We gathered for Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy” sing along and play along on Sunday March 22nd, 2020, after a fingerstyle ukulele workshop the previous day. This song is significant for many reasons, not least the European Union anthem. It’s my goal to get everyone together AFTER the pandemic is over, to sing and play together in the official version of symphonies and choirs.
Watch “Following the Ninth” the amazing documentary of Beethoven’s 9th Symphony.
Continue readingFor upcoming Valentine’s Day, which will fall on a Friday in 2020, I am introducing love songs that are easy to play on the ukulele. What constitutes easy?
Continue readingThis year’s Valentine’s Day falls on Friday. In anticipation, I am introducing love songs that are easy to play on the ukulele for my students in and around Boston, Massachusetts. These songs are suitable for anyone beginning their musical journey of accompanying themselves on this four-string instrument. Let’s begin with The Cure’s 1992 hit “Friday I’m in Love.”
Continue readingFor every hour I teach, I probably spend two hours developing the content (ukulele curriculum) and preparing the material (sourcing, printing, copying, etc). To save time, I’ll log what I’ve found useful and free for teaching music via the ukulele in this blog post.
Continue readingOn the first day of the new year, 1/1/2020, let me explain what all those locations at the top right corner of my website mean. Those are the places where I have lived for a significant amount of time. As a result, I’ve left out Ithaca, New York and Oxford, England.
Continue readingSome people are born with a calling. Others spend their entire life looking for it. Raison d’etre is the French word for “the reason for your existence.” Why are you here? What is my purpose for being?
Since 2016, various friends and business contacts, all entrepreneurs by the way, urged me to get on Instagram. I resisted until recently.
“What is it about guitarists?” I began. “Every guitarist can play the ukulele — BUT only if he wants to.”
There seems to be a psychological barrier. It take less than a minute to show guitarists the conversion formula to playing ukulele chords. Yet, they don’t embrace it. They prefer the guitar.
Less is more. Keep it simple. Prior to 2020, I have been actively involved in the following events.
Sunday December 8th, 2019 @ 2:30 – 3:30 PM
Holiday concert with piano and ukulele
Standish Village
Tuesday December 3rd, 2019 @10:30 – 11:30 AM
Piano entertainment
Standish Village
Saturday 30th November 2019
Annual Holiday Stroll in Historic Lower Mills
Sunday November 10, 2019 @ 10 – 11:30 AM
Learn to Uke! a.k.a. Crash course for Complete Beginners
Wednesday November 6, 2019 @ 6 – 7:30 PM
Learn to Uke! a.k.a. Crash course for Complete Beginners
Sunday 20th October 2019 @ 2 PM
Piano Concert
Standish Village
Tuesdays from 15th October 2019
Ukulele courses at Milton Adult Education
Milton High School
Thursdays from 26th September 2019
4:30 – 5:45 pm Beginning Ukulele ages 10 – 15
6:00 – 7:00 pm Ukulele Strum Techniques
7:00 – 8:00 PM Fingerstyle Ukulele
8:00 – 9:00 pm Beginning Ukulele for Adults
Arlington Adult Education (Arlington High School)
Wednesdays from 25th September 2019
4:00 – 5:00 pm Beginner Ukulele Course for Kids
7:30 – 9:30 pm Wishful Wednesday Workshops for Nonbeginners in Ukulele
Walter Baker Building, Boston, MA
Mondays from 23rd September 2019
5:30 – 7:30 pm Ukulele Strum Techniques
7:45 – 9:45 pm Fingerstyle Ukulele at CCAE
Cambridge Center for Adult Education
Saturday 21st September 2019
Casco Bay Ukulele Festival, Portland Maine
Milton Porchfest 3:00 pm Choco-leles
Sunday 8th September 2019 @ 2:00 – 3:00 PM
Solo piano concert: smooth, soothing classics from Pachelbel to Chopin
Standish Village
18 – 21 July 2019
Ukulele Teacher Summit
Austin, Texas
14 – 21 July 2019
