Carnegie Hall

University of Texas Wind Ensemble
Right now, I'm sitting in the Park Central Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. We are staying about 5 blocks north of Time Square. We're getting ready to go down to Greenwich village and catch some Jazz. Last night, Cara and I went to see the New York Philharmonic at Lincoln Center. Afterwards, we found a small Irish pub to have a Guiness and soak up the Irish atmosphere. Later, we went over to the Upper West side to "Northwest" (a small slightly swanky bar in Chelsea) to meet Cara's friend Angela. The bar was so cool. It was very dimly lit with candles on all the tables. It was a very intimate place. There were about 10 people in the bar when we arrived so it felt like we had the place to ourselves. Soon, though, I realized that at one of the tables was Matt Dillon (yes, the actor). I was a little starstruck, but I managed to keep it cool and just give a little wave. So, after a few glasses of wine, we called it a night and headed back to the hotel. Today, Cara's parents, mom and Jimmie arrived. After Cara was finished with her rehearsal at Carnegie, we did a little sightseeing. We visited "The Gates" exhibit in Central Park and went down to the World Trade Center site. Tomorrow, Cara performs with the UT Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. We still have two more days of New York so I'll have to update things later and I'll post pictures when we return. Cheers!!!

Lauded composer premieres at Texas

Lauded composer premieres at Texas
To read about the concert, check out the news article. If you look closely, you'll see Cara (looking quite pensive) sitting front and center.

Last night, Cara played in the World Premier of John Corgliano's "Circus Maximus!" It was an amazing performance. Several of our friends attended the show. Thanks guys! I can't tell you how proud I was to be able to watch Cara perform in such a fantastic piece of music. In a little more than 1 week, she will be performing with the UT Wind Ensemble at Carnegie Hall. I can't wait!  

I hope that everyone has a great valentine's day. This heart is dedicated to my beautiful girlfriend Cara. I love you, babe! 

Nobel laureate speaks about genes - The Daily Texan

A couple of years ago, Clint Leysath, Beth Erlichman and I initiated a graduate student sponsored lectureship. Our plan was to invite the most successful scientists in our fields of study. We gathered together a great group of interested graduate students and just dove into this thing. We never imagined that we would be hobnobbing with Nobel Prize winners but, that is exactly what has happened. Last year it was Nobel Prize winner Richard Roberts. On Wednesday and Thursday, we hosted Nobel Prize winner Sydney Brenner. These are the Michael Jordans of science. It's pretty amazing! Even though it has only been two years since we started this, it has already been a bigger success than we could have ever imagined. Check out our write-up in the UT paper (Nobel laureate speaks about genes - The Daily Texan). I even got a little blurb at the end of the article.
In addition to these scientists, we have also been able to meet other Nobel prize winners including: Paul Berg, Ghobind Khorana, John E. Walker, Michael Brown and Eric Wieschaus. What an experience! You can check out the Nobel Prize website to read about them:
Nobel Prize Winners