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expression: “If you want money, ask for advice; if you ertson, was special for me because my partner and I com-
want advice, ask for money.” I have a rule: never have missioned the title piece of the album from Michael,
lunch with someone who you don’t want to have lunch in memory of my mother. Then it has this spectacular
with. If you think you need to have lunch with some- piece by Edie that we have performed a lot. In fact, we
one who has the potential to give you lots of money, sang it at the ACDA National Conference in February
but you’re not going to enjoy the company, then don’t. of this year. So yeah, the Grammy thing is fun, but we
That’s not money you want. Everything is about com- don’t let ourselves get too excited about it.
munity and karma, so you want support from people
you’re sincere in asking, “What’s happened in the last What motivates you for the future?
two months? What’s important to you? What do you
think about this idea? Where do you think the country The Crossing has reached a certain status, but ad-
is going?” I genuinely want to know about their lives. mittedly, it’s choral music. When we say we’re sold out,
But, then, I genuinely want to know about most lives that’s like 350 people. That’s not 70,000 people going
that are not “me.”

What are the skills you think conductors today
need to survive? What were the skills or ideas
that you stressed with your students at North-
western University that you hoped to foster in
them?

I teach largely what I know. So, that’s listening—a
very particular way of listening, which is also connected
to breath and gesture. And I teach point of view: how
to develop an idea of how the music goes; what are the
questions that you need to ask; how do you find the an-
swers to those questions? Conducting is connection. De-
fining and describing our world, just like any other art.
Connection, communication, and in that is expression.
That’s what I teach.
The full-time faculty part of my life is ending. And
there’s quite a bit of melancholy in that. I’ve been very
fortunate. Northwestern has amazing grad students Includes six octavos published by
who all have gone on to be not just colleagues, but real Alliance Music Publications
friends of our family. AMP 1150 Come to Me
AMP 0902 O Magnum Mysterium
The Crossing just won its third Grammy Award. AMP 1110 Gloria in Excelsis
What is that like? Is it just one more for the tro- AMP 1056 Alleluia
phy case, or does it stay fresh?
AMP 1074 Those Tender Words
AMP 1143 The Angel
We don’t do what we do to win awards, but it re-
ally helps to give the music much further reach. People
notice. They listen. People find us now who probably
wouldn’t have otherwise, and we’ve seen the effect on
the organization, which has been entirely positive. MUSIC PUBLICATIONS, INC.
TIONS, INC.
MUSIC PUBLICA
This album, Born: Music of Edie Hill and Michael Gilb-
CHORAL JOURNAL October 2023 Volume 64 Number 3 77