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Choral conductors have a superpower. It’s easy to forget. You are busy dealing with dynamics, vowel placement, phrasing, intonation – to say nothing of bathroom breaks, choir couple breakups, and “when is the concert?” You have a superpower. It’s often easiest to see in December, when the world most wants to hear a […]

Get the explanations out of your rehearsal. When Robert Shaw wrote his famous “Dear People” letters, he would have to sit up late typing the letters on a typewriter, have them mimeographed and then mailed to his choir members. The work was significant. He did it anyhow because anything he could put […]

Facebook I love you, but you’re bringing me down. I work every day to live an intentional life, making positive choices and showing up. But social media creep into down moments and slowly grow and grow and grow. For December, I’m taking a step away. From Facebook, Twitter, Instagram. They are the […]

There has been a long and contentious debate in our community about the high school schedule. Eight years ago the switch was made from semesters to trimesters, which has enabled more individualization of schedules and elective options. (Most classes meet for only two trimesters, except AP Classes and music classes). With […]

Every year at retreat, my students and I talk about year-long goals. I ask each of them to bring three goals for the group, which we share late one night, and three personal goals, which they share individually with me. (I share my goals with everyone.) One of my big personal […]

A break! Today you haven’t heard your choirs for a few days. You’ve been relaxing, traveling, maybe overeating a little…. You can come into today’s rehearsal with fresh ears. Since the start of the school year, the longest you’ve gone has been *maybe* a long weekend. Your choir’s sound has remained […]

When you were born, the longest cycle you knew was eating. A few hours. A little later, you understood the cycle of a day, or the cycle of mommy leaving for work and coming home. By elementary school you could start to feel the cycle of a year – birthday to birthday, Christmas […]

I’m currently reading Mary Oliver’s wonderful book about writing poetry, A Poetry Handbook. (It’s essential, even if you have no intention of writing verse.) Her very first chapter is about the primary importance of reading poetry. She writes, “Many of my students would spend almost of their time writing, and very little of […]

Every year I make a couple of pies that I’ve had at every Thanksgiving since I was a toddler. Lemon and Chocolate Chess pies are part of my family tradition; they found their way there because when my mom tried one out of a cooking magazine in 1979, she walked into […]

If you’re like me, you’ve already loaded up your CD player and devices with Christmas music; but today you should give it a rest. Celebrate Thanksgiving with some classic Americana on the stereo. Here are a few listening recommendations to accompany your time in the kitchen and at the table. A Harvest Home […]