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The professional networking site for the global online choral community.

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A Virtual Choir, but not Eric’s

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I received a wonderful "tweet" from Homar Sánchez Díaz, who was bragging on the Virtual Choir video that he and his students created. I thought it was very impressive – see what you think:
This project was made by students, age 13-15.
 
A few Facts & Numbers:
-30 artists -200 film takes
–12 video hours recorded -900 minutes of audio recorded
– 200 sound takes 
– 150Gb of files and data
-12000 views in the first month 
 
Look here for a lot more information.

ChoralNet Founder James Feiszli is Professor of the Year – South Dakota

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James Feiszli, Director of Music at the South Dakota School of Mines & Technology, has been named 2013 U.S. Professor of the Year for the state of South Dakota by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education.
 
For those of you who don't know Jim, he and a few others brainstormed this "ChoralNet" idea out of something called "ChoraList."  
 
Jim has always been an innovator, and I'm very pleased that his university supports him in putting his name forward for this prestigious award.  I was honored to write something on his behalf and this is what I said:
 
In 1993, Jim fused his love for choral music with his passion for technology and created ‘ChoraList,’ an email distribution list for choral music that united choral directors around the globe. This innovation was not unlike other developments in technology in the early days of the Internet, but his continued development resulted in ChoralNet, a tool that has profoundly changed our field. It continues to have a significant impact on the interactions of choral musicians today and grows in significance every year. ChoralNet has evolved into the online center of choral music and a forum for conductors and composers as well as a news resource. The remarkable thing about ChoralNet is that Jim created it, for the most part, by sheer force of will. I still find it extraordinary that Feiszli founded and managed an instrument that had an international impact from his home and office in Rapid City, South Dakota. His achievement was probably unnoticed by most of the other professors with whom he worked but it continues to impact people like me on a daily basis. “I call him one of the true historic figures in choral music for the U.S.A. In my opinion, he has done more to impact the world of choral music than anyone else in this century.

 
Congratulations on this recognition, Jim. You deserve it.

Who knew? Singing and Oxytocin

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Choir and choral singing was everythere this summer – the internet was ablaze with news of how singing unified heartbeats into a singular rhythm.  There were articles everywhere – CNN, NPR,  and medical news.  
 
Last week, TIME magazine added another interesting observation with the article:  Singing Changes Your Brain.
 
We knew that something special was happening in our rehearsals, but who knew it had anything to do with endorphins and oxytocin?  From TIME:

The elation may come from endorphins, a hormone released by singing, which is associated with feelings of pleasure. Or it might be from oxytocin, another hormone released during singing, which has been found to alleviate anxiety and stress. Even kids songs can really help children to chill out and learn in a fun environment. Oxytocin also enhances feelings of trust and bonding, which may explain why still more studies have found that singing lessens feelings of depression and loneliness. A very recent study even attempts to make the case that “music evolved as a tool of social living,” and that the pleasure that comes from singing together is our evolutionary reward for coming together cooperatively, instead of hiding alone, every cave-dweller for him or herself. 

I found it fascinating to read about Oxytocin levels and choral music, because Oxytocin is frequently mentioned as a hormone released during hugging, touching, and other intimate communications between humans.
 
I looked up the scientific study and found that it first came out ten years ago: Does singing promote well-being?: An empirical study of professional and amateur singers during a singing lesson. 
 
This is from the abstract:
Oxytocin concentrations increased significantly in both groups (men and women) after the singing lesson.
 
Amateurs reported increasing joy and elatedness (VAS), whereas professionals did not. However, both groups felt more energetic and relaxed after the singing lesson.
 
The interviews showed that the professionals were clearly achievement-oriented, with focus on singing technique, vocal apparatus and body during the lesson. The amateurs used the singing lessons as a means of self-actualization and self-expression as a way to release emotional tensions.
 
In summary, in this study, singing during a singing lesson seemed to promote more well-being and less arousal for amateurs compared to professional singers, who seemed to experience less well-being and more arousal.
 
Interesting stuff, eh?
 

Innovators and Uģis Prauliņš

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Have you ever noticed that American choirs tend to sing the same thing that other American choirs sing?  In my opinion, there are very few innovators out there – conductors that bring the music of the rest of the world to our country.  As for me, I count Kent Hatteberg as one of those people innovating the American choral music scene and Brady Allred as another – those guys are always on the cutting edge of great choral music. Brady and Kent program the best music and we can learn much by just paying attention to what they do.
 
​When it comes to innovation, you need to pay attention to the music of composer Uģis Prauliņš.   His music is captivating and much of it is accessible to good high school and college choirs.  About a year ago, I heard Stephen Layton's CD, Baltic Exchange, and I was immediately captivated by Prauliņš work in the Missa Rigensis. It is stunning, haunting, and exciting stuff.  I'm planning on singing the Kyrie from his Missa Rigensis and I may do the entire mass before I'm done!
 
