“Composition has increased my ability to understand music in general. There is no pedagogical device quite so incisive as the primary creative process. When you learn how to make a fugue or a scherzo, you learn how a fugue or a scherzo should be performed. You begin to really understand the architecture of music and […]
Others
A few words from the server room
A few weeks ago, we moved ChoralNet to a new server. While the web site and most of the services we provide moved over fine and are providing you with faster, smoother access to ChoralNet, mail has been a case of technical Whack-a-Mole…whenever we fixed one problem, another problem would pop up somewhere else. Now […]
The War on Pronouns, cont’d
(one in an occasional series highlighting ridiculous inclusive-language overkill, without regard for the scansion, meaning, or music.) This one doesn’t really involve pronouns, but it’s the same mindset of knee-jerk language correction. We’re doing a sappy turn-of-the-century piece by Charles Wood, a setting of part of Expectans Expectavi by Charles Hamilton Sorley: This sanctuary of my soul Unwitting I keep white and whole, Unlatched and […]
Stick Time: Faces Matter
Sometimes choral singers look, well, dour. I’m not talking about the serious face that accompanies the singing of some profound work. No, I’m referring to the pasty-faced, dead-eyed, I’d-rather-be-getting-a-tooth-drilled look that some singers have. Not so with today’s choir. Look at their sunny expressions and the sparkle in their eyes. That’s the joy of singing. […]
This is NOT Glee. It’s BETTER
With all respect for Richard Dreyfuss, have you ever wondered why no Hollywood filmmaker has yet focued on a REAL real high school choral environment? Well, now one has. Meet Vardy Hardy, the award-winning director who is producing a documentary about a high school choir. "Glee," this is not. The producers of this film […]
The State of ACDA
It is appropriate to take a moment to reflect on the state of our American Choral Directors Association as I begin my fourth year as ACDA’s third Executive Director. The following information goes so far beyond the definition of a "blog", all I can say is, pour yourself a cup of tea, coffee, or prepare […]