by Kurt Knecht | May 23, 2013 | Uncategorized
This weekend we celebrate Avi’s graduation from high school. Here is a video of his high school combo playing the latest chart that he wrote. The start is a little rocky, but they eventually settle into a groove. I think it is a most excellent and hip tune. He...
by Kurt Knecht | May 21, 2013 | Uncategorized
My first composition teacher was David Clark Isele. I remember the joy and intimidation I felt when I was introduced to an actual living composer. The first work of David’s that I listened to with great regularity was his “Celebration Requiem”. ...
by Kurt Knecht | May 19, 2013 | Uncategorized
In response to one of the posts in this series, Dwight Thomas – an absolutely fantastic and gifted musician – brought up a great question. Let’s say you are following the “say one thing and fix it” rule. How do you balance that with...
by Kurt Knecht | May 9, 2013 | Uncategorized
I’ve written on this topic before, but it’s another great and simple rule for conductors. Don’t be an ass. If you didn’t get the memo, the days of the Toscanini type of tyrant conductor are over. For people like Ricardo Muti, it sometimes takes...
by Kurt Knecht | May 8, 2013 | Uncategorized
Please don’t sing while your conducting. I think conductors who specialize in choral music are more guilty of this than others. The singing conductor, however, is unfortunately not exclusively limited to choir directors. Many instrumentalists know the odd and...
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