Next stop, Oxford University and St. Edmund Hall. Betsy and I are joined by composer, conductor, teacher James Whitbourn. Or as he describes himself, a musician. We discussed the Oxford system of colleges and the wide range of choral opportunities it provides. I was fascinated by this because I had never taken the time to […]
Choralosophy
Exploring the Choirs of Europe with Gary Graden of St. Jacobs Kammerkör
The Second Installment Betsy Cook Weber’s Sabbatical Series! In this stop, Betsy visits Stockholm, Sweden to see Gary Graden and the St. Jacobs Kammerkör. Betsy, Gary and I discuss how an American born director ended up learning from Eric Ericsson and never leaving. We also dive into the philosophies, practices and approaches that lead to such a […]
Are Merit-BasedStandards Racist? With Angel Eduardo
Author of the Newsweek article “Why Calling Merit Racist Erases People of Color.” One of the raging debates today in education centers around the ways in which we can expand access to fruits of high quality education to more students. And that is a wonderful debate to have, and an important one. However, a troubling strain […]
Finding Connection Again with Nicola Dedmon
At some point, we have to come back to choir, (or quit) and the Covid risk will not be zero. So, it is now unavoidable that we will have to become comfortable engaging with humans in close proximity because they NEED us. Choir is essential. Nicola Dedmon recently wrote a great article in the ACDA […]
The Only White Guy in the Room with Maria and Chris
This special episode is something a bit different, in that it is a recap of a shared experience. All the way back on Episode 17, Marques Garrett challenged me to intentionally find an opportunity to be an “only” in the room. I had reflected in that conversation that, as a white guy, I don’t think I’ve […]
Singing Without Fear with Dr. J.D. Frizzell
Removing Barriers To Honest and Emotional Singing J.D. Frizzell is a standout educator and clinician. In this episode, we discuss Dr. Frizzell’s successful approach to getting his singers to come out of their shells! We all want our ensembles to sing with passion, honesty, and expression, but how do we achieve this in an objective, measurable […]