arrange • compose • conduct
According to Wikipedia, “In pre-modern times it is unlikely that literacy was found in more than about 30-40% of the population.” That actually seems high to me, particularly during the so-called Dark Ages of Europe between the fall of the Roman Empire and the advent of the printing press. But […]
Sometimes teaching the same basic skills over and over can leave your shoulders sagging. Proper microphone cord coiling…again? Holding an SM58? Hearing and tuning a just-tuned third…for the 4,000th time?! And yet, there is joy in teaching these basic skills again. Especially in using the language “I get to.” I […]
Personal Bibliography: Inspiration Click here for my complete Personal Bibliography. Allen, David. Getting Things Done. A comprehensive approach to, you guessed it, getting things done. I don’t follow it to a “t” but it has been influential in my approach to day-to-day to-do. Andreas, Brian. Bring Your Life Back To Life. Poems? Aphorisms? Rules […]
Some like to put teachers into two categories: the ones who teach for thirty years, and the ones who teach the same year thirty times. Ideally, of course, we as teachers continue to evolve, grow, and change. And just as important, we should note that it’s virtually impossible to teach […]
Week One: Getting to know you, and lots sight reading. Week Two: More sight reading, lots of note/rhythm fixes. Week Three: Struggles. The first couple weeks with a diligent ensemble are a period of remarkable growth. With determination, the ensemble can make great strides in brand new music, turning notes […]
Welcome to Week 8 of The Definitive Version, a new weekly feature of my website. You can read more about the project here. Song: “The Girl From Ipanema” (Garota de Ipanema) Composer: Antonio Carlos Jobim Lyricist: Vinicius de Moraes (Portuguese)/Norman Gimbel (English) Form: A A B A Standard Key: F Major It’s probably […]
I deal with words a lot – close to 300,000 I’ve written here. And, of course, the ability to express feelings through words and text painting is for many singers the primary joy of being a singer rather than an instrumentalist. But, as Anders Edenroth says in the introduction to […]
It’s the week when last spring’s standardized test results come home. (Let’s forget, for a moment, that test results 5 months after the test can do little to help a child’s education.) Every year, I remind my children the same thing, and I do it by paying little or not […]
The Michigan Choral Commission Consortium, one of my pet projects, has had a banner year. Since I just shipped off the third chart to the participants, now is a good time for an update. Commissioned works: On This Road – SATB by Andrea Ramsey. Solace – SSAA by Sean Ivory. Oh […]
Personal Bibliography: Creativity Click here for my complete Personal Bibliography. Cameron, Julia. The Artist’s Way. I worked my way through this twelve-week creativity course early in my professional life and I think it had a significant impact on my development as a creative person. Curry, Mason. Daily Rituals. As you build your […]