Here I am at the Pullo Family Performing Arts Center at Penn State/York 10/4/08. The concert was a benefit for Junior Achievement of South Central PA

I invited a local cub scout troupe to an open rehearsal at my home a few weeks prior to the show.

"Dreaming of Summer" performance at Longwood Gardens' Grand Ballroom - May 2008

Snow fall followed me all through my New England tour. Above left: Castleton State College in Vermont. Above: with music therapists at Saint Joseph's College (CT) and Saint Anselm's College (NH) prior to our presentations.

I stopped in Tubac, Arizona prior to my concert in Green Valley. I love Tubac! There is a wonderful artist community there filled with galleries, shops and all kinds of beautifully crafted hand made items like these painted ceramic pots from Mexico. After spending a few hours admiring paintings, pottery, jewelry, metalworks and tiles, it was time to head to the concert hall. I was inspired!

Driving through New Mexico to Artesia

(southern New Mexico) involved a l o n g stretch of highway through the desert. I passed Area 51 and Roswell, NM with businesses with names like "Alien Antiques" and "Alien Cards & Gifts".

Here I am in front of my marquee at the Grand Theatre in Tracy, California. In the 12 years that I have been touring, I have never had a cancellation due to bad weather..so it was bound to happen! My show in Troy was postponed due to the biggest snowstorm in Ohio history! Fifteen inches of snow fell outside my hotel window. Trapped in my room for 48 hours, I passed the time playing SCRABULOUS on the computer, reading a novel, and writing in my journal.

A father-son team helps me shovel my rental car out of the lot! Thanks guys!!!!

Since 1993 I have performed an annual concert on New Year's Eve in Montclair, NJ. I think this picture makes it look like I can do this gig in my sleep, but don't be fooled...audiences for this show are some of the most discerning around. I must have just been lost in the moment:)
Photo courtesy of ©The Montclair Times New Year's Eve 2006

Here I am in Palmdale, California for my "In the Heart of Winter" tour. This photo was taken during rehearsal/soundcheck. The lighting for this show was especially memorable since it enabled the wintery scene change from the blue winter dusk you see to a glowing sunny day.

Dressing room; Palmdale, CA

Fagan's Irish Pub; Fresno, CA

No joke...here I am on the set of Desperate Housewives. A good friend of mine plays one of the leading roles and the only way we could really catch up and visit was for me to come to work with her...and I gladly did. It was a lot of fun. I even hung out in the car during her car scenes...whenever they shouted "ROLLING!" , I would just duck down in the backseat until I heard "CUT!", and then we'd continue our conversation, just as if we were chatting at a coffee shop. It was so nice to see her so comfortable in her work. The folks who work on this crew are some of the nicest people I've met along the way.

I stopped off at KPIG Radio in Freedom, CA for a live interview and on-air performance. KPIG does live performances on-air more than any other station I've seen, and they are open to all kinds of music. We sure had fun!

I played in beautiful Monterey, California at Monterey Live! The concert was memorable for its intimate setting and cabaret seating, and the sushi in town was pretty good too!

Getting ready for my show at California Center for the Arts in Escondido, CA

Rehearsal in Lewiston, Maine. Above Right: Natick, Massachusetts The best part about this engagement was that my sister and her family live nearby and I was able to enjoy their company for a few days. Here I am pictured with my sister and niece (that's Amy of "Amy's Lullaby")

Kathleen Howland is an amazing music therapist, speaker, and teacher. Together we conducted a workshop/lecture on music therapy in Lewiston, Maine at the Franco-American Heritage Center. What a beautiful venue.

The photo to the right was taken just prior to my concert performance at the Center. Pictured is the staff and volunteers of L/A Arts. The Steinway was simply amazing; it had just been donated to the venue by a very generous patron of the arts. I was honored to have been one of the first to play it in concert.

During the New England tour I stopped in at WICN, which is a public radio affiliate in Worcester, Massachusetts. Karen Mungal, host of "Tonal Visions" produced a holiday concert that was taped before a live audience. The program later aired on Christmas Eve. Pictured are Karen Mungal (seated), guitaris Peter Janson, and harpist Aine Minogue. Aine plays harp on "Baby's Lullaby"-- the last track of the Mother CD. It was sure nice to see her again. After the program, we were all invited to sign the WICN "Wall of Fame". I had to stand on a chair to find a spot, and was humbled to see Marian McPartland and Linda Rondstadt's signatures nearby.

