“Neither a lofty degree of intelligence nor imagination nor both together go to the making of genius. Love, love, love, that is the soul of genius.” Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart One of my sons is also a musician and when he was quite young and had started lessons, we played a game. It was a game […]
Choral Ethics: Favorite Teacher
“I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. Teaching might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.” John Steinbeck With the end of the school year, I have […]
Choral Ethics: Truth to Tell
“Truth is always strange, stranger than fiction.” Lord Byron Writing this blog here on ChoralNet, I receive a good number of emails about Choral Ethics every week. Folks who contact me either want to thank me or to tell me their stories. And their stories are amazing. Some seem outlandish at the outset, but then […]
Choral Ethics: Rock Star
“I won’t be a rock star. I will be a legend.” Freddie Mercury My youngest brother is a conservatory trained percussionist…..which means he’s played for a LOT of rock bands. Classically trained, he liked playing for rock bands more than orchestras. Why? The atmosphere. According to him, most rock musicians are not the spoiled brats […]
Choral Ethics: Preaching to the Choir
“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” Francis of Assisi I receive quite a few emails with people’s thoughts about Choral Ethics. Some folks tell me they are not exactly sure what Choral Ethics is but know it when they see it. Some tell me what I am […]
Choral Ethics: Mother’s Day–Songs My Mother Taught Me
“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” William Makepeace Thackeray This Sunday is Mother’s Day in the United States. I am a mother but am also a daughter, missing her mother this year. I think back eleven years ago, Mom’s last Mother’s Day, and wish I had known […]