September, 2004

Wow! Where did the summer go? It seems like only yesterday that I planted my garden, and today I picked what seem to be the last tomatoes of the season. On closer inspection I found a cucumber the size of a Louisville Slugger. With
the cool fall weather starting to show itself here in Minnesota I've noticed my Morning Glories have turned into Late Afternoon Glories. A few times they stayed open all night long. There by becoming Yesterday's Morning Glories!
Anyway, it's been one of the busiest summers I can remember.

Back in June I finished writing and recording the 3rd installment of the film "Uncommon Ground", which has now changed it's title to "Minnesota: A History of the Land". The 4th and final installment of the 4 hour docu-drama will be written and recorded in October. The film will be aired on Minnesota Public TV in late January or early February. I do not know at this point if there are any plans to air it Nationally. There has been some talk about possibly making a CD out of some of the music that I've written for the film. Red House Records has expressed some interest in putting the CD out. I hope so, because there is some mighty fine music in this film (even if I do say so myself). I'll keep you posted on this
project as it develops...

This month I'm also knee deep in writing music for "Fire Ball", a musical about the great Hinckley fire that happened in the 1890's. It is being developed by the Great American History Theatre in St. Paul, Minnesota. We will be doing a 2 week workshop with the actors in October, then the production is scheduled to open in March of 2005.

In July I recorded another CD for the Lifescape Series exclusively sold at Target Stores. This CD is called "Italian Countryside". I wrote about half the music on the CD, and the other half features some fine old traditional Italian music. The instrumentation features mandolin, accordion, violin, cello, guitar and percussion. I'm very happy with how it turned out, and have been told that it will be available in Target stores in October.

Since January of this year my major touring partner has been a guitarist from the country of Belarus (White Russia) by the name of Arkadiy Yushin. He's as good of a guitarist as you may ever hear, and BONUS, his people are built low to the ground for picking potatoes, too! The high point of our touring this summer was a trip through Montana and Wyoming. Besides some great concerts, we took in the North Dakota Badlands, Custer Battlefield Park, Yellowstone Park, the Beartooth Mountain Pass out of Red Lodge Montana (a couple of times), Medicine Wheel National Historic site in the Big Horn Mountains, the Devils Tower in Wyoming, Mount Rushmore in the Black Hills, and last but not least, the Corn Palace in Mitchell South Dakota.

At present Arkadiy and I are playing in the pit band for a world premiere of Hans Christian Anderson's "Hansel & Gretal" being done by The Childrens Theatre Company of Minneapolis, Minnesota. The music and lyrics were written by my good friend Ruth MacKenzie. The music and show is great and it runs through October 9th.

Speaking of Ruth, she and I are doing a concert together on September 18th in St. Paul. The concert is called "The Harvest", and will include some of our favorite musicians. Click the poster at the right to download all the details. Ruth will also be joining me on two concerts in December. Yes, the Peter Ostroushko Heartland Holiday Show will be back again this year. December 16th in Rochester, Minnesota at the Mayo performing Arts Center, and also December 19th at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul, Minnesota. The shows are being produced by Minnesota Public Radio, and judging from the past few years the tickets will go fast. Tickets are $20-30 and can be purchased at the Fitzgerald Theater Box Office. MPR members receive $2 discount. General public tickets are available through Ticket Master Arts-line: 612-673-0404. Group sales are available, contact the Fitzgerald Theater Box Office at 651-290-1221.

I am writing these notes on the evening of September 11th. It's hard to believe that 3 years have gone by since that tragic day, and how I'm still haunted by the memories. As tragic as those memories are, I still welcome them. I doubt that they will ever go away while I'm still here on earth. My life changed on that day as it did for all Americans, and those memories still inspire me. They inspire me to be the best person that I can be. To educate myself to the needs of humanity. To be aware of global issues. To be open and forgiving, and not take for granted the blessings that are given to us each day. It's a tall order, and some days I succeed better than others, but I try and do this in memory of those that lost their lives on 9/11. So that their deaths will have somehow made this world a better place. During this election year we cannot take for granted our Democracy. Educate yourselves on the issues that concern your community, your state, our country. Educate yourselves as to what the candidates have as solutions to those concerns. Open up your hearts and minds to hear the truth. Then get out and VOTE. "We The People" decide our fate. Not politicians or terrorists, but WE. Vote! Do this in memory of the victims of 9/11. It's the least that we can do.

That's it for now... Peter