“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 […]
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Teacher Burnout Town Hall- Live Stream
Teacher morale has reached a crisis point. If you’ve ever felt the crisis or seen the crisis, this episode is for you. In this Livestream episode I got input from some of my Patreon supporters, as well as people listening on Facebook which was fun, and kept the conversation spinning to topics of teacher pay, […]
Enabling Transformational Experiences in a New Year
The last week of December and the first week in January are some of my favorite times of the year. The week between Christmas Day and New Year’s Eve helps rejuvenate me and the first week of January brings a lot of new possibilities. If you weren’t thrilled with the first part of the program/academic […]
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 […]
Stories of Healing and Reimagining: Commonalities Part 2
As choral professionals has navigated COVID, many have taken a hard look at equity in the field. Some have focused on addressing systemic issues within the field, while others have worked within their spheres to make changes in their classrooms, rehearsals, schools, and sacred spaces. As I asked choral professionals about ADEI, some were more […]
Creating Transformational Experiences: Emotional Resilience
This point of the year is always tiring, especially with extra performances, events at church, or end of semester grades due. Unfortunately, we can add the Omicron variant, quarantines, and contentious times this year. On social media, I’ve seen posts about wonderful performances, as well as stressful scenarios such as a large portion of a […]