arrange • compose • conduct
I’ve written before on why I think we should consider calling choir retreats “choir advances”, because of the amazing progress you make in a day or a weekend together. When you advance, you’re heading towards something. Here, then, are the three goals I invited Shades of Blue, my vocal jazz ensemble from Grand Rapids Community […]
The brilliant bassist/singer Esperanza Spalding is finishing an amazing act of public creation today. Her album Exposure has been created, from conception to final tracks, live in the studio over the last three days – a total of 77 hours ending at 1pm Pacific time today. The entire process has been live streamed to Facebook […]
I am preparing my choir for an ACDA-Michigan conference performance at the end of October. By my count we will have had nine 2-hour rehearsals and a retreat to prepare a 25-minute set of music. The balancing act, then, is keeping them motivated but not afraid. I have programmed ambitious […]
Q: What is one problem in contemporary culture that you think choir can help solve? A: Choirs can empower their members to learn how they can express their individuality within a cohesive group. Our society is ever-more broken down into tiny slivers: micro-cultures of like-minded individuals. More and more often, we are only comfortable interacting within […]
Yesterday I wrote about 10/10 rehearsals. Here’s the big reason we shouldn’t have every single rehearsal operate at ultimate peak efficiency. We are not cogs. We are not robots designed for a task and then optimized to peak output. The human growth process is messy, filled with false starts, dead ends, and […]
Every rehearsal can’t be a 10/10 in intensity. Aim for a balance – community is important, too, and that can be built in the gaps of a 7/10 rehearsal. But make sure some of your rehearsals are 10/10. The fire that such rehearsal lights inside you can fuel you for days. And the more 10/10 rehearsals you […]
For those who have been trained by it, no discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Whether you first came upon this message in the New Testament (Hebrews 12:11), in the medicine music of Bobby McFerrin, or in the actions of a demanding teacher, the words ring true. Some kinds of pain are OK. Some pain is […]
I’m a big believer in dreaming big dreams, and then working to make them happen. When you have big dreams, it’s necessarily you, the dreamer, who must carry the most of the weight. We big dreamers, we self-sufficient overachievers – we need reminding, too, that some dreams require help. If your dream […]
If the designers of compulsory education had felt that the lessons would have been just as effective with a set of good encyclopedias and workbooks, schools would never have been built. It’s much cheaper to give a set of books to a kid than to design, build, maintain, and staff a dedicated […]
Lin-Manuel Miranda often says, “I have absolutely no chill.” Like his alter ego and artistic subject, Alexander Hamilton, Miranda seems possessed by enthusiasm, excitement, and a drive to “write like he’s running out of time.” He’s not the only one, of course. Steve Jobs had no chill. Mozart, Bach, Picasso – no […]