I walked onto campus last night to begin my work at Lewis & Clark College. As I met with the new collegiate orchestra players, I felt the memories from my own college years come flooding back, the good the bad, and
“Listen! You smell something?”
Ghostbusters. What an awesome movie. In the library scene quoted above, Ray (but not Peter or Egan) is experiencing an “orienting response”. His body stills, his breath quiets, and his attention is highly focused. These are the same physiological responses that accompany inspired experiences that I’ve
How to Make Sacred Music Truly Sacred
It was hot—really hot as I wound my way up the Historic Columbia River Highway to the Royal School of Church Music Retreat. The river glistened in the evening light as I entered the beautiful grounds of the Menucha Retreat Center in Corbett,
How do I know if I am inspired?
For me, it all comes down to three things: A deep enjoyable stillness in my breathing and heart that continually invites me deeper. A presence of clarity and energy that keeps me going without fatigue. A concentrated energy in the prefrontal
The 5 major advantages I will have in my audition
I have a huge audition coming up for a full-time position at the Oregon Symphony. The audition will bring over 100 very capable cellists from all over the country to audition. We will all play behind a screen for the prelims
Does Your Audience Resonate with You?
Certain ideas, stories, and music resonate with us. They move us. They make us feel good when we hear or read them. Why? Because they VALIDATE our thoughts, feelings, and experiences. Resonance is validation. Something inside us stands up and says “YES! I know
JOY—the ultimate motivator
Behind every great success is great motivation. What’s your motivator? An external reward or a pure JOY of doing? The final moments of the BRAVO Youth Orchestra Winter term had finally come. All week the kids were wound up and excited. I would have imagined that the final
How much should you CARE about your audience?
Your SHOULD care. A LOT. Here’s why: When your audience knows who you are, and that you care about them, then they care about what you know. Even though this is a philosophy in public speaking, it still resonates deeply in the music
Get your breath, then your heart, THEN your head in the game
“Get your head in the game!” I grew up as a successful competitive swimmer under a coach of supreme intensity. We never lost a meet, but I rarely enjoyed them. I was under relentless pressure to do better. No matter how much I tried,
Exactly when does originality goes too far?
The moment you start looking outside your Source for how to be different. The Latin root for “original” is originem: beginning, source, birth. So of course to be original means to come from within, from your Source: the place inside which gives you all your