arrange • compose • conduct
In The Importance of Being Earnest, Algernon’s second line is, “I don’t play accurately—any one can play accurately—but I play with wonderful expression. As far as the piano is concerned, sentiment is my forte. I keep science for Life.” Oscar Wilde wrote the line for laughs – who, after all, wants to […]
“To be natural is such a very difficult pose to keep up.” – Oscar Wilde, in Importance of Being Earnest Oscar Wilde was never exactly natural – the work of writing a brilliant play like Importance that also includes dozens of witty one-liners must have been tremendous. No one speaks as witty as […]
The most likely time to quit is just before a breakthrough. It’s when you’re struggling to take the next step forward creatively that your future as an artist feels bleakest. The bleakness will make you want to quit. If you can only persist, a little longer, you might find it’s […]
If you’re going on a road trip with kids this summer, I can’t recommend highly enough the app Megaphone for your travel entertainment. A quick connection to Bluetooth or an aux jack in your car stereo, and your voice is amplified into every car speaker. A reader can read aloud to […]
Music comes with difficulty: to make music at a high level requires coordination, concentration, passion, expression, and years and years of concerted practice. Music comes naturally: it is effortless and innate for children to make music, to want to listen to music, and to interact with musical instruments. Can you believe both […]
There are people who say “I don’t read books.” Let’s not discuss them. There are some readers who say, “I don’t read nonfiction.” To them I say, you are missing so many opportunities to get the best ideas, condensed and made accessible to you. You’re letting someone else do the […]
Marketing, sad to say, is an important part of your job as a choir director. But during the fast-paced days and weeks of the school year, you don’t have the time to plan your marketing, create the eye-catching graphics and text that will publicize your successes. If, like many choir […]
I don’t know what the day means until I’ve found a moment of quiet. Quiet from the world – both online and off. Quiet from music, quiet, from the radio or television. Quiet from the to do list. It’s only in that moment of quiet that I can step back and […]
Seen on Twitter: “One sure way to feel terrible is read a pitchfork review of music you love.” https://twitter.com/fmanjoo/status/1015412913132064769 A great way to feel less terrible is to love music that Pitchfork doesn’t even consider. There are a dozen new albums I’ve listened to regularly in the first half of […]
It’s very easy for a young child with short legs to lag behind on a long walk. Long ago, I learned the best way to encourage these stragglers isn’t to yell, cajole, criticize, or encourage. No, the best way is to hold their hands. Holding hands with a child, with […]