arrange • compose • conduct
Stephen Sondheim lets you know how important he thinks talent is, in this letter to a young Adam Guettel. “I think you’re serious, literate, intelligent and talented — and, surprisingly, the last is the least because it means little without the others.” Stephen Sondheim, in a letter to Adam Guettel […]
This is the slowest and most painful way to learn. And yet, I hear many people insist on making their own mistakes – even fail at things they needn’t – because they feel they’ll learn better that way. There are certainly things you learn better by doing them wrong before […]
Want to achieve something down the road? Don’t look forward to. Work backward from. Say you want to sing a solo at your spring concert. Looking forward to standing onstage and singing isn’t nearly enough to get you there. You need to work backwards: performance >>> auditions >>> lessons/coaching >>> […]
Why do people go to football games? The answer, fundamentally, is simple. People go to football games because people go to football games. The history feeds into the present. At a big high school, there might be 5,000-10,000 fans in the stands for a Friday night game (or many more […]
How do you define “ready to perform”? One of the big challenges to helping young people develop their artistry is helping them move their definition of performance ready. I have had many students over the years who have considered performance ready to mean “I know the notes, rhythms, and words.” […]
The future of your program can depend on the smallest of nudges. Do great work all year, recruit, make beautiful music, connect with and relate to your students…still some might decide not to stay in choir next year. A give-back karaoke day and a solo that receives praise from peers […]
That’s how I describe the best times in my life, both professionally and personally. How did I do all of those amazing things in one week/one month/one year? The three days, for example when we hosted The Real Group in concert, had a celebratory court date, and organized a 150+ […]
Educators shouldn’t always give in to their instinct to offer options for different learning and personality styles. I’m always one to offer different perspectives, different approaches for the things I teach. I want to reach and teach everyone, so I’ll cover a topic in as many different ways as I […]
I have given myself an extra 30-60 minutes a day this month by pre-writing all my posts. I hope I’ve been combining it with a summer “social media sabbatical” to find more time to do the things I want to prioritize this summer. That includes: More family time – playing […]
Over the years, I’ve learned the value – and some tricks – to collaborating with local news. Maybe your town, too, has a local weekly newspaper; it can be one of your best sources of publicity and advocacy for your choir! Over the last 15 years, I’ve provided as many […]