In my previous blog, I wrote about my concern that when ensemble students are told to correct their blend, they almost always just get softer so as to guard against the...

Of all the ensemble performance skills we need to teach, blend has to number among the most important. Look at any adjudication form, and there it will be. We can all agree on...

The next time you are looking for a good – no, great – book to read, I would wholeheartedly recommend "Casals and the Art of Interpretation" by David Blum. This wonderful book...

I spend way too much time traveling on airplanes. Much of it is exhausting. Lots of it is frustrating. Often it is debilitating. But last week I had a wonderfully illuminating...

While watching television, I heard a line that made me stop and think. "I'm responsible for what I say, not what you hear." On the surface, those words are quite powerful, seem...

A few months ago, a teacher sent me a copy of a note she had received from one of her students. The teacher shared with me that the student was often on the verge of quitting...

When we stand in front of a group of beginners (or not beginners for that matter!) we know that we can start by assessing many things that are shared by everyone before we start...

Picture taking your first flying lesson and being asked by your flight instructor to land the plane by yourself. Or that during your first driving lesson you were asked to...

Yogi Berra, in his inimitable way, said, "It's tough to make predictions, especially about the future." And I guess that's really very true for almost every aspect of life. But...