One of my go to TED animations to play for students at the beginning of every year is the one that explains compellingly, the story of music as the best FULL BRAIN workout. But, Choral/Vocal education is not included in that research! The researcher behind that video, is this week’s guest. Don’t miss it. Dr. […]
Choralosophy
Choir Students Should Sing Alone. For a Grade.
It is my strong belief that students have a RIGHT to receive individual instruction, feedback and assessment based on individual work in every class they take in school. Even music. This past weekend I had the chance to visit with the amazing students of Magnolia High School as well as the local chapter of the […]
Thinking in the Language of Music with Libby Larsen
When I work with emerging composers trying to get noticed, I ask them “What are you trying to be noticed FOR?”- Libby Larsen. Could the social media environment incentivize non-musical answers to this question? In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with the remarkable composer Libby Larsen about her journey into the world […]
James Jordan, Jason Dungee, Kari Adams and Mak Barton
Choir is not my family, we aren’t adjusting choral curriculum sufficiently with the times, we don’t know how to get choirs to sing in tune and we don’t build “real” cultures in our classrooms. Geez! Is this a negative podcast?! Not. At. All. These four conversations do have an element of constructive criticism, but that […]
Teaching Our Choirs to Listen with James Jordan
“If you don’t learn what listening is, your choirs will never sing in tune.” James Jordan is one of the most prolific choral conductors in the modern era. Not just in terms of performance and recordings, but also in scholarship and pedagogy. Introducing, the NEW GIA/Walton Series on Choralosophy! I recently had the privilege of attending two […]
Music Literacy Live Hive Mind (Highlights with the Community)
Recently, we offered a free virtual meetup to practice “Choir Nerdery.” If you missed it, I have carefully curated some of the most useful and interesting moments for this episode. Discussion topics were derived from survey responses from 120 educators. The full 2 hour and 15 minute work session is available unedited over at Patreon or Substack for show […]