Latest Blog Posts

“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 Choral Ethics. Some folks tell me they are not exactly sure what Choral Ethics is but know it when they see it. Some tell me what I am […]

“Mother is the name for God in the lips and hearts of little children.” William Makepeace Thackeray This Sunday is Mother’s Day in the United States. I am a mother but am also a daughter, missing her mother this year. I think back eleven years ago, Mom’s last Mother’s Day, and wish I had known […]

Congratulations! You’ve successfully setup your sound system. Unfortunately, you’re now faced with possibly the most daunting task. . . the mixer and its thousands of buttons and knobs. Episode 53 of ChoralEd briefly discusses the various mixer buttons and their uses. Some of the more common buttons, knobs, and faders on the mixing board Include […]

“Burning the candle at both ends” is a metaphor we know well.  Through our school years, first jobs, perhaps raising children, second jobs, and navigating all that modern life requires of us, we find ourselves packing more and more into our day, even when we know it is not wise nor healthy . . . and […]

“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 this blog. She conducts a semi-professional chamber choir, much like mine, […]

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” Potter Stewart For all of my new Choral Ethics ChoralNet readers, I thought you might be interested in how my Choral Ethics blog came about. When I finally decided to write about what I now call […]

“Autism is part of who I am.” Temple Grandin It’s time for my annual Autism Awareness Month blog post. For those of you who are not aware; my eldest son has autism. April is just another month for our family since EVERY month is autism awareness month at our house. Music is very important to […]

“Nothing is a greater impediment to being on good terms with others than being ill at ease with yourself.” Honore de Balzac We just finished another Lenten, Holy Week and Easter season. Church musicians rounded the corner, heading toward the end of the finish line of their busiest six weeks, exhausted and craving chocolate bunnies. […]

My blog schedule this year has coincided more than once with concert weeks for me, which means as I sit down to write, I am absorbed with those tasks, thoughts, and emotions that emerge from peaking and sharing performances.  Trying to clear space to think deep thoughts.  Hmm.  Maybe a different strategy is needed right now. I recall […]

“He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.” Victor Hugo I am sure you are busy. In fact, I know you are busy this week. This week, Holy Week is the distillation of all […]