arrange • compose • conduct
There is a resignation to realizing that you’re the one who’s going to have to get something done. Maybe you’ve been meeting about a goal without action for months or years. Maybe no one is raising their hand in rehearsal. Maybe someone has dropped the ball and there’s no time […]
In his conversation with Dr. Brené Brown on her podcast Dare To Lead, Simon Sinek said: They don’t make movies about good leaders. They only make movies about bad leaders, like Master and Commander and things like this. Because nothing’s going well, and some big personality comes in and barks orders and […]
I came to Joni Mitchell’s Blue late. I guess it’s because I came to Joni late – most pop music wasn’t really on my radar growing up. Twenty years ago, I bought a CD of Blue based on friends’ enthusiasm, and having heard her jazz album Both Sides Now live […]
I read omnivorously, across many genres of fiction and non-fiction. If it’s well-written and engaging, I’m interested. But sometimes, when I’ve had a busy stretch of life with no space for reading, I find it difficult to get back into reading. I’m just a little out of practice. When I […]
William Shakespeare is celebrated less for creating original stories – many of his best plays were adaptations of earlier works – than for the piercing language he used to tell the stories. The specific scenes, interactions, and dialogue he used are what make him the most celebrate English-language author. I […]
I’ve added some new recording gear to my home studio in the past year, and have really ramped up my recording work – including part recordings, demo recordings, and family sessions. With that in mind, here is my minimalist recording setup, as I’m using it now. It also doubles as […]
It has been my great good fortune to spend some time with Alice Parker over the last few years: she is as remarkable as you think, and each opportunity to chat with her is a treasure to me. I’m offline this week and visiting once again with Alice; I highly […]
A busman’s holiday isn’t all bad! A busman’s holiday refers to the idea that a family road trip for a bus driver would find them doing exactly what they did when not on vacation – driving. It refers, generally, to doing the things you do for work on your off […]
Curation involves assessing a lot of artistic works and selecting the ones that work together cohesively. To me, while there is room for intuition and spontaneous composition, the most successful composition is a form of curated improvisation. I give myself the time to experiment, with my inner critic turned off. […]
When I’m working on a recording or video project, there’s often a spot with a little timing or balance issue that needs solving along the way. My favorite moment is when I take the final step and the issue completely disappears, and it’s impossible to hear there ever was an […]