arrange • compose • conduct
I used to get frustrated as the conductor of a tenor-bass a cappella ensemble, because of the easy fandom they received. They could give a good performance and get screams from their peers, even when an outstanding performance by another choir on the same concert didn’t receive the same level […]
I got to do a mini-clinic today on a piece I had arranged. It’s almost always joyful to be a guest clinician in that way. The nature of the work means you can move fast, fix things, shake up singers, and generally have a lot of fun. Singers listen to […]
Just because we all have to be in agreement doesn’t mean we all have to be beholden to the page. A rhythmic disagreement between sections tonight offered an opportunity to ignore the sheet music. Sheet music, of course, only contains a fraction of the musicality – there’s a lot of […]
I tried a new activity at this year’s retreat, and I’m keeping it. Two Minute Talents! Each singer brought some small talent or trick (think “Stupid Human Tricks”) that could be performed in two minutes or less. It was raucous fun – laughter, silliness, and impressive, all at once! It […]
The last time I was on a retreat was in 2019, and this weekend I’m (with school approval and as safely as I can) on a retreat with the Rockford Aces. I’ve noticed a trend in my own retreat planning towards more human connection and away from actual musical rehearsal. […]
In rehearsal, I heard myself say, “It’s your group – I’m just here to help you achieve your potential.” I really believe that. I call them “my students” or “my singers” but they don’t belong to me. On the other hand, “their director” is a good description – my role […]
I love a mix of recipes I know by heart and recipes I’ve never made before. I have so many things in my weekly repertoire whose recipes I don’t even look at anymore – I bake and cook from memory many times a week. But life gets stale if you’re […]
My least favorite part of September, I told my students in rehearsal tonight, is all the sight reading. Sure, we’re reading music all year long. But the balance of reading and polishing evolves over the course of the year, and in the beginning, it’s much more reading than polishing. It’s […]
For many of the things in our lives, there is something holding us there. A paycheck. A graduation requirement. A life commitment. When I look around the room of my ensemble in rehearsal, I think, “There is nothing holding them here.” No obligation, no law, no requirement. The only thing […]
We’ve talked a lot about starting – only natural as we consider this book and its many ideas at the beginning of a school and concert year. And yet, closings are important, too. I’m thinking about ends of rehearsals, about ends of concerts, and about ends of years (ends of […]