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 NEWS
April - July 2008
Welcome to the spring newsletter from Pianoscapes
- and welcome to the many new subscribers who have signed
up since the last newsletter in the fall of 07. After a mid-
winter combination of travel and rest to write and compose
new work I am back with a few new essays and profiles of upcoming
workshops and presentations.
The Gifted Life
The theme for this newsletter is an exploration of The Gifted
Life. For many centuries the sharing of gifts, not only as
objects but of oneself and one's unique qualities, speech
and action, has brought a sense of equilibrium and coherence
to building community. By magnifying the spirit of the other,
the gift has ensured that those who participated were subject
to everlasting memory by those whose lives they had touched.
Overview
Living a Gifted Life
The artist appeals to that part of our being. …which
is a gift and not an acquisition - and therefore. more permanently
enduring
— Joseph Conrad
The theme for this newsletter is an exploration of The
Gifted Life. For many centuries the sharing of gifts,
not only as objects but of oneself and ones unique qualities,
speech and action, has brought a sense of equilibrium and
coherence to building community. By magnifying the spirit
of the other, the gift has ensured that those who participated
were subject to everlasting memory by those whose lives they
had touched.
Reflective Essay
Reflective Essay Song for the
Open Road; Reflections on The Gifted Life
We understand everything about the creative process but where
it begins. Yet it is this initial spark- the inspiration that
sets the gift in motion that reminds us of the gratuitous
nature of the gift - the sense that where there was nothing,
there is now something makes all the difference.
Book Review
The Gift; Creativity and the Artist in the Modern World
25th Anniversary Edition- Lewis Hyde
The Gift is a classical work by author Lewis Hyde on the
value of creativity that has been cherished by artists, writers,
musicians, thinkers and leaders for over twenty- five years.
In a time when there has been a move to commercialize many
things that were once thought to have no price, The Gift is
even more timely now than when it was first published.
Click
here to read the complete review.
Interview
Alive to the Moment - Leadership Without Easy
Answers - An Interview with Michael Jones and The deBaak
Management Center The Netherlands.
In an interview given with Bianca Stokman, Program Manager
at the deBaak Management Centre in The Netherlands, I explore
how in a world without easy answers, leaders need to dig deep
to find their own unique gifts and the wisdom of the moment
in order to see the familiar with new and fresh eyes.
A part of this interview can be found in DeBaak's award winning
publication Inside+Insight. Seven artists explore the relationship
between art and leadership in the journal. These interviews
are featured in advance to a special arts and leadership symposium
at de Baak June 19th.
I will be a guest speaker and performer at the Art and Leadership
symposium
To read the complete interview please click
here. You can also read an excerpt by visiting www.debaak.com/insight.
Recent and Upcoming Highlights
for Winter/Spring 2008
February 7 to 9
Vancover BC Peace Health Whatcom Region
Strategic Planning Retreat - Awakening the Commons of the
Imagination - Guest Presenter and Facilitator
During this strategic planning retreat, performed music for
reflection and stories of possibility helped senior health
care administrators, their board of directors and senior medical
partners imagine a new vision for health care. Re imagining
their future became the foundation for developing a transformational
vision, establishing a regional strategic planning template,
identifying key strategic initiatives for growth and innovation
and establishing personal commitments for aligning their gifts
to create and sustain high level performance initiatives
April 29
Benton Harbor Michigan -Lake Michigan College
Leading Artfully; Creating a Positive Future- workshop
leader
- Guest Presenter and Facilitator
The communities of St Joseph and Benton Harbor have had
a long and challenging history. A thoughtful and affecting
human portrait of this history is documented in The Other
Side of the River by Alex Kotlowitz, the winner of The Chicago
Tribune Heartland Prize for Non Fiction.
I will be leading a daylong workshop for graduates of the
Community Leadership Academy at Lake Michigan College in Benton
Harbor. These words from a recent essay on Creating Livable
Communities will serve as the thematic focus for the day;
Where is home? What is our relationship with beauty? What
is our story? What makes us unique? And where in our community
do we feel most connected and alive?
Questions of uniqueness, home, beauty and quality of place
need to be in the forefront of our thinking now. Not only
are they questions that inspire creative endeavors, these
questions also inspire leaders and the communities they lead.
The future will belong to those communities who are attuned
to story, empathy, artistry, dialogue, and originality and
shared meaning, dimensions that express their unique character
and strengths. They will hold a distinct advantage over those
communities who through analysis and logic tend to frame their
priorities primarily in economic, technical or business terms
To read the complete essay Creating Livable Communities
click here.
May 1 to 3
Kalamazoo Michigan. Seasons. The Fetzer Institute
Leadership for Transformation Dialogues
- Project Stewardship Team, Facilitator and Presenter
This retreat is the second of four that are scheduled over
the next two years.
