arrange • compose • conduct
The more detail the better. Planning rehearsals sometimes feels like my arch nemesis as a conductor. I like the flexibility to follow challenges and react in the moment to the needs of my students; I also don’t often have the mental bandwidth to reliably sit quietly and prepare for rehearsal. […]
As you get further removed from the age and generation of your students, how do you maintain mutual reference points? There are at least two ways. You should probably use them both. Stay current! Do your best to engage with current music, styles, trends. It’s important to draw a distinction […]
Overscheduled kids know one thing for certain: every minute is precious. They have so few! Every moment is committed to one event or another, a class project or a math test to study for, plus social commitments with their friends. That’s why, when I’m with my students, I try to […]
I am such of fan of observing other people’s rehearsals. Observing the rehearsal, with active participation, is maybe the best way to get better at the art of effective rehearsal. Alice Parker has said that the real learning happened in her conducting masters with Robert Shaw at Juilliard when she […]
I am of two minds on repeating yourself in rehearsal. On the one hand: repeat yourself until the message sinks in. My students shout back at me some of my rules of music-making with the slightest prompting: “We’re dragging. Why not try…” “Physicalize the beat!”“The only way to memorize is?” […]
Tonight, I heard an ensemble demonstrate something I had been pretty sure was impossible.* Knowing it’s possible will change my musical outlook forever. That’s one of two reasons I program hard music by great ensembles with my groups. When an ensemble hears New York Voices or The Real Group or […]
Sometimes, it’s enough in a rehearsal to not go backwards. In times of great busyness, I do my very best to maintain regularly scheduled rehearsals. Sometimes, of course, it’s impossible – dress rehearsals, exams, performances, etc. can encroach on rehearsal. But if possible, even if everyone is exhausted, I hold […]
When we’ve moved past notes and rhythms into singing for musicality, I really like to invite ensemble members to “Give three intentions for this run-through.” The intentions might be as specific as “I want to nail that transition on page 5” or as overarching as “Dynamics!” They might be a […]
Music requires percolation time to achieve the best results. Think about the number of pieces a high school, college, or community choir might perform only once before putting away. It’s a significant percentage, and that’s too bad, because the percolation works better in performance than in rehearsal. Every performance you […]
Every year around this time, the Rockford Choirs are shaken with the latest “battle” an ongoing “war” between Mrs. and Mr. Scott. “Oh no,” they say, “Mrs. and Mr. Scott are fighting about Christmas again.” Even our kids, now, take sides in the argument. We are arguing about the pronunciation […]