A Word of Welcome

Welcome to the blog page of my website! This page will serve as a commentary of any and all things music and related areas of discussion, as seen through the point of view of a musician that lives and works with music in multiple areas, not just concentrating on one element.

If you have discovered this page first before the Home page of the website, allow me to introduce myself:

Hello! 

I am Catherine Stover. I am a woodwind specialist, specializing in single-reed woodwinds. I practice and perform: the small bore woodwinds (clarinet, flute, soprano saxophone), the large bore woodwinds (bass clarinet, alto flute, tenor saxophone and baritone saxophone) and the obscure woodwinds (electronic wind controller). 

You counted right, that’s nine woodwind instruments!

(flat Jesus can vouch on that)   

There is one more instrument….my voice. I am also a soprano/soprano II choral singer. I sing with the symphonic choir, GMChorale, and its vocal chamber ensemble, Alchemy. I also sing with The Chancel Choir at First Congregational Church of Cheshire, Connecticut, an open and affirming congregation within the United Church of Christ. I also perform with the Connecticut Choral Artists (CONCORA) during their Summer Choir Festival.  

You may be asking why there’s no instrumental ensembles listed here, only the three/four choral ensembles. While I do have experience with instrumental ensembles, spanning from symphonic band, jazz band, pit orchestra and chamber, my main focus with instrumental music, as of right now, is on solo and etude repertoire. Choral music stands in as my ensemble of choice.    

Next to the performance side of things, I am also a composer and arranger, concentrating in the language of jazz and working to fuse jazz and choral music together. I am also a professional music engraver and private music teacher.

For more info, including credentials, please refer to the Home page of the website

So, with introductions out of the way, what’s my plan for this page….

My plan for this blog page is to bring a commentary about music and related areas, as seen and told from my perspective, as a musician who straddles the line between different music worlds: instrumental and choral, symphonic and jazz, worship and concert and all points in-between. These posts will talk about things that most professionals will either gloss over and/or not discuss much, especially if you’re a new graduate from music school and new to the professional music scene, and/or common subjects in music that are presented in a different way. Also, with some humor thrown in. The world is already serious enough and music, while we take it seriously as our art form, it shouldn’t be taken so seriously that we don’t find humor in it, so we can always find a way to have a laugh at some of these topics….and some very mild language (keeping in professional here). In addition to words, I’ll add in some pictures and videos, where applicable, to help bring the topics forward more. 

Blog posts won’t be a “weekly” or “monthly” thing….more like a “post when I can”, type thing. Much as I’m going to have fun with this, I’m very busy, as I should be, with my roles as a musician, especially during the concert and worship seasons (fall season, forget it!). It has been the case since the arts have re-emerged after the pandemic, which is wonderful! Obviously, there’s going to be gaps in the season where I can sit and word process a post, so keep checking in to see any new posts appear (I update my website during the year, not just for the big “fall update” in September). Also, I don’t mind if these are shared, just give me credit if you share these. 

Once again, welcome to the blog page and welcome to my website! Please also explore the other pages of my website to get to know me and what I do. For now, I’ll leave you with a picture of my "recharging" place at the end of business day.

"The Secret Garden of Tilling"....any Mapp and Lucia fans in the house?

Until then….make sure to be kind; in life, in music and to yourself.