Others

(A plaintive phone call from a dear friend who is under attack by a chorister prompted this commentary.  We said the following to her, and hope it might be of use to someone else.)   It’s that special time of the year!   No, we are not referring to Christmas, Hanukah, Chalica, Kwanza, or the […]

It seems that in the eyes of our society, the death of a music program is a non-event.  Whether it involves the choral offering at an area high school, a community band, or a civic orchestra, performing arts organizations expire without so much as even a casual nod from local media.   But when a […]

FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: MIXED VOICES (advanced) by Christine Howlett   1. “And I Saw.” Timothy Takach.  Self-published (tim @ timothytaakach.com) First written for SSAA, the SATB version premiered at the 2014 NYACDA State Conference Josephine Preston Peabody’s gorgeous poetry is set with rich harmonies.  Challenging.   2. “Hope for Resolution,” Caldwell & Ivory.  Earthsongs […]

Paul Carey has been an acquaintance of mine for a number of years now. He’s a regular on the conference rotation, and an active (and good) composer. He’s also got some great opinions and is not afraid to speak his mind. Plus, he’s hilarious, which is always a benefit.   Recently he posted a six […]

       It’s one thing for those of us in the choral profession to bemoan the state of current music.  After all, the promotion of historically viable music is our gig.  But when a hipster pop musician starts saying things like “the loss of melody has been a major contributor to the decline in music’s standing […]

THE BUSINESS OF CONDUCTING by Jameson Marvin          I think that the business of being a conductor today requires knowledge of “world music”. Sharing knowledge of cultures through learning a wide diversity of music from many countries I greatly admire. However, I feel that many compositions today, “playing on the theme of world-music” are […]