“Nothing is a greater impediment to being on good terms with others than being ill at ease with yourself.” Honore de Balzac We just finished another Lenten, Holy Week and Easter season. Church musicians rounded the corner, heading toward the end of the finish line of their busiest six weeks, exhausted and craving chocolate bunnies. […]
Choral Ethics
Choral Ethics: Busy Times
“He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.” Victor Hugo I am sure you are busy. In fact, I know you are busy this week. This week, Holy Week is the distillation of all […]
Choral Ethics: Should We Be Responsible for Other People’s Happiness?
“Let us be grateful to people who make us happy, they are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom.” Marcel Proust Serena* is happier in her present situation than she ever was in her past positions. She’s beginning her third year and knows it was pure luck to find this job. She is an […]
Choral Ethics: Ruminations of an Old Ballerina
“This is the strange thing: Dancers don’t age.” Twyla Tharp I am a dancer. Descended from Chicago Dance Royalty my father, Charles Grass, was Bob Fosse’s vaudeville partner and Ruth Page’s assistant. My parents met during an Opera Theater of Chicago production of “The Bohemian Girl,” when Dad served as stage director/choreographer and Mom was […]
Choral Ethics: Be Yourself, No Regrets
“My work today is perceived as being classic, but when I first started out, it was a break from the norm. Since then, I have continued to reinvent myself. I don’t change my style, but I allow it to evolve.” Giorgio Armani The courage to be yourself, looking at things from your own perspective, takes […]
Choral Ethics: Out For the Same Audience
“All religions, arts and sciences are branches of the same tree.” Albert Einstein Like many of you, I conduct a choral organization in a community with several other choral groups besides mine. And like you, I often wonder if members of my audience are also members of theirs. One of the lessons I’ve learned in […]