Latest Blog Posts

“Habits change into character.” Ovid Many of us, especially in community-based programs, complain we don’t have enough singers to do the repertoire we really want to do.  If we are a mixed group, we long for more tenors or baritones or basses but don’t seem to retain them when we get them.  After years of […]

This week on GBW and ACDA Radio/ChoralNet host Stan Schmidt will deal with the Psalms of David and you will hear Psalm 51 and several compositions created out of that Psalm; Plus Psalm 77, I Cry Aloud commissioned by your host for his high school school choir in 1974 from Knut Nystedt.   You will hear […]

It’s important to think of the voice as not residing just in the pharynx. Think of the voice as being part of the mind and the body. Vocal exercises should have a reason behind why each and every one is done.

Many of us are consumed with recruiting new members into our choral program. We feel like we have to recruit like crazy, especially because we can’t count on our current students continuing next year. If you find yourself going into “Recruitment-Panic” Mode, I have an alternative approach:  Don’t Recruit New Members Until You’ve Done This First……..

#45: Friday, March 15, 2019

“Wild Embers” by Melissa Dunphy
Text by Nikita Gill
SSAA, a cappella

I met Melissa at the Composer’s Fair during the recent ACDA national conference in Kansas City. She had a number of works for SSAA ensembles, and every one of them had a purposefully-chosen poetic text that rose off the page along with the music. Her work had life and energy and feisty passion, and I wanted to program it all! Among her works, “Wild Embers” is at the top of my list for a future performance.

“Always the journey, never the destination.” Simon Rattle Last week, the Alumni Chorus I’ve been writing about sang in a semi-staged concert version of “Considering Matthew Shepherd.” The CCPA Conservatory Chorus was the main performer, and we Alums sang a chorale toward the end of the work. It was an interesting process for me, both […]

This week on Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio, Host Stan Schmidt continues the serious listening for the Lenten Season.   Taking the texts Libera Nos, How Long O Lord? And De Profundis you will encounter music by John Sheppard, an unaccompanied gem by Johann Michael Haydn, Antonio Vivaldi’s Crucifixus, the stunning cry for help from […]

The April 2019 issue of Choral Journal is a focus on Relevance. The four main feature articles are based on presentations from the 2018 North Dakota State University Choral Symposium. The theme was Relevance–“creating programming that fosters connections between singers, audience, and the community with the purpose of exploring issues of social significance.” Jo Ann […]

Being observed can be terrifying. If you are applying for a new choral job, there’s a good chance you will be asked to give a “demo” lesson in front of your future administrators. For those of you who are settled into a job, an observation is probably still likely to shake you up a bit. Here are: 14 Mistakes Choral DirectorsMake […]

By Elizabeth Alexander, guest blogger When I was growing up, my house was filled with sheet music, with everything from Mozart piano sonatas to Broadway songbooks. My family bought most of it from Childers Music Center, a small storefront run by Dan Childers, also known as “Dandy Dan the Music Man.” In addition to running […]