“Etiquette means behaving yourself a little better than is absolutely essential.” Will Cuppy I get so many emails from people wanting to complain or wanting me to weigh in on someone else’s behavior or to come up with a solution. Often, it is singers complaining about their choir directors. Sometimes, it’s choir directors complaining about […]
Choral Potpourri
Why Won’t My Middle School Choir Sing? Part 1
“Why won’t my middle school choir sing?” I saw the above comment a while back on a Facebook Music Group, and it reminded me of my early years of teaching this very unique age group. It’s frustrating, and I believe it’s quite commonly experienced in middle school choral classrooms across America. You ask yourself, “Why […]
Choral Potpourri: Why I De-Brief My Choir
“Comedy is not funny. Comedy is hard work and timing and lots and lots of rehearsals.” Larry Hagman It’s now been over a week since our spring concert. It was a lovely performance, for the most part, but some things happened during this concert cycle no one could have predicted. After losing a bass and […]
Choral Potpourri: Pausing and Taking a Breath
“Be like the bird who, pausing in her flight awhile on boughs too slight, feels them give way beneath her, and yet sings, knowing she hath wings.” Victor Hugo I am taking the week off (and wrote this several weeks ahead of the actual Blog posting). My concert was last Sunday, and I have […]
Choral Potpourri: Thanking the People We Should
“Sometimes our light goes out but is blown into flame by another human being. Each of us owes deepest thanks to those who have rekindled this light.” Albert Schweitzer The choral year is winding down with the academic calendar closing, the concert year finishing and church choir year ending with Pentecost or Trinity Sunday. My […]
Choral Potpourri: Being Interviewed
“It is better to know some of the questions than all of the answers.” James Thurber For every choral director/conductor there is a perfect choir and for every choir, there is a perfect director/conductor. There are times it just “feels right” and there are times it does not. The past few weeks we’ve looked […]