Episode 29: Part 2 of Choral Music: a HUMAN art Form with Maria Ellis“Carving out a place for a Girl Conductor.”In this episode Maria Ellis and I discuss the practical aspects of recruiting across cultural lines for our choirs through the telling of her own story. Maria grew up not knowing that a career as […]
Introducing a Podcast Miniseries: "Choral Music: a HUMAN art Form"
In this first installment, I address the question “Why Does Representation in Classical Music matter?” My answer to this question, and subsequent defense of that answer got me kicked off of a Facebook page. So in this episode, I tell that story. It’s a doozy. My answer was “Representation matters because music is for ALL. […]
Can Pitches Be Perfect?
This is a FASCINATING discussion with Donald Brinegar, author of the recently published “Pitch Perfect: a Theory and Practice of Choral Intonation.” Donald and I discuss the sometimes misunderstood concepts related to intonation and what makes something “in tune” or “out of tune.” Is it possible that we our education related to this topic has been […]
Reboot, Restart and Revitalize
Seven important concepts to master to keep your choir moving forward for an ENTIRE academic year. Sometimes we fall into ruts. Sometimes the singers do… Ultimately, both scenarios are bad and are OUR fault as the director. I have had wildly successful school years and seasons with churches and pro choir. And some that fell […]
The Art (or Science?) of Teaching the Vowel with Dr. Amanda Quist
In this episode I asked the expert, Dr. Amanda Quist to chat with me about teaching the concept of vowels, resonance and intonation. Is it possible to measure a vowel scientifically? Or is the purity of a vowel subject to the opinion of the conductor? We discuss what I believe to be a new frontier […]
Loving by Letting Go: Stepping away from the classroom with Dr. Jaclyn Johnson
In this episode, Beth and I chat with our mutual friend, Dr. Jaclyn Johnson about her choice to step away from the choral classroom and her University teaching post to go to Brazil to teach Yoga. We discuss her goals in embarking on this adventure, and how she is using this time away to reboot […]