Today for our conducting study, let’s focus on the face. Generally, how do people react when you scowl at them? Now take the opposite view: when you smile as someone, isn’t that smile returned? (try it sometime) The giggles of children usually make those hearing their little peals of joy laugh too. So […]
Others
Stick Time: Conducting Study 9
As conductors, what we DON’T do is oftentimes vastly more important than what we do. Far too many conductors become their own worst enemy by presenting obstacles to success. Even the most stout-hearted among us has felt at one time or another some degree of nervousness before a concert. We are all aware, however, […]
Stick Time: Dance with the Choir
One of the challenges of choral performance is to make our concerts visually interesting without detracting from the music. Here is one example from a recent ACDA divisional conference that included dance as a part of the performance.
Stick Time: Singing Jazz After Graduation
Somewhere on this lovely June day, a recent graduate is asking herself what she is going to do to continue singing now that her days in the college cocoon are over. She is probably feeling a sense of loss. It’s one thing to sing every day in the controlled environment of an educational institution. […]
Stick Time: The Renaissance at ACDA
One of the on-going topics of discussion in the choral profession surrounds the matter of programming for performance at a divisional or national ACDA conference (scroll to page 8). The question boils down to this: do we program the great works of the standard canon, or do we seek out new music? (I know I’m […]
Stick Time: What Can Junior High School Singers Do?
What can junior high school singers do? Well, if this sample from a recent ACDA division conference is an indication, the answer is a resounding, ANYTHING! They are singing a work from the standard repertoire (clearly edited for these developing voices) and doing so with musicality, blend, balance, poise, and healthy use of the voice. […]