arrange • compose • conduct
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 […]
What’s your personal purpose statement? I’ve worked in the past on developing a purpose statement for my ensembles. Here’s where I landed for the Aces: To make high-level genre-agnostic music with tenors and basses from Rockford HS and share it with people through performance and recording, such that (A) a […]
Are you appreciating the skills of the people you work alongside most frequently? We turn today to the book of Sports Night, Season 1, Episode 10. In this scene, TV anchor Casey is being produced by a sub producer (Sally), and his longtime producer Dana is questioning the trust he […]
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 […]
My son is not at Blue Lake right now. He was going to experience his first ever real music camp this summer, studying clarinet and being around fellow young musicians, in an experience that is formative for so many musicians and artists. Blue Lake suffered from a significant COVID-19 out […]
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 […]
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 […]
It’s a blessing and a curse to recycle past work. My biggest concert of the year coincides with the last day of school this year, so once again I’m building to the very end. I’m thankful for the ability to reuse recycled documents – Google Docs for scripts and programs, […]
I try to be very clear to my ensembles – I don’t want the group to be your top priority all the time. Everyone has a lot of responsibilities they’re juggling, and I’m delighted that making music is one for my students. If it’s among the top 10 or 15 […]
There is freedom and creativity found inside a concert planning formula. The first time I noticed a programming formula in practice was when I was in Gold Company in college. Steve Zegree would consistently program (1) An upbeat pop-centered opener, with choreography, followed without speaking by (2) and up-tempo accompanied […]