ConductYourLife, LLC

Still making music! Waving the wood when I invted to do so. ;) Low brass and writing projects continue! Happy here in Oceanside with my bride, Barbara, and staying in touch with sons Dan and Dave and fams! :) Carl/Chevy ;)

Listening is job one. Co creating is where the joy lives!

Living large here in Oceanside, CA! Working on another book. Loving family proximity! Best wishes, Chevy

Something later he COVID reminds us of just how wonderful this "short ride in a fast machine" really is? And how important music, wonderously and selflessly shared is for the listener....AND especially for the performer. Making music is making the most...of life!!!

The recent self-isolation our society has experienced has fostered a great time for quiet reflection and "taking stock" of who and what we are...and what we WANT to be! As a performing musician and as a conductor, I've always relished "quiet time," when I could deep dive into the music I'm preparing for a performance. A time for studying not only the notes on the page, but also the person who COMPOSED those notes. Which leads to other great questions: "WHY did the composer write this piece? WHEN? What was going on in the composer's mind, in the audience's mind, in the world at that time that might affect composer, performer, and audience? WHERE? In what country, city, or stage? For what acoustic, historic, and/or symbolic performance space? And for WHOM? A patron? A critic? For the rich? the poor? the informed? the masses? And finally, the HOW question: HOW can I make this music beautiful and meaningful to my audiences in the HERE and NOW. What are THEY expecting? What are they wanting and needing, given the context of their own lives. I remember conducting the USAF Academy Band's rendition of America the Beautiful in a Colorado Springs concert not long after 9/11. As the last note rang out...there followed a brief silence, as though the audience needed a moment to "take it all in" emotionally; then followed an explosive and long ovation. "Quiet reflection" offers its own rewards! 😊

"Tis the season to be JOLLY! "Jolly" is better than "GRUMPY" for leaders of every stripe...whenever POSSIBLE. Happy Holidays!

On Forgetting!" As I age, I find that, at times, my memory fails me. But forgetting is not always a bad thing. In her 24 Jan 19 Wall Street Journal "Work & Family" article, author Sue Shellenberger, "The Secret Benefits of Forgetting," the author reminds us of benefits:: "It can help us block out useless or outdated information, and keep us from fixation on a single set of ideas or thoughts." and "It can help us think more clearly by eliminating interference from competing thoughts." For me, the adage "Some things are better off forgotten" is true...we certainly can learn from the experience, remember that lesson, and move on. She points out that deep thinking can "temporarily erase irrelevant details from the mind." I learned this when, at age 54, after retiring as an Air Force band conductor, I began civilian flight lessons at Peterson AFB, CO, Even with an experienced instructor in the right seat, I made it a point to think about FLYING and forget everything else...at least until I was safely on the ground. So, take wing, focus on the challenge at hand, and forget about forgetting. I try to do so, but sometimes... I forget! Chevy😊

LISTENING is a critical part of LEADING. The Orchestra MAKES THE SOUNDS, and the conductor SHAPES the collective sound, but NONE of that happens (very well, anyway) without BOTH SIDES LISTENING INTENTLY, and while, (as the old saying goes) "Playing from the same sheet of music!" Happy 2019! Chevy😊

Recently re-established ConductYourLife, LLC, "Leadership from a Conductor's Perspective" to California! "Leadership is Job One" for leaders!

Livin' large in Oceanside, CA!

Sharing 40 years of leadership from the podium...now on FB!