“Fine Manners need the support of fine manners in others.” Ralph Waldo Emerson Fine manners are really not about showing off but showing respect for others. When you are shown respect, you become respectful. My late mother used to tell us, having good manners was not showing off how ‘fancy’ you are but showing respect […]
Self Care
Choral Ethics: A State of Grace
“The best effort of a fine person is felt after we have left their presence.” Ralph Waldo Emerson The term “choral ethics” has always confused me. Do we as choral conductors and directors have ethics? Do we need ethics? The Presbyterian Association of Musicians, as do other denominations musicians’ organizations, has a code of ethics. […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Intention
“Our intention creates our reality.” Wayne Dyer We sit or get grounded in a comfortable position. We begin to breathe. We acknowledge our busy minds, without judging or criticizing, and let the breath do its magic. Creating space for good with the inhale, letting go of what we no longer need with the exhale. A […]
Choral Ethics: Kindness in the Choir Room
“I have learned silence from the talkative, toleration from the intolerant, and kindness from the unkind; yet, strange, I am ungrateful to those teachers.” Khalil Gibran Why Kindness? Why write about kindness in the music profession? Is it really necessary to be kind? In order to be kind in all things, we must have been […]
Choral Ethics: Our Eighth Anniversary
“Love in all eight tones and all five semitones of the word’s full octave.” Stephen Fry Happy anniversary to US! It’s hard to believe it has been eight years since Scott Dorsey asked me to become a regular ChoralNet Blogger. At first, I worried about having enough material to write a regular blog on something […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Practice. Again. And Again.
“No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters.” Edgar Degas This is a Choral Ethics Blog post repeat from several years ago. I need to slow down and plotting out the rest of the summer now seems like a smart idea. […]