“If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality.” Benjamin Franklin I am ticked this week for a number of reasons. My chamber choir is in the midst of their spring audition cycle and I have had two singers who wanted to audition for my choir blow me […]
Choral Potpourri: Be Yourself, No Regrets
“My work today is perceived as being classic, but when I first started out, it was a break from the norm. Since then, I have continued to reinvent myself. I don’t change my style, but I allow it to evolve.” Giorgio Armani The courage to be yourself, looking at things from your own perspective takes […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Out For the Same Audience
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.” Albert Einstein Like many of you, I conduct a choral organization in a community with several other choral groups besides mine. And like you, I often wonder if members of my audience are also members of theirs. One of the lessons I’ve learned in […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Don’t Let the Door Hit Ya!
“Ethics and equity and the principles of justice do not change with the calendar.” D. H. Lawrence Last week, I mentioned getting over 30 emails about one choral conductor during the last few years. My contacts were from past and present singers and even one of his former accompanists. There have been several from his […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Thinking About Choral Ethics in Our Time
“A man without ethics is a wild beast loosed upon this world.” Albert Camus As I sit to write, I am struck by the sun streaming across the table where I have my laptop; it feels so good! It’s a bright day, with no snow and the grass looks incredibly green. The green grass and […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Say Something Nice
“Come, gentlemen, I hope we shall drink down all unkindness.” William Shakespeare As I plotted out the subject and theme for January’s Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics blogs, I had a certain expectation of what I would write for each installment. Today’s Try for my Try Method was inspired by a simple spontaneous remark I made to […]