Finally Starting!

Can it be this long that we have been on our summer adventure, and finally the blog is getting going? Absolutely!

The first week of conferences in Istanbul was intense work, short nights, and terrific sight-seeing. The Byzantine cisterns and the spectacular tile work of the Blue Masjid were some of the highlights on the tourist side, and a fresh reading and understanding of possible connections among those who have often talked past one another about the Israel-Palestine conflict is the promise emerging from the hard work. Breakfasts on the terrace overlooking the Bosphorus every morning were the compensation for the short nights!

In Oberammergau, our Passion Play experience was shaped strongly by our time with the associate director and scriptmaster, Otto Huber. Those titles hardly do justice to the way in which Otto embodies the life, the tradition, the energy, the commitment, and the vision of the whole phenomenon. If he seems to be tearing out his hair, it may be that he has reason to do so.

And the south of France -- where it is vineyards as far as the eye can see. Well, that and chateaux and the Mediterranean beaches and canals. A delightful, relaxing, refreshing time topped off with the final concert of a Lluis Claret cello masterclass performed in the Abbaye Fontfroide dormitory. Luscious!

We've settled into Oxford now, and there will be more opportunity to post more regularly and extensively. Thanks for your patience as we get it going -- we look forward to sharing more in the days to come.