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I deal with words a lot – close to 300,000 I’ve written here. And, of course, the ability to express feelings through words and text painting is for many singers the primary joy of being a singer rather than an instrumentalist. But, as Anders Edenroth says in the introduction to […]

It’s the week when last spring’s standardized test results come home. (Let’s forget, for a moment, that test results 5 months after the test can do little to help a child’s education.) Every year, I remind my children the same thing, and I do it by paying little or not […]

The Michigan Choral Commission Consortium, one of my pet projects, has had a banner year. Since I just shipped off the third chart to the participants, now is a good time for an update. Commissioned works: On This Road – SATB by Andrea Ramsey. Solace – SSAA by Sean Ivory. Oh […]

Personal Bibliography: Creativity Click here for my complete Personal Bibliography. Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way. I worked my way through this twelve-week creativity course early in my professional life and I think it had a significant impact on my development as a creative person. Curry, Mason. Daily Rituals. As you build your […]

Yesterday I heard on NPR, “Over a quarter of all Americans are too young to remember the September 11 attacks.” Our success in teaching relies, in no small way, on communicating through shared references. The shocking observation above should remind us that our shared references must constantly be updated, because […]

When a person recommends music to me, but I just don’t react favorably, I tend to ascribe it to one of three possibilities. Wrong Time: I might love it in five years, I might have loved it five years ago; right now is the wrong time for me and that […]

The overarching purpose of a choir retreat is to supercharge the year. Supercharge the relationships, the group dynamics, and of course the music. The upside: a well-planned retreat can definitely supercharge all of those things! You will reap the benefits of your weekend together for months. The downside: a well-planned […]

Welcome to Week 7 of The Definitive Version, a new weekly feature of my website. You can read more about the project here. Song: “Pick Yourself Up” Composer: Jerome Kern Lyricist: Dorothy Fields Form: A A’ B A Standard Key: F Major Jerome Kern and Dorothy Fields wrote this delightful song for […]

There is something to be said for being exhausted alongside your choir. When we’re tired, we can be more vulnerable, more honest, less guarded. In other words, being tired primes us for the kind of connections we need to form a strong bond with our teammates. One of the reasons […]

Challenge: Organize an event, and stay motivated not to drop any of the many balls you are juggling. Challenge: Be ready to forgive yourself, because you know that you will inevitably drop a ball, because you are human, and there are many balls in the air. Can you do both […]