“Life is not a matter of holding good cards, but of playing a poor hand well.” Robert Louis Stevenson I hate whiners. When my boys were young, they knew I would not “hear” them if they complained in a whiny voice. They could complain about life not being fair or that someone got a bigger […]
Choral Potpourri: Getting to Our Zen Place
“Be master of mind rather than mastered by mind.” Zen Proverb Our fall concert is in a few days. As in past concert cycles around this time, I’m joking around; telling my choir I’m trying to get to my “Zen Place” and this cycle is no different. You may have a different term for it, […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Apologies
“It is a good rule in life never to apologize. The right sort of people do not want apologies, and the wrong sort take a mean advantage of them.” P. G. Wodehouse I am a great believer in apologies. If we do or say something to hurt someone else, and we care about them, we […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Understanding How to Succeed
“Baseball is like church. Many attend, few understand.” Leo Durocher In the event you’ve been living under a rock, we here in Chicago are having a better than usual year, baseball-wise, and are pretty proud of it. I happen to (usually) cheer for Our Town’s other team but this year am rooting for The Cubbies […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Autumn Concerns
“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus Polly* and Paul* met when both were hired separately as section leaders for a famous chorus. (I won’t give a location, vague or otherwise, but can tell you it has been in existence for over a century.) They’ve been married three years […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Do You Take Requests?
“You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.” Albert Camus Last week I wrote about one of my favorite YCMs (Young Church Musician). This week I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite Older Church Musicians…maybe Experienced Church Musician is a better way of describing him! Martin* and I have been friends […]