arrange • compose • conduct
What is your favorite pizza place in the world? Chances are, your favorite pizza is excellent, but also tied to fond memories. For example, at dinner tonight, as we discussed this question, I admitted that I have never had a better pizza than the one I had sitting outdoors on the streets […]
If you don’t plan for a Snow Day, it will come on your final rehearsal before a performance. (This could be any school-canceling calamity, of course.) This is particularly challenging if, like me, you only rehearse once per week. A well-placed Snow Day can wreak havoc on the arc of your preparation. […]
When you hope or plan for a Snow Day, the best you can get is “met expectations.” The worst is “deeply disappointed.” But when you don’t hope or plan for a Snow Day, the worst you can get is “met expectations.” The best is, “unexpectedly delighted.” If you’re near me […]
Do you post a weekly note for your students? I remember the long-hand notes posted on the ensemble bulletin board in college – they were so beneficial in helping me focus my own practice, personal goals, perspective on upcoming events, and enhance buy-in to the group. Bulletin boards may be passé, but you already have the […]
On the really, truly busy days – when you feel like you’ve run a marathon before lunch and then the speed picks up, it’s easy to feel as if it’s always this busy. You’re drowning in busy-ness and it will never change. On those days, it helps me to widen my lens. […]
If you shovel your driveway when the snow is fresh, the snow usually comes up easily, leaving clear pavement. If one car drives on it, you’re left with deeply compressed tracks that are near-impossible to clear. Before you express anger to your students, before your temper gets the better of you, remember: expressing anger in […]
Football can be a fabulous activity for teaching character, life skills, team-building, perseverance, flexible and reactive thinking, and plenty of other valuable lessons. Every single one can also be taught in choir, without a pervasive risk of traumatic brain injury. Here is a powerful short film of every reported concussion during a game in the 2017-18 […]
A new job comes with new arcs. When you know the arcs, you know when the busy time is, and when you ease up for a minute and coast. But with a new job, you don’t know the arcs. You have to stay constantly alert to anticipate them, or risk falling behind. It’s […]
I run four times a week – or try to. But every run this week I’ve had trouble getting out the door. Lots to do perhaps, or maybe just the cold. And then this morning, clear as day, I heard a still small voice say, “You can’t do it.” I […]
Too many people worry that their insights aren’t worth sharing. Don’t worry about that. Worry that if you don’t share your insights, someone else may never learn them. Share what you know, as often as you can.