Uncategorized

I’ve found there are two approaches to listening to a recording for the first time. Repeat. Begin listening, and as soon as you find something that resonates, repeat as often as necessary to feel fulfilled. For a really great album, it might take them weeks to get past the first three songs. Complete. Start at the […]

It’s something I haven’t done yet – bring an ensemble to perform at a conference. To me, the conductors who bring their choirs to a music conference such as ACDA-Michigan are heroes. They spend their time, energy, and money preparing and traveling to the conference. They present a program that may or may not be quite ready, without being able […]

The thing about music is it lives with people in the same room. This is something fewer and fewer of us are mindful of in an era of Youtube and iTunes – music is a commodity available at just one click. And when your favorite ensemble lives in Stockholm or London or […]

Note: This week I’ve selected words I think we should consider removing from usage for various reasons. When we talk about what we’re not good at, let’s stop using the word can’t. Today I’ll be at the ACDA Michigan Conference, and of course on the minds of me and my fellow Michigan […]

Note: This week I’ve selected words I think we should consider removing from usage for various reasons. When we talk about good singing, let’s stop using the word talented. As a choral educator, I am in the business of taking enthusiastic, musical students and helping them develop the skills they need to perform […]

Note: This week I’ve selected words I think we should consider removing from usage for various reasons. When we talk about athletics, let’s stop using the word sportsball. Is this happening in your choir, too? For years, the music students I’ve known have felt picked on, bullied, marginalized by the athletes in the school. […]

Note: This week I’ve selected words I think we should consider removing from usage for various reasons. When we talk about people making a living creatively, let’s stop using the word creatives. Creativity is our most unique trait as human beings. I agree with those who say it’s what makes us human. So when […]

Note: This week I’ve selected words I think we should consider removing from usage for various reasons. When we talk about payment, let’s stop using the word compensation. When Merriam-Webster’s dictionary defines compensation, the definition that relates to payment is the fifth and final one (2b). I think when we use […]

Listen, I’m going to keep it short today. Click here and listen to Mary Oliver on the radio show On Being. A remarkable poet in a remarkable interview about poetry. (iTunes/Podcasts here.) I first heard it en route to Alice Parker’s home last summer – and I can say that the parallels between Mary’s […]

In which I draw a connection between Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Hamilton (2015 AD) and Virgil’s Aeneid (19 BC)… Chiasmus is a literary term roughly referring to parallelism in reverse – an AB-BA form. It’s named for the Greek letter chi, which looks like an X. The word order in Ancient Latin was very flexible – […]