arrange • compose • conduct
What you’re doing looks like magic. In 1962, Arthur C. Clarke published his Three Laws, and the third and most famous is that “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.” As digital technology gets more advanced, that certainly feels true – computers and computer software take on a more […]
How many of the things you do could be described with this statement? I can describe so much of my life as things I didn’t expect to be doing. Some are things I aspired to, but that came into my life unexpectedly. (Directing Shades of Blue!) Some are things I […]
Summertime affords space for reflection. Can you bring that to your everyday? But I think that waiting till summer to reflect on what’s working and what isn’t takes too long. Often, when I’m in the middle of work, I don’t think I can possibly also devote time to stepping back […]
I’m not a generalist. No one is. I don’t suffer any delusions of being a world-class composer or arranger, but I know that I have specific knowledge that makes me effective in specific situations. I can write for my own groups better than almost anyone else, because I know exactly […]
Do you tell your students what you plan to change for next year? I prefer to be tight lipped about what I’m planning for the future with my ensembles. Part because I like to process my own thoughts independently, and part because I know I’m a slow thinker and don’t […]
Would you do it again? Knowing what went into it? My goal is to say, “Yes” as often as possible to that question, for even the hardest of projects. I can answer yes whenever: I can learn more by doing it again. I can do it more easily when I […]
It’s not when you start; it’s what you do after you start. I was thinking about my students who didn’t sing in choir in middle school, but decided to start in high school. Sometimes they think, “It’s too late to be successful at this” because other people got such a […]
Why is a word-of-mouth recommendation so more commonplace in certain professions? My son, an aspiring concert lighting designer, mentioned that many gigs are still gotten through word of mouth – you assist someone, and they recommend you a gig, and it goes from there. That’s natural for two reasons. First, […]
Leadership means asking for feedback to spur your own growth. That’s why I’m doing my first-ever exit interviews this year. I get faculty evaluations at the college, and I get feedback from students and parents in the form of emails, notes, social media posts. But this year I’m going beyond […]
I think this is one of the best questions you can ask, and that you can encourage your students to ask: What will you say about these times when they are over? About a tour, a year, a grade, a project, friendship: how will you describe them? It’s always my […]