arrange • compose • conduct
I remember my aunt being an expert at touching the tip of her nose with her tongue (as my daughter is, now). Her advice for learning the skill? Your tongue needs to sneak up on your nose. Now, of course our tongues can’t actually sneak up on our noses. But […]
In this excellent podcast conversation, Brené Brown and Adam Grant discuss the difference between pursuing success and pursuing mastery. Success is an external motivator – its focus is in how you are received by the world. Mastery is an internal motivator – its focus is in how you interact with […]
What will the harmonic language of your next piece be? Hopefully, your musical studies and experiences have given you fluency in multiple harmonic languages. Pentatonic; modal; tonal; functional jazz; modal jazz; atonal….the list goes on.As I begin to write a piece, I am thinking about the harmonic language, and how […]
I tend to be less particular about texts than some composers. I know many composers who don’t involve the commissioning ensembles at all in selecting the text, or who retain final veto, or who control the text decision in some other ways. I personally think of myself as a hired […]
I like to program only repertoire I love – I love the text, or I love the arrangement, or I love the melody, or I love the concepts it teaches – but it’s never attainable for all singers in a choir love all the pieces in their folders. As a […]
Love must be at the center of great music-making. Not always romantic love, but love nonetheless. Love of friends. Love for the human connection. Love for music. Deep connection is at the core of all the best music I’ve ever experienced. The connection comes from love. Without that core, the […]
Real artists are generous. Even as they work to make a living at their art, they give as much as they collect. This month, our family ordered some chocolates from a Belgian artisan that we believe makes some of the finest anywhere (and which figured in our early dating, while […]
I have long loved Steve Zegree’s beautiful setting of the Gershwins’ “Love Walked In.” It’s a study in suspension-resolution, it reaches beautiful jazz harmony while retaining excellent voice leading, and it brilliantly teaches expressive singing. I selected it for GRCC Shades of Blue this fall, because while a cappella ballads […]
It was awfully cold here in Michigan, but my dog is a winter dog, so she was delighted to go on a 2 mile walk this morning at -3ºF. Over the last two years, she has drilled home this important lesson to me: winter is a lot better if you […]
I’m working on a MIDI guide track for part-learning, and am heeding the advice of Anders Edenroth, who suggested moving beyond a simple clave-style click track. Even though the final track will be a cappella, there is value in giving a rhythmic foundation that helps singers feel the groove as […]