arrange • compose • conduct
In every organization, someone needs to ask this question. Should I decide, debate, or delegate? Over and over again, I have been in meetings that could have lasted half as long if there was a clear differentiation between decisions to be made by the leader and decisions that needed to […]
“Follow your heart, and you’ll never work and day in your life.” So goes the aphorism we tell young people – heck, we tell ourselves! And it’s just not true. Doing things well is hard, whether you love doing them or not. That’s the truth. It’s also still a good […]
Communities take time. One of the best things you can do for your choir is to craft a community they can be a part of. Call it communityism. Being a part of a community makes everything easier. You know who to call for a favor. You know who can solve […]
The intuition of experience is remarkable. I can look at a new score and find the spots that won’t work with good success. I’ll play through a section and say, “That won’t work.” I can go back and think about why, but the answer comes before I consciously know the […]
For every extended rehearsal you plan, ask yourself this question: Have I scheduled past the point of diminishing returns? I always want to maximize available time and use every minute for the growth and improvement of my ensembles. But I have been in situations where other leaders have scheduled a […]
Your creation doesn’t need to have everything. Just make what’s necessary, and then stop. I finished a vocal jazz arrangement today that fits on two pages. Not an a cappella ballad, either! In this case, I was casting around, trying to see what kind of soli, shout chorus, vocalese, or […]
Sometimes the important work you do today isn’t what looks like the work. For example, today’s studio session was great – we tracked three songs for the Aces in three hours, plus a little bonus track really quickly at the end! They worked hard, grew, and put down some great […]
Don’t take your creations too seriously. At least, I don’t. The third time my students read a rhythm differently than written yesterday, I changed it on the spot. As I said to them, “Just because I wrote it doesn’t mean I got it right!” I can make mistakes in my […]
For the first time, I am starting a semester at GRCC with an identical ensemble to last semester. No drops, no adds. It’s a situation I’m very excited about. As I often say, the best part about the first semester of a vocal jazz group is the second semester. It […]
Here are my top five recommendations for people new to being in front of an ensemble in rehearsal. These are the ones I say over and over to my students when they are starting out running sectionals or portions of rehearsal. (I do my best to sit in the corner […]