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The flu happens. You might be able to predict it a bit (based on attendance in class, or your kids’ behavior) but when it gets you, it’s always a shock. Being ready for the flu, then, means being ready to miss a rehearsal and still be ready for the concert. It means building slack […]

Let me tell you a secret: We know. I overheard a young man in a piano lesson play a piece for the sixth week in a row. He clearly hasn’t spent much time on it beyond his lesson time; if he had, he’d be five pieces farther in the book […]

About a decade ago a friend paid me a compliment – though I’m not sure she meant it the way I took it. “You’re really comfortable with silence.” She happened to be around the choir room as I was teaching a music theory lesson; I had asked a question and […]

I just received my second major commission for the Rockford Aces. After the success of our 2013 commission of Alice Parker (Cindy) I was hungry to commission again, and with the help of a grant from my local education foundation I was able to commission Michael McGlynn, founder and music director […]

The first performance of a new group is kind of like a Band-aid. Best to tear it off fast. My personal preference for first performance includes two big criteria: 1, slightly before they feel ready; 2, in front of an audience without astronomical expectations. One great solution is to book a performance of the […]

If you are worried about people rejecting, criticizing the art you want to make, don’t worry. They will. No art is for everyone. People reject Lin-Manuel Miranda’s brilliant Hamilton, saying “I hate rap.” The crowd rioted at the first performance of Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring. Your art won’t be […]

It won’t happen. I think a lot of young artists are afraid that if they use up their good ideas before they’re ready to execute them properly, that they will fail with them and have nothing to replace them. They very well might fail with their first ideas; that’s part of […]

From a conversation yesterday with a young artist… Start making art. If you want to be a filmmaker, write and share a 1 minute film every week. Post it on your Youtube channel. If you want to be a singer, learn a new song every week. Put it on Soundcloud. If you want to write songs, write […]

One of the most significant ideas I left my week with Alice Parker was placing text front-and-center. Both as a composer and as a conductor, Alice doesn’t address the notes until she (or her choir) has internalized the words. With my new commission from Michael McGlynn, I was afforded a unique […]

I’m starting my last morning of Rockford Aces retreat with a trust fall. We’ve done it for the last four or five years, and I find the message to be powerful. Choirs are built on trust. You won’t really sing subito forte if you don’t trust your neighbors to join you. So without […]