It all started with a bike ride in 1994. While on the bike path I ran into Ronee Rubin, then Director of Entertainment Studies at UCLA Extension, who was on her daily power walk. She asked me what was happening and I told her I’d just moved into my first home. She asked me if I wanted to do something new and different from the International Bandstand world music classes I’d been doing for UCLA Ext for the past few years. I told her without much thinking or hesitation that it would be cool to do a class in my new home, with wine and cheese: a music salon. I was mostly kidding. Less than a week later, however, a course description for the music salon arrived.
I’d taught English comp at Mount St. Mary’s and English as a Second Language in Paris. But never music. Having left Morning Becomes Eclectic and having been let go from Horizon Records at A&M, it all came at a good time. I taught for four years, then had to stop because of a new gig with the LA Philharmonic, starting a world music series that eventually morphed into the KCRW World Festival.
People kept asking me, “When are you going to teach another music salon or International Bandstand?” So in 2009 I started doing salons again. I’ve done something like a dozen of them so far and the next one starts in just over a week, on September 17th.
There are 5 spots left and the Salon is limited to 15 people. Click here for details and if you’re interested in signing up.
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