Latest Blog Posts
Why Music Education Matters to Me
The March 2015 issue of Choral Journal features an article titled “Why Music Education Matters to Me” by Kelsey Wickerham. You can read it in its entirety online at acda.org/choraljournal. Click “Search Archives” and choose March 2015 from the dropdown menu._____________________________ A “3,” another “3,” and a “4.” It was in that succession that I read the scores […]
The Art (or Science?) of Teaching the Vowel with Dr. Amanda Quist
In this episode I asked the expert, Dr. Amanda Quist to chat with me about teaching the concept of vowels, resonance and intonation. Is it possible to measure a vowel scientifically? Or is the purity of a vowel subject to the opinion of the conductor? We discuss what I believe to be a new frontier […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Let There Be Peace on Earth
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein Have you ever noticed the best holiday stories portray some sort of dream? From the ballet, “The Nutcracker” to all of the many incarnations of Dickens, “A Christmas Carol” someone is always sleeping and […]
Great Choral Classics You've Never Heard Of
The December 2019 issue of Choral Journal is now available online. Below is an excerpt of the article “Great Choral Classics You’ve Never Heard Of” by Joshua R. Jacobson. You can read it in its entirety online at acda.org/choraljournal. Click “Search Archives” and choose December 2019 from the dropdown menu._____________________________ There are hundreds of attractive but largely unknown […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: We Had a Plan
“To achieve great things, two things are needed; a plan, and not quite enough time.” Leonard Bernstein If you are anything like me, your December concert and worship music for this year was planned during the summer or before. Your plans are coming to fruition or close to it. You are calm, knowing things are […]
The Primacy of Rhythm: Practical Understandings of this First Musical Skill
By Stuart Hunt “Rhythm is the art of beautiful movement” – Augustine of Hippo Putting the horse in front of the cart when discussing rhythm, let’s take a moment to examine the “why” of rhythm, followed by the “how to,” as both teach and learn. The “why” can guide our path to excellence and the […]
January Choral Journal Preview
The newest issue of Choral Journal is available online. This is our special preview of the six regional ACDA conferences taking place in 2020! Following is a list of what 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 […]
What NOT to do IN CLASS the day AFTER the concert….
I hope you have an amazing concert! So, after the concert, what is your plan? What do you do in your rehearsal the VERY NEXT DAY after your concert? Here is: What NOT to do IN CLASS the day AFTER the concert…. If your concert hasn’t arrived yet (mine is on the 19th), I suggest you read this blog as well: […]
Loving by Letting Go: Stepping away from the classroom with Dr. Jaclyn Johnson
In this episode, Beth and I chat with our mutual friend, Dr. Jaclyn Johnson about her choice to step away from the choral classroom and her University teaching post to go to Brazil to teach Yoga. We discuss her goals in embarking on this adventure, and how she is using this time away to reboot […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics:”…….and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.”
I love “Messiah”. Truth be told, it is probably my favorite large choral work. There’s a little something for everyone–from show piece arias to choruses that are both difficult and poignant to recitatives that move the story along while being musically interesting. The story that is told, using scriptures from both the Old and New […]