Latest Blog Posts
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Busy Times
“He, who every morning plans the transactions of the day, and follows that plan, carries a thread that will guide him through a labyrinth of the most busy life.” Victor Hugo This was written and scheduled before COVID-19 changed our world. Please enjoy and hope we all are soon back to normal! I am sure […]
Marie Grass Amenta Leading Voices: Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF) Sprints
I am now in my fourth week of Distance Learning and am finally getting a handle on teaching High School Music Theory and Choral Music online. It is challenging work, and at times it gets very frustrating, but also intriguing. The innovation and creativity I see at work with my colleagues, and the work of […]
Off The Podium: Sumer Is Icumen In
When I was an elementary and middle school music teacher (1991 – 2007), I structured a lot of my curriculum – especially the songs I chose to teach my students – around the seasons. While it may seem like an obvious educational strategy, I think it is important to stress the value of this. Children in […]
Are We Fully Prepared for Rehearsal?
ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly publication for choral conductors and teachers at all levels. It is published online, and each issue contains four practical articles. If you are not already a member of ACDA, you can join and receive access to ChorTeach online. Below is an excerpt from an article written by Catherine Feazell in the Summer 2018 issue. You can […]
VIRTUAL CHOIRS: The Two Reasons many of us HATE them!
Do you HATE virtual choirs? Most of us had absolutely no opinion on “the value of VIRTUAL CHOIRS” until two weeks ago. Since then, we have all become experts, or at least, experts of our own opinion. I believe this blog post will be useful to Virtual Choir HATERS and Virtual Choir lovers. Here is my latest […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Autism Awareness Month
“Autism is part of who I am.” Temple Grandin This was written and scheduled before COVID-19 changed our world. Please enjoy and hope we all are soon back to normal soon! “Mrs. Amenta, we have to be kind to those poor parents. They have children with autism and have no hope.” For some reason, Dr. […]
Leading Voices: Distance Learning and the Experiential Learning Cycle
Below is an assignment I posted on Google Classroom for my 9-12 Concert Choir last week: I wish I could have seen their faces when they read this assignment – priceless! Distance Learning I am now three weeks into Distance Learning, and I’m still wrapping my head around the concept of online High School Vocal […]
Off The Podium: Good News! A Tresona Update
This post is a brief update on Tresona Multimedia, LLC v. Burbank High School Vocal Music Association, a copyright infringement litigation suit. Chances are good if you are a show choir director you know about this one. If you write arrangements of music that is not in the public domain, you need to know about […]
End-of-the-Year Activities in the Music Classroom
ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly publication for choral conductors and teachers at all levels. It is published online, and each issue contains four practical articles. If you are not already a member of ACDA, you can join and receive access to ChorTeach online. Below is an excerpt from an article written by Andrew Bruhn in the Spring 2017 issue._____________________________________ You have […]
Choosing the RIGHT Distance Learning Option!
This is a time like no other. Most of our schools are closed indefinitely as we are grieving the loss of our choral year. Now we are left finding a brand new way to do our job while living our personal life in crisis/survival mode. How do we navigate this ever-changing world, living with instability […]