arrange • compose • conduct
Playing games is the most important way to get great at chess, but they are more effective paired with different other practice strategies. The same is true for performance repertoire in the choral rehearsal. Part of the tradition of learning chess is to play puzzles that require you to force […]
For many of the things in our lives, there is something holding us there. A paycheck. A graduation requirement. A life commitment. When I look around the room of my ensemble in rehearsal, I think, “There is nothing holding them here.” No obligation, no law, no requirement. The only thing […]
As I see it, there are four types of people for a game like chess: Non-playerBeginnerPlayerObsessive You can’t be a chess grandmaster unless you fall into the Obsessive category. Come to think of it, you can’t be a grandmaster at anything without being an Obsessive. All professional athletes. High-level music […]
For teachers, ain’t no tired like a first-week tired. The nights…you crash. It’s easy to think, at the end of the second or third day of school, that you will never, ever, under any circumstances, make it through the year. You say, “I’m going to be in bed exhausted at […]
I regularly solve crossword and other word-based puzzles – it’s one of my favorite distractions for downtime. And at least three times in the last few months, I’ve solved them by turning to a spreadsheet. I’ve rearranged the puzzle as a spreadsheet, organized my thoughts, or just compiled information. In […]
I love the comfort of a habit. My daily practices form the core of my day, and they help me move forward creatively and successfully. But I need room for spontaneity. Put another way…I love the joy of spontaneity. My best ideas come when I have the space to let […]
VI do not know which to prefer,The beauty of inflectionsOr the beauty of innuendoes,The blackbird whistlingOr just after. from Thirteen Ways of Looking at a Blackbird by Wallace Stevens I do not know which I prefer,The perfection before journey begins,Or the joy that comes from beginning the journey,The last night […]
If you’re tired of having the same meeting over and over again, it might help to rethink your ideas of agenda and minutes to prioritize progress. Even more freewheeling work conversations (the kind that don’t usually have formal agendas) can benefit from a planned list of topics of discussion, if […]
Humans tend to think of hard borders between things. Binary. Black & white. But the world is more nebulous than that. Think about a the Mississippi River flowing into the Gulf of Mexico. You might want to draw a line and say, “This side, river. That side, ocean.” But the […]
School is starting on Monday for me – maybe it’s already started for you, or maybe you’re not getting started till after Labor Day – and here we are, facing a new wave of COVID-19 risks and need for mitigation strategies. I’m starting my school year observing local and national […]