JMU Revisited: Coverage Of CCO Event

Boy, this one came of nowhere… a random email from the editor of Madison, the alumni magazine for James Madison University, where I received my undergrad degree in journalism/speech more than two decades ago.

One of my profs recommended me as a New York journalist to cover an event last Friday—the JMU Music Department’s theater group was premiering a mini “comic opera” before an audience of 200 for the Center for Contemporary Opera, at the stunning, historic National Arts Club, located in the Tilden Mansion in Gramercy Park.

For two hours, I worked at warp speed, interviewing the cast, the opera composer, JMU department heads, attending alumni and as many other relevant folks as I could find, while drinking as much free wine as I could pour down my gullet and talk at the same time.

All weekend, I worked on three stories, the first of which (click on yellow to read full text) landed on the home page of jmu.edu, this morning. Truly a fun excursion to revisit collegiate times—and even get paid for it.