Dad, Peter Genaro and me at a dance workshop in the 1970s “The truth is, I’ve been lucky. But just like the waltz, life has its own rhythm of rise and fall.” Len Goodman Here in Chicago, the cicadas are out in force. In my area, I awaken to hear a low hum in the […]
Choral Culture
Choral Ethics: Regrets
“Lost time is never found again.” Benjamin Franklin As the school year and concert season winds down, do you have regrets? Was your concert repertoire everything you hoped it would be? Did your students make progress singing in a new foreign language or was it a bit beyond them this year? Was the new approach […]
Choral Ethics: Being True To Yourself
“To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man.” William Shakespeare A few weeks ago, I wrote a blog about the scandal (no need to repeat it again) at the New York Philharmonic. I asked for comments and opinions. No […]
The Conductor as Yogi: What Have We Learned
“In learning you will teach, and in teaching you will learn.” Phil Collins There is a pause, if we choose to take it, after a concert season, academic year, major project, or significant life experience. Like savasana at the end of a yoga practice, we take the opportunity to assimilate, to feel the effects of […]
Choral Ethics: Pettiness
“Don’t sweat the petty things and don’t pet the sweaty things.” George Carlin Jackie* and I became friends at a long ago ACDA national conference and have stayed in contact for several decades. She directs a community chorus two states over and emailed me about a situation which came up during her summer audition period […]
Choral Ethics: Choral Culture
“People don’t mind being mean; but they never want to be ridiculous.” Moliere Another week, another group of emails. The emails I usually receive are about similar dilemmas and sometimes I wonder if it’s the phase of the moon or something. Perhaps it’s just that certain times of the choral year present similar problems for […]