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 […]
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, […]
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 saw a social media post a while ago listing the various technical and educational hurdles they cleared to create a virtual concert. One of them included the phrase “yelling at kids to […]”. That’s where you lost me. I believe in the importance of musical excellence, of motivating students […]
A popular business expression goes “Underpromise and overdeliver.” But I can’t think of a single important relationship in which that is the best approach. Do people underpromise in their wedding vows? Do parents underpromise to their children? Do you underpromise to your friends? Underpromising is always, to me, a subtle […]
On my morning two-mile walk, there are two dogs who are quite obsessive. You can tell even if they aren’t outside, because they have dug gentle ruts into their yards with repeated running back and forth along the same path. It seems to me that most people want to have […]
ASPIRATIONAL anagrams to PLAN IS A RATIO. It’s a simple ratio: the more aspirational your goal is, the more significant you need to plan. If your goal is routine, you probably don’t need to plan all that much. If your goal is novel, or extreme, or very challenging, you almost […]
I was so fortunate to spend Tuesday evening in a 2+ hour Zoom masterclass from the wonderful Dr. Kate Reid, Director of the Jazz Vocal program at the University of Miami Frost School of Music. She worked with each of my Shades of Blue students on a solo jazz song […]
Trust is only valuable when it’s in action. Theoretical trust – what does that even mean? One of my favorite ways of practicing trust in action is with a subito fortissimo. Because the truth is that if you don’t trust the choir around you, you are going to sing mezzo […]