We have all witnessed ensembles do more than we thought possible or go farther than we imagined. When that happens, it is a reminder that so often the sum of the parts is so much...

Have you ever tried to memorize a list of things only to remember the beginning and the end, forgetting most – if not all – of the middle of that list? Me too, and sadly way too...

Of all the incredibly significant things we need to teach, or more importantly, help our students understand, learning the meaning of beauty – in music – must number near the top...

Of all the things we repeatedly say in rehearsals, the phrase “do it again” must rank high, actually very high on the list. Though we have an extraordinary number of euphemistic...

Let me tell you about a conversation I overheard recently between two high school students who were days away from starting this new school year. I don’t know if they knew I was...

Having heard savvy sayings like “You’ll never appreciate what you had until it’s gone” throughout my life I have come to realize the absolute truth in those words. But maybe...

It seems that every day brings something different about our “new normal.” And though much is new; nothing seems normal. We are constantly needing to adapt, reverse course,...

Someday, hopefully soon, this pandemic will be over. The world will get back to what we all remember and long for. Kids will once again be crammed into band rooms and on stages...

In the days of cavemen and cavewomen, Leslie Goldman wrote, “because life was precarious and food was scarce, when we spotted fruit, seeds, or grass, our brains shouted, ‘Eat...