arrange • compose • conduct
“I need to read more, is the thing,” my wife said to me yesterday. “Same!” I replied. There are just so many great books I want to read, and I’ve been in a reading slump really since the pandemic hit. But the truth is, it isn’t about what I need […]
My wife, Mandy, is a brilliant conductor. She regularly makes magic happen in concert and in rehearsal. She has wonderful musical instincts, impeccable training, and makes visual poetry with her conducting. But even as she makes the music come alive, she puts the people first. In the course of her […]
I’m rereading an old favorite right now – a book I fest read a quarter century ago. It’s a pretty uncommon reading choice for me, as I tend to seek out new ideas and perspectives in my reading. Meanwhile, I am perennially listening to old favorites in my musical life. […]
For a long time, I haven’t been very interested in endings. I’m almost always looking forward to the next concert, the next year, the next project. I’ll celebrate in the moment, but pretty soon I’m on to the next thing. This school year feels like something I need to sit […]
Most of the time, the right people show up. During the Long Quiet, enrollment has gone down in virtually every elective activity – from music to theatre to Scouting to Advanced Placement classes to church attendance. Maybe there was too much else going on, maybe some people were afraid of […]
My dad described one of his first chances to scrub in with an orthopedic surgeon, on the day he was interviewing for an internship in that hospital. When the surgery was mostly done, the doctor offered him a chance to see the work, and my dad noticed, and pointed out, […]
I am trying to take more advantage of Schedule Send, and you should, too. Both Gmail and Microsoft Outlook have the option to schedule an email’s delivery, rather than sending it immediately. It has two big values for a portion of the emails we all send. First, the smaller advantage: […]
There are some birds I see year-round in my yard. Chickadees. Cardinals. Blue Jays. There are others, migratory birds, that I might see only briefly, if I’m watching carefully, as they pass over en route to their summer or winter homes. This spring I saw a group of Redpolls for […]
Two ways people in power fail: Failing to use their power to make things better. This can be because they don’t see a problem, because they’re busy and distracted, because they aren’t hearing demand for change, or any number of other reasons. Claiming their progress. If you make progress, but […]
“I was reminded that aesthetic beauty is as much about how and whether you look as what you see.” John Green, in The Anthropocene Reviewed In this quote, John Green is describing being captivated with the beauty of an oak leaf, thanks to his young child. Children are great at […]