Latest Blog Posts
Choral Ethics: Monstering
“Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” Friedrich Nietzsche Earlier this summer, I read a review of a book I thought might be interesting to review here on Choral […]
A&C Monthly Blog: Reclaiming Relevance (a focus on building audiences)
Wednesday, September 20, 2023 Building audiences. It is something we all must take time to do. It can be a little scary as we have to look honestly in the mirror and ask, what are we marketing and is it working? The great news, audience building is really a combination of advocating for your […]
The Conductor as Yogi: The Energy Drain of Judgment
It is no news flash that we live in an incredibly judgmental world. Even in the last 10 years, the opportunities to “like” or judge have increased exponentially and the impact on our time, our state of mind, and the quality of our professional work is profound. Especially because we don’t realize what is happening. […]
ChorTeach Summer 2023
ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online publication, designed for those who work with singers of all levels. Following is a list of the articles in the Summer 2023 issue! A full annotated ChorTeach index is available online at acda.org/chorteach. Over 160 articles are organized into seventeen categories. For submission information, to view the index, or to read the latest issue, […]
How to Voice Your Choir Quickly & Effectively
I have a simple method to voice my students effectively and quickly. With this approach, you can voice new members in as quickly as 3 minutes or less. In addition to discovering a singer’s range, we must also take into account other factors, such as: -their tessitura -the needs of the ensemble -their personal […]
What IS Choral Music?
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 Ethics: Our Eighth Anniversary
“Love in all eight tones and all five semitones of the word’s full octave.” Stephen Fry Happy anniversary to US! It’s hard to believe it has been eight years since Scott Dorsey asked me to become a regular ChoralNet Blogger. At first, I worried about having enough material to write a regular blog on something […]
Voices of Change: Impacting the Communities We Serve
The August 2023 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Voices of Change: Impacting the Communities We Serve.” Following is a portion from the article. _________________ The following panel discussion convened by Donald Dumpson, R&R Chair of Lifelong Singing, was presented at the 2022 ACDA Eastern Region Conference in Boston, Massachusetts, as part one of […]
Catching the Wind in Our Sails with Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman
This week, I am PUMPED to be joined by renowned Psychologist, researcher, author and host of the Psychology Podcast, Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman. We in the Performing Arts education sphere are in a unique position to have an impact on the whole person in a way that is not accessible to our other teacher colleagues. […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Practice. Again. And Again.
“No art is less spontaneous than mine. What I do is the result of reflection and the study of the great masters.” Edgar Degas This is a Choral Ethics Blog post repeat from several years ago. I need to slow down and plotting out the rest of the summer now seems like a smart idea. […]