arrange • compose • conduct
We are all more than what we look like on paper. If you compiled a perfect version of your own résumé for the job you hold today, what wouldn’t be on it? In other words, what do you bring to your job that can’t be clearly shown on paper? Don’t overlook those things […]
Spend a few moments in the next few weeks sending good vibes to the teachers about to start. The new teachers are feeling every emotion, often in quick succession. Fear – elation – joy – apprehensiveness – anger. The new teachers were overjoyed to get offered a job – I […]
Consider the old expression, “When all you have is a hammer, everything starts to look like a nail.” Almost always, my response to whatever challenge the world throws at me is, “Make music.” I am, of course, mindful that this makes me guilty of seeing every situation as a “nail” awaiting the “hammer” […]
No one consents to fit in their box anymore. Renee Fleming records jazz. Bobby McFerrin conducts symphony orchestras. Jim Carrey paints. We, the audience, like boxes – genres – because they help us decide what we think of art. When we say “I don’t listen to jazz,” or “every music but Country,” or, […]
Like many people, Blue (1971) is my favorite album of Joni Mitchell. It’s a work of art from beginning to end, and never fails to move me. But I think the best three song sequence she every laid down is the final three songs of her 1970 album Ladies of the Canyon. […]
I’m looking ahead to when the rehearsals get challenging–intonation sags, notes aren’t learned, focus is nonexistent. It’s a guaranteed part of being in a group of people. It’s easy, in those moments to point fingers, blaming others in the ensemble. It’s easy to let progress stop, to let negativity rule the rehearsal. But […]
Something to look forward to in final preparations for the start of the school year: All year long, the energy you use is reciprocal – you get emotional energy back, in the form of responsive students, musical moments, and more. The many hours of summer work don’t come with the same […]
You have your choir calendar with all the dates set. What you probably haven’t planned for is the post-concert/festival/event publicity. Realize, my friends, that local newspaper loves printing stories about great things happening in their community. If you write the articles, add a picture or two, and know the right email […]
Sometimes the best thing to say today is, “We’ll try again tomorrow.” It doesn’t always go right; things fall apart (thanks, Pema Chödrön); harsh words are spoken; sleep is interrupted; rehearsals don’t go as well as planned; tears are shed. We’ll try again tomorrow. You need to take the long […]
You might digest a novel in a day, while your neighbor might take a month. Perhaps Jane Austen had a speed at which she wanted you to read Pride and Prejudice, but once it was published, she had no control. The same is true for Mona Lisa–although Leonardo da Vinci might have known […]