Strand-Capitol Performing Arts Center marquee (York, Pennsylvania). If you look close, you can see Larry (my husband, agent, business partner and best friend) in the reflection of the door window panes taking the photo! My fall tour kicked off here and it was a great way to start to the tour since so many people from my new home town came to the show. My friends arranged for a fabulous after-concert reception that really made me feel welcome, and the venue is simply beautiful.

This Spring seventeen of my compositions were choreographed and performed by members and guests of the West Florida Youth Ballet. It was an exhilirating experience to perform live with the dancers on stage; the dances were quite beautiful. Below left: Choreographer/dancer Andrea Ignatov created a lyrical dance to "The 2am Gardener". Below right: Patricia Storelli (dancer/choreographer) and Norbert Nirewicz performed a ballet duet to "Once Last Look".

Eve Little danced to my arrangement of "Speak Softly Love" from the Unchained Melodies CD (choreographed by Eric Thomas). Eric also choreographed both the acoustic and electronic versions of "A Change of Season" from the Memories of Utopia CD. Brilliant!

Here is the historic Ritz Theatre in Tiffin, Ohio. It's interior features hand painted murals, a splendid procenium, and turn of the century light fixtures.

Billings, Montana Feb 2006 at the Montana Arts Presenters Consortium

Backstage at the benefit for the Cornerstone School (Ocala, Florida Feb 2006)

Below left-the live oak trees in Beaufort, South Carolina (Feb 2006)

Above right- Here is the famous tunnel in Detroit Metro Airport that connects the terminals. I always love traveling through here. The colors are ever-changing and cool new-agey music is piped in as you travel through the tunnel. It would be a very dull trip without the lights and music!

Here I am performing in Dublin, Ohio at the Abbey Theater. Do you know who took this photo? Steven Spielberg! Yep the tech director at this theater shares the same name as the director. We spent some time sharing our woes about having that famous last name that always leaves minds wondering....is she or isn't she?

I conducted a workshop with students in South Carolina , grades 6-8. Here I am with audience volunteers who are helping compose a song. While in Kentucky I stayed at a beautiful victorian B & B in Madisonville. Its foyer features a square piano built in the 1800's. With the lid closed, this sort of piano served as a dining room table... family members could play while others dined! Pretty great!

Taking a stroll in downtown Seoul.

Each morning I took a brisk walk in the park surrounding the Korean National Theater. The scenery was incredibly beautiful

My first two concerts were at the Hoam Art Hall in Seoul, Korea. I snapped this photo of the stage prior to my first rehearsal.

After the first concert, my mangement team surprised me by unveiling the larger-than-life promotional poster in the lobby! My Korean fans and friends had all signed it, and somehow I managed to get it all the way back to the States!

The audiences in Korea were incredibly enthusiastic ! CD and program signing lines were L o n g! Over one thousand people attended my concert at KBS Hall in Busan, Korea!

My management team made sure I made the most of my spare time. We visited an ancient Buddhist temple on the sea, enjoyed a traditional Korean meal, and visited an open marketplace in Busan. The poster you see of the Korean man holding the water bottle is that of a famous Korean television/movie star. His image adorned everything from wallets to socks to water bottles, to tee shirts. He is everywhere and I adore him!

Ahhhh! What a treat to enjoy the oceanside in November! Busan's weather is milder than the rest of the country, and I was excited to experience the sunRISE on the Pacific Ocean!

KBS Hall in Busan and last-minute souveneir shopping!

I've been making music with the duo Montana Skies (Jennifer and Jonathan Adams) for two years now. Together we performed at the Seoul Arts Center in Korea this past August. Here we are backstage before the show(top) and in the lobby of the Seoul Arts Center (below).

We were surprised, but also excited to be swamped by fans after the performance for photos and autographs!

These beautiful flowers were all over Seoul...

While in Korea, the three of us had the wonderful experience of performing on our own television special! Here we are in my hotel room posing with our giant tv poster promoting the show....and then backstage prior to the taping. It was loads of fun.

On our day off, we took the Seoul City Tour and visited Korean palaces, The Secret Garden, the Folk Art Museum...and of course the famous shopping districts! We had loads of fun. Look for us on tour together again in the States in '05! in front of Korean palace

close-up of palace roof in traditional Korean colors

What an adventure! This March I embarked on a three-week concert tour through Montana and Idaho. The idea here was to bring concerts to "culturally underserved" communities, and so I visited towns off the beaten path. Since there are no Steinway piano dealers in the state of Montana, we made arrangements for a technician from Utah to travel along with me with a beautiful Steinway concert grand in tow! Our first stop was Glendive, Montana (far eastern side of the state)

I drove a few thousand miles on this trip....sometimes following the Steinway truck, sometimes the truck following me. Often we found ourselves driving alongside freight trains like this one.

