arrange • compose • conduct
Being a good parent has a lot in common with being a good leader in any capacity, and especially with being a good educational leader. I haven’t yet invited my readers here to check it out, but I’m really proud of my contribution of a chapter to the new book […]
Don’t kid yourself. It’s totally possible to follow from the front. Leaders who don’t know where they are going can cheat over their shoulders to get clues. They can see where the people behind them are going and follow them. It’s easy in the choral rehearsal to be in front […]
The Michigan Choral Commission Consortium (MC3) is an innovative new organization committed to facilitating choral compositions by connecting a group of like-minded choral organizations across Michigan. It seeks to make choral commissioning accessible to these organizations by pooling their resources. Past commissioned composers include Alice Parker (2016), Andrea Ramsey (2018), […]
I am very excited to announce that registration is now open for the 2020 edition of the Michigan Choral Commission Consortium. Membership is open to choirs of any age located in Michigan. (Past members include middle school, high school, community college, university, and community ensembles.) I’m glad to be making […]
Four years ago, I offered a Leap Year Challenge. A few prompts to get some thinking around how you want to shape your life over four years. I opened mine today and was really delighted by the way it reflected my thinking four years ago, and was able to reflect […]
I was introduced to this quote via Kurt Elling’s first album, where he sings it during the solo of “Never, Never Land.” “If a little day-dreaming is dangerous, the cure for it is not to dream less but to dream more, dream all the time.” Marcel Proust The quote is […]
There is value in observing someone with a job just like yours to see what they do differently and what they do the same. But there can be much more value in observing proximal jobs. Jobs that are similar but have significant differences. You can probably learn more about your […]
A brief quote from an old podcast interview of Kurt Elling by Elysabeth Alfano. KE: My luck has come from a lot of hard work, and a lot of desire, and wanting it more. You have to want it more. And you have to work for it harder. EA: More […]
My 10-year-old is a music-learning machine. He’s been at the piano every day for a long time, building an ever-long medley of songs including movie themes, Beatles songs, and more. The thing is, I think that a lot of kids are music-learning machines. The difference is my son has consistent […]
“I’m game!” It’s a more nuanced statement than, “I want to do [X].” “I’m game” comes with implications. It might mean: I’m not familiar with whatever is being proposed. I’m open to trying this. This wouldn’t be my own top choice, but I am willing to do it. I trust […]