We each strive to create an environment that is pleasant for our rehearsals. One that is safe and comfortable, where they sense those moments of success. A place where they are...

I’m sure we have all heard the wonderful quote of Abraham Maslow: “I suppose it is tempting, if the only tool you have is a hammer, to treat everything as if it were a nail.” How...

One of my dear friends shared this story with me. It perfectly describes what all too often happens to students when practicing or rehearsing. Sadly, left unchecked, the problem...

If there were an Olympic Worrying Team, I would be the star! Look up worrying in the dictionary, and you will find a picture of me! So, I am no one to give advice about it, but I...

If you are looking for a book that is inspirational, validating, thought-provoking, and heartwarming, I sincerely recommend The Music Lesson, by five-time Grammy award winning...

Though the life-lesson we all learned as children that states that “sharing is caring” is sage wisdom and a great message for most of life, when it comes to sharing stands in...

How many times have we been confronted with the sentiment that goes something like this: “But that’s the way we have always done it!” Though sometimes that can continue wonderful...

The remarkable twentieth-century cellist and conductor Mstislav Rostropovich said, “You must play for the love of music. Perfect technique is not as important as making music...

One of the first things I do when first rehearsing with a new ensemble is to ask them to raise their stands up, often almost as high as they will go. I...