“Few things are so pressing that they cannot wait for a moment of breath.” T.K.V. Desikachar Maybe you have had this conversation, usually with family or friends who are not in music or in teaching: Them: “Are you on break now? How nice that you have all that time off!” Us: “Oh, I am never […]
Leadership
The Conductor as Yogi: It Does Not Go Unnoticed
We made it through the semester. Our return to in-person music making. I have been reading our singers’ reflection papers, their one-page response to three prompts: What did you learn musically? What did you learn beyond the music? What suggestions do you have for the future? On music, they wrote about re-learning how to sing […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Living Seasonally
I am intrigued by the wisdom of living seasonally. Taking cues from the shifts in nature, in daylight and temperature and foods that are fresh and available. Living in harmony with the rhythms of nature goes a long way towards making us feel well. Instead of fighting the cold or the heat, the dampness or […]
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 […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Regaining Sense-Ability
Our first brisk fall morning. Do I really want to go for a walk when it’s 43 degrees? (Pause) Well, want isn’t the right word, but I know I’ll benefit so I dig out the thermal running gear and as Grandma Nike says, “just do it.” Cold air hits my face, my breath feels thankfully […]
From “Raising the Voices of a Generation: The Role of Choral Directors in Increasingly Complex Times”
By Jeff M. Poulin In February 2019, I published a new framework for the field, through Americans for the Arts, which articulated the aptitudes, practices, skills and commitments, making up the “12 Core Competencies of an Arts Education Leader.” This framework is intended to guide all of us working in the field of arts education […]