Field Notes

Short reflections, observations, and process notes from ongoing work.

Field Note · February 10, 2026 · 2 min read

Why Typography Matters for Arts Organizations

Most arts nonprofits underinvest in typography. Here's why that's a strategic mistake, not just an aesthetic one.

Field Note · November 13, 2025 · 1 min read

Progress Through Preservation

A 2025 reflection from my time at Filarmonika: the most meaningful work isn't always invention — it's building infrastructure that helps culture endure.

Field Note · November 11, 2025 · 1 min read

Where Art, Design, and Structure Overlap

Conducting taught me that creativity thrives in structure — a principle that shows up in web design, publishing, and the tools I build.

Field Note · November 8, 2025 · 2 min read

Rehearsal as Conversation

A quick note on what changes when you stop thinking of rehearsal as instruction and start thinking of it as dialogue.

Field Note · August 29, 2023 · 2 min read

How Bad Do You Want It?

I wanted to be a conductor when I started undergrad in 2002 and didn't have a real orchestral conducting job until 2018.

Field Note · August 25, 2023 · 2 min read

180 Minutes: Rehearsal Planning as a Puzzle

How I plan weekly rehearsals when 180 minutes has to cover 70 minutes of concert repertoire.

Field Note · August 24, 2023 · 1 min read

How the Sausage Gets Made

A snapshot of one month across MSO, the Conducting Institute, ETYO, TXIOS, and Caminos del Inka — and a call to share more of the work behind the work.

Field Note · June 27, 2023 · 2 min read

Programming by the Numbers: Holding Myself Accountable

A transparent audit of one MSO season — ethnicity, gender, living composers, and the budget it takes to program them.

Field Note · March 5, 2023 · 1 min read

Stop Shaming First-Time Concertgoers

If we shame first-time visitors with archaic rules, they will not come back.

Field Note · September 10, 2022 · 2 min read

Why I Track What I Program

Several years ago I began tracking repertoire by gender, nationality, and year composed — and made a commitment to diversify.