“My sorrow, when she’s here with me, thinks these dark days of autumn rain are beautiful as days can be; she loves the bare, the withered tree; she walks the sodden pasture lane.” Robert Frost Today’s Choral Ethics blog is a revisited blog from last fall. During the tough times we are going through with […]
Self Care
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 […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Do You Really Like IT?
“I can live for two months on a good compliment.” Mark Twain A few years ago, ‘way before the Pandemic, I decided to conduct a little experiment. I randomly thanked and complimented family, friends, and strangers during the month of November. Why November? Usually, we are encouraged to be consciously thankful l during the month […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Doing the Work
“Thunder is good, thunder is impressive; but it is lightning that does the work.” Mark Twain Most of us are doing what we can, with what we can, during this strange transition time. Concerts? Well, I know I’m forgetting something for my own concert in ten days, I just am not sure what it is. […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Speed Trap
In this age of rush, nothing is more critical than moving slowly. ~Tias Little~ Tias Little is an internationally known yoga teacher and brilliant writer. His most recent book, The Practice is the Path (2020) is a compelling read, even if you don’t practice yoga. His explorations include emptying before you begin, right effort, […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Doing No Wrong
“Love all, trust a few, do wrong to none.” William Shakespeare In one of my first church choir jobs, I had a strange experience I’d like to share. Perhaps those of you in leadership will be able to use it as a cautionary tale. Many of you may be able to relate or you can […]