“No man can taste the fruits of autumn while he is delighting his scent with the flowers of spring.” Samuel Johnson Today we’ve made it through our second Pandemic September—-YIPPEE! Things are both better and worse than they were last September, depending on how you look at it. But we’ve made it through, which is […]
Leadership
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: A Time For All Things
“I trust in nature for the stable laws of beauty and utility. Spring shall plant and autumn garner to the end of time.” Robert Browning I was finally able to see my dear friend, Denise, * in person a few weeks ago. I’ve written about her before but can’t remember what I’ve used as her […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Beginning . . . Again
“The heaviness of being successful was replaced by the lightness of being a beginner again, less sure about everything. It freed me to enter one of the most creative periods of my life.” Steve Jobs What happens when we prepare to start a new job? We do the research, find ways to build trust […]
Choral Potpourri.Choral Ethics: Putting In the Work
“Unless a tree has borne blossoms in spring, you will vainly look for fruit on it in autumn.” Walter Scott Denise* contacted me in August with a strange story, but one I’ve heard before. We’ve gone back and forth, but now I’d like to ask your opinion. Her dilemma/question is this—should she re-interview/re-audition for a […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Making The Best of It
“My sorrow, when she’s here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, the withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane.” Robert Frost Those of you teaching in-person with COVID-19 restrictions are encountering dilemmas you never expected to have. And solutions are not […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: A Little Cheese With Your Whine?
“Firmness in enduring and exertion is a character I always wish to possess. I have always despised the whining yelp of complaint and cowardly resolve.” Robert Burns Today’s Choral Ethics blog is a rerun from several years ago. It’s still applicable as we begin to get back to normal. I’ll be back with new Blogs […]