arrange • compose • conduct
Conductors attending conferences often return home inspired, rejuvenated, and full of new insights and music to try. The music is easy – contact your favorite music distributor and buy it! The insights are harder. It takes time to integrate novel techniques or approaches into your tool bag. Because conductors overwhelmingly lead frenetic lives, they often […]
Toss the talisman, lose the lucky charm, and halt the habits. Professionals are creative on demand. Morning, noon, night–whether you have a four-hour block or twenty minutes, you have the opportunity to create. Think about it: you might have a favorite mug, but if it’s not available, you don’t skip your […]
Are you striving to teach respect – or obedience? In the classroom, respect and obedience can look quite similar. A quiet, well-organized group of students going about their assigned work are very respectful. Or are they just obedient? We don’t do enough to tease apart these two concepts. Respect is built […]
Yesterday was the two year anniversary of our loss of Steve Zegree. And tomorrow at the ACDA National Conference, four WMU Gold Company Alums will comprise a panel discussing the legacy and future of collegiate vocal jazz. In light of that, here’s a cherished memory of my time with Steve. I first shared it in […]
The biannual ACDA 2017 National Conference starts tonight in Minneapolis. Although I won’t be attending this year, I have many colleagues who are and want to share some previews. I’ve prepared a cheat sheet of conference offerings that appeal to my particular interests: vocal jazz, TTBB Choirs, and composing/arranging. I’ll offer separate posts with each area, […]
The biannual ACDA 2017 National Conference starts tonight in Minneapolis. Although I won’t be attending this year, I have many colleagues who are and want to share some previews. I’ve prepared a cheat sheet of conference offerings that appeal to my particular interests: vocal jazz, TTBB Choirs, and composing/arranging. I’ll offer separate posts with each area, […]
The biannual ACDA 2017 National Conference starts tonight in Minneapolis. Although I won’t be attending this year, I have many colleagues who are and want to share some previews. I’ve prepared a cheat sheet of conference offerings that appeal to my particular interests: vocal jazz, TTBB Choirs, and composing/arranging. I’ll offer separate posts with each area, […]
The biannual ACDA 2017 National Conference starts tonight in Minneapolis. Although I won’t be attending this year, I have many colleagues who are and want to share some previews. I’ve prepared a cheat sheet of conference offerings that appeal to my particular interests: vocal jazz, TTBB Choirs, and composing/arranging. I’ll offer separate posts with each area, […]
Here’s the advice I gave my son at the piano yesterday as he struggles with self-criticism: You have two choices: Be less self-critical of your mistakes. Be more self-praising of your successes. Pick one. They must balance. If you are justified in your self-criticism, you must be justified in self-praise. If […]
19th Century sailing ships, traversing oceans for months at a time, knew all about weathering storms. They had plans in place and a lookout in the crow’s nest to be ready for an unpredictable squall. As soon as the storm was spotted, the crew worked together to mobilize and make sure the ship was prepared […]