arrange • compose • conduct
It’s my wife’s birthday, and she did a Facebook birthday fundraiser, inviting friends to support a GoFundMe devoted to raising court costs to help transgender youths in Grand Rapids get their names legally changed. Part of the reason that the fundraiser has raised over $1,100 in the last 12 hours […]
In recent days, I’ve been doing a lot of listening. George Floyd’s murder ignited a broad conversation about systemic racism in our country, and I am deeply committed to being a part of that conversation, listening deeply, and amplifying the reality. I have been quiet for three good reasons and […]
We Shall Overcome is perhaps the most iconic protest song of all time – a sweet, potent melody and an equally potent lyric that have been used worldwide as a rallying cry, though it’s probably most strongly associated with the 1960’s Civil Rights Movement; Joan Baez famously sang it as […]
My wife, Mandy Mikita Scott, made a little video for fun, talking about some of the pitfalls of filming your virtual choir video. It’s good fun and super informational as well. We worked together to make the list from actual examples of virtual choir submissions – lots to learn and […]
My remarkable friend Dr. Eugene Rogers premiered this equally remarkable work five years ago: “Seven Last Words of the Unarmed” by Joel Thompson. It’s worth every second of your time to watch and meditate on it. It is beautifully filmed, performed, and conducted, and the message is powerful and deeply […]
How do you end without an ending? Musicians are well accustomed to clear endings. Whether it’s the exuberantly repetitive final cadence in a classical symphony, a wailing 13(#11) chord for a big band, or the Plagal Amen at the end of a hymn, we pay a lot of attention to […]
I think I know what choirs are for. Well, choirs are for everyone. But specifically, a choir should be about creating a deep connection and a single intentional throughline among all the singers, and then sharing that as clearly as possible with an audience. It’s when the audience receives the […]
This is a quick recommendation for those seeking growth and learning over the summer. My friend Dr. Jeremy Fox has been leading in-person week-long masterclasses called the “Jazz Harmony Retreat” for years, multiple weeks per summer. They are an intimate, carefully curated small-group class focused on giving music educators, and […]
Four virtual choirs, a senior tribute. Countless hours of work. I’m delighted with the results of our weeks and weeks of work together/apart. Here are the four virtual song performances we presented at the Virtual Aces Concert last night. (We also debuted a track from our new album, “Take Me […]
The Aces Concert 2020 is at 8pm tonight. It’s the 12th annual and, of course, it’s virtual. I thought it might be instructive to think about the numbers involved in a typical concert and in this year’s edition. Typical run time: 2 hours2020: 23 minutes. Typical number of pieces: 18-202020: […]