Ross W. Duffin
@rosswmd.bsky.social
Music professor (retired) & author, tune detective, Canadian ex-pat
Pasadena CA & Washington DC
Pasadena CA & Washington DC
Lovely to see John Chowning win a technical Grammy for developing FM synthesis. The mid-70s Stanford AI-Lab overnight (while DARPA engineers slept) was populated with John's students doing pioneering work on computer music (while I did notation). Karma, indeed!
music.stanford.edu/news/john-ch...
music.stanford.edu/news/john-ch...
John Chowning Receives 2026 Technical Grammy Award | Department of Music
Dr. John Chowning (DMA '66), Professor Emeritus in the Department of Music, and co-founder of CCRMA (Center for Computer Research in Music and Acoustics) will be awarded a Technical Grammy this week f...
music.stanford.edu
February 2, 2026 at 5:11 PM
Lovely to see John Chowning win a technical Grammy for developing FM synthesis. The mid-70s Stanford AI-Lab overnight (while DARPA engineers slept) was populated with John's students doing pioneering work on computer music (while I did notation). Karma, indeed!
music.stanford.edu/news/john-ch...
music.stanford.edu/news/john-ch...
So happy for Amanda Forsythe (with Paul O'Dette, Steve Stubbs, & Robert Mealy) for winning the best classical solo vocal album Grammy for Telemann's Ino. Here's a sample from the live performance in 2021. Ausgezeichnet!
youtu.be/eXPQFslLvF8?...
youtu.be/eXPQFslLvF8?...
“Tönt in seinen Lobgesang” from Telemann's Ino
YouTube video by Boston Early Music Festival
youtu.be
February 2, 2026 at 5:00 PM
So happy for Amanda Forsythe (with Paul O'Dette, Steve Stubbs, & Robert Mealy) for winning the best classical solo vocal album Grammy for Telemann's Ino. Here's a sample from the live performance in 2021. Ausgezeichnet!
youtu.be/eXPQFslLvF8?...
youtu.be/eXPQFslLvF8?...
Reposted by Ross W. Duffin
I profiled Gavin Newsom, on whom hopes are being pinned, at length in this week's @newyorker.com. I report closely on the way he thinks, operates, builds coalitions, and on. And, yes, the hair. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
February 2, 2026 at 4:34 PM
I profiled Gavin Newsom, on whom hopes are being pinned, at length in this week's @newyorker.com. I report closely on the way he thinks, operates, builds coalitions, and on. And, yes, the hair. www.newyorker.com/magazine/202...
Upgraded my operating system and discovered that my music font had simply disappeared from my computer. Restored again, but this is why I hate upgrading - there's always something that doesn't work any longer!
January 26, 2026 at 10:51 PM
Upgraded my operating system and discovered that my music font had simply disappeared from my computer. Restored again, but this is why I hate upgrading - there's always something that doesn't work any longer!
Reposted by Ross W. Duffin
How sweet to learn that the 15th Century songs being performed in this Valentines Day tribute came from a heart shaped manuscript-- Click the link to read the preview in the Picture This Post Music section--
@folger.edu #FolgerConsort #WashingtonDCMusic #DCMusic #PictureThisPostMusic #MedievalMusic
@folger.edu #FolgerConsort #WashingtonDCMusic #DCMusic #PictureThisPostMusic #MedievalMusic
Folger Consort Presents Courtly Love Songs from 15th-Century France - Preview
A spokesperson says--- “...For this Valentine’s Day concert, many of the song selections are from the Chansonnier Cordiforme (c. 1470s), a heart-shaped man
www.picturethispost.com
January 25, 2026 at 9:36 PM
How sweet to learn that the 15th Century songs being performed in this Valentines Day tribute came from a heart shaped manuscript-- Click the link to read the preview in the Picture This Post Music section--
@folger.edu #FolgerConsort #WashingtonDCMusic #DCMusic #PictureThisPostMusic #MedievalMusic
@folger.edu #FolgerConsort #WashingtonDCMusic #DCMusic #PictureThisPostMusic #MedievalMusic
Well, hello! This is still some months off, but it's nice to see the cover and the blurb! Must be real!
iupress.org/978025307653...
iupress.org/978025307653...
Enchanting Arcadia
Sir Philip Sidney was one of Elizabethan England's greatest poets, producing an enormous body of poetry, voluminous letters, and his seminal treatise, The De...
iupress.org
January 15, 2026 at 12:10 AM
Well, hello! This is still some months off, but it's nice to see the cover and the blurb! Must be real!
iupress.org/978025307653...
iupress.org/978025307653...
Reposted by Ross W. Duffin
Story by me: "For me to be able to see my doctor to tend to my autoimmune disease, I had to marry my best friend — it's like some weird twisted plot of Will and Grace."
www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...
