On time-release lessons and scenes that make me cry
This post uses embedded audio/video which doesn’t work in email, so I recommend clicking through to viewing this in your browser for the optimized newsletter...
On the cost of time
I’ve been getting back into structured, routine practicing after about a month (okay, more like a month and a half) of self-assigned No Practicing For Your...
On playing the piano and driving fast cars, and more SF Symphony mess
Without meaning to I basically went on a little hiatus from writing for the past couple of weeks; there were a couple of times I sat down and typed out a...
On fuss and awkward feelings
Last week I was back in the studio to record Chopin’s Ballade No. 1 and Florence Price’s Fantasie Nègre No. 1—the piece that turned into its own story before...
On things you only experience performing and SF Symphony drama
I’ve been performing long enough that I’ve started recognizing certain repeat sensations that only happen when I’m performing for an audience (aka these are...
On introducing yourself to other musicians
Short-ish newsletter today—I’m currently scrambling to get a bunch of stuff done before I leave town. I’ll be playing a private house concert this Saturday...
On ruining perfectly good love and doing the reading
If you love and cherish a piece of music, learning to play it is a surefire way to ruin it all. This is a lesson I keep learning, forgetting, and learning...
My public radio debut, ease, and the melodic minor challenge
Some little press updates! The story that This American Life started and then scrapped has been resuscitated in shorter, cuter form; on Tuesday evening it...
On new experiences in the concert hall, music director drama, and genres
Something happens to your brain when you move to LA—a switch is flipped, neural pathways are rewired, a previously unknown section of your amygdala is...
UPDATED: This American Life (again) and what the LA Phil gets right
UPDATE: I have just been told that right before airtime, my segment was cut for time, so the first half of today's post is now fake news out of date. I was...
On disappointment and photoshoots
When I shared with a friend my utter bewilderment that This American Life has a much bigger audience than I anticipated, she texted, patiently and with...
I won a prize and have thoughts on opportunities, bios, and writing
Some news: I have won a prize! View this post on Instagram A post shared by Turn The Spotlight (@turnspotlight) I feel like a proud, fluffy little sheep at a...
Life is edits and my latest article is live!
Today's post is short and sweet because I am in the middle of a bunch of Busy Life Things right now so I have maybe 15 minutes of downtime to provide a quick...
Return of the stress dream (First Ballade blues)
Two weeks ago my tidily ambitious plan to tackle several ongoing projects was thrown into disarray when I got a call from This American Life asking me if I...
At the Other Keyboard has a new home!
As per my last post, I've moved my newsletter, "At the Other Keyboard," from Substack to Buttondown. If you're getting this email in your inbox, there's...
Career advice, my worst audition, and leaving Substack
Sharon's Weekly Head Dump
On talking into microphones and being perceived
Sharon's Weekly Head Dump
Panic practicing
Dispatches from the Imperfection Lab
All my (stress) dreams are coming true
Sharon's Weekly Head Dump
I met a five-year-old with the most exquisite taste
Sharon's Weekly Head Dump