Choral Potpourri

“When I wished to sing of love, it turned to sorrow. And when I wished to sing of sorrow, it was transformed for me into love.” Franz Schubert  Shawna* emailed me about a week ago. She originally emailed me earlier this summer. We were “back and forthing” about a situation she found herself in and, […]

“No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters.” Edgar Degas  “That was lovely! So effortless and fun.” “What beautiful singing. They just opened their mouths and out it came!” “Your choir sings so well. Do they ever practice together?” How many […]

“Unless a tree has borne blossoms in spring, you will vainly look for fruit on it in autumn.” Walter Scott We in academia (or those following a choral year) plant our seeds in the fall, watch our ensembles begin to blossom in winter and early spring and harvest our fruit (concerts or the end of […]

What we do belongs to what we are; and what we are is what becomes of us.” Henry Van Dyke I have to confess; I finally am comfortable with who, and what, I am and my reputation. But it’s only within the last fifteen years I have been able to say that. My speaking voice […]

“America’s future will be determined by the home and the school. The child becomes largely what he is taught; hence we must watch what we teach, and how we live.” Jane Addams Are you happy with your reputation? Is this something you planned to “be” or is this something that just happened? Is your particular […]

    “No legacy is so rich as honesty.” William Shakespeare As we begin a new choir year, I thought it might be useful to blog about reputation. So during the month of August, my blog will be a Choral Ethics series devoted to that subject. Our reputation begins almost from the moment we step […]