“A single conversation across the table with a wise man is better than ten years mere study of books.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow I’ve written quite a few times here about my conversations with choral friends, most of whom I’ve known for decades. Some of them have shared conversations with me they’ve had with their choral […]
Choral Ethics
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Pretension
“Great artists are people who find the way to be themselves in their art. Any sort of pretension induces mediocrity in art and life alike.” Margot Fonteyn Jamie*’s highly auditioned and highly respected community chorus sing at a (you can guess) high level. Though not a professional chorus, they are often used by a local […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Chorus Cults
“I am not afraid of an army of lions led by a sheep; I am afraid of an army of sheep led by a lion.” Alexander the Great Many of you read the title of today’s Blog and understood exactly what I was writing about. You might know someone who is a member of a […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Gatekeeping
“If you only knock long enough and loud enough at the gate, you are sure to wake up somebody.” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow This is not the Blog I had planned to write this week. I had planned to write about our concert on Sunday, how this is the concert we originally planned for Spring 2020 […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Old Lady Musicians
“We don’t stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing.” George Bernard Shaw I’ve known Janice* for over twenty years. We met at a church music conference on the east coast and have been friends ever since. We are of a similar age; our children are of a similar age […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: The Hills Are Alive With the Sounds of……..Mahler
“The real art of conducting consists in transitions.” Gustav Mahler I have mentioned my late mother, a coloratura soprano, more than once here in my Blogs on ChoralNet. Her insight, through many years of being “in the business,” has held me in good stead and I’ve shared many of her wisdoms with you. Today I […]