"Music in itself carries a whole set of messages which are very, very rich and complex, and the words either serve to exclude certain ones or point up certain others."

"When you sing with a group of people, you learn how to subsume yourself into a group consciousness because a capella singing is all about the immersion of the self into the community. That's one of the great feelings - to stop being me for a little while and to become us. That way lies empathy, the great social virtue."

"I think we're about ready for a new feeling to enter music. I think that will come from the Arabic world."

"You can't really imagine music without technology."

"You can muffle the drum, and you can loosen the strings of the lyre, but who shall command the skylark not to sing?"

"Well, I'll tell you, I don't know how aware teenagers are of me. I think it really depends on the teenager and how well-versed in music they are and what kind of music they like."

"It is a essential truth that beauty in art is the harmony of spirit, intellect, and craft."

"The silent observer understands that the silence between the notes creates the music."