arrange • compose • conduct
When the going gets tough – when you’re stressed, busy, tired, sick, or otherwise preoccupied – you lean on familiar habits. That’s why I eat poorly when it’s the week of the musical – those familiar habits were built long ago. It’s because we don’t have to think – the […]
Don’t kid yourself. It’s totally possible to follow from the front. Leaders who don’t know where they are going can cheat over their shoulders to get clues. They can see where the people behind them are going and follow them. It’s easy in the choral rehearsal to be in front […]
Don’t pursue your dream…is something I’d never say. I’ve seen enough success–and failure–stories to know that I am not ably to reliably predict what someone’s career trajectory will look like. Actually, I’ve seen enough to know that I don’t think anyone can. Actually, I think the “don’t pursue your dream,” […]
Early into his time with the 2020 Michigan All-State Jazz Honors Choir, Duane Davis introduced one of the themes of his leadership and worldview, and he kept returning to it throughout his time with the singers. Yesness. “Have a pocketful of yesness,” he would say. “Let your face say ‘yes.’” […]
If you’re thinking about decluttering or attempting minimalism or just simplifying your possessions, a good question to ask is, “If I were moving tomorrow, would I move this?” It’s a way to quickly separate the things you really want to have from the things that are there just because they’re […]
“Some of our transformative leaders in history have been introverts. I’ll give you some examples. Eleanor Roosevelt, Rosa Parks, Gandhi — all these people described themselves as quiet and soft-spoken and even shy. And they all took the spotlight, even though every bone in their bodies was telling them not […]
My son brought home this inspirational video from the 2006 independent movie Facing the Giants. I think that what makes the scene an inspirational video is a combination of seeing a human achieve an extraordinary physical feat (never mind that it probably wasn’t filmed as such) and that the player […]
I desperately, passionately, unreservedly do not want to conduct my ensembles through compliance leadership. I am not, and refuse to be, a chair-throwing, yelling, lap-demanding leader. Part of that is temperament–that type of behavior would fit me exceedingly poorly. But a much bigger part has to do with my aspirations […]
My 10-year-old son came out of his hour-long basketball practice red-faced and sweaty. He had worked hard. But what he mentioned was the team on the next court over, whose coach had been loudly giving his team laps. “My coach doesn’t give us laps. He’s really good at showing us […]
It’s easy to get traction starting around a week before a concert, give or take. Suddenly, the looming public performance helps your students get into gear and make big leaps forward. The challenge is to get traction further ahead of the concert. If you can gain traction when the concert […]