The Society of Reluctant Anthropologists talks to Gregory Halbe about collective decision making, navigating group dynamics, and the wild side of academic conferences!

Gregory Halbe’s academic career has been largely shaped by fortuitous accidents and moments of sudden inspiration. Only lately, in what David Brooks calls the Second Mountain phase of his life, has Gregory found and started to seize a guiding sense of purpose. It started with a family move the summer before his junior year in high school. All classes in his first choice of foreign language, German, were filled. He ended up studying Russian instead. His teacher was married to the local orchestra director, so Gregory’s first experiences with Russian and orchestra were inextricably linked. Four years later, up against a deadline to choose a major going into his junior year, Gregory peered into the orchestra pit of a production of Man of La Mancha, turned to his dad, and said “that’s where I want to be". Two years later, frustrated by his inability to master the lip trill on his instrument, the horn, Gregory sought the synergy of his two loves, music and Russian, in a Russian culture masters program. A few failures and happy accidents later, Gregory found himself working on a dissertation on Rimsky-Korsakov’s opera, Snowmaiden. Along the way, he and his advisor, Prof. Margarita Mazo, founded Rusalka, a choir in the Russian folk tradition, which is where he and Maureen met. After all that, Gregory has found his priorities for a happy and fulfilling retirement in family, church, and community.

For a transcript and credits for the episode, check out sorapod.com

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