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How to be Unawesome. Really.
I recently read an excellent book by Scott Stratten which is basically about communication. This is a book I do actually recommend and have given away several copies already – get it here (Amazon affiliate link). It includes many stories of excellent customer service as well as some examples we wouldn’t want to follow. Unfortunately we can all add to the latter and perhaps less so of the former. But if everyone was excellent, that would be the norm and none of us would have any chance to stand out against the crowd, right? After moving to the Tampa Bay area I had a document to sign and return. It came…
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12 books for the growing career
I’m working hard on my next #PsalmQuest piece – a concerto for Bass Clarinet and Strings, and it is going well, but with the holidays and lots of travel it’s been hard to keep up. Should have something to share with you in a month or so. In the meantime, here is a list of 12 books all budding/ growing… people should read (At first I wrote “musicians” but realized there is a great deal of info here that is relevant for anyone trying to grow a business or even just their own career, even in the music-related books!). If you or someone you love is trying to build a…
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Why I’m the slowest car on the road
Over the past few years I’ve noticed I’m usually the slowest car on the road. Today, find out why. And hear about one of the decisions/ choices I’ve made that causes it! And then, if you dare, listen to how your own driving decisions are directly affecting the society we live in today. Click to play the video below to reveal all. In case you’re wondering: yes, my wife gets totally embarrassed whilst everyone else is passing us! We all have a multitude of decisions to make everyday, and I’d love to know why you think it is OK (or not) to exceed the speed limits. Seriously, whilst I…
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#PsalmQuest 11 – String Quartet 2
It feels like forever since I published a #PsalmQuest piece, and I guess it was, really – over a month ago! In fact, I finished composing that last piece at the end of September, so it’s really been 8 weeks. Some of that time was spent resting, but much of it was actually spent re-writing. This was a difficult piece to extrapolate from the recesses of reality and it saw several completely written-out ideas before I hit the ‘delete’ button on the whole lot. But it’s here now, and it has quite a story to it, methinks… String Quartet 2 (actually, the title was bothersome for quite some time as…
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#OrchChat – January 2013
Twitter was the home of another FABULOUS discussion amongst some passionate orchestra enthusiasts last night! #OrchChat was scheduled for one hour and although it got off to a slow start, people from around the world joined in and the discussions got meaty. I’m thrilled so many people participated and some have already made terrific suggestions for next month’s session. The three topics we explored, with very interesting perspectives from performers and audiences, were: Public Self-Condemnation: does the language orchestras use turn people off? Dull vs. Sparkling: ballet, opera, film, video games all have visual elements. Are orchestra concerts boring? Why should orchestras use Twitter? What are your thoughts about these…
