From my experience, Thanksgiving falls at just the right time of year. There is something magical about eating good food with friends and family, followed by a day of rest and relaxation. At least that’s been my tradition. I grew up in Princeton, NJ, where my parents live. Typically, I visit for at least a […]
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Why Rhythm Is Foundational in Sight-Reading
by Stuart Hunt The Concise Oxford Dictionary defines music as “the art of combining vocal or instrumental sounds (or both) to produce beauty of form, harmony, and expression of emotion.“1 To that is often added, something like the following: Sounds and silences organized in time. A pattern of regular or irregular pulses, some stronger some […]
Rhythm, Pacing, Stamina, and Breaks in a Busy Time
I wear many musical hats: Choir Director, Singer, Pianist, and Handbell Ringer. From my perspective, in each of those roles, rhythm and tempo are fundamental. As a conductor, it’s a joy to unify pulse and rhythm. When that happens, the choir is able to listen better and make quicker adjustments with dynamics, intonation, vowels, and […]
The Conductor as Yogi: The Brain-Healthy Rehearsal
In my last post, we looked at the brain’s response to stress and the importance of understanding stress not only as a “feeling” thing but also, a “thinking” thing. The effects of stress can negatively impact our short-term memory and our ability to manage the details of our professional and personal worlds and can have […]
One of the Inverse Relationships in Beginning Chorus Class
By Odell Zeigler, IV “It doesn’t matter whether you are pursuing success in business, sports, the arts, or life in general: the bridge between wishing and accomplishing is discipline.” – Harvey Mackay I believe the above quote can serve as our epigraph for this blog and our overall commitment to fostering and developing music literacy […]
The Conductor as Yogi: This Is Your Brain on Stress
One of the most common reasons people come to a yoga class is to de-stress. Stress is at the center of our modern lifestyles, so engaging in the physical practice of yoga, as well as the meditation, mindfulness, and breathing that are built into the eight-limbed yoga practice, go a long way to helping us […]