“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” Socrates I have known many honorable people in my life, both musicians and non-musicians. Some of these folks appeared to be honorable at first glance, but as I got to know them better, they were far from […]
Difficult Times
Choral Ethics: Let There Be Peace on Earth
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein For the month of December, I’m rerunning some Choral Ethics blogs from years past with a few modifications where needed. Today’s is THE MOST REQUESTED December Blog or ANY Blog. It is especially appropriate […]
Choral Ethics: What Cannot Be Said
“Music expresses that which cannot be said and on which it is impossible to be silent.” Victor Hugo It is the most wonderful time of the year, so the song goes, and it is, really. But it is also one of the most difficult times of the year. There are challenges we may face, despite […]
Choral Ethics: Monstering
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” Friedrich Nietzsche Earlier this summer, I read a review of a book I thought might be interesting to review here on Choral […]
Choral Ethics: Our Eighth Anniversary
“Love in all eight tones and all five semitones of the word’s full octave.” Stephen Fry Happy anniversary to US! It’s hard to believe it has been eight years since Scott Dorsey asked me to become a regular ChoralNet Blogger. At first, I worried about having enough material to write a regular blog on something […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Aftermath of Abuse
“The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” Edmund Burke Might be triggering. Maddie* and I have been emailing back and forth for weeks. Her story—only part of what I will share here—is tragic. As fantastic as it may sound, it is all true. And that is part of the tragedy of it; it […]