Masterclass at Bari Conservatory, October 2026

Moments of the days spent in Bari with the music of a beautiful class of singers, dear colleagues, everyone’s compositions and/or renderings and also some of my work. We started out with singing Abbey Lincoln's THE MUSIC IS THE MAGIC, together, as an invocation of sorts, and as a reminder for all of us. Some excerpts of her magical words:

The music is the magic of a secret world
a secret world, a secret world
the music is the magic of a secret world
it's a world that is always within

The music is the magic and the hiding place
the hiding place, the hiding place
the music is the magic and the hiding place
it's a place where the spirit is home

The music is the magic through the raging storm
the raging storm, the raging storm
the music is the magic through the raging storm
it's a storm that is over again.

We also sang my first recorded composition, I AM ROSE, together. Maybe I chose this composition because in many ways, what I started with I Am Rose was later continued over many years of composing for and with poems. It contained many elements I later continued working with.
Jeanne Lee had taught me this poem, as she had set parts of it to music before I did, not composing but setting the words to Monk's MISTERIOSO (check out her recording YOU STEPPED OUT OF A CLOUD for this). It’s such a great match.

Some excerpts of Gertrude Stein's words:

I am Rose
my eyes are blue
I am Rose
and who are you?
I am Rose
and when I sing
I am Rose like anything

Thank you Gianna Montecalvo and the Bari Conservatory, to each and every voice as well as to "our" pianist Nicola and to Alessandro and Pat for horizontal and vertical strings played.

We ended as we started, as they insisted on singing Abbey's song once again, for all of us.