Pause
You may have noticed the April posts are not happening, and March was pretty sparse, too. I do have a lot written in drafts, but I’ve decided it’s probably time I stop giving my best work away for free. While…
Category being
New Year and Jan 2026 playlist
I have deemed 2026 a year of distillation: to live more faithfully in line with hard earned and well-considered authenticity. And for the moments when those aspects do not inform me, I will be still, and I will listen. I…
Oof, guys…and October playlist(s)
This year is too much, my friends. I was really making strides—multiple books in progress, regular posting here, applying to doctoral programs, a few speaking engagements and workshops, and renewed inspiration to write and produce music. Starting with my mother’s…
unexpected road trip
After a long decline with COPD and two years of dementia, my mom passed away last week. Ours was a complicated and difficult relationship, and while there is a surreal quality to the days that have followed, the nature of…
whatever this is, is how I feel right now
It’s been super uphill the last two weeks: Spotify keeps taking down podcast episodes, the new MemberPress Course setup is more cumbersome than I anticipated (but ooooooweee do I have some killer classes coming), someone keeps trying to steal my…
What the hell, community orchestra conductors?
Over the last few years, I’ve noticed a trend in community orchestras: the repertoire and rehearsal schedules are becoming INSANE. Programs featuring Liszt Les Préludes, Bartók Concerto for Orchestra, that wild Ellington/Strayhorn Nutcracker arrangement, Strauss tone poems, and the like.…
Dear Future Me
I’d like you to envision the musician you’d like to be. Be bold, ambitious, un-self conscious with this imagining, even (or perhaps especially) if the qualities they embody seem remote. Answer these questions to really hone in: After you’ve spent…