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 […]
Others
“Exploring the Choirs of Europe” Rupert Gough of Royal Holloway
The First Installment of the a new series following Betsy Cook Weber on her Sabbatical I am honored to present to you a new series of podcasts and videos with Dr. Betsy Cook Weber. Dr. Weber is on Sabbatical this semester, and she reached out to me to partner in documenting her travels across Europe. […]
Stories of Healing and Reimagining with Olivia Vestal
In March 2020, spring break was extended. Olivia Vestal, now a first-year choral teacher in Durham, NC, was supposed to go to Regional NATS. Instead of performing live, she recorded a video, and remembers that was the last thing she did without a mask. After they finished, she wiped down the piano and recording equipment, […]
Creating Transformational Experiences: Repertoire
I’m in the process of finalizing the program for the Advent/Christmas Concert at my church. While it’s not 100% confirmed, the working title of the concert is Journey Through Darkness and Light. The ultimate goal is to provide a space for people to collectively stop, pause, and reflect on their faith through Advent/Christmas music, readings, […]
Can Auditions Be Inclusive? With Kirsten Oberoi
One of the foundational principles of this show is that we, as humans AND as colleagues don’t have to agree about everything. In fact I will take it a step further: we NEED disagreement and dialogue in order to learn and grow. This episode is based on that principle. I recently came across Kirsten Oberoi […]
Separating Achievement from Self-Worth
By John C. Hughes A few years ago, a colleague told me about the Enneagram, a personality classification system that groups people into nine broad types.1 I took an online quiz and discovered that I am a Type Three: The Achiever. My friend told me that a lot of conductors are Threes. This makes sense; […]