(An excerpt from the interest session “Ten Keys to Unlocking Artistic Choral Performance,” presented by Frank F. Eychaner during the 2014 ACDA Eastern Division Conference) Rehearsing and performing using a variety of movement exercises will powerfully impact the artistry of a choral performance. The applications of movement in our choirs are nearly endless. […]
Conference Morsel: Yoga in the Rehearsal
(An excerpt from the interest session “Develop Your Yoga Practice and Use It in the Choral Rehearsal,” presented by Steven Russell during the 2014 ACDA Eastern Division Conference) It’s 7:05 in the morning. The elevator stops at the 3rd floor. The doors open. The hallway is the quietest it has ever been. No noise. […]
CJ Replay: Vocal Risk-Factors for Teachers
(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “Making the Connection Between Healthy Voice and Successful Teaching and Learning in the Music Classroom,” by Mary Lynn Doherty) Research suggests that there are universal, rather than population-specific, vocally abusive behaviors associated with teaching. Teaching requires vocal endurance, often in stressful conditions, where there is an […]
From Gesture to Sound – Flowing Through Complexity
GUEST BLOG: “Oh Say . . . Can You Sing?” by Tim Sharp
OH SAY . . . CAN YOU SING? by Tim Sharp At the American Choral Directors Association’s recent Eastern Division Conference, the Saturday morning concert session was hosted by Old St. Paul’s Church in downtown Baltimore. As I eagerly awaited the concert, I was greeted by the playing of Concert Variations on The […]
Stick Time: Choral Peanut Butter Cups
Much like the delicious combination of contrasting tastes of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup blending music from one genre by performance in another can often result in a stunning reinterpretation of the original source material. Take for instance Samuel Barber’s Adagio for Strings. Originally the second movement from his String Quartet, Op.11, the 1936 […]