Life Lessons I Learned from Music

I was fortunate to have been introduced to music at an early age, and I remain thankful for the lessons learned and the many ways these experiences prepared me for life.

1. Attitude

Playing in orchestra taught me the importance of attitude. Some stand partners were always filled with enthusiasm for being part of something greater than themselves, while others became deflated when they were part of the group. I saw how positive attitudes and being about the music energized and inspired those around them. Attitude is contagious — just be careful what you catch.

2. Passion

It was in middle school that I began practicing cello for hours a day to impress a girl. However, when she wasn't interested in me, I kept practicing those long hours because I had fallen in love with the music. While it is an interest that gets many of us started in our fields, our passion sustains us. 

3. Persistence

Despite not liking the cello much until the age of 12, and being more interested in sports, I learned that while sticking with music was not necessarily going to make me successful, that giving up would be a failure.  

4. Commitment

It was during my earliest conducting training that I learned to be committed to music. During a three-week conducting masterclass, which I highly recommend called Medomak, I would stay up studying my scores until the wee hours of the mornings and then wake up early to continue the work. Commitment to your art and to making your community better through your art will sustain you through the challenges.

5. Listening & Responding

How we listen to one another is the first critical action to success in music. Once we are listening, then comes the question of how we respond to what we have heard. Do we copy the inflection, or do we change the inflection because the music has now evolved? Listening to people is vital, but responding with empathy and understanding to them deepens the experience. 

6. Teamwork

I thought that conducting was excellent preparation for working with others. Still, I found that teamwork was particularly critical in my relationship as music director working with the board president and executive director. These three positions — three-legged stool as I call it — taught me the need for teamwork. Anything less than complete synchronicity with your team can be detrimental to the organization, as well as the lives and livelihoods of your staff and musicians. Understand the nature of your team and your role in supporting your teammates. 

7. Trust

I can think of no other place than conducting an orchestra where it is more important to trust. In particular, you must trust your musicians to bring their best to rehearsals and performances. A leader who does not trust their colleagues will lead them with fear, rather than by forecasting the greatness that will unfold before us. 

8. Accountability

Through my audition for a spot in the DMA program in Orchestral Conducting at the University of Michigan, I understood the importance of accountability. It was a very competitive audition. I began my preparation for the audition being happy that I had been invited to the live round but accepting that I would likely not get the spot. By having this kind of mindset, I was giving myself an excuse, and once I realized this, I chose to give everything that I had to succeed in the audition and studied with total commitment to the goal of winning that spot. I was honored to have gotten that spot and to have made it through those grueling years to earn my doctorate. By not going full out, you are giving yourself an excuse for failure. 

9. Being of Service

As a young cello student, my teacher told me that preparation was the key to success. It wasn't until I began conducting that I realized that it wasn't preparation for preparation's sake that was the key, but that the preparation was done in the service of something greater. Prepare so that you can be of service to something greater than yourself.

10. Joy

We often play games as children because they are fun, and sometimes move onto different games or sports when we no longer enjoy them. But when we can lift the spirits of our friends, neighbors, and communities, we receive something unexpected in return: joy. 

Life is like music – with beginnings, middles, and ends. It is up to each of us how we play it and how beautiful we make it.