Complete. Utter. Zaniness. (P.S. Sign me up!)
“Five from the Folder: Mixed Voices” by Alan Alder
FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: MIXED VOICES by Alan Alder 1. “The Gift to Be Simple.” Bob Chilcott. Hal Leonard HL.8758501 Fun treatment to a wonderful tune! Challenges students to sing in divisi, and work on improving intonation when singing repeated pitches and patterns, but can be put together in a short amount of time. The […]
Dance of the Raging Drama-Queens
(A plaintive phone call from a dear friend who is under attack by a chorister prompted this commentary. We said the following to her, and hope it might be of use to someone else.) It’s that special time of the year! No, we are not referring to Christmas, Hanukah, Chalica, Kwanza, or the […]
Welcome to OUR World: A School Cancels Football
It seems that in the eyes of our society, the death of a music program is a non-event. Whether it involves the choral offering at an area high school, a community band, or a civic orchestra, performing arts organizations expire without so much as even a casual nod from local media. But when a […]
“Five from the Folder: Mixed Voices (advanced)” by Christine Howlett
FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: MIXED VOICES (advanced) by Christine Howlett 1. “And I Saw.” Timothy Takach. Self-published (tim @ timothytaakach.com) First written for SSAA, the SATB version premiered at the 2014 NYACDA State Conference Josephine Preston Peabody’s gorgeous poetry is set with rich harmonies. Challenging. 2. “Hope for Resolution,” Caldwell & Ivory. Earthsongs […]
When a Pop Musician Says it . . .
It’s one thing for those of us in the choral profession to bemoan the state of current music. After all, the promotion of historically viable music is our gig. But when a hipster pop musician starts saying things like “the loss of melody has been a major contributor to the decline in music’s standing […]