Marrying for health insurance? The ACA cost crisis forces some drastic choices
While Congress debates bringing back Affordable Care Act subsidies, many Americans have already made life-altering decisions to afford health care.
www.npr.org
January 12, 2026 at 1:48 PM
Story by me: "For me to be able to see my doctor to tend to my autoimmune disease, I had to marry my best friend — it's like some weird twisted plot of Will and Grace."
www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...
www.npr.org/2026/01/12/n...
I found a 2015 CWRU video file and realized it had never been shared: Francesco Landini's Non avrà ma pietà from the Faenza Codex, played on dulce melos by Nicolas Haigh. Rare chance to hear a medieval keyboard in concert! Nick becomes organist at Uppsala Cathedral this month.
youtu.be/a0e6tV6jd8Y
youtu.be/a0e6tV6jd8Y
Non avrà ma pietà by Francesco Landini (1325–97): CWRU Medieval Ensemble, Nicolas Haigh, dulce melos
YouTube video by CWRU Department of Music
youtu.be
January 5, 2026 at 4:28 PM
I found a 2015 CWRU video file and realized it had never been shared: Francesco Landini's Non avrà ma pietà from the Faenza Codex, played on dulce melos by Nicolas Haigh. Rare chance to hear a medieval keyboard in concert! Nick becomes organist at Uppsala Cathedral this month.
youtu.be/a0e6tV6jd8Y
youtu.be/a0e6tV6jd8Y
Anyone with a loved one who has suffered with dementia (and worries about their own future health) should take heart at this news. Pleased that it comes from my old school, CWRU.
case.edu/news/new-stu...
case.edu/news/new-stu...
New study shows Alzheimer’s disease can be reversed to achieve full neurological recovery—not just prevented or slowed—in animal models | CWRU Newsroom | Case Western Reserve University
For more than a century, people have considered Alzheimer's disease (AD) an irreversible illness. Consequently, research has focused on preventing or ...
case.edu
December 31, 2025 at 6:27 PM
Anyone with a loved one who has suffered with dementia (and worries about their own future health) should take heart at this news. Pleased that it comes from my old school, CWRU.
case.edu/news/new-stu...
case.edu/news/new-stu...
Just discovered this! Out of my area but it's fun to have a relative (niece) join the ranks of published authors! Kudos to @jduffinwolfe.bsky.social!
December 31, 2025 at 6:19 PM
Just discovered this! Out of my area but it's fun to have a relative (niece) join the ranks of published authors! Kudos to @jduffinwolfe.bsky.social!
Reposted by Ross W. Duffin
After the year we’ve all had, if it’s okay with you, I think I’d just as well jingle only two-thirds of the way.
December 22, 2025 at 6:51 PM
After the year we’ve all had, if it’s okay with you, I think I’d just as well jingle only two-thirds of the way.
If you’re concerned about the new HHS rulings on trans care, my daughter @selenasd.com breaks it down on the PBS Newshour
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
Trump administration moves to restrict gender affirming care for minors nationwide
The Department of Health and Human Services unveiled a series of actions meant to effectively ban transition-related medical treatments nationwide for those under 18. Stephanie Sy discussed more with ...
www.pbs.org
December 19, 2025 at 1:12 AM
If you’re concerned about the new HHS rulings on trans care, my daughter @selenasd.com breaks it down on the PBS Newshour
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
www.pbs.org/newshour/sho...
For those who may not know, the Italian immigrant to the US, Lorenzo da Ponte, was previously librettist for Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Così fan tutte, and Don Giovanni.
The Academy's Executive Director, Barbara Faedda, on the the bicentennial of the first Italian opera ever staged in the U.S., on Lorenzo Da Ponte, and more: today's interview—https://wetheitalians.com/news/200-years-of-italian-studies-at-columbia-university-in-new-york
December 15, 2025 at 8:05 PM
For those who may not know, the Italian immigrant to the US, Lorenzo da Ponte, was previously librettist for Mozart’s Marriage of Figaro, Così fan tutte, and Don Giovanni.
Reposted by Ross W. Duffin
Well hot damn. Progress. A temp manuscript catalog is back.
British Library Archives and Manuscripts Catalogue
searcharchives.bl.uk
December 15, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Well hot damn. Progress. A temp manuscript catalog is back.
At first I thought ‘undersea wall dating’? You mean like a marine Pyramus and Thisbe?
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Huge undersea wall dating from 5000 BC found in France
The 120 metre wall was either a fish-trap or a dyke for protection against rising sea-levels, archeologists believe.
www.bbc.com
December 12, 2025 at 3:21 AM
At first I thought ‘undersea wall dating’? You mean like a marine Pyramus and Thisbe?
www.bbc.com/news/article...
www.bbc.com/news/article...
Reposted by Ross W. Duffin
Scoop by me: "During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levine's photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name.”
