Vocal Pedagogy in the Overlapping Rehearsal Contexts of Musical Theatre and Choral Music

The November/December 2022 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Vocal Pedagogy in the Overlapping Rehearsal Contexts of Musical Theatre and Choral Music” by Robert C. Jordan with Catherine A. Walker. Following is a portion from the article.
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Many secondary choral music educators have been asked to collaborate with  their theatre colleagues to produce middle and high school musicals; some have even been asked to produce and direct the entire show. A conductor may find themself running auditions for the vocal and instrumental performers, coaching chorus vocals, accompanying rehearsals, and conducting performances. When unsure of next steps, a choral educator can rely on training in choral methodology and voice pedagogy to make sure there is a balance of the fun and excitement of musical theatre performance with vocal health, building on the pedagogical principles established in the choir program. In addition, the advice of mentors who have experience in both the choral music and musical theatre worlds can be priceless.

This article shares strategies from Catherine A. Walker, Associate Professor in the University of Michigan’s Department of Musical Theatre, for applying voice pedagogy in the overlapping rehearsal contexts of choral music and musical theatre. This interview connects university and high school educators in meaningful and practical ways, and the rehearsal strategies outlined below may be of interest to those choral music educators who are involved in their school’s musical productions.

I would like to talk about your perceptions of the role that vocal pedagogy plays in the musical theatre (MT) chorus rehearsal and the traditional choral classroom. First, when you think of these two contexts, what are the most apparent similarities and contrasts?

I can think of many similarities, starting with the importance of rhythmic integrity as associated with the need for kinesthetic strategies. One must internalize pulse and subdivision, and, dare I say, groove. Typically, we would associate the term groove with contemporary styles, but I would argue that the baroque era has a groove as well. It’s just a different style and performance practice, and singers need to understand the groove as well as the rhythmic subdivision in all genres. Singers will frequently think, “I’m on a whole note, so I don’t need to subdivide or count.” They stop feeling the undergirding pulse and subdivision, and the groove essentially stops.

Students must identify the hierarchical feel of the rhythmic structure, the subdivision, and how to engage their body to internalize it. I maintain that a held note will sound and feel differently based on whether the singer is actively subdividing or not. There’s something different about the energy within the note, the onset, the offset; everything about it has a different feel when the performer understands what’s going on underneath. That’s true for choral singing as well as musical theatre singing.

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Read the full article in the November/December 2022 issue of Choral Journal. acda.org/choraljournal