arrange • compose • conduct
Students learn at different speeds; too often we can lose the fast movers as we continue to teach notes to the ones who struggle a little more. It doesn’t have to be that way, though. We only lose those bright students because they’ve been taught through lockstep education to do what is expected […]
Students regularly need to change teachers, find a different mentor. It happens in private lessons, it happens in creative and in academic subjects at every level. The wise teacher and the wise student both understand not to blame the material. And they know not to blame themselves or each other. […]
I remember the feeling of being late to class in college (trekking across campus through the snow, or getting caught up in the practice room, or just missing an alarm…). It often took all my willpower to enter a classroom late, even if only by a couple of minutes. The disruption, and the […]
A common inquiry: “Hey, can you tell me some good jazz songs? Like Frank Sinatra’s Misty?” (First, ignore that Misty isn’t Sinatra’s any more than Over The Rainbow is Judy Garland’s. We’ll get to that, later. I try to recommend a classic interpreter of jazz standards, which most often to me means suggesting a deep […]
There are a lot of voices out there telling you what kind of music you should teach. Simon Carrington says every program at an ACDA conference should include some Renaissance or Baroque music. Your state organization might insist that you program from a certain list to participate in festivals. I strongly […]
I’m excited to announce the second edition of the Michigan Choral Commission Consortium (MC3). In 2016’s inaugural edition, ten choirs collaborated to commission “We Are A Chorus” from the inimitable Alice Parker. This year, we’ve commissioned Andrea Ramsey to write the lead work. She will be writing a mid- to up-tempo […]
If you insist that you can’t do something, I’m going to insist that we don’t say “can’t.” [*] Then I’m going to insist that you call me in a month. Call me in a month, after you’ve tried every day to do that something. Call me in a month after […]
When your child was small, you tied her shoes. But there came a day when it was time for the child to tie her own shoes. This was not easy. It was not easy for the child, and it was not easy for you. You could do it faster, and more effectively. The child […]
Choir is in many ways the perfect setting for the introverted student. A strong community encourages the introvert to feel safe and confident. Strength in numbers enables the introvert to be expressive without feeling singled out. A choir is a place where the introvert can feel solitude within a group (in the best possible way!). […]
I read widely and collect knowledge on as vast a number of topics as I can, because I want to make unexpected connections. Standardized school teaches us to make the expected connections: make the right deductive leap to answer an SAT question correctly. Answer an essay prompt in the expected format. Make the […]