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Alice Parker’s 90th Birthday celebration this year has included lots of festivities including Chorus America, the Harvard Glee Club Medal, and more. You can read her most recent newsletter here. Most importantly, her nonprofit, Melodious Accord, is sponsoring a major celebration with the hashtag #AliceIs90. They want you to sing a Parker […]

I haven’t missed a single day on this blog since a year ago today. A lot has happened since then – a lot of writing and a lot of connections made. One news story I haven’t written about yet involves the song “Happy Birthday To You,” which has long been […]

I’m in the midst of a project that involves lots of Great American standards. George Gershwin, Cole Porter, Harold Arlen, Rodgers & Hart. Timeless music that has been interpreted and reinterpreted for close to a century. Here’s the thing. When they were working, they were writing. You never get the feeling […]

I’m restarting a project after a 10 month hiatus. It’s just a minor piece of arts education advocacy in my community, and one that I maintained successfully for about 1 1/2 years before I fell off a cliff with it and couldn’t pick back up. There were three steps I had to take […]

Here’s a Heartwarming Halloween Story, written by my wife. —– Our oldest came home from school Friday feeling disappointed that his classmates didn’t recognize his Percy Jackson Halloween costume. There were lots of tears and lots of hugs. After the boys went to bed, the hero of our family (Jed) posted an […]

Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross were the state-of-the-art vocal jazz group of the late-’50s and early-’60s. More than any other group, LH&R brought real jazz ethos to harmony singing. They swing. They scat. They collaborate with jazz masters like Count Basie, Joe Williams, Louis Armstrong, Dave Brubeck. It’s a revolutionary sound – you […]

It has never been easier for creators to put their work into the world. Seven-year-olds create Youtube channels, for heavens sake. Good ones. And yet over and over I see skillful, passionate future artists waiting. Teenagers with albums in their heads and Netflix in front of their eyes. To them, I say: Don’t wait. […]

I recently read a blog from a fellow choral conductor who wrote about his aversion to “networking.” I agree, but only if we can define the term better. I feel like networking is often defined pretty broadly as getting to know other people in your profession – peers and people ahead of you […]

I was reminded over the weekend of the value of having a basic vowel chart hanging in the choir room, for reference by the students and the conductor. Dr. Joe Miller highlighted its importance in good singing. He even took a moment to mock-shame all of us without one on our wall. And then […]

Like many, I was pleased to hear President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan announce that limits are going to be placed on the amount of time spent on standardized testing. The most concrete piece of information released is that testing time will be limited to no more than 2% of classroom time. It sounds admirable […]