Danny Reding

Living somewhere between the plans we make and the pathways that open before us I believe in making plans. I’ve made plenty of them. Plans give us direction. They help us decide what deserves our attention. They turn hopes into calendars and intentions into action. Much of what is good in our lives happens because, at some point, we decided to pursue something and made a plan to get there. But I’ve noticed something else as well: some of the most significant parts of our live

I recently took another look at the portfolio of someone who invested in me many years ago. The return on the investment Dr. Warren Angell made in me—and in countless other musicians over the course of his career—is incalculable. I sang in his choir as a student at Oklahoma Baptist University for only one year, but his influence guided me throughout my career. I'm tempted to think he didn't remember me very well since I wasn't one of his standout students. Yet the last time I

Note: While recently browsing some files, I came across this article I wrote in January 2020. It may seem somewhat naive now but I'm still hopeful that there will continue to be a place for us humans. As a child, my imagination was sparked by science fiction. As a young adult, I discovered Frank Herbert, Isaac Asimov, and a few others. I’m generally inclined to look forward to new advancements in technology. So, I admit that I’m excited about the innovations that may come fr

Several years ago, I was in the middle of a trumpet lesson with the best teacher I ever had. At one point he paused and said, "Danny, you don't have a musical problem, you have a mental problem." Before I could thank him for that observation he continued with this, "Performance always follows our concept. You'll never play better than you think. Unless you address your concept of how you should sound, you'll never do anything more than play the same pieces in the same way wit