“‘Thank you’ is the best prayer that anyone could say. I say that one a lot. Thank you expresses extreme gratitude, humility, understanding.” Alice Walker If you regularly read the newspaper or online versions of “Dear Abby” or “Miss Manners” or “Ask Amy”, you are certain to read a letter or two (or three or […]
The Choral Life
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; He’s Nice…..but He DOES Mind!
“Action indeed is the sole medium of expression for ethics.” Jane Addams Many of the problems people contact me about have also occurred to me. I may share with my correspondents how I handled a similar situation; I may not. With 20/20 hindsight, I often feel I handled it poorly with a Choral Ethics perspective. […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Honest to a Fault
“The secret of life is honesty and fair dealing. If you can fake that, you’ve got it made.” Groucho Marx We all have people in our lives who claim to be honest. They crow about it, especially if they have said something unkind in the name of honesty. They tell us, if being honest […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Professionals for Life
“Conductors start getting good when everybody else retires.” Simon Rattle Two weeks ago, I briefly introduced the history and design of the Chorus America report, Choral Conductors Today: An Updated Report, A Comparison of 2017 and 2005 Findings. Released on September 7, 2017, their report compared findings from their 2005 report to new data gathered […]
Choral Potpourri: Who Are We?
“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” Vince Lombardi Last week, I briefly introduced the history and design of the Chorus America report, Choral Conductors Today: An Updated Report, A Comparison of 2017 and 2005 Findings. Released on September 7, 2017, their report compared findings from their 2005 […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Conducting As a Profession
“The real art of conducting consists in transitions.” Gustav Mahler We are all back—or just about back—to work this fall; time to do what we do. And just what is it that we do? Chorus America has released their latest report which may help us actually understand what we do, how we do it and […]