Each morning at 7:00 at the ACDA Eastern Division Conference in Providence Steven Russell taught a yoga class for singers and conductors. Each day at dawn a good number of brave early risers greeted the sun as it rose over the Providence Journal Building across the street from the fifth floor Pre-Function Area of the Convention Center […]
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The Thinking Rehearsal
What has been the traditional role of the conductor? Typically, s/he is the omniscient leader who determines the direction of the ensemble, calls all the shots, makes all the musical decisions. We like to be in charge! And think of the responsibilities you have as a conductor – as a teacher of voice, as a […]
Britannica calls it quits
The New York Times reported that Encyclopedia Britannica has thrown in the towel: In an acknowledgment of the realities of the digital age — and of competition from the Web site Wikipedia — Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias and educational curriculum for schools. The last print version is the 32-volume 2010 […]
CJ Replay: Our Words
The great master teacher of singing, Giovanni Battista Lamperti, once said: “There is no ‘attack,’ no ‘mouth position,’ no ‘tongue control,’ no ‘voice placing,’ no ‘fixed chest,’ no relaxing this or that muscle, no stiffening any part of the body, in fact, nothing that would not spring frominstinctive utterance.”l Choral teaching must release voices, […]
CJ Replay: The Motor of Singing
When choral conductors meet at a convention, clinic, or other professional gathering, the talk inevitably turns to how to get good blend, balance, and diction. Oh, there may be discussion of conducting technique, recruiting methods, repertoire, and similar concerns, but the subject of the sound itself is never far from anyone’s mind or tongue. […]
CJ Replay: Vocal Athletes
Consider the baseball pitcher. Human arms did not evolve so that people could throw a baseball as hard and accurately as possible for over 200 times in about two hours. That strenuous and “unnatural” use of arms and shoulders takes a very exacting toll on the nerve and muscle fibers, ligaments, cartilages and skeletal […]