Paul who put women’s suffrage on the front page of newspapers, making it impossible for President Wilson and federal

They did what? Missing Stories of Powerful Women from the American Suffragist Movement

It’s kind of odd to think about now, but when I was growing up, I really did not question the role models that were put in front of me. Even so, as a young girl,

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