Mountain Ukulele at WFC
White Mountains, New Hampshire
Saturday 13th July 2019
Acoustic Stage (guitar & ukulele) at JP Porchfest
Jamaica Plain, MA
Wednesday 10th July 2019
Ukulele Singalong
Goodbye Party at Adams St Branch of Boston Public Library
Tuesday 9th July 2019 @ 6:30 PM
7th and final session of Ruby Tuesday Ukulele Course
Sunday 7th July 2019 @10 AM
Boston Guitar Orchestra Rehearsal
Walter Baker Building
24 – 30 June 2019
Boston Guitar Festival
New England Conservatory, Boston, MA
Monday 24th June 2019
Solstice Ukulele Concert
Standish Village
Friday 21st June 2019
MAKE MUSIC BOSTON
Eustis Estates, Milton, MA
Saturday 8th June 2019 @ 3 PM
Brookline Porchfest
Boston, MA
Saturday 1st June 2019
Belfast Ukulele Festival 2019
Belfast, Maine
Ruby Tuesdays 21st May – 9th July 2019
6:30 – 8:00 pm Advanced Beginner Ukulele Course
8:00 – 9:00 pm Hone Your Skills in Historic Lower Mills
Walter Baker Building, Boston
Thursday 16th May 2019 @1 PM
Memory Cafe (ukulele)
Milton Council on Aging
Sunday 12th May 2019 @2 – 3 PM
Mother’s Day Concert (piano)
Standish Village
Saturdays 11 May – 29 June, 2019
Ukulele for Beginners 1:00 – 2:30 pmUkulele for Non-Beginners 3:00 – 4:30 pm
Sunday 5th May 2019
Somerlele (ukulele festival)
Somerville, MA
Saturday 4th May 2019
Annual Ukulele Melee
Hamilton, MA
Sunday 28th April 2019 @3 – 5 PM
Ukulele Pluck Ensemble Rehearsal
Saturdays 27th April – 13th July 2019 (10 x 1 hour workshops)
Beginning Ukulele for Kids 11:30 am – 12:30 pm
Walter Baker Building, Boston, MA
Friday 26th April 2019 @ 7:30 PM
BGO Concert before Rene Izquierdo
First Lutheran Church, Boston, MA
Wednesdays 7 PM
Choco-lele Rehearsal
Tuesday 23rd April 2019 @7:30 PM
BGO sectional rehearsal
Sunday 7th April 2019 @ 1 – 3 pm
The Choco-leles at Mad Hatter’s Tea Party
Forbes House Museum, Milton, MA
Fri April 5th – Sunday April 7th, 2019
BGO Concert at URI Guitar Festival
Kingston, Rhode Island
Thursdays 4th April – 6th June 2019 (8 sessions)
Play Ukulele 6:00 – 7:15 PM
Continuing Ukulele 7:30 – 8:45 PM
Arlington Community Education
Sat 23rd March & Sun 24th March 2019New England Guitar Ensemble Festival (NEGEF) with Pavel SteidlLongy School of Music
Saturday 23rd March 2019
Latin America Fest 2019
Newton, MA
Thursday 14th March 2019 @ 5:30 pm
Fun with Ukulele: Irish Songs for St Patrick’s Day
Lower Mills Branch of Boston Public Library
Mondays 11th March – 13th May 2019 (9 sessions)
Ukulele for Complete Beginners 6:00 – 7:15 PM
Ukulele for Non-beginners/Busy Adult 7:15 – 8:45 PM
Milton Adult Education
Sunday 10th March 2019
African Music for Guitar & Ukulele Workshop
Walter Baker Building, Boston, MA
Saturday February 23rd to March 30th, 2019 (5 sessions)
Ukulele Course for Complete Beginners
Walter Baker Building, Boston, MA
Thursday 14th February 2019 @ 5:30 PM
Fun with Ukulele: Love Songs from Movies
Lower Mills Branch of Boston Public Library
Friday 8th February 2019 @ 7:30 PM
Concert: Boston Guitar Orchestra (BGO) before The Great Necks
First Lutheran Church, Boston
Sunday 3rd February 2019
Chinese New Year lunch banquet after BGO rehearsal
Taipei Cuisine Restaurant in Quincy, MA
Saturday 2nd February 2019
World Ukulele Day
Crash Course for Complete Beginners 11:00 – 12:30 PM
Ukulele Pluck Workshop 1:00 – 2:30 PM
Ukulele for Adult Beginners 3:00 – 4:30 PM
Walter Baker Building, Boston
Thursday 31st January 2019 @ 6:30 PM
First anniversary of ukulele club at Historic Lower Mills
Thursday 10th January 2019 @ 5:30 PM
Fun with Ukulele: Three Chord Songs
Lower Mills Branch of Boston Public Library
Saturdays 5th January – 23 February 2019 (7 sessions)
Ukulele for Adult Beginners 3:00 – 4:30 PM
Walter Baker Building, Boston, MA
Wednesday 2nd January 2019 UKULELE PARTY
Sunday 16th December 2018 Boston Guitar Orchestra Party
Friday 14th December 2018
Kids Ukulele Class Recital
Adams St. Branch of Boston Public Library
