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I’m looking ahead to when the rehearsals get challenging–intonation sags, notes aren’t learned, focus is nonexistent. It’s a guaranteed part of being in a group of people. It’s easy, in those moments to point fingers, blaming others in the ensemble. It’s easy to let progress stop, to let negativity rule the rehearsal. But […]

Something to look forward to in final preparations for the start of the school year: All year long, the energy you use is reciprocal – you get emotional energy back, in the form of responsive students, musical moments, and more. The many hours of summer work don’t come with the same […]

You have your choir calendar with all the dates set. What you probably haven’t planned for is the post-concert/festival/event publicity. Realize, my friends, that local newspaper loves printing stories about great things happening in their community. If you write the articles, add a picture or two, and know the right email […]

Sometimes the best thing to say today is, “We’ll try again tomorrow.” It doesn’t always go right; things fall apart (thanks, Pema Chödrön); harsh words are spoken; sleep is interrupted; rehearsals don’t go as well as planned; tears are shed. We’ll try again tomorrow. You need to take the long […]

You might digest a novel in a day, while your neighbor might take a month. Perhaps Jane Austen had a speed at which she wanted you to read Pride and Prejudice, but once it was published, she had no control. The same is true for Mona Lisa–although Leonardo da Vinci might have known […]

Formal innovation means nothing without artistry. I’m reading a fabulous novel with virtuosic formal artistry. Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell is actually seven nested novels with interwoven plots. But though the form of his novel is compelling, it wouldn’t be nearly enough to sustain a reader if he wasn’t also a fabulous author. Beethoven’s formal […]

As of last Friday, I have completed my service to MSVMA as staff for the Summer Conference. For four years, I had the honor of working alongside some amazing colleagues in programming, planning, and coordinating the conference, and while I’m excited to be refocusing my volunteer time on the All-State […]

It’s rare to be present at the start of something new and important, and I feel that I got that chance last night at the inaugural performance of Mirabai, the new professional women’s chorus conducted by artistic director Sandra Snow. It should go without saying that the performance, titled “All I Was […]

In Mandy’s talk, she talked about paying attention to how you spend your time, and how that makes you feel. I think, just as important, is to pay attention to the little coincidences – the syncronicities – that tell you that you’re headed in the right direction. When you embark on […]

My wife Mandy delievered a powerful TED-style talk at the MSVMA Summer Conference today. In it she talked about the tools for busy choir directors to remain centered and grounded in their over-filled lives. Some favorite lines: “Nobody in this room has a lot of free time – we have to […]