extraordinary ability: a call to action
March daily: out like a lion
My reply to violence: sorry, Lenny. Not much gives me hope these days, but I do take heart from this - I’m not seeing that accursed Bernstein quote...
dispatches from pianoland
can you see me? I wrote a thing a while back about how pianists can feel invisible. It’s strange that it happens as we sit next to the biggest thing in the...
March daily: not the enemy
following through, imperfectly I’m catching up on this list. Again. But you can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. I am but mortal - three recitals...
March daily: Kevin Miller
A powerhouse pianist in the middle of everything. Kevin Miller got his start as a student in the Boys Choir of Harlem (the man can sing; you haven’t lived...
March daily: Naomi André
An opera scholar examines the meaning of “voice” Naomi André is currently the David G. Frey Distinguished Professor in the Department of Music at the...
March daily: Identity
Starting this time-changing week with a game-changing opera and a heart-changing artist. Monday: the As One family Laura Kaminsky, Mark Campbell, and...
March daily: catching up
the best laid plans and all I’ve got FOUR shoutouts in one day to make up for failing to post since Thursday. Mea culpa: there were so many things and they...
March daily: Baylor Gospel Archive
A treasure trove waiting for you to dig in THIS WEEK, y’all. Concerts! Opera musical rehearsals! Search committee stuff! All the things. So this‘ll be short,...
March daily: David Portillo and Yasuko Ouro
Music and identity in Roxy Grove Hall Music can heal us in a number of different ways. Sometimes, great words are set to a tune and a rhythm, and the slowed-...
March daily: Will Liverman
A real life Factotum - and today’s students are listening Yesterday, after playing a concert in Louisville and celebrating with my treasured partner-in-crime...
March daily: Singing Like Germans
Construction of race, cultural amnesia Kira Thurman‘s 2021 book Singing Like Germans is an essential part of a music library. If you haven‘t read it, you...
Music Minus None: DEI forever
“We must not remember that Daniel Webster got drunk but only remember that he was a splendid constitutional lawyer. We must forget that George Washington was...
“Savoir-faire essentiel"
The striking accompanists of the major French conservatories have a signed petition of support from 1400 musician colleagues. Could such a thing happen in...
You decide what’s good
The pleasures and pitfalls of virtuosity. My original working title for this piece was “Against Virtuosity” - and let’s just say that virtuosity fought back....
Community is key(s)
It’s here: 2025, the year we’ve all been waiting for. search for pithy yet still hopeful comment file not found Okay. I’ve got very little to say about the...
Church. Music. Solutions.
Some Buttondown housekeeping to start. Please reconfirm your subscription by clicking the link at the end of this email. It‘s free unless you don‘t want it...
Best of 2024
Naps, a miracle puppy, and paying attention.(Hi! This is a repeat of my last SubStack post, repeated from my new home on Buttondown. Let me know how it...
Packing up
Quitting can be awesome
Couples counseling
Manifesto part two.
MUSIC MINUS NONE
Overcoached is now Music Minus None. Get in, musicians.
Morning manifesto
Where my advocates at?
How beautiful they were
Hey, future dead people.
Angel at the keyboard
Pianists, pedestals, and politics.
Picking the winners
Songs, scorpions, and ‘ssimilation.
Out of the loop
We all need protection. But not like you think.
Bird on a wire
Everywhere and nowhere
best/practice
That article about pianists, here for a limited time
Precarious
Please hang on safety bar.
Benched
My first piece for VAN Magazine. It’s about pianists.
Music minus none
Get in, losers*, we’re going to support our pianists
Pay to sing
Voices of Kentuckiana and other points of light
No blank pages
It looks empty, but don’t panic.
Stay close
And don’t be afraid of the dark.
The noise we make
How are we supposed to sound?
Nostalgia
Lay it down.
Trees
Waiting to find out what lives.
“Gotcha” vs. “I got you”
Bringing your inner amateur into the arena.
Real class
Disrespecting the masters.
Magic box
When is a pianist not a pianist?
The 2024 Amateur Hour challenge
One hour a week. Who’s with me?
I say a little prayer for you
Family ties, artistic legacies, and finding the time.
Lone(ly) Star
MAESTRO, Transept, and the search for connection
Just play
Rebooting the amateur practice
Worms down my shirt
Wagner, Bob Ross, and a lil etymology.
Wonderful sacrament
That animals should see.
Tone deaf
Musical meritocracy vs. watercolor wisdom
Scorched-earth excellence
Can we restore an ecosystem for amateurs?
So hard for it, honey
Ambition: our most nuanced performance.
SubStack restores my faith
Whatcha readin‘?