“Letters are among the most significant memorial a person can leave behind them.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe It’s been a while since I shared correspondence from Ye Olde Choral Ethics Mailbag (Inbox) with you. Today I’d like to share letters from two ChoralNetters with similar problems. And as you can guess, these two folks are […]
Leadership
The Conductor as Yogi: Know Thyself
“Know Thyself” Ancient Greek maxim The new year traditionally brings resolutions—you know, the same ones we make most years and which, in about two weeks, sort of disappear . . . ? It’s hard to avoid the idea that we “should” be doing something new when the calendar rolls over. And yet, January 1st can […]
Leading Voices: A Gift for the New Year
For this month’s blog, I would like to offer you a gift for the New Year. It is the gift of observation, with a twist of non-judgment. Obtaining the ability to observe selected interactions without judgment will transform your teaching and your relationship with yourself and others. It can bring new insights and revitalize your […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Dare to Pause
“Few things are so pressing that they cannot wait for a moment of breath.” T.K.V. Desikachar Maybe you have had this conversation, usually with family or friends who are not in music or in teaching: Them: “Are you on break now? How nice that you have all that time off!” Us: “Oh, I am never […]
Choral Potpourri/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. Two of my MOST REQUESTED December Blogs will be making their yearly appearances, including […]
The Conductor as Yogi: It Does Not Go Unnoticed
We made it through the semester. Our return to in-person music making. I have been reading our singers’ reflection papers, their one-page response to three prompts: What did you learn musically? What did you learn beyond the music? What suggestions do you have for the future? On music, they wrote about re-learning how to sing […]