arrange • compose • conduct
I feel like I’ve entered Bizarro World – where the judgement of Grammy voters actually bestows artistic merit on recordings. Let me be clear: Grammy Awards are never consistently about the best music among the nominees any more than the Emmys or Oscars award the best television or movies. It’s about […]
Last Valentine’s Day I got to spend the day and evening with my very favorite vocal group, seeing the first time since 1997. Sweden’s a long way away. I got to see The Real Group again in Latvia during my trip to the World Choir Games with the Rockford Choirs […]
When you’re talking to one of your student’s friends, do they ever say something along the lines of, “Choir sounds like a lot of fun, but I can’t sing.” How do you respond? Here’s what we’ve been around Rockford lately. “Good news, we teach singing! I bet you couldn’t do […]
Producing creative works isn’t about having better ideas than anyone else. It’s about writing down more ideas than everyone else, then trying as many as you need to until you find a good one. Edison tried 1000 light bulbs before he made one work. Bell worked for years to invent […]
Today I made my 4:30 writing time for the first time this week. I have perfectly justified reasons for not getting up to write at 4:30; those reasons don’t help me feel less frustrated at my lack of writing momentum. It took all my willpower to get out of bed […]
30 years. That’s how long The Real Group has been singing together. During that time they’ve made many albums, countless performances and world tours. They make art and have forever changed the landscape of vocal jazz and a cappella singing. One of the things that strikes me most about their […]
Yesterday I baked my 17th loaf of bread in 2015. I love making bread because it’s a way to be of true service to my family. I know I’m putting delicious, nutritious food into their mouths. It’s a concrete way of showing my love. We all need to find more ways […]
Have you shared one of these articles on Facebook recently? It feels great to read a scientific study that confirms what you already know about music education. You are affirmed, emboldened, reassured. But there are two problems. First, you and your colleagues didn’t need convincing. If you’re a music teacher, you’ve already […]
When we finished rehearsing “That Which Remains” by Andrea Ramsey (text by Helen Keller) one rehearsal, I looked around at my twelve students. I asked, “What are you waiting for? Helen Keller, who never heard a word spoken or saw a mouth move, and who spent the last decades of […]
Last week I threw out hours of work on an arrangement. About half way through, I stepped back, took stock, and didn’t love what I had written or, more importantly, where I saw it going. So I highlighted the music, hit “clear” and started over. And I owe it all […]