In the Circle, Not the Center: Rethinking the Leader at the Front

The best leaders don’t stand at the center demanding to be followed. They step into the circle and listen.

In this episode of Sounds Good by ChoirMate, Dr. Jaclyn Normandie sits down with Dr. Donald Brinegar, a conductor, voice pedagogue, and author whose work has shaped generations of singers and conductors. Together they explore what it really means to lead from honesty rather than ego. Don makes the case that the human voice is an endlessly flexible instrument, that the most useful thing a leader can cultivate is self-awareness instead of self-consciousness, and that the angry leader is almost always a leader who simply does not have the information they need. From a gospel choir that transformed a Palestrina motet in ten minutes, to the fifth-grade moment that shaped his whole philosophy of teaching, to the mentor who taught him to hear a result before he ever saw it, this is a conversation about presence, play, and the quiet art of being a good mirror. Whether you lead from a podium, a classroom, a boardroom, or a kitchen table, you will walk away rethinking where a leader actually belongs. About Dr. Donald Brinegar: Dr. Donald Brinegar is a conductor, tenor soloist, voice instructor, educator, and master class clinician. Professor Emeritus of Music at Pasadena City College, he directed the Choral Studies program at PCC for 36 years. He also conducts the Donald Brinegar Singers, a community choral ensemble in Pasadena, California; serves as Director of Choruses for the Pasadena Symphony and POPS; and is an adjunct professor of voice at PCC. During the summers, he is an adjunct professor of conducting and voice in the Cal State Los Angeles master’s program in choral conducting. His books on choral music include Pitch Perfect: A Theory and Practice of Choral Intonation, Conducting Primer: Seven Principles of Choral Conducting, and Conducting Primer in Practice. Learn more about Dr. Donald Brinegar: https://donaldbrinegarsingers.com/about/ Any thoughts? Contact us: podcast@soundsgood.as