arrange • compose • conduct
Life shifts can all at once: kids starting kindergarten (or college), retirement, even the first day of summer break. One day your life is consistent; suddenly, profoundly different. There is a certain amount of preparation you can take for these tectonic shifts, but beyond a certain point, you have to commit to what I’ve come […]
A final concert is a chance to reflect on the journey of the year, and here’s the thought I keep having after last night’s Rockford Aces Concert. It’s not where you start, it’s where you end up. The 13 guys will tell you that their first rehearsal would not be an accurate predictor […]
Tonight I get to try something totally new: the premiere of a new ensemble. When we created the idea of RAMChoir, it was to give an extra opportunity for more tenor/bass singers, and to attempt to positively affect the culture of the school. I think we’ve achieved that: tonight we’ll have 40 singers on stage, including 2 […]
Do you remember when everybody discussed iPhone’s mediocre function as a phone? Dropped calls, antennae, substandard sound. It was in every review of the first few iPhones versions. I don’t hear people wring their hands about it anymore, and the reason is simple. Phone is not iPhone’s most important function. On Apple’s website, […]
There are five main stages of artistry: 1. Recognition (Hearing) 2. Appreciation (Liking) 3. Participation (Joining) 4. Creation (Making) 5. Dissemination (Sharing) What step are you on? What step are your students on? You can be on any step and not reach the next (He recognizes it as art but […]
Final concerts are behind you – or about to be so. What many do is focus forward immediately after things wrap up. Start planning next year, program music, calendars, fundraisers, and on and on. Those are all important things, and I advocate staying as far ahead of the curve now as you can. But I think […]
When Alice Parker worked with us on this piece, she described it is the most powerful anti-war song ever written. I never fought in a war and I hope beyond hope that my sons (and students) never do either. The profound loss of life breaks my heart. How many leaders, how many artists, […]
There is nothing like a stellar performance of Shakespeare at the Stratford Festival to remind you that art is specific. Of course, Shakespeare’s As You Like It is plenty specific – specific lines, characters, motivations. 400 years’ of scholarship can give you plenty of specific ideas on motivation, blocking, interaction. The production we saw […]
On this long weekend, dive into this great series of creative conversations with photographer Chase Jarvis of CreativeLive. He’s curated a series of 30 60-90 minute talks with experts in creativity, entrepreneurship, etc. Here are three I highly recommend. Austin Kleon – the author of some of my favorite books to recommend on […]
John Quincy Adams wrote, I must study politics and war that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy. My sons ought to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history, naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, […]