Lisa Billingham

Good morning, Colleagues, It is almost time for the spring annual Adjudication/Assessment/Festival. Here in Virginia we are headed that way next month, perhaps some of you are even headed there in late February. As someone who lived for many years as the conductor on the stage I empathize with you from that perspective. As a young teacher I was […]

Zeroing in Your Sound By Chad Steffey, DMA Choral Conducting Student, George Mason University   We’ve all said or heard it, probably in your last rehearsal: “Let’s sing with taller vowels” or “please darken your tone.” But what does this really mean, and what do we expect our singers to do? I admit I am […]

Dear Friends, As we ring in the New Year of 2016 let us take a moment to thank the Scottish Poet Robert Burns (1759-1796) for the lyrics to the traditional tune sung around the world to mark our annual celebrations. Auld Lang Syne is believed to be a compilation of words from James Watson’s  1711 […]

Michael Wu is on the faculty at the Landon School, Bethesda, MD and is currently a DMA student in Choral Conducting at George Mason University. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Michael!   When I advocate at my school for an accompanist to be in the room with me during my choir rehearsals, I liken […]

Good day, colleagues. One of the reasons that I have an interest in writing for ChoralNet is to tell you of the wonders I found in the summer of 2013 when I went to the National Office to research in the Archives. Scott Dorsey was a wonderful host and all of the staff at the […]

Well, friends and colleagues we are in the throes of our fall season. We are preparing for our first concerts of the season, our rosters have settled from the influx of new members, and we are wondering how it is October and we have no time for ourselves. We are masters of list-making, calendar organization […]