arrange • compose • conduct
Our eight-year-old finished his daily piano practice saying, “I know all my pieces – what am I supposed to work on tomorrow?” Answer: rhythm, consistency, phrase, dynamics, any number of other things. But more importantly, start learning another piece! You don’t have to wait for your teacher to give you […]
By my count, Chanticleer has released six Christmas albums and a DVD. Of them, my favorite is probably “Christmas with Chanticleer” featuring Dawn Upshaw. Today, however, I want to talk about their 2007 album “Let it Snow”. Over the years, Chanticleer has dabbled in vocal jazz – most memorably in their commissioned […]
It sometimes seems like everyone in the Aces wishes they were a different voice part. Basses wish they could sing higher; baritones regret the middle parts; you hear tenor 2’s trying so hard to sing a low G; and first tenors…well, no, they’re happy where they are. Until their voices change. I […]
December. It is an epic time for choir directors everywhere: concerts, gigs, caroling, tree-lightings, festival planning, and more. It’s simply the time of year everyone wants to hear a choir. In Rockford, we also have just cast the musical, so there are also 3-hour musical rehearsals every day after school. […]
A while back I fought through the haze of a cold to run my weekly Rockford Aces rehearsal. The previous week, I had a student come to rehearsal in a wheelchair, three days after knee surgery. It inspired me to recall the most epic story of being at rehearsal. In Gold Company […]
There are always multiple ways to notate something. One of the most important (and overlooked) parts of the composing/arranging process is choosing how to notate it. Forget theory or pretension – the only question you should ask is, “is this the easiest way to read this?” A few quick examples: […]
The coming revolution in online class offerings will be great for arts in schools. Right now, I regularly see students drop choir because they need to take, say, an algebra class. Or because they want a more rigorous academic transcript for college applications. In five years, those students who are self-motivated will […]
Eight things I’m thankful for: 1. An amazing family that understands and supports my passions. 2. A life that allows me to write music. 3. A career that keeps evolving into something that give me more joy and more opportunities to make music. 4. Gene Puerling. 5. Alice Parker. 6. […]
By this time in November, I’m happily shuffling more than 40 Christmas CDs in the family stereo. But this week I take a quick break to listen to some great Americana and celebrate Thanksgiving. For several years I’ve enjoyed the Public Radio special “Thanksgiving With Cantus” and happily, they have […]