It's January, you have show music passed out and the first show is only weeks away. Maybe you did a short Holiday Camp, or you took that break off completely. Maybe you had some snow days in December like we did here in Cincinnati. Either way you are feeling the pressure of that first show. Are you behind? It probably feels like it. Should you be freaking out? It probably feels like it. So what should we do if we are in this situation?

Anyways, I just finished a book but I am going to call this my last review of 2025 since I read most of the book in '25.

It's that time of year where we review how the year went for us and start making plans for next year. I don't really know how to quantify this year as either good or bad. It was definitely challenging.

I was standing in line to check out with a few small ensemble collections and at the checkout table was a book called "Freelance: 10 Commonsense Keys to Making YOUR Music YOUR Business" by Josh Gottry. Now this book has existed for a few years (since 2021) and I see at PASIC every year, but never give it a second look. Mainly because I do read more now than I use to, but it still doesn't feel like a lot, and I felt pretty good on the business side of things.

Been a while since I posted. There has been a lot going on this marching band season, and it has taken my full focus to get to this...

As I have been designing more and more, I find myself going to see/work with these groups more. I have also been helping set up electronics/sound systems more over the last few years. As I am doing this more, I find myself packing specific things for these trips that I don't normally worry about when I am teaching. Now that might be because I have easier access to things when I am closer to home, or I am more conscious of needing to maxmize my time on these visits, or both