Little darling, it’s been a long, cold lonely winter Little darling, it feels like years since it’s been here Here comes the sun, here comes the sun And I say, it’s all right George Harrison There’s something about the sun—its warmth, its golden hue, its energy. Even the coldest winter days can feel warmer when […]
Yoga
The Conductor as Yogi: The Spirit of Work
What do you think of when you hear the word “work?” Some days, “work” feels like these dictionary definitions: Exertion, Labor, Toil, Slog, Drudgery. Ouch. Just reading these words makes us feel heavy, even if they accurately describe how we feel right now. It’s not that we don’t still love our art or care about […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Our Olympic Journey
I love watching the Olympics. Summer or winter, sports I like or those I have little knowledge about—it doesn’t matter, because it is always the human-interest element behind the athlete’s journey that draws me in. The summer Olympics occur when I am not teaching or conducting full time. I am in big picture mode then, […]
The Conductor as Yogi: What’s in the Words
I’ve been teaching a new course, an honors seminar combining a yoga mat practice with the study and application of core yoga principles and readings to develop a “toolbox” for students to navigate their college life and beyond, as they build careers and develop as leaders and humans. Though we are just beginning this journey […]
The Conductor as Yogi: Dare to Pause
“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 […]
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 […]