“The woods are lovely, dark and deep. But I have promises to keep, and miles to go before I sleep.” Robert Frost I became a regular ChoralNet Blogger in the fall of 2015. The year before, I had been asked to contribute an occasional guest blog for ChoralNet, the first time a week after my […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: The Pandemic Perfectionists
“Perfection itself is imperfection.” Vladimir Horowitz Last spring, as we were all hunkering down for our Pandemic lockdown, I wrote one or two blogs about those who were doing well. Or who SAID they were doing well. I’ll quote a bit from one of those blogs here: “I’ve been getting emails concerning something I’ll call […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: My Quirky Choir Members
“Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves.” Abraham Lincoln The last few days, I’ve been thinking about a few of my more memorable students and choir members, starting with one of my first jobs, and continuing on to the group I conduct now. Some of them were funny and some were […]
Choral Potpourri/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 especially this year. I think back seven years ago, Mom’s last Mother’s Day, and wish I had […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Worn Out
“Oh, I am very weary, Though tears no longer flow; My eyes are tired of weeping, My heart is sick of woe.” Anne Bronte I am worn out. Tired; sick and tired and needing to rest. It’s been difficult for me to rest in this transition time, as things are looking up, and I am […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Thanks Where Thanks Is Due
“It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit.” Harry S Truman Despite the Pandemic, I still get several emails a week about Choral Ethics issues. Most want advice about past problems or seem to be ruminating about them. They’d like to know what they should do if […]