Author Archive for Jeff



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I am a Christian.  And for the past ten years, I have had a rabbi.
Since October 2001, I have sung in the professional choir of Congregation Emanu-El in Houston, Texas, which has been led since 1978 by Senior Rabbi Roy A. Walter who was brought in by then-Senior Rabbi Robert I. Kahn, of [...]

I know Chris and Clare through a mutual friend, and in addition to their toddler, their other baby is Don Gusano Games, through which comes to the world Quack-in-the-Box, a biting satire of malpractice and incompetence in the medical field.

The village of Pyla in the United Nations Buffer Zone on the island of Cyprus is the site of the Pyla-Koutsopetria Archaeological Project (PKAP). My little brother, Ian Ragsdale, is producing and directing a documentary on this archeological survey, and I have a large part to play in this film’s music.

Ruby

My niece (by little brother Ian and Randi), Ruby Renee Ragsdale, was born 2 October 2009, healthy and happy.   She is Ian and Randi’s first child and the photographer, Wendi Schoffstall, is quite remarkable.
More Ruby (and more of Wendi’s work) here…

A taboo subject…

…because as Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times puts it, “No, gang rape isn’t exactly great fodder for cocktail parties. It’s incredibly uncomfortable and depressing to speak about — and that’s probably one reason it’s gone on as long as it has, with relatively little attention. It’s taboo to discuss — not only in [...]

Cabildo

The Cabildo in New Orleans was built in 1799 and served as the place’s town council building up to and after annexation by the United States, ceasing in that function in the 1850s.  This place stands at the center of the history of Louisiana and was the location of the ceremony marking the Louisiana Purchase.
The [...]

Frankfurt am Main, February 6, 1965
original found here
Come Sunday — The Sacred Music of Duke Ellington

Saturday, May 16, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
purchase a season subscription | purchase individual tickets
Sunday, May 17, 2009 at 3:30pm
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Wheeler Avenue Baptist Church
3826 Wheeler Avenue
Houston, Texas 77004
Continuing a tradition begun with Dave Brubeck and [...]

Portrait of Mendelssohn by the English miniaturist James Warren Childe (1778-1862), 1839

After Bach

Saturday, May 2, 2009 at 8:00 p.m.
Click here to purchase individual tickets through Da Camera of Houston

Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center
500 Texas Ave.
Houston, Texas 77002
Da Camera of Houston and the Houston Chamber Choir collaborate once again, this time to trace the influences of [...]

Saturday, March 28, 2009 at 7:30 p.m.
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Sunday, March 29, 2009, at 3:30 p.m.
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St. Philip Presbyterian Church
4807 San Felipe St.
Houston, Texas 77056
2009 marks the 250th anniversary of Handel’s death. In tribute, the Houston Chamber Choir, soloists and period instrumentalists present “Esther,” Handel’s [...]

The Houston Chamber Choir
Hear the Future — 11th Annual Invitational School Choral Festival

Sunday, January 25, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
FREE Concert

South Main Baptist Church (directions)
4100 Main Street
Houston, Texas 77002
Co-sponsored by AMC Music, Hear the Future pays tribute to the essential work done by outstanding choral music educators in our region and their excellent choirs. Enjoy this [...]