arrange • compose • conduct
Posts discussing education, both in and outside of music
Tell your students: when you’re pressed for time, you have to accept work that is good enough. Busy working adults learn this, over time. We learn that when there are multiple projects with tight deadlines, we must relax our standards and deliver less than our best work if we want […]
What are the most important things you want your choirs to end this school year with? Got the list? If you’re like me, there are at least a dozen major goals on it. You have to shorten it. Make it three. You’ll get more done, but you can only guarantee […]
As an educator, are you concerned more with rigor or clarity? Grant Sanderson, the amazing math communicator who runs the 3Blue1Brown YouTube channel, addresses how we are often tempted to pursue rigor at the expense of clarity. Even as educators, for whom clarity should be paramount, it’s a pitfall. The […]
You’ll never see me praying with my students, for one simple reason.
One of the hardest things for conductors to manage is their younger students’ lack of perspective.
The arc of most choirs’ experience with any piece is predictable.
My goal is to develop an ensemble’s autonomy until there’s no difference when I’m not in front of them.
I read the room, and I said confidently, “You’re going to read and learn this entire piece today.”
Overheard recently: a traditional bel canto voice teacher offering critique to a crossover student singing a jazz standard.
Just because something is easy doesn’t mean you’re not learning.