arrange • compose • conduct
Do you tell your students what you plan to change for next year? I prefer to be tight lipped about what I’m planning for the future with my ensembles. Part because I like to process my own thoughts independently, and part because I know I’m a slow thinker and don’t […]
Can you find clear direct parallels between different forms of art? A drawing is an autobiographical record of one’s discovery of an event – either seen, remembered or imagined. John Berger John Berger was an writer and artist, among other professions. (I admit to discovering this quote in a recent […]
Every streak is right on the edge of breaking. I can’t even say how many times I’ve thought to myself, “Oh, I can’t write tomorrow and I haven’t pre-published anything!” A few hours later, and my streak would reset to 0. Writing daily here is the longest streak I’ve ever […]
Would you do it again? Knowing what went into it? My goal is to say, “Yes” as often as possible to that question, for even the hardest of projects. I can answer yes whenever: I can learn more by doing it again. I can do it more easily when I […]
Vague tempo markings are unhelpful. So are the opposite. I’ve written before about vague tempo markings. And certainly I would be happy to never see “Moderately” over bar 1 of a score again. But in the most recent crop of piano-vocal scores, I’ve also seen several that skew too far […]
I love it when the blobs come to life! We’re doing a bonus Cabaret this year. (get your tickets! Wednesday, June 8!) For me, that means taking an other stack of piano-vocal scores and turning them into band arrangements for a pro rhythm section. By far, the most exciting part […]
It’s not when you start; it’s what you do after you start. I was thinking about my students who didn’t sing in choir in middle school, but decided to start in high school. Sometimes they think, “It’s too late to be successful at this” because other people got such a […]
The best artistic experiences for me have three things in common. I’m used to working to make art with young artists – you spend a lot of time in process, and not a lot of time approaching unqualified artistry. So when I want to experience something artistic that I did […]
The early months of the pandemic included making a virtual choir from across the state of the Michigan Choral Commission Consortium performing Z. Randall Stroope’s “I Have Loved Hours at Sea” which we had commissioned that year. Since then, we’ve had multiple pushbacks, delays, and other problems. That’s why I’m […]
Successful performing is full of contradictions. Nothing to do but embrace them. Be all of them. Focused on what you’ve got to do right. Relaxed enough to have fun as you’re doing it. Thinking ahead so you don’t turn a corner and miss something. In the moment so you can […]