arrange • compose • conduct
Imagine you are blindfolded in an open area. Your guide tells you that somewhere in front of you, there is a cliff edge, and whoever gets closest to the edge in 4 minutes is the winner. You move foot by painstaking foot, feeling the ground in front of you to ensure […]
There are few people as lucky as I in the parent lottery – and one of my goals as an educator is to teach the lessons I learned in my home. With that in mind, here are three lessons I learned from my mom. Give as much as you can. Whether it was […]
Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do. – Johann Wolfgang von Goethe I try to read that quote every year to my students before a performance where they have the potential to raise their personal and group bars. This year, that was District Solo & […]
Yesterday my son asked, “Who invented math?” I explained that math isn’t invented – it’s discovered. Having 2+2=4 is a symbolic representation of something real in the world: say, picking apples. The symbols were invented and evolved over time in various cultures, but the core of mathematics is true whether you can represent it or not. Pi […]
Artistry is an endless journey, and District Solo & Ensemble Festival is never going to be an endpoint. It is, however, a rest stop along the way. So I do have benchmarks for what I want my ensemble’s performance to reach at this point in the year: Accurate notes, rhythms, and attention to score markings. The sine […]
Life is a two step – you take one step forward, one back. Life is a waltz – you’re going in circles around the same space, over and over. Life is a rave – you do your best to extract the maximum joy from the collective experience. Life is a line dance – you’re […]
“Soon I’m going to have the perfect place to work.” “I can’t wait till I retire and have six hours a day to write.” “It takes me a while to get in the right mindset to be creative.” I have had recently had several conversations like this with fellow creative souls. They […]
Why are retreats important? Next week will mark my 18th rehearsal with my choir. Since Labor Day. In that time, we will have spent 36 hours together in rehearsal. 36 hours to learn music, become a team, build trust, and discover our collective art. Meanwhile, our September retreat concluded after more than 40 […]
Auditioning soloists is one of my least favorite parts of my job as a conductor. The trust they have been building among themselves is diminished when they have to compete for a solo that only one can get. It is a necessary evil to making the music we want to make; having excellent […]
A former student reminded me last week of my response when she asked in a theory lesson, “Is there a shortcut to learning the order of sharp keys?” Sure, there’s a shortcut. Just memorize it. GDAEBF#C# Repeat 100 times. Repeat 1,000 times. (Skip the #s and you can repeat it once per […]