Leadership for Transformation is a partnership between the
James MacGregor Burns Academy of Leadership at the University
of Maryland, the Fetzer Institute and The International Leadership
Association. Through an inquiry process of four retreats at
the Fetzer Institute's Seasons Dialogue Center in Kalamazoo
and subsequent published materials, this inquiry aims to extend
the understanding of the inner and outer dimensions of transformational
leadership and to further the seminal thinking of James MacGregor
Burns, a founder of the field of leadership studies and the
Academy.
Burns explains why leadership for transformation is so important
today and why we are asking leaders to meet with us: "A
daunting era of social and political change lies ahead for
the people of our land - and of other nations. Learning from
the citizens of the world, and working with them to understand
and master these forces through creative, principled, uplifting
leadership - that is our vision."
The individuals whose work will inform this project, come
from a variety of sectors and countries, and work for transformation
in many fields and ways. Some lead organizations or movements.
Others teach or promote leadership practices that support
transformational leadership, and others are theorists. They
represent a rich convergence across disciplines related to
creative artistry, authentic leadership, organizational change
and community revitalization and engagement.
These are some of the questions we are exploring….
- What are the challenges that those involved in moving
transformational change forward encounter, and what have
they learned about sustaining those energies?
- What are practices that can be shared and taught that
support leaders on the path to transformational change?
- What are frameworks and theories that shed light
on how transformational change occurs, and the role of leadership
in supporting/encouraging that transformation?
May 4 to 7
Peterborough Ontario -Trent University.
The Shambhala Institute Authentic Leadership in Action
Regional Conference
- Facilitator, Inter-generational Dialogue and Guest Presenter
Building on the success of their conferences in Halifax Nova
Scotia this three- day intensive, which takes place at Trent
University May 4 to 7, promises to be a wonderful and deep
learning experience for everyone. The program includes plenary
sessions, creative process, meditation, reflective and intergenerational
dialogue, and opportunities for networking and celebration.
The Shambhala Institute has established a well-deserved reputation
as a convener of transformational leadership experiences which
brings together leading artists, practitioners and thought
leaders to create emergent environments for transformational
learning. It provides one of the few places where leaders
can take time to reflect and find new clarity and courage
to do their work.
This spring's conference will feature many widely recognized
creative artists and thought leaders including presentations
with myself, Peter Senge and C. Otto Scharmer and dynamic
skill building workshops with. Barbara Zimmerman, Art Kleiner,
Barbara Bash, Arawana Hayashi, Toke Møller, Karen Stephenson,
Bob Wing, and Brenda Zimmerman and many more.
For more information visit and/or call Ryan Watson at 902
425 0492
www.shambhalainstitute.org/ontario.html
The last Reflective Essay; Roots of Aliveness, Leadership as
a Living Process was reprinted in the 13th edition of Fieldnotes
published by The Shambhala Institute.
To read this and many other wonderful issues visit
www.shambhalainstitute.org/Fieldnotes/index.php
May 27
Quebec City, PQ Laval University, Leadership and Presence
Facilitator and Presenter
This workshop is for the graduates of the course " Complexity,
Consciousness and Management" at Laval University in
Quebec City. The first day is designed to deepen participant's
understanding of what it means to be present through music,
time in nature and through processes to heighten sensitivity
to the aesthetics of a situation.
To learn more about other wonderful program offerings from
Marie - Eve Marchand and her teaching colleague Mario Cayer
who are teachers at Laval and who are hosting this day please
visit
www.ecoda.ca/english/asso.php
June 6
Indianapolis Indiana Greenleaf Center for Servant Leadership
18th Annual Invitational Conference
Featured Speaker
www.greenleaf.org
This keynote presentation will highlight the Celebration
Dinner during The Greenleaf's Center's 18th Annual International
Conference. This dinner is open to the public Dr John Izzo
a widely recognized and accomplished speaker and writer will
be another featured presenter at the conference. I was also
a Keynote speaker at the 2000 & 2004 conferences. The
evening event is open to the public. For information, or to
register, please visit www.greenleaf.org
June 17th
York Harbor Maine Dialogos Inc.
Leadership for Collective Intelligence
Guest Presenter
www.dialogos.com/
For twelve years I have been an opening presenter for the
five week Leadership for Collective Intelligence Program.
Led by Bill Isaacs and an accomplished group of co-facilitators
and coaches, The LCI is a one of a kind program initiating
senior global leaders into the deep ground of dialogue and
large systems diagnosis and change.
June 19th
Amsterdam NL The deBaak Management Center
Symposium on Arts and Leadership
- Guest of Honor and Featured Presenter
www.debaak.nl
deBaak is a leading management education center located near
Amsterdam that offers a portal into all the major corporations
in The Netherlands. Each year they host a symposium on a topic
that they believe is critical to expanding the mindset of
senior leaders, consultants and policy makers in the country.
One year it was Beauty, another year it was Innovation. This
year that topic is Artistry and Leadership.
I have been invited to be a guest of honor and opening speaker
and performer at this year's symposium.
June 22 to 27th
Atlanta Georgia Callaway Gardens Creative Education Foundation/Creative
Problem Solving Institute.
