arrange • compose • conduct
I think this is one of the best questions you can ask, and that you can encourage your students to ask: What will you say about these times when they are over? About a tour, a year, a grade, a project, friendship: how will you describe them? It’s always my […]
I had my reservations about his music. It’s too hard, too complex, too musically dense. But after the concert on Saturday night in Detroit, I can unequivocally say, the critics are wrong. That includes me. I don’t doubt that Jacob Collier’s music will continue to evolve, grow, as he matures […]
How do you know if you’ll like a career? We spent the weekend talking and theorizing with our kids about the life on the road – after we had walked past the Jacob Collier tour buses, there were lots of questions. Tour life is strenuous and non-stop. Some people derive […]
I spent the week listening to music I appreciate but don’t always love. To be clear – I appreciate it deeply. I think it’s brilliant, and I totally allow for the fact that the reason I don’t always love it has to do with my own biases and experience. Certainly […]
That’s almost always the first question I ask. Having a framework for your creative work is essential for making choices about what to include and what to exclude. Even if the title changes later, the title itself – of an essay, of a talk, of a composition – is an […]
How do you promote your concert? As I told my students tonight, posters are great. School announcements and promo videos are great. Social media is great. But the most powerful way to get people to come to your concert is to ask them yourself. Tell them when it is, and […]
Do you know that you’re telling a joke? There is some funny music where “you” know you’re telling a joke. That is, the character you portray during the song is consciously being funny. Think Tom Lehrer. Other funny music gets funnier the more your character doesn’t show that they get […]
On my morning walks this week, there’s one piece on a loop in my head. It’s the cherry blossoms around every corner that call to mind the timeless A.E. Housman poem, “Loveliest of Trees.” And I love the version I was lucky enough to commission for the Rockford Aces from […]
I often like to take a hard break at the end of the year. Turn off my work brain entirely, even if it’s only for a week or two, before I start prepping in earnest for next year. The problem is, I’ve got several big projects I want to get […]
Encouragement isn’t always simple positivity. “True encouragement consists not so much of burbling as of detailed attention.” Stephen Sondheim, in a letter to Adam Guettel I personally struggle to five encouragement that isn’t simple positivity. I desperately want my students and mentees to keep going – to build on what […]