Among the countless joys of choral singing is the element of community that it provides. Working alongside fellow singers toward a common goal of beauty is a wonderful demonstration of our humanity. Though I admire the cleverness and creativity of productions such as this (and he's not a bad singer at all), I do hope […]
Others
Sunday Inspiration: Palestrina
Happy Memorial Day
Randall Thompson’s The Testament of Freedom, with words by Thomas Jefferson. This performance by the Turtle Creek Chorale and the US Army Chorus, along with the Dallas Wind Symphony. For the embedded-impaired: http://youtu.be/ruojMCl_DKg
Arts curricula and stopping
Education blogger Diana Senechal writes about the difficulties of assessment in music. Musicians in an orchestra, for instance, assess themselves continually as they play but have no need to document such assessment. One of the biggest challenges is assessing the development of musical judgment, which Diana, quoting NASM’s Samuel Hope, describes as “knowing when to stop”. Knowing […]
Greetings from Cuba
The American Choral Directors Association is south of the border this week for the inaugural U.S. / Cuba Symposium of Choral Music, May 25-31. Taking place in sunny Havana, the event features rehearsal demonstrations by Cuban choral conductors and performances by some of Cuba’s best choral ensembles; including the National Choir of Cuba, the Exaudi […]
From the Communities: Composer of the month
The Composers’ Community’s Composer of the month is Iceland’s Hildigunnur Rúnarsdóttir. Blog author Jack Senzig writes: Her music has depth and a wonderful sonority that rings with a Nordic flavor. This flavor is trademarked by a sense of melancholy, lyrical melodies, modal keys and open 4ths and 5ths. Hildigunnur’s music has been compared to Jon Nordal, […]