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
HHS changed the name of transgender health leader on her official portrait
Admiral Rachel Levine was the first transgender person to be confirmed by the Senate to serve in the federal government. Her official portrait at HHS headquarters has been altered.
www.npr.org
December 5, 2025 at 11:03 PM
Scoop by me: "During the federal shutdown, the current leadership of the Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health changed Admiral Levine's photo to remove her current legal name and use a prior name.”
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
www.npr.org/sections/sho...
The surprise to discover pages from your book used as Christmas decorations at the @folger.edu Library café!
November 30, 2025 at 5:47 PM
The surprise to discover pages from your book used as Christmas decorations at the @folger.edu Library café!
On the road again: 17 years after the effort, my son David's takedown of Honda's attempt at a musical road gets another roundabout. www.sfgate.com/california/a...
The story behind LA County's most charming botched tourist attraction
It's still a tourist attraction today, even though it was built incorrectly.
www.sfgate.com
November 17, 2025 at 2:24 PM
On the road again: 17 years after the effort, my son David's takedown of Honda's attempt at a musical road gets another roundabout. www.sfgate.com/california/a...
I must say, the Chinese UBTECH humanoid robotic army brought to mind the Chinese Terracotta Army. Plus ça change?
November 15, 2025 at 4:10 AM
I must say, the Chinese UBTECH humanoid robotic army brought to mind the Chinese Terracotta Army. Plus ça change?
Sad to hear of the death of Mary Deissler, long-time and transformative ED of H+H in Boston. Arts admin people often go unsung, but Mary was a giant force in Boston, and influential across the country. H+H is thriving now because of her leadership. RIP
slippedisc.com/2025/11/tran...
slippedisc.com/2025/11/tran...
Transformative Boston CEO dies, 69 - Slippedisc
The former CEO of Boston’s Handel & Haydn...
slippedisc.com
November 10, 2025 at 5:57 PM
Sad to hear of the death of Mary Deissler, long-time and transformative ED of H+H in Boston. Arts admin people often go unsung, but Mary was a giant force in Boston, and influential across the country. H+H is thriving now because of her leadership. RIP
slippedisc.com/2025/11/tran...
slippedisc.com/2025/11/tran...
It's the anniversary of the Russian revolution! Also my birthday – this year a very large, crooked number. Many of them, in the past, I've spent at AMS meetings (it's that time of year). Ah well. Still here; still doing work I love; counting blessings.
November 7, 2025 at 3:56 PM
It's the anniversary of the Russian revolution! Also my birthday – this year a very large, crooked number. Many of them, in the past, I've spent at AMS meetings (it's that time of year). Ah well. Still here; still doing work I love; counting blessings.
Reposted by Ross W. Duffin
Applications are open for Folger Library short-term fellowships! Deadline January 15, 2026.
www.folger.edu/research/the...
www.folger.edu/research/the...
Short-term Fellowships | Folger Shakespeare Library
Folger Shakespeare Library is the world's largest Shakespeare collection, the ultimate resource for exploring Shakespeare and his world. Shakespeare belongs to you. His world is vast. Come explore.…
www.folger.edu
November 5, 2025 at 7:55 PM
Applications are open for Folger Library short-term fellowships! Deadline January 15, 2026.
www.folger.edu/research/the...
www.folger.edu/research/the...
Lot of Messiah performances coming up.
New text anyone?
He was despised,
Despised and rejected
By women and men.
A man of falsehoods,
Bloviator and thief.
He gave his soul to the devil
And his aid to them
Who kiss’d his derrière.
He hid not his face
From makeup and hairpiece.
He was despised, etc.
New text anyone?
He was despised,
Despised and rejected
By women and men.
A man of falsehoods,
Bloviator and thief.
He gave his soul to the devil
And his aid to them
Who kiss’d his derrière.
He hid not his face
From makeup and hairpiece.
He was despised, etc.
November 5, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Lot of Messiah performances coming up.
New text anyone?
He was despised,
Despised and rejected
By women and men.
A man of falsehoods,
Bloviator and thief.
He gave his soul to the devil
And his aid to them
Who kiss’d his derrière.
He hid not his face
From makeup and hairpiece.
He was despised, etc.
New text anyone?
He was despised,
Despised and rejected
By women and men.
A man of falsehoods,
Bloviator and thief.
He gave his soul to the devil
And his aid to them
Who kiss’d his derrière.
He hid not his face
From makeup and hairpiece.
He was despised, etc.
Great story! Just persuade some friends to join you and you can make music together!
apple.news/AnjWCsCGwRAe...
apple.news/AnjWCsCGwRAe...
The one change that worked: I struggled with stress after work – until I made a discovery in my attic — Guardian US
When my son was growing up, his school recorder was the bane of my life. Now it’s what I reach for at the end of a hard day, rather than a glass of wine
apple.news
November 4, 2025 at 10:31 PM
Great story! Just persuade some friends to join you and you can make music together!
apple.news/AnjWCsCGwRAe...
apple.news/AnjWCsCGwRAe...