“It is no use walking anywhere to preach unless our walking is our preaching.” Francis of Assisi I receive quite a few emails with people’s thoughts about my Choral Ethics project. Some folks tell me they are not exactly sure what Choral Ethics is, but will know it when they see it. Some tell me […]
The Choral Life
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Don’t Shoot the Piano Player
“It’s easy to play any musical instrument: all you have to do is touch the right key at the right time and the instrument will play itself.” J.S. Bach Lady C*contacted me a few years ago as I began to collect stories for my Choral Ethics project. She conducts a semi-professional chamber choir, much like […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Judging Our Colleagues
“If you haven’t got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.” Alice Roosevelt Longworth It does no good to gossip about our colleagues and their ensembles. It doesn’t help the arts community in general or the choral community specifically to “bad mouth” others. We are all in this together and the […]
Choral Potpourri: Take a Chance
“Necessity is the mother of taking chances.” Mark Twain July is winding down; August is almost here and summer is a bit more than half over. During the month of July, here at Choral Potpourri Blog we’ve tried to get you thinking of ways to hit the ground running this fall. Today, the last Thursday […]
Choral Potpourri: Choral Ethics; Changing OUR Behavior
“Nothing so needs reforming as other people’s habits.” Mark Twain During the first two weeks of July, Choral Potpourri Blog focused on what you need and what you do. Today we’ll be thinking about our behavior inside of rehearsal. It’s easier to be objective when not actively in the midst of rehearsals or the academic […]
Choral Potpourri: Working in Your Garden
“Gardens are not made by singing ‘Oh, how beautiful,’ and sitting in the shade.” Rudyard Kipling In last week’s Blog, I mentioned for the month of July I would be blogging about things to get you thinking. Last week, I asked what you need to do a good job right before a concert. This week, […]