The recital this past Saturday went very well. Thanks to everyone who attended! I'm very proud of my students and pleased with the way all of us made some music.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE RECITAL PAGE

I have some strong thoughts about how music is used in our society, and I shared some of them with the audience towards the end of the recital. I jokingly referred to it as a "sermon" and I guess it is something like that. I hope, however, that it makes people think.

It is a shame that so much of the music people enjoy is separated from the rest of their life. Making music is a joy that should not be reserved for only the professionals and highly-trained among us. There was a time when music-making was enjoyed by all, whether trained or not, whether wealthy or poor, no matter what class, gender, race. The poorest commoner sang to the love of his life just as frequently as a wealthy man would have serenaded his mistress. Unfortunately, today both rich and poor alike prefer to passively rely on recordings for their musical needs.

So I have issued a call to everyone to engage with music. This first and foremost means to make music, whether singing or playing an instrument. Don't tell me you can't sing: everyone has the necessary tools. A bit of advice: this is best done with other people.

Secondly, however, everyone should listen to live music. It doesn't have to be an expensive concert--there's plenty of inexpensive and free options around if you look. Here's another piece of advice: Go to church. You'll almost assuredly encounter some live music there as well as some people to share it with.

Anyway, I've posted the audio of my 'sermon' on the recital page along with recordings of the music.

I'll end this post with a YouTube video of a flash-mob performance. Maybe someday I can get one of the groups I work with to do one. They look like a lot of fun and what a great way to share music with the community!

It's been a year since I became the organist and music director at St. Mark's. (I was only the band director before). Needless to say, there's been a lot of changes over this past year in my life. However, I really feel good about the changes that we've made and I truly feel that my organ technique has improved a lot.

Thinking about my own growth as an organist (and, generally speaking, as a musician) reminds me about a guiding philosophy that I hold: Everything about music is connected to growth and development. A musician ought to embrace change and have an honest assessment of their own abilities in order to be in a proper state to facilitate their own improvement. A common mistake that I frequently encounter is people too afraid to try new things because they are afraid of revealing that they aren't perfect. Perfection is a fine carrot to dangle in front of your eyes, but there is wisdom in not planning on getting it for dinner.

This is probably true in all fields of work, but I especially see it among the musicians with which I work. Too many people waste their energies in trying to appear to be good at something, when instead they ought to work at actually getting good at it.

By the way, we're having a recital in a few weeks. Save the date!

Saturday, August 24th • 3pm

We'll be featuring the usual crowd of musicians: Jenna and I are doing some neat duets, and she's got some nice solo pieces too. Julia and I are doing a Beethoven duet, and she'll be singing a song. The Mesa Winds have some fun stuff, including a jazzy rendition of "Satin Doll". The Tempe Guitar Trio also has a jazzy number we've been working on. Of course there's more, and refreshments after the recital.

Hope to see you there!