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James Taylor averaged a new original album every 16 months in the 1970s – not counting his 11X platinum Greatest Hits released in 1976. His album “Before This World“, released on June 16, is his first album of original music since 2002. James Taylor fans have been waiting – which is probably why it’s […]

There are lots of things that a good choral program does every year – a little Renaissance, a little Baroque, a little Lauridsen or Whitacre. Here are three ideas for revitalizing your programming with out-of-the-box ideas. Program Some Alice Parker – celebrating her 90th Birthday this year. Program Some Vocal Jazz – and not […]

I came up through the Kostka/Payne theory textbooks in high school and college; a generation earlier and I’d doubtless have been a Piston student. The first two semesters of college theory, you’ll remember, are mostly devoted to chorale-style part writing. Learn to write a Bach chorale, the thought goes, and […]

One of the high points of the Rockford Choirs 2014 European Tour was undoubtedly a stop en route to Vienna. One year ago today, on the Fourth of July, we 57 Americans stopped at Mauthausen Concentration Camp. It had been liberated by American forces on May 5, 1945. This camp is recognizable for […]

I’ve been visiting a home surrounded by books. Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves across three stories hold easily 10,000 volumes on every subject imaginable. There are paintings on the walls and several thousand CDs of great music. How would it affect someone to be surrounded by books, by music, by art when they’re growing […]

I just finished developing a new version of my website: take a look around!

“Ah, music! A magic beyond all we do here!” – Albus Dumbledore in Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone   The value of reading aloud to your child is well-documented. And the joy of sharing books like the Harry Potter series with your kids can’t be overstated. Just as important, […]

Piano. Reading. Yoga. We learn to practice the skills that we value in life, but many think of compassion as a trait, not a skill. What if it isn’t? What if compassion is a muscle we can exercise and build? Who would then argue that we shouldn’t teach, exercise, cultivate […]

I’m in the midst of writing sight reading exercises for MSVMA 2016 Festivals; here are my top-5 criteria in composing the exercises. 5. Appropriate intervallic material. MSVMA designates three levels of sight reading at the high school level, each with specific permitted intervals. 4. Appropriate rhythmic material. Same as 5. […]