One of my favorite things about Appleton is the high-quality cultural events that abound in this town, especially musical events. Appleton and the Fox Cities in general has a wealth of musical talent, partly fueled by the fine musical programs at Lawrence University. One of the musical stars at Lawrence is Patrice Michaels, a famous and tremendous soprano who has performed with many orchestras and ensembles around the world. She even has her own Website, PatriceMichaels.com.

How fortunate we were to have her as a guest soloist at the recent year-end performance of the Fox Valley Youth Symphony and Philharmonia Strings on Nov. 13, 2005, at Fox Valley Lutheran High School. Fabulous performance! I enjoyed it so much that I snatched up three CDs of her music after the performance - welcome additions to my collection. She has made 9 or 10 CDs.

Below are a couple of photos I took right before and after her performance on Nov. 13. The handsome young man with the cello is my son, Benjamin.




My wife has just informed me that Patrice Michaels has a free public concert (a faculty recital) on Feb. 12, 2006, at 3:00 PM in Harper Hall at Lawrence University. Mark that on your calendar!

My wife, a music teacher at the Classical School, also just reminded me that Patrice Michaels has been very involved in helping local schools and is "very generous with her time, a very lovely person, and a favorite professor with her students at Lawrence." Patrice helped in the founding of the Classical School and spent an entire spring break doing a workshop with students at the school to help them compose and perform a blues piece. All the more reason for today's tribute to Patrice Michaels. Given her generous but not widely touted work with students and the community, I'm almost tempted to call her an unsung hero, but that's not entirely fitting, is it? Kudos, Patrice!