Dad and Bob Fosse ( both age 12) Dad, Peter Gennaro, and me (I was probably 16) “If you think you can do better, then do better. Don’t compete with anyone; just yourself.” Bob Fosse I am re-running the Choral Ethics Blog I wrote for my Dad’s 96th birthday December 7, 2023. Unfortunately, there will be no more […]
Self Care
The Conductor as Yogi: Abilities vs. Gifts
Our professional life’s journey is very much focused on developing our abilities—the ability to play or sing, to read music, conduct, plan effective rehearsals, and understand the context of the music we teach. In time, we get really good at it, and even receive pieces of paper to demonstrate that we “made it” in our […]
Choral Ethics: Doing Right
“We all want progress, but if you’re on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; in that case, the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive.” C. S. Lewis Every ChoralNetter I meet in person wants to know what kinds of questions I get for […]
Choral Ethics: Honor
“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” Socrates I have known many honorable people in my life, both musicians and non-musicians. Some of these folks appeared to be honorable at first glance, but as I got to know them better, they were far from […]
Choral Ethics: What Is Difficult
“Music is the easy part, it’s everything else that’s difficult.” Rose Marie Ditto Grass (1927-2014) My Mom, a coloratura soprano, used to tell us music was the easy part, everything else was hard. She told us in various ways, in various situations, or used some such variant when it seemed applicable. Several of us became […]
Choral Ethics: Enough
“Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.” Johann Wolfgang von Goethe It’s a New Year and new opportunities will crop up for you. New attitudes and new diets and new exercise programs and other NEW, NEW, NEW stuff will revamp and revitalize your life. Or will they? During […]