All the children play musical instruments.  From eldest to youngest they play piano, violin and cello. They’ve played trios together but the rehearsals can get pretty heated.  The youngest has taken up guitar now, both acoustic and electric, in addition to serious cello study and piano lessons.  My wife plays the harp and accompanies the kids on piano, so there is plenty of music in the house every day.  Of course, the kids have iPods with thousands upon thousands of songs on them.  Sometimes they’ll say, “Hey Dad, listen to this.”  That’s opened up a whole new world to me – listening to the latest bands!  What fun for me at age 55, and it’s great to see my kids passionate about music.

I love to cook. When I’m home I tend to be the cook for the family.  When you travel as much as I do, family is definitely the focus when you’re home.

My sons became huge English sports fans while at school in London.  They can tell you everything about Arsenal (the club they support) and all the English football clubs. They are quite good at soccer themselves, not surprisingly, I suppose, after all the years in England.  The middle one plays on his college varsity team, the older one plays rugby.  I’m more of a baseball fan.  As a loyal supporter of the Boston Red Sox for over thirty years, living in Boston now is a special pleasure!

More and more I am drawn to the lives of the musicians I’ve devoted my life to studying.  I’ve recently read biographies of Brahms, Schumann, Mozart, Walton, and Stravinsky. And as I get older, I enjoy reading more history.  The study of history deepens my understanding of music and my understanding of the contemporary world.