Our consumer culture has a strong tendency to overshadow other human values and reduce every aspect of human life and culture to an economic appraisal. This is as true of music as it is of anything else. I’ve thought about this a lot over the years and discussed it many times with students and colleagues. Recently it […]
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Advocacy: Responsibility, Calling, Amplification, and Joy
By Amanda Sprague Hanzlik 2020 marks the year where the definition and practice of arts advocacy began to transition and evolve for me – in my heart, mind, and real life. Until recently, the majority of my experiences with advocacy for the arts, and specifically choral music, have been personal, local, and limited to my […]
The Conductor as Yogi: An End and A Beginning
We are wrapping up this year—and what a year. It is typical now to look back and to look forward, considering the past and planning for the future. In our current world, the past is revealing on so many levels and the future is still (always) a question mark. When I began this blog in late June, […]
From India Ink to Digital Bits
By D. Geoffrey Bell The process of musical composition has changed dramatically over the last fifty years. With the advent of personal analog and digital technologies, composers have adopted an evolving set of technological tools that have transformed the way music is written. This, in turn, has had a significant impact on performances by many […]
Travel with the Non-auditioned Choir, Part 3: Immersing Your Singers in the Local Culture
By Patricia Guth Traveling with a non-auditioned and (often) mostly older choir is far different than taking your professional, high school, or college ensemble on tour. If you read the first two installations of this blog, you’ll recall that I talked a lot about the importance of choosing the right tour company and destination, the […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Restock the “Well”
Ramona M. Wis I remember when our daughter would come home from college at the end of each school year and seemingly slept for 2 weeks. There was this huge release from an “always-on” pace, countless activities and responsibilities, heavy intellectual, artistic, and emotional challenges, and the pressures of proving oneself in an academic and professional […]