CRAWLING THROUGH MUD TO GET THERE ~by Chris Barbee As choral musicians, students, and professionals we share an intense passion for what we do. We share a vast amount of information, millennia of music, and far too much knowledge for any single one of us to grasp on our own. We are addicted to […]
Scholarly Abstractions: Path of Miracles
Angulo-Pizarro, Ignacio. An analysis of Joby Talbot’s “Path of Miracles.” Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Program Thesis. University of Delaware, 2012. This research provides an in-depth analysis of Joby Talbot’s Path of Miracles, a four movement, hour-long work based on the pilgrimage of St. James to Santiago de Compostela, Spain. Using aural and visual […]
Composition Spotlight: We Are The Music Makers
COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig (Each week we look at a piece of useful repertoire from the ChoralNet Community Composition Showcase. A variety of voicings and levels of difficulty will be presented. Enjoy!) We Are The Music Makers by Tom Council for SATB piano or brass (click for PDF and audio) Level: High School or higher Uses: General Concert Use Program Themes: The title […]
Stick Time: Vocal Jazz with a Community Choir
In today’s Choral Caffeine column, we briefly discuss an article by Stephanie Austin Leston that discusses some basic concepts to be considered when introducing a community choir to vocal jazz. To help the point along, consider this selection from the 2010 ACDA Central Division Conference. In addition to this chart, the ensemble also performed a […]
It’s About the Phrase: Choral Theatre
Choral Caffeine: Vocal Jazz 101
The hardest part of starting something is just Getting Started. “How do I begin?” is a question we’ve all asked one time or another. Thus it may be for the conductor of a community choir trying to approach vocal jazz. Though one has no data to support this, anecdotally it seems reasonable to assert […]