"Stage fright? Some people say you're not supposed to have stage fright. I think that's a load of baloney. To tell yourself you don't have fear when you do is to pretend you're something you're not. I suggest something that is hard to do. Face your fear."

"Fun is required. Perfection will be tolerated."

Gentlemen, sing it as if you’re fluffy little man-clouds.

To find the mood of the song 'Till There Was You' - "...Sing the song to someone in your life, someone who gave you that feeling. Maybe they'll will be at the concert. Maybe you'll be singing the song as a prayer..."

"Don't bury your head in the music. The music isn't on that paper. The music is in you. Make the music from your heart. You owe it to yourself."

"...Give up the idea of perfection. When you sing a wrong word, smile. When you sing a wrong note, smile bigger..."

"Research shows that the emotional state you rehearse in is the one in which you'll be best able to recall what you learned. If you rehearse in a state of panic, fear, and dread -- panic, fear, and dread are what's going to help you recall when you perform. Does that sound like what you want? How about rehearsing with confidence and enthusiasm? And then performing with confidence and enthusiasm. Which sounds good to you?"

"Difficult rhythms aren't difficult when you feel them. Don't try to figure it out on the paper. Feel it."

About rhythm - "We have a need for doot-ness."

About lyrics and diction - "I want a clear sparkling mountain stream, not sewage muck. Give me less smooshage."

"Sing from the heart!"

[To our beloved sopranos:] "That was pitiful." [A little while later...] "That was great, you sang it like you owned it. You have achieved diva-dom."

"That was mezzo-mediocre. I want a real mezzo-forte."

[Craig rarely puts his foot in his mouth - making what follows all the more memorable.] While rehearsing "People Get Ready" Craig wanted more, much more excitement and anticipation from the chorus. He said, “SOMETHING GREAT is coming!! It’s not like you have to go to your room to put on your underwear because your grandparents are coming.” Even as he finished speaking Craig was remembering that every chorus member is of grandparent age. While cries of protest mounted Craig melted in embarrassment. Laughter swept the room.

At the Christmas Concert, Craig introduced "Auld Lang Syne" with a smile and... "This is your chance to hear this well-loved traditional song not sung by drunk people."

"The best excuse is still an excuse," Craig quotes Dr. Barbara Baker.

To motivate our sopranos: "When you see piano, sing forte. You have the melody and you ARE the show. Enjoy your soprano-dom.

"There's a difference between quiet and apathetic."

On 'Alice In Wonderland': "Chorus, it's a lullaby, sing it soft. Except... Sopranos sing it like you're wearing your red cocktail dress and draped over the piano and wooing the crowd."

On 'Shadowland': "This is really powerful. Let It Sing!"

"We need the fullness of fearless sound."

"It's got to be rhythmically precise. We save our syrup for our pancakes, please."

To the Alto Section: "I need you to sing strongly, even if you're singing wrongly. I need to hear you sing. You need to hear you sing. I want to hear your full alto glory."

"The difference between a concert and an excellent concert is a commitment to consistency."

[Craig followed the quote above by: "I'll say it three times. That's how many times it takes for you to hear it, right?" "The difference between a concert and a consistent concert is... errr... The difference between a concert and a commitment to excellence is... errr... The difference between..." Craig gave up in the face of general laughter including his own.]

About what every member can achieve in the chorus: "The only thing that can hold you back is if you don't give everything you got."

Think how the audience reacts: "An unsmiling face in the chorus - it's like a cone of depression. One long face just sucks the joy..., it outweighs ten smiling faces."

"The devil is in the details. And, God is in the details. Be divine."

On singing: "It's not about perfection. It's about joy."

[After the chorale finished "Shenanodoah", singing it the first time since a concert nearly a year ago...] "That was really excellent." [Shocked silence from the chorus. Craig gives praise but no one can remember hearing "really excellent"...ever. How to react? One or two speak up to question as if it's too good to accept.] "Well, considering we haven't sung it for a year, that was really excellent." [The chorus relaxes.]

"We need some crisposity. We need to work on our doots." [Doots? Ask any chorale member. They know.]

