ConductYourLife, LLC

Living large here in Oceanside, CA! Working on another book. Loving family proximity! Best wishes, Chevy

Something later he COVID reminds us of just how wonderful this "short ride in a fast machine" really is? And how important music, wonderously and selflessly shared is for the listener....AND especially for the performer. Making music is making the most...of life!!!

The recent self-isolation our society has experienced has fostered a great time for quiet reflection and "taking stock" of who and what we are...and what we WANT to be! As a performing musician and as a conductor, I've always relished "quiet time," when I could deep dive into the music I'm preparing for a performance. A time for studying not only the notes on the page, but also the person who COMPOSED those notes. Which leads to other great questions: "WHY did the composer write this piece? WHEN? What was going on in the composer's mind, in the audience's mind, in the world at that time that might affect composer, performer, and audience? WHERE? In what country, city, or stage? For what acoustic, historic, and/or symbolic performance space? And for WHOM? A patron? A critic? For the rich? the poor? the informed? the masses? And finally, the HOW question: HOW can I make this music beautiful and meaningful to my audiences in the HERE and NOW. What are THEY expecting? What are they wanting and needing, given the context of their own lives. I remember conducting the USAF Academy Band's rendition of America the Beautiful in a Colorado Springs concert not long after 9/11. As the last note rang out...there followed a brief silence, as though the audience needed a moment to "take it all in" emotionally; then followed an explosive and long ovation. "Quiet reflection" offers its own rewards! 😊

Sharing 40 years of leadership from the podium...now on FB!