THE MOZART SIDE-EFFECT, by Christopher Härtel We choral musicians are intimately familiar with language. Often we hear beauty in words that others miss. We understand the power of words, but sometimes we don’t appreciate how words can frame a discussion. Case in point: Recently, a friend of mine who is a very talented […]
Name That Choir Tune (No. 10)
Saturday Respite: Whatever Works
Regardless of the subject matter, those of us in the education profession are constantly seeking creative ways to distill complex structures down to a point where our students can grasp the concept at hand. Look at the clever way students in a public school broke down the multifaceted historical events surrounding the Reformation into a […]
Name That Choir Tune (No. 9)
Stick Time: Hand Me a Whip! (Music with Sacred Text)
It’s a common scene in summertime blockbuster movies. The hero has just overcome some tremendous obstacle and just as he (and we in the audience) breathes a sigh of relief, all you-know-what breaks loose. The walls cave in, imminent danger rears its ugly head, and our hero finds himself scrambling for his life. That […]
Speaking of Voice: “My Go-To Warm-Up” by Brody McDonald
MY GO-TO WARM UP, by Brody McDonald (Kettering High School) This is a simple, chordal warm-up that I do regularly with my choirs. I didn’t write it, but rather “borrowed” it from a barbershop chorus rehearsal I attended. There are five total chords, and while I’ve notated them in quarter notes (then a whole […]