arrange • compose • conduct
In a podcast interview about his tremendous novel The Bone Clocks, David Mitchell gave this answer to a question about “hiding” big ideas under a great story: It is replete with ideas. I am at heart a novelist; I am not at heart an academic or a critic or a scholar or a great […]
Dreams are great. When you graduate high school–when you graduate preschool!–everyone wants to know, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” Tell them something, for sure. “I want to get a Ph.D in political science and run for congress.” “I want to perform on Broadway.” “I want to […]
The best way to express your love isn’t in words, it’s in actions. Making jam is a small token of love; so is a note in a lunch or a favorite meal. Teaching is an act of love. Tiny gestures are a magical way to say “I love you.” So […]
I first started making jam when my oldest son was a few weeks old – curious and excited, I used the recipe from the back of a Sure-Jell box and bought some jars. Now, ten years later, it’s a much more streamlined act, with hundreds of jars waiting patiently to be […]
The secret of life Is enjoying the passage of time. Any fool can do it, There ain’t nothing to it. Nobody knows how we got To the top of the hill. But since we’re on our way down, We might as well enjoy the ride. – James Taylor, Secret of Life […]
One of my favorite poet’s most famous poems is The Emperor of Ice Cream. In it, Wallace Stevens writes the immortal line: Let be be finale of seem. You’d be hard pressed to find a better motto for life. End “it seems like” in the face of “it is”. We must see the world as […]
If we don’t reflect on our failures, we squander the chance to learn from them and improve. If you thought listening back to your voice lessons was hard, try looking back at your failures and being honest about how you failed. Painful is the word. But without that pain, you’ll just keep making […]
Are you a few days or weeks removed from your choral year? It might be time to take an hour and look back. A colleague pointed out to me that he had forgotten many of the high points of his year until he walked through his weekly calendar and reminded himself of the […]
Most of my immediate family recently spent over a week together in a vacation home. My parents, two brother, and their families all descended on a beautiful lakefront home in northern Ontario for games, canoeing, and catching up. This meant 17 people (including 4 under 4 years old), five dogs, dietary […]
I’ve been offering my very best advice to a young, brilliant colleague; it’s well-intentioned and from the heart, and I believe I have her best interests at heart. But I worry that in the noise of the advice she is getting from all sides, she’ll lose track of her own heart […]