“I am grateful for what I am and have. My thanksgiving is perpetual.” Henry David Thoreau I always try to be grateful. In this season of Thanksgiving, I am more grateful than usual. Perhaps our world is in upheaval but there is one thing I know for sure; there is plenty more Good than there […]
Choral Culture
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Getting Out the Humidifer
“…A person can develop ‘la grippe.’” From Adelaide’s Lament It is mid-November in the Midwest and you know what that means. A few leaves still cling to branches after their brethren have made a truly lovely, colorful exit. Birds are gathering on trees and powerlines to migrate en masse as soon as it turns cold […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Working Hard
“I look back on my life like a good day’s work, it was done and I am satisfied with it.” Grandma Moses Jethro* works hard. He is in a three year graduate program, has a church job as well and is spread thin most of the time. This is his second year in the program […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Important Enough
“Comfortable shoes and the freedom to leave are the two most important things in life.” Shel Silverstein How many times have you felt you weren’t important enough? Or put another way, how many times has someone made you feel unimportant? Donald* conducts a symphony chorus in a mid-sized city. It’s a nice job; he prepares […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Impatience
“Perhaps there is only one cardinal sin: impatience. Because of impatience we were driven out of Paradise, because of impatience we cannot return.” W. H. Auden Today is Halloween and I’d like to share a scary story with you. As you read it through, think about being in a similar situation and what YOU would […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Old School or New?
“Anyone who stops learning is old, whether at twenty or eighty. Anyone who keeps learning stays young. The greatest thing in life is to keep your mind young.” Henry Ford A few weeks ago, I ran into a young friend and colleague in the grocery store. Both of us were pressed for time but wanted […]