Sunday was uneventful until students arrived in person or via Zoom to ignite my energy. I was barren of most energy throughout the day and welcomed the students, many of whom were completing their school production runs.

I learned back in February that my Ball State University choral conductor, Dr. Douglas Amman, had passed away. It saddened me as the man influenced me musically, educationally, professionally, and personally. His eldest son, Mark, and I were the same age, and like with Larry Boye, another choral director with a son my age, I felt like I had two bonus dads. I was fortunate to know Dr. Amman’s lovely wife, Jean, with whom I remain in touch, and several of his children.

Dr. Douglas Amman’s obituary.

When the Chamber Choir would go on tours, toward the end, Dr. Amman would ask each member, “What were three things you enjoyed most about this tour?” followed by “What were three things about this tour that could have been better?”

When I began teaching, I asked the same of my students following a major concert and musical, but with some additional questions. I called it, “Postmortem.”

“What were three things you enjoyed the most throughout this entire process?”

“What were three things that didn’t feel as positive throughout this entire process?”

“What did you learn the most about musical theatre from this entire process?”

“What did you learn the most about yourself from this entire process?”

I love learning what the students gain from their experience as it often propels them into greater interest and more dedicated participation and practice. Former students, now performing professionally, often let me know their post-mortem experience from various shows or projects and this delights me and makes me proud.

Thank you, Dr. Douglas Amman, for your wisdom, encouragement, and your great love.

I have some Amazon purchases to return via way of Whole Foods near the Dayton Mall, and I need to purchase a new collar for Hoskins because Colonel Deeds ate her newest collar, sans the tags. The Colonel also ate the Chief’s collar several months back.

Make it a great day!