Tonight I watched and listened as choral directors, each members and leaders within ACDA, led choirs to sing in remembrance of those that have lost their lives in the recent senseless acts of violence in the US. I remain stunned, but somehow grateful, that there are choral directors and choirs available to sing and to […]
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Then Comes “Experimentation” on the Journey to Innovation
Who doesn’t know the mission of the Star Trek voyages, narrated by William Shatner in the original series? The mission was stated at the first of every episode: “Space: the final frontier. These are the voyages of the starship Enterprise. Its five-year mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new […]
Why Won’t My Middle School Choir Sing Part 4
This is part 4 of the series “Why Won’t My Middle School Choir Sing?” Click here to see the first post in the series! Reason #4: We focus too much on technique and not enough on developing their true artistry. In my 24 years of teaching this age group, I’ve seen lots of middle school […]
Making “Way” out of “No Way”: Innovation Means Optimism
Anyone that has had the opportunity to see, hear, or work with Boston Philharmonic conductor Benjamin Zander knows him to be a person of great energy and optimism. I recently prepared the chorus for him in his conducting of Mahler’s Symphony No. 2, Resurrection. The shear magnitude of learning a score the size of this […]
Innovation Begins with Empathy
In my previous blog, I suggested that to live and work with a mindset of innovation is a POETIC way to approach life. POETIC is my acronym for People (empathy), Optimism, Experimentation, Tension, Idea, and Collaboration. This blog explores the People part of innovation, which is about empathy. All educators recognize the name Maria Montessori. […]
Creativity and Innovation: Nature, Nurture, or Location?
Rather than asking “what is creativity?”, Eric Weiner asks the question“where is creativity?” as he seeks the underlying conditions, often unexpected, that make a golden age shine. In a word, in his book Geography of Genius, he explores the question of whether a specific area or region can be an incubator for a culture of […]