In my previous blog post, I wrote a bit about perfectionism in the context of my career as a teacher/conductor. I recalled conducting a concert and mentioned that as I was conducting this performance, an inner voice was assessing the concert in real time. As I reflected on this, I realized that this voice was […]
Others
The Schwa [ə] Flaw: Why We Rarely Sing [ə] and What We are Singing Instead
THE PROBLEM How many of us love to teach our choirs and voice students about the ubiquitous schwa, the most common unstressed vowel used in spoken English? Posters, T-shirts, special schwa cheers, and other creative teaching tools are employed by voice teachers and choral conductors in the tutelage of this vowel. Here is a common […]
Recharge: Creation and J.S. Bach
For me, part of recharging means engaging in creating art. Often I feel much better after having sung in a choir. Last week, I had the great opportunity to attend, participate, and sing in the Illinois Bach Academy (IBA) at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where we rehearsed and performed the St. Matthew Passion […]
Deadline: June 15–Nominations for ACDA’s Julius Herford Dissertation Prize
Nominations are being accepted for the next Julius Herford Prize, which will be awarded for a dissertation by a student earning their degree in 2021. This award recognizes an outstanding doctoral terminal research project in choral music. Projects are eligible if they comprise the principal research component of the degree requirements, whether the institution defines […]
Goal: Help Students Find Hope
With this post, we welcome a new blogger to ChoralNet: middle school choral educator Bethany Perkins Hall, who teaches in a rural community. In her monthly posts (second Wednesdays), she will be sharing thoughts on building a “solutionary” program, including modifications for different types of choirs and ideas for activities and assignments, as well as […]
Recharge: A Summer Series
Perhaps you’re done with the school year/program year. Congrats for making it through a challenging year! Or perhaps you have a few more weeks to go. You got this! It’s been a tough year for all of us. Perhaps it’s included ever-shifting guidelines related to the pandemic. Or singers came down with COVID and had […]