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Teachers have many superpowers. This is one of their most special. A great teacher has the power to understand a subject deeply and still see it like the beginners they work with. They can help novices navigate through challenges, because they can see it as novices, and can anticipate the […]

Oh, August skies. Blue and wide. Warm days that cool off overnight. Every school year lives its own weather story, and my part of the country might tell very different stories than yours. Where I am, I am soaking up these blue blue skies to sock away for the trough […]

“We die. That may be the meaning of life. But we do language. That may be the measure of our lives.” Toni Morrison, 1993 Nobel Lecture Toni Morrison didn’t write for me. But her writing profoundly affected me. She died on Monday at the age of 88. I feel no […]

So often, as we seek to get our choirs to perform at the highest level, we work to put the pressure on. We try to light a fire under our singers, motivate them to aim higher. When I’m working with singers in the studio, particularly one-on-one as I am this […]

“Learning To Rise” is the fourth and final part of Dare To Lead. It addresses a core concern of businesses, but also of educators everywhere: to empower the people we work with to deal with setbacks and rise from failures. This article will unpack the chapter, discuss its implications specifically for […]

Yesterday I was on the Lake Michigan beach twice with my 10-year-old. The first time, we were swimming together, skipping rocks, laughing and playing. Active engagement. The second time, I didn’t go in the water – we sketched some in the sand with a stick and then I sat and […]

As I wrap up my Summer Read-Along of Dr. Brené Brown’s Dare To Lead with a focus on choral leaders, her organization has been finalizing an amazing new FREE resource for educators. Daring Classrooms includes classroom integration plans, free posters and quote cards, learning lab videos, and more–all designed to facilitate making your […]

Today was my first time delivering a new talk about jazz harmony and rhythm – the intent of the session was to provide the tools needed for choir directors to confidently tackle vocal jazz repertoire. I called it the “Next Session” – all the topics I hadn’t had time to […]

Tools, strategies, even particular pieces of art can have seasons in our lives. So it’s important to regularly ask, “Does this still serve me?” Does regularly programming this work still serve the intention of my ensemble? Does this vocal warmup still do what I intend it to do, as years have […]

Choral educators are some of the hardest working educators people I know. Emotionally, physically, intellectually – they give so much. It’s at gatherings like the MSVMA conference I’m currently attending that we all remember why we work so hard. We’re reminded through the stories our colleagues share, through their earnest […]