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Unexpected advice and a possible way forward
What an incredible week. My last blog post “Keeping up appearances” attracted the most views I’ve ever had, as well as the most comments. Thank you! It is clear that many of you believe a small group of advisers or friends with whom you can share disappointments is a good thing, but even better is a mentor or two. I must admit to constantly referring back to the same handful of people on many matters, but unfortunately I have yet to come across a mentoring candidate in my industry who is on the same playing field/ experienced in what I’m trying to do/ ignoring staid industry norms. Not even the…
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Keeping up appearances
I recently received some rather disappointing news. Normally, no-one would know except my poor wife who would end up tolerating my pottering around the house and moping through the kitchen cupboards kidding myself I needed something to munch on. But the rest of the world wouldn’t know. Blog posts would still appear on schedule, uplifting tweets would still get posted, and the occasional Facebook message would continue to find its way into the ether. Students would continue to strive for goals just out of their current reach, audiences would cheer and applaud, and colleagues would continue to rely on the ever-smiling, ever-present, ever-reliable SPB to be there for them. All…
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Dreamy… to start with.
The composer Zoltan Kodaly has a special place in my heart and history. I like much of his music, which is very folk-based. He was the chap that pioneered formal classical music based on local regional folk & popular music. He actually traveled around his native Hungary with wax cylinders recording peasants, villagers and gypsies singing their made-up songs. Then he composed pieces of music based on them, and inspired his colleague Bela Bartok to base much of his music on folk tunes and hence the formal genre now known as ‘ethnomusicology‘ was born. Perhaps Kodaly’s most famous piece is a suite from his opera Hary Janos which features a…
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Nostalgic Chatty Conductors in Beautiful Penguin Suits
Can you believe it’s already been a month since the last chat about orchestras on Twitter? It was another FABULOUS discussion amongst some passionate orchestra enthusiasts, and we’re on a role with three under our belt. #OrchChat was scheduled for one hour and this time people from around the world were prepped and keen to get started. I’m thrilled so many people participated and the conversations got so meaty we even added an additional topic! One piece of feedback was along the lines of having only one topic per chat. It’s certainly a good idea, but my thought is that these monthly Twitter chats should prompt and promote further discussion all…
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A day in the life of you…
Can you help me? I’m not sure what ‘being productive’ means anymore. Perhaps you can share your thoughts below. Many times I’m asked “What do you actually DO?” Today (yesterday, by the time this is published) I accomplished the following: Shopped for a new suit, baked some cookies, had a lunch meeting and then an afternoon chat, kept up with most of my emails and social media, completed an online training and prepared the content of a new financial report schedule for my team, watched some audience development, volunteer and photography tips videos on Youtube, and read Ken Blanchard’s book “Full Steam Ahead.” Yes, you read that correctly: I read…
