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Global climate change is without a doubt the biggest social challenge our species is currently facing. Actually, it’s the biggest challenge we’ve ever faced as a species. We all need to get involved. Not just the elected officials, not just the advocates. We all. Including the artists. Maybe especially the […]

Eric Whitacre does many wonderful things with his success and fame, but I think the best thing he’s done is to initiate his Teacher of the Week. He honors a teacher – any level, anywhere in the world – based on nominations submitted to his site. It’s exactly right to […]

A lot has been written about the insufficiency of our notation system, and a lot more could be written. (For a great essay about it, check the last chapter of The Anatomy of Melody by Alice Parker.) But there is one particular notation that I feel increasingly in need of […]

One of the skills I most wish for my ensembles is the skill of being in the moment. That is, being responsive to exactly what’s happening, subtly or dramatically shifting interpretation based on the inputs you receive from the audience and your fellow singers. I wonder whether the best music […]

5 minutes a day X 5 days a week is our practice goal for the Rockford Aces, the high school TTBB group I conduct. The last two weeks have seen a real corner turn in terms of how many of the thirteen of them are committing to that goal – […]

My sole tenor in GRCC Shades of Blue was home sick today with stomach flu – unable to come to our final concert of the semester tonight. Here are the lessons I learned along the way today. Vocal jazz singers are resilient. They’ve worked so hard to master their very […]

I had a great experience with a PA this week where she made a quick diagnosis of an allergy before she ever did any medical tests. Small talk conversation and a few pieces of information and she was able to diagnose, then confirm very quickly. We, the family, were too […]

Be curious about what you’re curious about. Metacuriosity, to coin a term, is invaluable in plotting your course. What do you keep coming back to? What do you constantly wonder about? If a musical idea keeps coming back, chase it down. If you can’t get a different career path out […]

There are many different types of motivation for practice. Internal pressure – the sincere desire to grow and improve. Societal pressure – wanting to keep up with peers. Authority’s pressure – director or teacher’s demands or encouragement. Grade pressure – wanting a good grade on a jury or exam. Performance […]

The question of the week in the vocal jazz educator group was, when should you start rehearsing on system? It’s a different answer for my two ensembles. Shades of Blue, the vocal jazz ensemble I direct at Grand Rapids Community College, rehearses once a week for two hours. We rehearse […]