I try to be very clear to my ensembles – I don’t want the group to be your top priority all the time.
Everyone has a lot of responsibilities they’re juggling, and I’m delighted that making music is one for my students. If it’s among the top 10 or 15 priorities, that’s great.
But right about now (eight days before their big concert), I tell the Aces, “For the next week or so, make the Aces one of your top three priorities.”
Not all the time. I don’t demand months of sacrifice from my students. But once in a while, when the time is right, rearrange your priorities to make sure you can get the best out of this experience.
That’s a great way to live life, actually. Don’t prioritize the exact same things in your top three, week in and week out for years on end. Let your priorities flow to what is important in that time.