A Singing Season:

Have you listened to Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer way too many times? Do you shop online to avoid hearing A Yodeler's Christmas on endless replay at Monster Mall? Do you stay at home til New Year to avoid the cognitive dissonance of experiencing The Carol of the Bells in one ear and Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree in the other? Before you say Bah, Humbug! to the whole mess, check out holiday music made the old-fashioned way, by people getting together in the same room, or walking together down snowy streets, and singing. I am fortunate in my hometown: music in Potsdam acquires both depth and polish from the presence of the Crane School of Music, but that is just the sprinkles on the cone. All over the North Country, and every country, people gather to "roll their own" music this time of year--in places of worship, in auditoriums and living rooms, in nursing homes and on street corners. Sometimes the best Christmas present is just--being present. Breathe in, sing out.