arrange • compose • conduct
Daniel Levitin’s The World in Six Songs names love as one of the six archetypal song subjects (along with friendship, joy, comfort, religion, knowledge). Certainly that’s my experience – particularly in pop, jazz, and other contemporary styles, love is the most consistently present theme in the music I program. Here is a favorite; A Case […]
Overheard (read) in a discussion prompted by the question “Snapshot, beginning of 2017: what is the current state of contemporary a cappella?”: “High school a cappella is inspiring kids to sing. Something traditional choral music has struggled to do for decades.” Traditional choral music has not struggled for decades to […]
The Grammy Awards can be a great way to discover some great new music. The shortlists in many categories can be a good way to suss out music you might not have heard about. But we have to take the whole thing with a grain of salt. First, the categories are […]
My dog’s been struggling with back leg neuropathy – it’s very hard for him to get himself standing. This morning, cheering him on rather than helping him up, I was reminded about the delicate balance of teaching: when to give a boost and when to let a student try. My dog maintains […]
Jazz singing is still, above all, an oral tradition. This is despite excellent educational books and online materials published over the last quarter-century. With many of my voice students, we tackle a few standards in the course of a school year – My Funny Valentine, All of Me, Autumn Leaves. […]
I know someone who’s not about birthdays. I know because I once said “Happy Birthday” first thing in the morning and her response was…not pleasant. I know other people who aren’t about birthdays because they don’t want to get older. That isn’t her. This person isn’t about birthdays, I think, because she only likes […]
Ten minutes of music-making with your ensemble. Ten minutes of committed, connected, honest singing. Ten minutes of sharing with a receptive audience. It can lift you for days! How lucky we are to have music and to make music.
Do not say, “Children need a good education if they want to attain the good jobs of tomorrow.” Say, “Children need a good education.” Today, tomorrow, forever: education is about molding the minds, creativity, utter humanity of our most precious resource – tomorrow’s society. If you reduce it to just trade school – […]
I’m not certain there’s a better feeling than sending a piece you’ve written out the door and into the world, to the choir that is going to premiere it. Here’s this piece that you’ve toiled over, working to have the paper reflect your vision (what’s the aural equivalent of “vision”?). When you click “send”, […]
I’m writing this during likely the most-watched TV event of 2017, the Super Bowl. Social media tells me the football teams are going to overtime for the first time ever. I don’t care in the least. I’m not disparaging lifelong football fanatics, I’m not saying it’s not great to be passionate […]