Latest Blog Posts

“As a child I loved ghost stories.” Rebecca Hall The Choral Ethics Cyber-Mailbag is filled to overflowing. Sit back for Choral Ethics blogs about all sorts of problems. We will deal with some newish Choral Ethics concerns as well as some familiar to everyone. Today’s Choral Ethics dilemma is perfect for a mid-October day. Jacob* […]

“You are not only responsible for what you say, but also for what you do not say.” Martin Luther This October, we’re revisiting some of the staple issues of Choral Ethics. I’ve written a BUNCH about each of these subjects during the last few years. Today we speak of Following Through. One of my HUGE […]

Have you ever considered implementing an instrumental-style chair test system in your choral ensemble? In Episode 57 of ChoralEd, Travis Rogers shares a method for encouraging constructive competition through an approach he calls the challenge system. Similar to a chair test approach found in an orchestra or band, Rogers’ method invites students to challenge their […]

“If time be of all things the most precious, wasting time must be the greatest prodigality.” Benjamin Franklin ChoralNetter, Kristie*, wrote to me a few weeks ago about a problem she is seeing—AGAIN–as rehearsals begin this fall; the lack of punctuality of her fellow choral singers. I wrote about something similar a few years ago […]

“Whoever degrades another degrades me, and whatever is done or said returns at last to me.”Walt Whitman This will be my last blog on uncomfortable subjects for a while. Over the summer, I had many ChoralNetters contact me about “Choral-Conductors-Behaving-Badly” and thought to address those emails first thing this fall. I had plenty of the […]

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain Many of my ChoralNetter correspondents have Choral Ethics queries I know they KNOW the answer to. I wrote a blog a few years ago about knowing what the right thing to do is but being unsure–or uncomfortable–actually doing it. Folks […]

“Five guys on the court working together can achieve more than five talented individuals who come and go as individuals.” Kareem Abdul-Jabbar I have lived in the South Suburbs of Chicago for over thirty years. We are a scrappy bunch and should not be counted out in any circumstance. Recently, our scrappiness and ability to […]

It doesn’t matter how long I have taught.  How many fall semesters I have started as a conductor, teacher, leader, administrator.  Human.  There is always a mix of excitement, curiosity, trepidation, and exhaustion, even before we begin.  Welcome to our life. It was Monday morning, the first day of fall classes.  I had been preparing in some sense for […]

“Delicious autumn! My very soul is wedded to it, and if I were a bird I would fly about the earth seeking the successive autumns.” George Eliot Happy anniversary to US! It is hard to believe, but I have been writing the Choral Ethics blog every week since the Fall of 2015 when Scott Dorsey […]

In choral music, honor choir auditions are a common feature. However, students often prepare for these auditions by rehearsing extensively with others or utilizing a recorded track that features their part being sung or played. While these musical aids are beneficial in helping the student learn their part, overreliance on these resources can lead to […]