By Odell Zeigler, IV “It doesn’t matter whether you are pursuing success in business, sports, the arts, or life in general: the bridge between wishing and accomplishing is discipline.” – Harvey Mackay I believe the above quote can serve as our epigraph for this blog and our overall commitment to fostering and developing music literacy […]
“Talk It Out” – An Advocacy & Collaboration Curated Blog
By Dr. Riikka Pietiläinen-Caffrey “Research as practice” is a term usually applied to performance arts in Europe. It’s a process where an artist-scholar (in this case a musician) explores and experiments with a topic. The end result is a concert or performance instead of an academic paper. It’s also a great way to find collaborative […]
Difficult Conversations: A Path Toward Positive Outcomes
By Alex Gartner Let’s play a game. The rules are simple: hold up five fingers. Ready? Put a finger down if you’ve ever received a scathing email. Put a finger down if you’ve ever been yelled at over the phone. Put a finger down if a parent or supervisor has raised their voice in your […]
On Choral Music in Worship
By Michael McGlynn I was brought up as a Roman Catholic. My parents endeavoured to give me every opportunity to be exposed to a vast range of music, strongly encouraging our explorations, be they rock or classical music. In school the main exposure to singing was musical drama in the form of Gilbert and Sullivan […]
Freedom Is the Oxygen of the Arts
By Dr. William O. Baker In preparation for recent performances of Beethoven works, I read Jan Swafford’s magnificent biography of the composer: Beethoven: Anguish and Triumph. If you enjoy reading about our musical heroes, I commend this book to you. I also highly recommend Swafford’s earlier biography of Brahms. In Beethoven’s “middle period,” the composer […]
A Life Filled With Music
By Robyn Hilger All the best pieces of my life have been connected to music. Music class is where I discovered where I excelled, learned important skills like work ethic and collaboration, and where I first practiced being a leader. And, as a music teacher, I found that I had the opportunity to impact the […]