You may know composer Mari Isabel Valverde from her work “When Thunder Comes,” or “Patterns on the Snow,” which was an ACDA consortium from 2016. Many know Ms. Valverde from her music that connects to equity… or, perhaps because of one of her identities as Mexican-American or transgender. And yes, she is a leader in […]
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The Conductor as Yogi: Our Olympic Journey
I love watching the Olympics. Summer or winter, sports I like or those I have little knowledge about—it doesn’t matter, because it is always the human-interest element behind the athlete’s journey that draws me in. The summer Olympics occur when I am not teaching or conducting full time. I am in big picture mode then, […]
Enabling Transformational Experiences: Repertoire
As a church musician and choir director, I believe that much of one’s success is based on the repertoire and hymnody we select, along with adapting to the needs of the ensemble and the congregation. While I strongly believe in expanding a congregation’s body of hymns they know, if I choose too many unfamiliar hymns, […]
Sound Before Sight with Carol Krueger
Teaching students to be literate requires teachers who are trained for it. The episode you have been asking for for over a year is finally here! It is jam packed full of ideas and solutions. The music literacy guru herself, Carol Krueger and I discuss the crisis facing music education that few are talking about. […]
Songs of (Re)imagining: The Border CrosSing series
Dr. Ahmed Anzaldúa founded Border CrosSing in 2017, a Minnesota-based organization that “envisions fundamental change in classical music culture, so that every concert, every audience, and the artists on stage truly reflect the cultural reality in which we live.” For more about Dr. Anzaldúa and the beginnings of Border CrosSing, read this 2019 interview with […]
The Conductor as Yogi: What’s in the Words
I’ve been teaching a new course, an honors seminar combining a yoga mat practice with the study and application of core yoga principles and readings to develop a “toolbox” for students to navigate their college life and beyond, as they build careers and develop as leaders and humans. Though we are just beginning this journey […]