Latest Blog Posts

Life Balance and Advocacy This week, to celebrate 3 years of great conversations with and amplifications of colleagues, their ideas, and their achievements, I a have created a collection of the ORIGINAL episodes! Chances are, you were introduced to show much later than February of 2019. I was very fortunate to have several guests of […]

“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu Genie* tells me she suffers from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder). She’s an elementary school music specialist as well as a professional church musician and every year, it hits her full force right after Christmas. It lessens in intensity […]

You may know composer Mari Isabel Valverde from her work “When Thunder Comes,” or “Patterns on the Snow,” which was an ACDA consortium from 2016. Many know Ms. Valverde from her music that connects to equity… or, perhaps because of one of her identities as Mexican-American or transgender. And yes, she is a leader in […]

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 February 2022 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Contemporary Choral Music in the Classroom: A Conductor’s Guide to Katarina Gimon’s Elements” by Christina Beasley. You can read it in its entirety at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is a portion from the introduction. _________________ Contemporary music allows the performers to create their own interpretation of the piece […]

Valentine’s Day may seem like a holiday that should be ignored in choir, but I think it could be a missed opportunity! Choir and singing is all about creating connection and spreading love. This post will share practical and effective ideas that include everyone! Here is: Valentine’s Day Choir Rehearsal: 12 Productive Ideas!   written by Adam Paltrowitz, […]

You need to create music that reflects you. Start with who you are. I tend to tell students not to filter out aspects of their lives from their music. If you start with who you are, then you are the only one who can come up with the best solutions. Trevor Weston Trevor Weston is […]

To all my sister-conductors and my fellow Maestras She was tired. Tired of being belittled and tired of being dismissed because she was a woman. Her abilities were taken for granted because she made it look easy. She worked hard, harder than her male colleagues but it was never acknowledged. She was tired of petty […]

While I was out sick recently for a week with COVID, one of my lesson plans for the Select Choir consisted of having the students break into their Sectional Sprint Groups and check and memorize their music for their upcoming Pops Concert the following week.  At the end of each student-run Sectional Sprint rehearsal, I […]

As a church musician and choir director, I believe that much of one’s success is based on the repertoire and hymnody we select, along with adapting to the needs of the ensemble and the congregation. While I strongly believe in expanding a congregation’s body of hymns they know, if I choose too many unfamiliar hymns, […]