In this episode I draw on a few sources, including audience comments to present an advocacy conversation. To make the case for Choral Music classrooms, infrastructure support, and educational priorities. You will see or hear a video I made all the way back in 2012 in response to the popular TV show “Glee,” as well […]
Choral Music
The Entrepreneurial Future of Choral Music with Ryan Main
Could it be that the new era of “the choral entrepreneur” is what we need to save Choral Music? After the pandemic, we have seen a resurgence of enthusiasm for Choral Music amongst the already initiated. But, program enrollments are down, concert attendance is down, positions have been cut, and conference attendance has not recovered. […]
A Gateway to Ukrainian Choral Music
The May 2023 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “A Gateway to Ukrainian Choral Music: Guide to the Ukrainian Language and Lysenko’s “Prayer for Ukraine” by Marika Kuzma. Following is a portion from the introduction. _________________ n recent decades, American choirs have been exploring Eastern European choral repertoire with ever greater frequency and […]
Channeling Emotional Contagion with Dr. Gary Seighman
There is an often felt, but rarely quantified sense within ensemble music experiences that something truly MAGICAL is happening that changes us profoundly. However, recentscientific discoveries (link to sources below) are adding a more concrete validity to that which experienced musicians already intuitively know. Studies that reveal the physiological and psychological processes of cooperative effort, […]
Finding My Voice with Benedict Sheehan
In this episode I have a chat with GRAMMY nominated conductor and composer, Benedict Sheehan of the St. Tikhon Monastery Choir. This passionate conversation begins with Benedict’s advocacy for people, like himself, who stutter. As you will hear, it is important that we remember that EVERYONE has something to say. We need only listen. We […]
Dropping the Covid Ball with Dr. Nikki Johnson
The Return of Covid Conversations! Sadly, many of us in education have lived at the epicenter of the Covid Wars. Possibly the biggest political football during the pandemic has been what to do with the kids, and what to do with schools. For those of us in choral music, we lived at that intersection along with […]