Dorchester, MA
Saturday 8th December 2018
Ukulele Crash Course for Complete Beginners
Thursday 6th December 2018 from 6 to 7:30 PM
Piano concert
Standish Village, Boston, MA
Sunday 2nd December 2018
Ukulele STRUM Workshop
Sunday 25th November 2018 from 3 to 4 PM
Boston Guitar Orchestra concert
Hingham Public Library
Hingham, Massachusetts
Saturday 24th November 2018 from 4:30 – 7:30 PM
Annual Holiday Stroll in Lower Mills
Ukulele Singalong and more
Walter Baker Building, Dorchester, MA
3rd – 4th November 2018
Introducing ukulele clubs in Massachusetts
Blue Hills Fall Foliage at Eustis Estate
Milton, MA
Thursday 1st November 2018
Ukulele group rehearsal
Eustis Estate, Milton, MA
Friday 19th October – 7 December 2018
FREE Beginning Ukulele Course for Kids aged 8 to 12
Adams Street Branch of Boston Public Library, Dorchester, MA
Wednesday 17 October 2018 5:30 – 6:45 PM
Beginner Ukulele Workout
Walter Baker Artist Lofts Common Room
Near Milton T Station
Monday October 8, 2018
Ukulele Crash Course for Complete Beginners
Strum Workshop, Ealing, London
Monday October 1, 2018
Dissertation due by noon GMT
Sunday 30 September 2018
Hanwell Ukulele Group performance at
Ealing Half Marathon, London
Thursday July 26, 2018
6th essay due by noon GMT
June 25 – July 1, 2018
Boston Guitar Festival
Thursday June 21, 2018
5th essay due by noon GMT
Wednesday June 20, 2018
Summer Solstice Singalong at Sunset with Ukulele
Standish Village, Historic Lower Mills
Boston, MA
June 18 – 23, 2018
Guitar Foundation of America Convention
Louisville, Kentucky
Saturday June 16, 2018 @ 9:30 – 10:30 PM
Teenage Ukulele and Guitar Concert
Wednesday June 13th, 2018
Sunset Singalong
Tuesday June 12, 2018
HUG Fifth Anniversary
Saturday June 9, 2018 all day
Study Day, Milton Keynes
Wed June 6, 2018
Eighties Extravaganza
Sunday June 3, 2018
1920’s Strum in the Park
Wed May 30, 2018
Ukulele Crash Course for Beginners
Three Chord Songs: C or C7, F, G or G7
Wednesday May 23, 2018
No Theme Night ukulele jam
May 20, 2018 NEC Graduation Ceremony
Thursday May 17, 2018
The Mighty Uke movie & uke jam afterwards
Thursday May 17, 2018
4th essay due by noon GMT
Wednesday May 16, 2018
Sixties Social ukulele jam
Saturday May 12, 2018
Hanwell Hootie
Wednesday May 9, 2018
No Theme Night ukulele jam
Tuesday May 1, 2018
ABBA GOLD ukulele jam
Saturday April 28, 2018 from noon – 4:30 PM
Ukulele Melee
Hamilton, MA
Friday April 27, 2018 @7:30 PM
Boston Guitar Orchestra
Jorge Caballero, artist series
First Lutheran Church, Boston
Ukulele Course for Teenagers
Eight consecutive Fridays 3:30 – 4:30 PM from April 27 – June 15
FREE, register at Adams Street Branch
Boston Public Library
Wednesday April 25, 2018 @ 7 PM
Earth Day Jam
Monday April 23, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal, Yamaha Music School, Lexington
Saturday April 21, 2018 @1 – 6 PM
Earth Day Ukulele Workshops
Wednesday April 18, 2018
Twelve Bar Blues Ukulele Jam
Sunday April 15, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal
Saturday April 14, 2018
Peter Moss all-day ukulele workshop and concerts
Wednesday April 11, 2018
Ukulele workshop & jam Easy Beatles Jam
Monday April 9, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal, Somerville Library
April 6 – 8, 2018
The Muse & the Market Place
Writing Conference, Boston
March 27 – April 5, 2018 London
Wednesday April 4, 2018
Five Years and a Wedding + 25 Ukuleles
Tuesday April 3, 2018
Last night at the Viaduct Pub
Saturday March 31, 2018
Blue Moon Ukulele Jam
London
Friday March 23, 2018
Ukulele workshop & jam Island Theme
Thursday March 22, 2018
3rd essay due by noon GMT
Wednesday March 21, 2018 @2 PM
Island Theme Concert on piano and ukulele, Brockton, MA
Tuesday March 20, 2018 @ 1 PM
Island Theme Concert on piano and ukulele, South Boston
March 17-18, 2018
New England Guitar Ensembles Festival (NEGEF)
Wednesday March 14, 2018
