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.

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 [...]

Next week will be busy, though it will also be a really nice respite from the daily grind.  Portus 2008 is a Harry Potter symposium (replete with papers, panels, presenters, parties, pageantry, pomp, etc.) that will be held at the Hilton Anatole hotel in Dallas, Texas from 10-13 July.  It’s being put on by the [...]

I am quite happy to not only toot my own horn about my own music, but to also let everyone know of good music written by another. Jeremiah Joseph is a composition major at Houston Baptist University, and if this excerpt is any indication of the quality of the whole, then his new monodrama [...]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXwYruAEPnA
Enjoy!
Jeff

“Whenever I try to explain the Society to folks who have never experienced it, I always seem to end up dragging out my photo album. Why? Well, because, as the old saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.”
- From Mistress Anastasia Guta, Province of Malagentia, East Kingdom - This collection of photos dates [...]

How on earth do I describe the Society for Creative Anachronism? Well, I think the best way is to watch the above 8-minute piece from CBS Sunday Morning and see for yourself. A picture speaks a thousand words, and this report speaks perfectly of this remarkable organization.
Jeff

Here it is, our first post-Deathly Hallows installment! Warning: massive SPOILERS
Rachael, Rose, and Chris talk at-length about the book, and various Snapecasters give their thoughts. I get quite a bit of airtime in this episode (is that a good thing?). Enjoy!
Jeff

Snapecast Episode 19
A little belated, I know - I was in England at the time it came out.

Rachael.
The visionary behind the Harry Potter Snape-related podcast Snapecast, and an amazing person, I cannot find enough good things to say about her and Charles, her new husband. I’ve known Rachael since March 2006 when [...]

What a week.
What a week for the music ministry of Palmer Memorial Episcopal Church, having completed a week-long choral residency at the Cathedral Church of St. Andrew in Wells, England - it was the second-best choir tour I’ve been of which I’ve had a part (eclipsed only by that taken by the Bach Society [...]