“Keeping an active mind has been vital to my survival, as has been maintaining a sense of humor.” Stephen Hawking Since the middle of March, or there abouts, it’s been a strange time for all of us. Most of us have planned for some pretty outrageous situations before but never for this situation, never for […]
Choral Culture
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Another Thing Postponed and Canceled
“Indeed it is better to postpone, lest either we complete too little by hurrying, or wander too long in completing it.” Tertullian This week is normally remarkably busy for me, the week before my chamber choir’s annual summer retreat. I gather music, stuff folders and prepare handouts. I roundup schedules, language sheets and anything else […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Feeling Like Myself
“It is normal to give away a little of one’s life in order not to lose it all.” Albert Camus I don’t feel like myself and am sure you don’t either. Nothing is like it’s supposed to be. The rhythm of our days is different, what we wear is different and what we DO is […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Father’s Day Ruminations
“You don’t have to deserve your mother’s love. You have to deserve your father’s.” Robert Frost As I write today’s blog, I am sipping a glass of iced tea, brewed with mint from my own garden. The mint was the first thing we planted when we bought our house 26 years ago, but we should […]
Choral Potpourri/ Choral Ethics: Make Me An Instrument
“Lord, make me an instrument of your peace….” St. Francis of Assisi Like many of you, the last few weeks I’ve been scrambling to craft an appropriate statement for my chamber choir to make about the murder of George Floyd. I am heartsick, trying to make sense of the difficulty in our country and how […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Finding Our Voice
“We can hear the silent voice of the spiritual universe within our own hearts.” Ruth St. Denis It’s been a tough week, in several months’ worth of tough weeks. I’m exhausted, heart-sick and worried, and not necessarily in that order. I feel helpless and hopeless and a bit frightened. Today I had planned to write […]