arrange • compose • conduct
In the modern social-media announcement/event world, I like to remind my students that nothing beats an in-person invitation. I tell them that in the week before our end-of-year concert, I won’t have very many human interactions where the concert doesn’t come up. The bank, the grocery store, the dry cleaners: […]
One of the hardest part about teaching is this: you can’t choose when. You can’t choose when the big, overarching lessons are going to get learned. You can offer all of the tools, you can give lectures, one-on-one feedback, cajole, criticize, praise, and teach your heart out. You can accelerate […]
As I’ve worked hard to disengage from my ensemble, and allow them to take more ownership of the music, I realized something. Don’t make eye contact. The truth is, a conductor who has a strong a relationship with his or her ensemble can express much musical direction directly through the […]
If traffic is starting and stopping, you need to leave room to maneuver. Get too close to the car in front of you, and any sudden braking is going to cause an accident. It’s true with the traffic of your life, too. If you aren’t able to leave space to […]
Something I love about curious, driven, resourceful students is the way they live in Receive Mode. By that, I mean the way they can, day after day, pursue new information in their areas of interest. For music, that means listening, reading, conversation, watching, and more in their chosen genre. As […]
One of the reasons high school and college last a finite amount of time is because our brains are mature enough to develop a perspective. Perspective is great. It’s a little like driving on a dirt road with deep ruts. Your vehicle drives itself – no need to steer, as […]
It’s my end-of-school-year tradition to publish the repertoire my ensemble sang over the year. With my second year at GRCC in the books, here are the pieces Shades of Blue learned and performed. Shades of Blue had nine singers (2-2-3-2) in the fall semester and eight singers (2-2-2-2) in the […]
If they asked me to give a commencement address, here are four messages I would want to make sure the graduates heard loud and clear. Graduation Day isn’t an ending: it’s the beginning. Your four year journey has been about the University helping you cut a set of keys to […]
Announcing my first ever “Close Reading Summer Series.” I’m going to be rereading Dare To Lead by Brené Brown. And each Sunday, starting June 16, I’ll be posting a reflection on a chapter from the book, looking specifically at how the insights apply in the choral world. Read along with me! I’ll […]
How will you finish? You’re tired from a long year. Your relationships with your fellow singers are a bit more…complex…than when you started in August. You have spring fever and are dreaming of not having to be up in time for first hour. How will you finish? To me, years […]