[The 2nd sopranos drew Craig's demand for better...] "That was wussy. You have to sing it with the gumption of divadom."

"Be sure to turn off or silence your cell phone. I enforce by using mockery."

" 'Oh, how I long to be the man...' It's a new purple mountain majesty. ... All you have to do is make to a long note." [Ask any chorus member. They know.]

[Rehearsing "I Got Rhythm"] "No. That's like a lounge singer. It needs... articulation - that little bit of extra punch in every note. We need it from every one. One person doing mediocre can cover up five singing with articulation."

[To sopranos and altos] "I feel my ladies are afraid of forte."

[Rehearsing "Puttin' on the Ritz] "You're singing the right notes - just not at the same time which makes 'very snappy'... very mushy."

[From a bass: "That whole part is too high. I protest."] "You're allowed to protest... just as long as you keep in mind that this is a Craigocracy."

"Listen. Your ears are the most powerful tool you have."

[On how to sing the lyric, 'My dear, my dear, it's four-leaf clover time...'] "Love the words. It's passionate. It's springtime in a perfect world."

"Our forte isn't forte. We are stuck in mezzo-ocrity."

[To the basses] "I want you to sound like an upright bass being plucked."

"Sing it like there's some joy and love in your heart instead of 'O God, what's the next syllable?' "

"It's not exactly what you want it to be. Please sing what's written... and not what you want it to be."

"You know when I don't make sense... you're just supposed to understand me."

"No two notes should be sung alike...even if they are the same note. One may be 'coming from' somewhere, the other 'going to.' It's the shapes of phrases that makes music come alive."

"Panic, fear, and dread don't project well."

[In your music,] If you are looking at the note you are singing, you are late. You should be looking at the next note. Then you have a shot at getting it right.

"Vitality is the product of participation."

"You must sing like you know what you are doing even when you don't."

[Craig gave a special warm-up exercise to our soprano section.] "We will be diva's today. We will be diva's today. We will be diva's today. We will be diva's today..."

[To our alto section, after a timid performance:] "Sing it again. I want you to sing it the worst that you can - the worst." [The altos oblige singing off-pitch, off-rhythm, no blend, nasal, screechy, ...] Craig: "Now when you sing you can be sure it will never be worse than what you just did. You're getting scared to sing, afraid of hitting a wrong note. We screw up all the time in here. What's the big deal?"

"Right or wrong notes are irrelevant if we don't have the right rhythm."

[After the chorus gave Craig the crescendo he wanted - the one missing the previous time through] "This just goes to show you. If you do what I say... You'll sound wonderful."

"Sing it with some soul. I know you aren't heartless people."

"There's no meat to those bones. Give me some HOLY-MOLY to it.

[Rehearsing "In The Still Of The Nite] "Every note has to feel special and loving. We aren't a high school group just going through the motions."

"Drive the sound into the mask. Use the hole in your head."

"Sing strong even if you sing wrong.

"Do not panic. That's my job."

[To the soprano section] "You sound a little juvenile. We need powerhouse women. Meaty."

"Altos, I love you dearly but some of your accents are choral challenges."

[Drilling the soprano section on a problem phrase (in a soul version of Messiah) "for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth..." Third time, still wasn't what he wanted.] "I think you got your heads caught up in your reigneth's." [It was a rehearsal stopper. Craig blushed.]

After the second run-through of fortissimo (loud) section: "After I asked, 'Is that all you've got?', you overwhelmed me with a wall of sound. Now, I know. You've been holding out on me."

After a piano (soft) section: : "Yes, it's quiet. There's a difference between quiet and dead.

"General rule of thumb - Don't sing it so it's boring."

Often Ted Tuck gets the last word. Not so when, sitting in the back row, he spoke up after a song run-through.
Ted: “Can you turn up the sound on the piano? We can’t hear the piano in the back.
Craig: “It’s at max. I can’t turn it higher. You should move up to one of the empty seats in front.
Ted: “Yeah but, you said we should move back to see you better. You were right. You look better from back here.