Like most high school choir teachers, only a couple of the ensembles I teach are auditioned. While I love it this way, as it allows me to keep recruiting and bringing in students to sing who may not be interested in a heavier commitment, it can make planning literature a nightmare. How many students will […]
Music Within Reach: Starting the Year With Renaissance Music
It is my opinion that we choral directors neglect to program enough Renaissance music for our choirs. Perhaps we are afraid to tackle the beast of teaching imitative polyphony, or maybe we are intimidated by the presumed correct performance practices of such music, as evidenced in near-flawless recordings that are available today. Whatever the reason, […]
Music Within Reach: Accessible Mendelssohn
I just returned from an incredible week at The Eastman School of Music, where a group of us studied, conducted, and sang Mendelssohn’s Elijah with William Weinert and Craig Hella Johnson. Though I had sung the great work before, this institute afforded me the opportunity to examine it on a much deeper level. In doing […]
Music Within Reach: Christmas in July
I know, I know. It is bad enough that stores start carrying back-to-school items in July or that a certain TV channel shows Christmas movies for over a week in the summer. But here on ChoralNet, too? Listen, we choral directors have to plan! For some, rehearsing holiday music can begin as early as September, […]
Music Within Reach: Classical Classics for SAB
A lot of the music that I feature here from week to week is on the newer side, as I enjoy highlighting pieces with which many conductors may be unfamiliar. However, I find myself needing to remember—as I think many of us do from time to time—that I must go back and include pieces from […]
Music Within Reach: Accessible Music to Fit Your Concert Theme
Like many of you, I often try to build concerts around some kind of theme or unifying element. For conductors of the “average” choir, however, if can often be difficult to find enough high-quality yet attainable music that fits the theme to fill a program. I try very hard to choose themes or concepts that […]