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 total rest and relaxation right before December. At least that’s been my tradition. This year, that rhythm has been restored for me. I grew up in […]
Others
An Unconventional Approach to the Urban Chorus Classroom for the New Choral Director
By Odell Zeigler New opinions are always suspected, and usually opposed, without any other reason but because they are not already common. – John Locke Have you ever gone along with the majority or followed a script and felt it was not something you should continue to do? Well, let me begin by saying that […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Why I Yoga
We are busy people. We have full lives; we live at the center of a wheel that turns constantly, with professional, family, health, spiritual, and personal spokes of responsibilities, challenges, and joys. We bounce between feeling full and satisfied and just plain busy with lots of activities that don’t seem to be organized into anything […]
Stories of Healing and Reimagining with Maria A. Ellis
Maria A. Ellis, founder of Girl Conductor LLC and host of Bach & Beyoncé, was tasked in January 2020 by The St. Louis Children’s Choirs to start a new inner city choir. In the very segregated St. Louis, Ms. Ellis explained, The St. Louis Children’s Choirs are located on one side of town. Black people […]
Seasonal Reminders: Living into Gratitude
By Matt Harrison In this season of change, how often have you taken the time to meaningfully meditate on why we do what we do? Perhaps, we must first examine exactly what it is that we do. We connect and engage with our singers. We cultivate powerful, lasting, and transformative relationships. As my good friend […]
Creating Transformative Experiences: Staying in the Moment
As I’m writing this post, I’ve had some minor symptoms after getting the Pfizer COVID booster shot. When I made the appointment to get the booster the afternoon of November 7, I was hopeful, perhaps naively so, that I would escape without any symptoms. However, as an insurance policy, I made sure that the following […]