Leading Artfully; Finding Inspiration in the Commons of
the Imagination - Facilitation
Moments of Illumination; An Evening of Music, Story and Reflection
- Presentation
The Creative Education Foundation is the centre for Applied
Imagination - helping individuals, organizations and communities
transform themselves as they confront real-world challenges.
Founded in 1954, CEF is the recognized world leader in Applied
Imagination. Alex Osborn, an adman and educator, not only
founded CEF, but also invented brainstorming and co-founded
the ad firm, BBDO. His classic book, Applied Imagination,
continues to inspire the work of CEF.
Along with Sidney Parnes, Osborn developed the Osborn-Parnes
Creative Problem Solving Process. For more than 50 years,
CEF has been teaching adults and children in organizations,
schools and communities how to use this proven process to
develop new ideas, solve problems and implement solutions.
CEF fosters a culture of courage that is open, dynamic and
diverse. It is a community where a passion for creative thinking,
learning and the sharing of ideas thrives.
Leading Artfully Finding Inspiration in the Commons
of the Imagination
With Michael Jones, Teri O"Neill and Anthony Hyatt
www.cpsiconference.com/immersions.cfm
Each of the four days in this immersion experience will explore
one of four pathways to the imagination. In so doing, participants
will discover a new sense of faithfulness in their own life,
their own way of uniquely seeing things, their own golden
thread of meaning and possibility, and trust in the deep authority
of their own subjective experience. Through the weaving of
improvised musical performances, time in nature, guided processes
and reflection, story, poetry, metaphoric movement and generative
conversation, this program will offer a candle to those seeking
to cultivate new habits of mind that may awaken the potential
for personal and collective transformational leadership, learning
and inspirational change.
This was a very popular offering last year!
Keynote Presentation
Moments of Illumination: An Evening of Music, Story
and Reflection
www.cpsiconference.com/keynotes_and_spotlights.cfm
...I am the rest between two notes which are somehow
always in dischord
Because death's note wants to climb over
But in the dark interval reconciled they stay their trembling
And the song goes on.
Beautiful
— Rilke
The rest between two notes is like cracks in the surface
revealing the fragility and the deeper story in our lives.
While we are connected to community job and career we belong
most to a story. Too often we lose the thread of this story,
in the busyness and hurrying of our lives, until we have a
glimpse into this void - a moment of illumination - when something
cuts through our busyness in a miraculous way and we experience
a moment of clarity, harmony and see clearly the deep patterning
of our lives. It is then we hear the deep song and feel the
unfolding order of the universe beneath the daily chaos....
These are the gifts of happiness when we discover what is
most pleasing and natural to who we truly are - and it often
comes unexpectedly. In this session I will share my own moments
of illumination and invite others to offer their own stories
as well.
Coming in Autumn
2008
September 17
Waterloo, Ontario Tamarack Community
Communities Collaborating Institute - keynote presentation
October 1 to 3
San Diego Ca. The Vine Conference: Improvisation; The Living
Architecture of Music and Community - With cellist/ educator
Stephanie Winters
www.thevineconference.com
www.stephaniewinters.com
In this unique keynote presentation, pianist/educator Michael
Jones and cellist/educator Stephanie Winters, explore the
living architecture of music and community.
Description
The tangible structures of music--notes, measures, beats and
bars--are familiar to most. Yet what shapes an authentic musical
experience is not only in the technicalities but in what emerges
in the intangible complex of presence, empathy, beauty, longing,
grace and the expressive power of one's own voice that emerge
in the spaces between.
These qualities of the imagination can rarely be pre-determined
or planned. They arise naturally when we are alive to the
moment, when we feel most the uniqueness of the situation
at hand. Improvisation celebrates this state of being finely
attuned and deeply connected to another, listening for the
dynamics of tone, flow, nuance, atmosphere, stillness, space
and time, inventing, reinventing, and adapting fresh and new
interpretations and possibilities that have not been rehearsed
or prepared beforehand.
In this presentation, we explore this inner knowing through
music and artistry. The audience will share in their willingness
to align their listening with the heart. The purpose is to
inspire leaders and the communities they lead to trust in
the spirit of co-creation and fellowship, risking the unknown
as they explore an empathic connection with one another. Michael
and Stephanie believe that people who can trust this spirit
hold a distinct advantage over those who, through analysis
and logic tend to frame their priorities solely in economic,
technical or business terms. In this context, improvised music
serves as an enabling metaphor for helping communities, and
those that shape them, listen deeply for what the moment calls
them to do, a core skill for navigating wisely in times of
complexity and sudden change.
November 11 to 14th
Los Angels Ca. International Leadership Association
Global Leadership; Portraits of the Past, Visions for the
Future
- Seminar Facilitation
www.ila-net.org/
San Antonio Texas University of Texas and Zachry Construction
Corporation
Creative Leadership Series - Week One - Leadership and
Facilitation
Thanks for reading the newsletter. Have a wonderful spring.
Michael
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