You may have programmed your year already – but if you are still looking for that special composer and that incredible music that no one has heard of before, check out Uģis Prauliņš.
 
Get an overview of Prauliņš and then listen to a little of Missa Rigensis on Itunes here.
 
You won't be disappointed.
 
 
 

Beginning again: Choir Camp

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Greetings, ChoralNet!
 
It is good to be blogging here again.  I thought I would start with something practical to begin the year.
 
At Samford, we start our choir year with something called “Choir Camp.”  It is a time when the students gather early on campus for an intense time of singing and rehearsal in preparation for the new year.  We are now entering our third year of this and it is one of the best ideas I ever had.  I thought I’d tell you a little about it in case you are interested:
 
Inspiration:  bands do this all the time – so why not choir?
 
Who:  the Samford A Cappella Choir – our fifty member choir
What:  Choir Camp
When:  this year, it is an 8-day camp that happens a week before the freshmen move in on campus.
Where:  on campus
Why:  this should be obvious – we get tons of focused rehearsal done.  We also take care of many of the traditions that happen in the choir – initiation, comedy night, etc.
 
How we do it:
 
1.  The administration allows the students to stay in the dorms for free.  This is a big deal, and I am very thankful for it.
2.  Local churches provide meals for us – they find it a great way to meet the students they will want to hire for their paid positions or involve in their student ministries.
3.  Everything else is normal:  music, rehearsal spaces, etc. 
 
Do any of you do something similar?
 

COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig

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COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig
 
Welcome back to the Composition Spotlight.   Each week we look at a piece or 
two of the best choral works posted in the Composition Showcase here on 
ChoralNet.  This is where we store a treasure trove of works that your choirs will 
love to sing and your audiences will love to hear.
 
Conductors, the Composition Showcase is an unique service we have created 
for you.  Members of the Composers of Choral music Community on ChoralNet 
are allowed to share only their three best works in any one voicing.   The more 
traditional sources of new repertoire like sampler packs, workshops or huge 
websites, don’t provide you with such a well honed tool to cut through the 
thousands of pieces you look at each year.  
 
By self-selecting only the best, we give you a window into each composer’s work.  If you like what you find you can 
click a link to that composer’s website for a more comprehensive look. 
Composers, join us! There are many benefits beyond the opportunity to 
display your works on ChoralNet!  Our community is more active than all other 
ChoralNet communities combined.  We regularly share ideas on marketing, 
contests, software use, the commission process, publishing and much more.  We 
are a community of professional friends.  We share our successes and support 
each other.  Many collaborations and commissions have come through our 
community and many composers have received performances of their works 
because of the relationships forged in our forum.  Critique, mentoring and 
opinions are available for the asking.  Check out the Community Home page 
for terms and conditions, goals etc.
 
This week a tutorial on how to use the Composition Showcase is in 
order.   The easiest way to get there is to click on the blue text link in this 
article but there are other easy paths.   Simply add /showcase after the 
www.choralnet.org  web address in your browser and hit return or enter.  You 
can also choose the lilac colored “Communities” tab at the top of most ChoralNet 
windows.  Then click on Composers of Choral Music.    Join the community by 
clicking on the Forum tab and then the “Join this community” button.   You can 
leave the community at anytime.
 
Once at the Composition Showcase you can navigate by clicking on the links 
to the voicing pages, composer  INDEX, SEASONAL works and the FEED (see 
below).  The FEED is particularly useful if you have already spent a lot of time 
browsing and just want to check back and see what is new.   Try it out.
SATB  SAB  SSAA  SSA  SA  TTBB  UNISON  INDEX  SEASONAL  FEED
Once you arrive on a voicing page you can search for works by scrolling or by 
clicking “command f” on a Mac or “control f” on a PC.   Be sure to click on the 
Virtual or Choir recordings of the works and view the PDFs provided.  
 
Depending on your browser settings, the PDF will either immediately download when 
clicked or open in your browser.  Please be respectful of copyright.  Contact the 
composer by clicking on their name in the work’s description.  Cost is frequently 
well below what you will pay from a music distributer and you don’t have to deal 
with the problems of Scorch or other proprietary e-print software.
If you like the works that have been featured in these articles you can click 
on the Silver Platter Award Recipients for links to all of the works and the 
Composition Spotlight articles.  We have also added a new page to display
recordings of members’ works and their choir performances.  That can be found 
on the Member Recordings page.
 
Feel free to scroll through the list of our community members and contact them 
with questions about their works or to discuss commissioning new works.   
Contact me by commenting below or send me a message on ChoralNet.
We hope you enjoy the works we offer to you on this our Silver Platter!

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