Another Installment of the Oxford Series on the Choralosophy Podcast I had the joy and privilege of chatting with Oxford Choral Composer, Sarah Quartel. We centered our conversation around the ideas of collaborative music making, and choral music specifically, and their ability to build community, increase well being, flourishing and growth. We ranged also to “how […]
Don’t Ask Your Choirs to Sing Louder and The Art of Community
Spoiler- Don’t Ask Them To Sing Louder One of the most common questions I get from choir teachers is “How do I get my kids to sing louder?! I beg and I plead, but they just don’t make any noise.” The first mistake you made was the begging and pleading. The second mistake was asking […]
Student Perspectives on Choir in a Pandemic with Highland High Choir and Steve Hickman
The Next Installment of the Student Perspectives Series In this episode, I “Zoomed” in to the choral classroom of Steve Hickman at Highland High School in Gilbert, AZ. I had the privilege of speaking with Steve and his students in the Advanced Vocal Ensemble about a variety of things related to “making choir happen” over […]
How NOT to Write Your Post Cancellation Essay
This episode is an UNLOCKED Patreon only episode that I released in October at the Choralosophy Podcast private feed. I am releasing it here now in an effort to encourage some deep thinking about the Choral Profession and our recent flourish of colleague cancellation. This particular episode looks back at the essay written by composer […]
“We Face People.” The Courage of the Choir with Bob Chilcott
An installment of the Oxford Series on the Choralosophy Podcast In choral music, in a different way than in other types of music making, WE ARE the instrument. This creates a unique vulnerability within choral music. If my saxophone is flat, I can fix the ligature, and EXTERNALIZE the problem. With singers, we must still […]
Filling in the Gaps With Choir
Featuring Laura Ritter and her Walters State Chamber Choir In this episode, I feature Laura Ritter and her Walters State Chamber Choir. I asked students to reflect on why they NEED choir, what it has meant to them to return to singing in our current troubled time, what has created a sense of safety and […]