arrange • compose • conduct
I’ve been enjoying digging into my all-time favorite TV show, The Muppet Show, since it was recently made available on Disney Plus. One of my favorite parts of the show is this: Everyone sings. Every cast member sings; they aren’t all singers. But they all sing – in harmony, in […]
I have recently begun a new practice of posting my daily post early on Patreon. In terms of my writing work, there has been no change. At the moment, I write in the evenings, as my kids get ready for bed, or just after. (My practice changes over time, because […]
The good years are now. Yes, even amidst a pandemic. Yes, even when you made outstanding music with your ensembles a decade ago, preferred the educational system thirty years ago, even if you think the social mores were better 75 years ago. The good years are now, because now is […]
I spent the last fifteen minutes of rehearsal reading three children’s books to my students. We preceded it with a conversation about what it takes to deliver a potent performance to an audience. With a solid year since most of them gave a performance, it’s important to at least talk […]
Besides “Who is it for?”, one of the most important questions to ask with any new creative endeavor is, “How could I fail?” If your new creative endeavor has no possible way of failing, then it isn’t very creative. On the other hand, if the stakes are so high that […]
I support artists on Patreon because of what’s in it for them. I love that a few dollars pledged monthly can give artists a steady income, enabling them to devote more time to their craft. But it’s easy to understand the “What’s in it for me” mindset. Like any voluntary […]
“Who is it for?” is one of my top animating questions for any artistic project. The more specific you can be about who the art is for, the more decisive you can be in crafting the art. Who, then, is my new Patreon experiment for? It’s for people who want […]
Why did I choose to experiment with the Patreon direct-patronage model? First, I think the model is really good. Working for a patron when patronage was prevalent in the Baroque and Classical eras correlates with some really remarkable music being written. Moving away from the single commission model can light […]
I’ve been creating music as a career for a long time – my first paid commission came about 20 years ago, and my work is now fairly evenly divided between teaching/conducting and writing for choral ensembles. While virtually all of my work over the last 10+ years has been on […]
When we teach dynamics, students learn that forte means loud. In Italian, forte more precisely means strong. But I think even that doesn’t do enough. Dynamics are relative – a forte passage in a vocal jazz piece might feel very different from a forte passage in a Gospel piece, for […]