Latest Blog Posts
Silver Linings: Resilience and New Beginnings
By Marc Taylor This past year has been difficult for most everybody in one way or another. For music teachers it has been quite challenging. For families that have lost loved ones it has been devastating. Personally, I haven’t had a desire to dwell on or rehash the negative aspects of this period of time. […]
The Conductor as Yogi: A Rumi Moment
“Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.” Jalāl ad-Dīn Mohammad Rūmī, 1207-1273 Several years ago, I stumbled across this quote by 13th century Sufi mystic, Rumi, and thus began my fascination with his clear, yet profound and remarkably current, wisdom on the human experience. I remember sharing this particular quote with one of my […]
Sharing through Song: Resources for Singing Migration Stories
ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online publication, designed for those who work with singers of all levels. A full annotated ChorTeach index is available online at acda.org/publications/chorteach. Over 160 articles are organized into seventeen categories. For submission information, to view the index, or to read the latest issue, visit acda.org/chorteach. Following is an excerpt from an article in the Spring 2021 […]
“We Face People.” The Courage of the Choir with Bob Chilcott
An installment of the Oxford Series on the Choralosophy Podcast In choral music, in a different way than in other types of music making, WE ARE the instrument. This creates a unique vulnerability within choral music. If my saxophone is flat, I can fix the ligature, and EXTERNALIZE the problem. With singers, we must still […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Autism Awareness Month
“Autism is part of who I am.” Temple Grandin “Mrs. Amenta, we have to be kind to those poor parents. They have children with autism and have no hope.” For some reason, Dr. Marguerite’s* comment just ticked me off. This was about 20 years ago and I was the president of a local chapter of […]
Leading Voices: Oh, Now I Get it! – Understanding Threshold Concepts
Have you ever wondered how some of our students seem to naturally catch on and succeed in their studies? They may or may not have an extraordinary aptitude in any particular content area, yet they can grasp and apply the fundamental concepts in a variety of subjects and excel. Some would say it is because […]
Dr. Anton Armstrong’s Keynote Address at the 2021 ACDA National Conference
I am truly humbled to offer these thoughts today in the context of our national ACDA conference focused on music and diversity. The name of Helen Kemp is known to many of us who have devoted our lives to nurturing and developing the love of singing in children. Helen Kemp was a highly respected vocal […]
May Choral Journal Preview
The newest issue of Choral Journal is available online. Following is a list of the articles you will find in this issue. ACDA members can log in with their username and password to view and download the newest edition. You can also read our electronic version. Below is a preview of the articles you will find in this […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: A Pandemic Holy Week
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.” Pope John Paul II It’s another Pandemic Holy Week. A little better than last year’s, because things are a little bit better. At least we’re prepared to worship differently if need be during this strange time. We might be […]
Silver Linings: Commitment and Engagement
By David L. Mennicke At Concordia University, St. Paul, we’ve been fortunate to have been able to meet face-to-face, with distancing, masks, and 30-minute rehearsal times. This has led us to working on less literature and more focus on skill-building. Unable to do live concerts, we’ve engaged in sharing recorded videos of our music. The […]