arrange • compose • conduct
I memorized pi to a couple of hundred digits in high school. I did it by repeatedly typing it into my calculator during math class, after I’d finished the assigned problems. An informational poster about pi, with a border comprising about 300 digits, was my source. There is no particular […]
There are some works of art – nonfiction in this case – that stick with you and affect your thinking deeply. Here are three of mine. (They all happen to be from The New Yorker.) Late Bloomers (Malcolm Gladwell). Gladwell differentiates early-bloomers, like Picasso, with late-bloomers, like Cézanne. Why do […]
I hope this year wasn’t too traumatic for you. I hope you found a way to make a little music, consume a little art, practice a little self-care. One year on, I am reflecting on the clarification of my values that the COVID-19 pandemic has given me. I know my […]
As my daughter is getting ready to head to the bus stop in the morning, here’s the questions I ask: Do you have your mask? Yes.Do you have your water bottle? Yes.Do you have your computer? Yes.Do you have your lunch? Yes.Shoes? Snow pants? Coat? Yes. Yes. Yes. Sounds like […]
Adam Grant: I have noticed, over the last couple of years, that you seem to really enjoy contradicting yourself. Malcolm Gladwell: I do! AG: Why? MG: Well, I’m more worried about not contradicting myself. So, I would be very concerned if I was still saying the same things today as […]
Trust is only valuable when it’s in action. Theoretical trust – what does that even mean? One of my favorite ways of practicing trust in action is with a subito fortissimo. Because the truth is that if you don’t trust the choir around you, you are going to sing mezzo […]
Most creative projects have two distinct phases: Make it. On your own. Share it. With the world. The bridge between phase 1 and 2 is a tiny, gigantic step: showing it to someone. Showing the creative work to one person can be scarier than going from that person to an […]
Sometimes Sir Ken Robinson’s passionate, funny, brilliant keynote speeches (there are many) move me to tears. Here’s an extended quote from one he gave a few years ago at the California Teachers Summit. [The quote begins just before 9:00 in] In it, he differentiates three related terms: learning, education, and […]
Later-life career redirections can feel like trying to turn an ocean liner. It takes full engine power and lots of space to execute the turn. Even as early as just after college graduation, young adults can feel locked into the path they spent so much effort preparing themselves for. Just […]
“Didn’t I warn you all?” “Warn us what?” “Warn you that my favorite type of rehearsal is one where you spend an hour on four bars?” “Oh yeah….” I love the rehearsal that ultra-focuses because there’s so many layers you can put onto those few measures. In the vamp we […]