Discoveries

This week has been full of joy, excitement, frustration, and laughter--all rolled into one big roller coaster ride! Today is proving to be quite full as I am spending this last day before the holiday weekend putting the finishing touches on preparations for the course I will be teaching during the summer session that begins on Tuesday.

I wanted to share a couple of posts that I found extremely interesting myself written by colleagues in the field this week.

First is a look at the Brahms Sonata, Op. 120, No. 2 by Jere Douglas, the clarinetist that I had the privilege to work with in Houston last weekend. His commentary on metronome markings will give my readers another perspective after my earlier rants. Take the time to follow the links to learn more about the history of the metronome; the perspective they provide is valuable. I am honored and humbled by Jere's kind words. We both enjoyed our experience together so much so that we are already making plans for another program later this fall.

The other link is to a video of a lecture given by Benjamin Zander on music and passion. I stumbled upon this wonderful clip while reading Footprints in the Snow, a charming blog by a music education major in Ohio (I believe!) I have only followed Willow's blog for a few days now, but I have been very interested in her insightful commentary and fresh observations related to music education. You should definitely check her out.

Don't miss the Zander video! It is roughly 20 minutes long, but is amazingly practical to musicians and non-musicians alike. The role of passionate leadership presented by the Maestro here is one that many of us seem to forget as we go through the routine of our days.

Enjoy your holiday weekend.....be safe and happy.....and I'll see you again early next week.
Kennith