arrange • compose • conduct
How did this happen? I’m here at my least favorite day in having a select choir. Auditions are a necessary evil, but they are an inevitable source of disappointment. This year, I moved my audition day for my ensemble from the first week of school to the last week, so this is […]
Choir directors have to have both: you have to be in the moment, reacting immediately to everything from kids falling off risers to emotional breakdowns to out-of-tune final chords to fire drills. But you also have to have the arc in mind, always. The arc to the concert, the arc […]
“Graduation is a beginning, not an ending,” I found myself saying to a senior student yesterday. It sounds a little trite, but it’s absolutely the truth. It’s the beginning of more freedom, more choice, more direction, more passion. Now, how you handle those things can very quickly make it seem […]
This is a follow up to my post about the current Michigan bill that would profoundly alter the Michigan high school curriculum and eliminate the fine arts requirement entirely. My father took my advice and wrote to his state congressman. In his handwritten response, the congressman makes two arguments that I have to […]
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 […]