Our summer ends with the autumnal equinox taking place on Saturday (at 10:49 EDT to be exact). It seems an appropriate time to listen to this performance of “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” (Lindberg) by the Commonwealth Singers from Virginia Commonwealth University (John Guthmiller, conductor) recorded during the 2012 ACDA Southern Division […]
CJ Replay: The Two-Pattern
(From the Choral Journal article “Is Your Baton Suffering from the ‘Terrible Two's’?” by Michael Yachanin, p.37) Which is the only conducting pattern with a downbeat that does not move straight down? In what pattern is it most difficult to achieve variety? Which pattern is most prevalent in Renaissance music? It is the […]
CJ Replay: Interpretive Process
(From the Choral Journal article “The Interpretive Process in Choral Music” by John H. Peed) “Interpretation,” as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, is “a concept of a work of art as expressed by the character and style of its representation or performance. ” In this respect, let’s begin […]
Scholarly Abstractions: Evaluating New Conductors
Dean, Brandon L. A Repertoire Assessment Rubric for Preservice and Beginning Choral Conductors Based on Criteria of Aesthetic and Pedagogical Merit. Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation. University of Cincinnat College-Conservatory of Music, 2011. The foundation of successful choral music education begins with the selection of repertoire that is of artistic and pedagogical merit and […]
Are You on a Song Safari?
For those of us in the choral profession, the search for literature is an almost daily quest. We troll, prowl and lurk, constantly on the hunt for something new for our ensembles. While the middle school and collegiate conductors may be stalking different “prey,” their hunting techniques are the same. For seekers of […]
Stick Time: In the Beginning
Depending on where one spends more of their choral life, there is always a body of work that is out of our reach. The symphonic chorus conductor may get to conduct such works as the Verdi Requiem or Beethoven Missa Solemnes on a regular basis, but how would the philharmonic choir handle a Phil Mattson […]