Clint and I both stayed on the Clary Ranch. Dick and Marcia raise angus cows and it was calving season. I saw baby calves take their first steps. Did you know they are born weighing in at about 80 lbs and walk very soon after birth? Amazing! Rudy, the working border collie showed off for us each evening by bringing all the cows back home.

Clint gets a little help from George in Hobson with the piano move.

With George and Marcia after the show.

Hooterite children attend the program at the Stanford School. This was the first time any of them had seen a grand piano and they were quite amazed by its sound and its works!

Early morning drives through scenic Montana!

With Clint (piano tech/mover) before school show

For the shows and special programs in Ronan and Polson, Montana, Clint and I stayed in a beautiful lake house as guests of Mike and Trish. We saw a pair of bald eagles here on Flathead Lake.

Chas lends a hand moving the piano into the Lake County Youth Home. Moving the piano into the house posed a challenge, but Chas and Clint were up for the task.

Once inside, I performed a mini-concert, answered questions, and gave a talk on music therapy

We could have had a leisurely lunch in the time it took for this train carrying soybean products to pass...

In Lewis & Clark country, I tried to do a little exploring myself! Above is the famous Lewis & Clark statue in Fort Benton, MT.

After eight hours of driving to Idaho, we were rewarded with these amazing views around and in Glacier National Park.While very beautiful, some of the road conditions were a bit treacherous and I was more than a little relieved to see that Steinway truck in my rearview mirror! We were often the only ones on the road...for hours...

Performing in Challis, Idaho

After a lovely breakfast by host Jim (of Creekside B & B in Challis, Idaho), I went for a walk through the incredibly scenic town of Challis.

Early on in my travels, I felt the urge to snap photos, and couldn't help but stop to marvel at the many cows I saw along the way. Why marvel? Well, for one, they were HUGE. Second, the sky is so immense in Montana and so open that it was not unusual to see a cow in the distance that seemed to be floating against the sky...you would see a little grass, but not much, if the cow was on a hill. So I have a zillion photos of cows as a result. A man stopped his truck to ask me if I needed any assistance and I told him, no... I was just photographing the cows. He wanted to know why. That was hard to explain to a native Montanan.

I began my journey in the coal mining town of Colstrip, Montana...I then flew to Havre (pronounced "have-her") in the north and then drove east forever.

I have many roadside photos like this one...I found the landscape very intriguing and picturesque.

This is a self-portrait on the road from Havre to Highwood.While not the most flattering of photos, I wanted to remember the feeling of the strong clean wind which made a loud but pleasant whistling sound.

I performed mini performances in schools throughout Montana, often giving classes on music and composition. This photo was taken just prior to a school event along the hi-hi-line of the state (the hi-line consists of the towns that border Canada)

Some of the schools are very small. Unlike my high school , which had a graduating class of 700+, these schools often have just 3 or 4 students per graduating class.

Sunrise in Ft. Benton, MT

Somewhere along the road...on the way to somewhere...

I both cursed and blessed Big Sky Airlines, which has a fleet of tiny planes that save solo artists like myself from thousands of miles of driving. I nicknamed the pilots I met the "cowboys of the sky" since they fly in ANY kind of weather, including 50-60 mile per hour winds. Nothing phases them....but the ride is not for wimps! Bumpy bumpy bumpy!

My 8th and final flight on Big Sky Airlines originated from this airport in Sidney, located in the far eastern part of Montana (left photo). What you are seeing is the entire airport. That's it folks. One plane, one runway. Here I am at 5am waiting for the aiport to open. The pilot arrived...opened the airport, towed the plane from the hangar, tore my ticket and off we went. The three other passengers included a businessman who took this ride every week and Santa, who was on his way to a gig in a mall in the western part of the state.

When I arrived at this airport, I finally understood why the party meeting me promised I would not need directions to the gate!

Backstage in Polson, Montana

I reached Polson, Montana (not far from Missoula) in early November.The mountains here are beautiful. The scenery here was a highlight of the tour, even though it was only -4 degrees!!

When I finished my soundcheck in Polson, I stepped outside for a break before the show. My mission was to get some hot chocolate. This magical moon greeted us and so I snapped this from inside the car on our way into town.