Never in our history has music been more critical for the well-being of people and communities. Shared musical experiences connect people in profound and beautiful ways. As we overcome the challenges of the last two years, making music is a powerful path forward.  All forms of music making are valuable and important. Yet, w...

Fred Kern could light up any room. Those who knew him—and even those who didn't—couldn't help but smile anytime he was near. Dr. Kern, widely known as a clinician, author, teacher, composer, and arranger, published numerous texts on piano pedagogy and wrote more than 500 arrangements and original pieces for piano solo. Although Fred Kern passed awa...

The other evening, I was reading from an interview with Joseph Campbell about myth and ancient cave art. In the discussion, he mentions the beauty of bird calls. He asks: "Is the beauty of the bird's song intentional…or is it the expression of the bird, the beauty of the bird's spirit, you might say?"1 In other words, birds' songs are beautiful not...