“Power is like being a lady… if you have to tell people you are, you aren’t.” Margaret Thatcher When I was a child, I was often reminded by Mom to behave like a lady. As a 7- or 8-year-old, I was never sure exactly what that meant. I thought it might mean wearing fancy clothes, […]
Choral Culture
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Language!
“Good authors, too, who once knew better words now only use four-letter words writing prose… anything goes.” Cole Porter Our lives will soon be more normal than they’ve been for a while. Each day brings news of relaxing of some restrictions, opening up of venues, stores and the ability to go about our lives without […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Why I’m a ChoralNet Blogger
“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: 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 […]