Category: Blog
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2017 in Review
2017 brought some very rewarding projects, some happy surprises, and a generous handful of disappointment. Continued from last year was the constant adjustment to tripling the number of children in my house (with now-toddler twins). For next year, my plans are on a larger scale and more geographically diverse. In terms of teaching, highlights included…
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Fall 2017 Tour
This fall’s tour was a whirlwind few days of friends, collaborations, and satisfying musical experiences. One big takeaway: performing multiple times within an intensely-compressed time period is really effective in keeping one on one’s toes, performance-wise. There’s no time for nervousness and no time for mistakes. The program has to be clearly thought through, and…
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Reading a New Piece
Where to start when taking a look at a piece for the first time? Obviously there are as many approaches as there are musicians, and different pieces call for different attention. For an example, let’s take a look at the Duos for Flute and Clarinet by Robert Muczynski. (I’ll be performing this with my clarinetist…
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Indonesia, Etc.
In the World Music class I teach at South Dakota State University, my students are required to write a research paper. The topic they have to explore is the country of Indonesia, and they have to look beyond the musical traditions. It’s a good opportunity for them to learn about a country they usually have…
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Rhythmic Studies
As an undergrad, we used Rhythmic Training by Robert Starer in our theory classes. Honestly, I’m a little fuzzy on which theory classes used it (edited to add: after consulting the label on the back of my book, it was used in MUSI 1111, which corresponds to Aural Skills I at Kennesaw State University). I kept…
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Applied Teaching in Woodwind Pedagogy
I teach woodwind pedagogy at South Dakota State University each fall, and it is always a juggling act. I like the text I use (Teaching Woodwinds, Mountain Peak Music) and I’m confident that my students will be able to employ it later as a helpful resource when they are in the trenches. However, it is…
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Etude Project, Continued
I decided to revive the etude project, which I first began in the summer of 2014. At that time, it was my goal to play through as many etudes as possible in the hopes that it would provide me a wider variety of options when assigning exercises to my students. I obviously had a good…
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New Flute!
The flute trials are over. Recently, I bit the bullet and bought a silver handmade Powell flute, and I paired it with a Ruby Aurumite soloist cut headjoint. Once I decided that I wanted a silver inline handmade Powell, I spent a lot of time trying out different headjoints. I found this to be a…
