arrange • compose • conduct
It’s great to find people who are crazy in the same way as you. Tonight I attended a concert production of Les Misérables, performed by a cast of seventh through twelfth graders who started rehearsing together on Monday. (The cast featured two of my students/Aces members as Jean Valjean and […]
How does urgency play a role in your workflow? Is there a solution? I have a harder time writing my daily post in the morning than the evening. The imminent deadline of bedtime and the clock hitting midnight is sufficient to put me in my seat and begin writing. The […]
I love all the many gigs I have: composer, arranger, director, conductor, teacher, mentor, consortium manager, producer, assistant, strategic planner, etc. The best gig I have is father. Done right, as I try to do and as my father did for me, it is the opportunity of a lifetime to […]
It’s the little things that pay off in the distant future. A precious family picture from three generations ago is meaningless if you don’t know who is in the picture. With the names on the back, they are fascinating connections to your personal history. Without the names, they’re just old-timey […]
What’s your secondary purpose? Events have a primary purpose: a concert’s primary purpose is sharing music with an audience. A fundraiser’s primary purpose is to raise money. A meeting’s primary purpose is to make decisions and assign responsibilities. But a meeting can also be about getting to know your colleagues […]
Every streak is right on the edge of breaking. I can’t even say how many times I’ve thought to myself, “Oh, I can’t write tomorrow and I haven’t pre-published anything!” A few hours later, and my streak would reset to 0. Writing daily here is the longest streak I’ve ever […]
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 […]
Being nervous about something means that it is something worth doing. My daughter woke up very nervous this morning. She was singing at the elementary school variety show today – outdoors on the playground, in front of the entire school from DK-5th grade. It was a big crowd, and it […]
Want people to come to your event? Social media isn’t it. Every conversation I have for the next three days will include some variation on, “By the way, the Aces have a concert Friday at 7! It’s free and there’s free ice cream after! You should come!” Every conversation. Because […]
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, […]