Leadership

“I won’t be a rock star. I will be a legend.”  Freddie Mercury My youngest brother is a conservatory trained percussionist…..which means he’s played for a LOT of rock bands.  Classically trained, he likes playing for rock bands more than orchestras. Why?  The atmosphere.  According to him, most rock musicians are not the spoiled brats […]

“Let’s not be narrow, nasty, and negative.” T. S. Eliot I have a group of choral colleagues I regularly contact for their Choral Ethics opinions and help with the Choral Ethics Project. I admire these folks and think they are fine examples of what it means to be an Ethical Choral Professional because I’ve worked […]

“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 will know it when they see it. Some tell me what I […]

“Autism is part of who I am.” Temple Grandin “Mrs. Amenta, we have to be kind to those poor parents. They have children with autism and have no hope.” For some reason, Dr. Marguerite’s* comment just ticked me off. This was about 18 years ago and I was the president of a local chapter of […]

“Habits change into character.” Ovid Many of us, especially in community-based programs, complain we don’t have enough singers to do the repertoire we really want to do.  If we are a mixed group, we long for more tenors or baritones or basses but don’t seem to retain them when we get them.  After years of […]

“Always the journey, never the destination.” Simon Rattle Last week, the Alumni Chorus I’ve been writing about sang in a semi-staged concert version of “Considering Matthew Shepherd.” The CCPA Conservatory Chorus was the main performer, and we Alums sang a chorale toward the end of the work. It was an interesting process for me, both […]

“Unity is strength… when there is teamwork and collaboration, wonderful things can be achieved.” Mattie Stepanek Does your choral organization collaborate? I’m sure you occasionally work with other music groups, such as your school’s orchestra or band or perhaps your local symphony. Do you ever think outside of the box with your collaborations? I was […]

“My singing voice is somewhere between a drunken apology and a plumbing problem.” Colin Firth I am in the midst of my audition cycle. I hold auditions for both my fall and spring concert cycles, so this is the second go-around for me during our concert season. So far, so good. I recently recalled an […]

“Being an accompanist is very selfless in many ways because you’re really just trying to elevate the singer and help them shine, ultimately.” Simon Helberg Last week, I shared stories from a few ChoralNetters about their holidays. This week, I have ChoralNetters chiming in about relationships between choral directors and their accompanists. If you noticed […]

“Finding good players is easy. Getting them to play as a team is another story.” Casey Stengel Happy New Year ChoralNet! I hope you all had wonderful holidays. And I also hope you spent some time recharging and refreshing before your next batch of rehearsals and classes begin. January’s Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics Blogs will be […]