“In the end the only study of music is music. Program notes and pre-concert lectures can be helpful ways of showing you the door in the wall and of turning on some extra light...

Chorale is wrapping up its auditions. Our roster won’t be final until it is final, of course-- but we are close.

Interesting exerpt from a recent (June 25, 2010) preview article by Wynne Delacoma in Chicago Classical Review.

A lot of water has washed over the dam, since last I posted anything here. Much of it good, cleansing, purifying water.

Written to Chorale before our concert last night; says what I have to say at this time...

Chorale’s March 27 concert, performed on the eve of the Christian Holy Week, presents musical settings of texts that explore death from both sides...

WFMT’s current emphasis on Rachmaninoff has been wonderful for Chorale.

In the broadest possible terms: I sing first, then teach others to sing. This seems to me an unassailable progression; many choral conductors would lay claim to some version of the same thing.

A friend commented once, “Instrumentalists work hard to get into the orchestra; singers work hard to get out of the chorus.”

When I conducted college choirs, money was provided for rehearsal accompanists, so I always had one.

The "which Latin?" issue rears its head, relative to the Mahler 8 first movement (Veni, Creator Spiritus).

I began rehearsing the Mahler 8th Symphony this past week, with both groups, Chorale and CMAC.