Ukulele workshop & jam Two-Chord Songs
Monday March 12, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal, NEC
Sunday March 11, 2018 @10 AM – 1 PM
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal + potluck lunch
Walter Baker Artist Lofts
Saturday March 10, 2018* – pending reservations
Ukulele workshop & jam
Wednesday March 7, 2018Ukulele workshop & jam Two Chord Songs CANCELLED DUE TO STORM
Monday March 5, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal
Wednesday February 28, 2018
Ukulele workshop & jam Oscar Winners
Monday February 26, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal
Wednesday 21 February 21, 2018
Ukulele workshop & jam Heartbreak Hotel
Sunday February 18, 2018 @2 pm
Guitar Performance Party
Thursday February 15, 2018 @ 3 PM
Chinese New Year Concert
Standish Village, Lower Mills
Wednesday February 14, 2018
Valentine’s Heartbreak Uke Jam
Walter Baker Artist Lofts
Historic Lower Mills
Saturday February 10, 2018 @7:30 PM
Boston Guitar Orchestra: Pictures at an Exhibition
Zoran Dukic, Artist Series
First Lutheran Church, Boston
Wednesday February 7, 2018
6:30 pm doors open for 7 PM
Ukulele Basics for Beginners Workshop
Walter Baker Artist Lofts
Historic Lower Mills
Sunday February 4, 2018 @10 AM – 1 PM
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal
Walter Baker Artist Lofts
Thursday February 1, 2018
Second essay due by noon GMT
Wednesday January 31, 2018
6:30 pm doors open for 7 – 9 pm
Super Blue Blood Moon (22-page PDF)
Ukulele Jam
Starting my own ukulele club
Monday January 29, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal
Monday January 22, 2018
Boston Guitar Orchestra rehearsal
Tuesday January 9, 2018 @7:30 PM
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
King’s Arms, Hanwell Broadway
Thursday December 14, 2017
Nutcracker Suite Ballet
Boston Opera House
Monday December 14, 2017 @ 2 PM
Christmas Singalong
Lower Mills, Boston
December 1 – 5, 2017 Manhattan
Thursday November 30, 2017 @ 2 PM
Ukulele workshop
Lower Mills, Boston
Thursday November 25, 2017 @ 3:30 – 5 PM
Holiday Stroll
Standish Village Open House
Lower Mills, Boston
Tuesday November 21, 2017 11 AM – Noon
Ukulele sing-along
Chill on Park, Memory Cafe
Boston
November 2 – 5, 2017 The Netherlands
Friday October 27, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
George & Dragon Microbrewery
Acton Town, London
Monday October 9, 2017
Study Day, Milton Keynes
Sunday October 1, 2017 @ noon
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
Kew Market, London
September 7, 14, and 21, 2017 @ 2 PM
Ukulele Workshops
Lower Mills, Boston
September 7, 2017 @ 6 PM
Annual Outdoor Ukulele Jam at Harvard Square
September 3, 2017 @ 2 PM
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
Brentford Festival
Blondin Park, London
September 2, 2017 @ Noon
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
RSPCA Benefit Concert, Southall
August 25 – 28, 2017
Ireland Ukulele Hooley
Dublin & Dun Laoghaire
August 20, 2017
Canterbury, Kent
August 19, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
2:30 pm Whitstable Harbour
5 pm The Old Neptune Pub
Whitstable, Kent
August 7 – 12, 2017
Totleigh Barton, Devon
August 5, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
Impact Theatre Summer Showcase
Perivale, London
July 12, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
Ealing Beer Festival, London
July 11, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
The Viaduct, Hanwell
Wednesday July 5, 2017
Ukulele Club of Amsterdam
July 4 – 11, 2017
Amsterdam, Nootdorp, Den Haag, Naarden, Utrecht, Rotterdam, Bergeyk, Eindhoven
The Netherlands
Sunday July 2, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
Ealing Food & Drink Festival
Saturday July 1, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG) to the beach:
West Wittering, Bognor Regis & Chichester, U.K.
Sunday June 18, 2017
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)Lynn’s Street Party
Saturday June 17, 2017
Hanwell Carnival, London
Thursday June 15, 2017 7:30 PM [+ pre-dinner with friends]
Voices of Night and Day – pianist Nicola Meecham
The Warehouse Waterloo, London SE1 8ST
Blogposts:
Wednesday 14 June Opera and Politics
Workshop 14.00-15.45, Studio 8
Presentations 16.00-19.00, Lecture Theatre
19:00 For the Love of DanceTrinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance
Faculty of Dance, Laban Building
Creekside, London SE8 3DZ
Tuesday 13 June Fourth Anniversary HUG
King’s Arms, Uxbridge Road, Hanwell
blogpost: Ukulele Clubs: sing, strum, and socialize
Tuesday June 6, 2017 7:30 pm for 8 PM
Hanwell Ukulele Group (HUG)
The Viaduct Pub, Hanwell, London
Saturday June 3, 2017 all day
Study Day, Milton Keynes, UK
Monday May 29, 2017 JFK 100 Celebration
Boston, MA
Saturday May 20, 2017 @3:30 PM GMT
Skype presentation: Pattern Recognition in Sight-Reading
Fifth Annual Conference in association with Society of Minimalist Music
University of Wolverhampton, England
Thursday May 11, 2017 @ 2 PM
Across America in Sixty Minutes Concert: from Maui to Boston
Boston, MA
Thursday May 4, 2017 @ 7 PM
Jukebox Concert
Boston, MA
Saturday April 29, 2017 @ 2 PM
Name Sake Concert
Boston, MA
Friday April 28, 2017 @ 7:30 PM
David Russell in concert & Boston Guitar Orchestra
Boston Guitar Society event
First Lutheran Church of Boston
299 Berkeley Street, Boston
Saturday April 22, 2017 @ 2 PM
Earth Day Concert
Boston, MA
Thursday April 20, 2017 evening
Ukulele Union of Boston (UUoB)
Clement’s Photography & Design
535 Albany Street 2nd Floor, Boston
March 12, 2017 @ 3 PM
Maurice Ravel Birthday Concert, pianist Nicola Meecham
Sutton House Music Society, London
February 20, 2017 @ 12:30 PM onwards
Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment,
Level 5 Function Room, South Bank Centre, London
January 28, 2017 Chinese New Year of the Rooster
January 19, 2017 Golden Oldies Concert, Boston
January 14, 2017 @ 10:30 AM
Thai Cooking Class with June V. Williamson, author of “Thai Food Made Easy”
Lemon and Sage Artisan Kitchens, Springville, Utah
December 12, 2016 Christmas Concert, Boston
November 30, 2016 Music Research Day, Open University
November 7 – 9, 2016 Lugano, Switzerland
November 1, 2016 London
October 28, 2016 Farewell Dinner Banquet, Mei Shi Restaurant, Utrecht
October 24, 2016 Last week in Utrecht, The Netherlands
October 13, 2016 11th Anniversary, Boston
October 10, 2016 Study Day, Open University, Milton Keynes, U.K.
September 1, 2016 House Sale Barbecue, Utrecht
August 13, 2016 London
August 5-6, 2016 Braunschweig, Germany
July 26, 2016 Elburg, The Netherlands
July 22, 2016 Piano Potpourri Potluck, Utrecht
July 14, 2016 Bastille Day Barbecue, Utrecht
July 6, 2016 Amsterdam
July 5, 2016 Positano
July 4, 2016 Pompei & Ravello
July 2, 2016 Ischia
June 29, 2016 Rome
June 27, 2016 Naples, Italy
June 21, 2016 Vienna, Austria
June 15, 2016 Boston
Latest cable TV appearance
Maui College Today 30 minute episode (video)Thursday May 19, 2016 @ 7 – 8:30 PM FREE
808 Uke Jams in North Kihei – blogpost
What do you get when you get ukulele players to play in what used to be the oldest chocolate factory in the country?
“Say chocolate. Say ukulele. Cross chocolate and ukulele and you get choco-lele.” That’s what I said to a group of seniors at my last concert when I introduced the new 2019 Choco-lele Holiday Songbook. Here is our story.