Latest Blog Posts
One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs
Week 28: Friday, September 28, 2018
“Where Can I Turn For Peace?”
by Joleen G. Meredith
Arr. Dwight Bigler
Text by Emma Lou Thayne
SSAA div, a cappella
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Invisible Women
“The true mystery of the world is the visible, not the invisible.” Oscar Wilde You all know “her” but you may not know exactly what she does. She is just there, connected with your ensemble in some way. What she does is invisible to you and everyone else, but I am here today to tell […]
An Early Fall Collage
This week GBW and ACDA Radio/ChoralNet you will hear a Mass for unaccompanied double choir that the composer kept in a drawer for five decades….and three of the best female vocalists in the world….plus two inspiring male ensembles from Canada and Germany. The internationally famous male ensemble from Germany will favor your ears with two […]
Conducting A More Effective Audition
Choosing the best personnel for the ensemble is, indeed, the “coin of the realm.” No matter the level of talent and training that has been achieved on the part of the candidate, and no matter the experience and due diligence of the panel conducting the audition, a choral audition is an intimidating and messy business. Here are suggestions offered to assist those of us who hear auditions as we prioritize our goals and design a structure that well serves those goals.
Sing Anything: Robert Cohen and Herschel Garfein’s Alzheimer’s Stories
The October 2018 issue of Choral Journal contains a feature article titled “Sing Anything: Robert Cohen and Herschel Garfein’s Alzheimer’s Stories and the Quickening Power of Music” by Kody Wallace. Below is an excerpt of the article, and you can read it in its entirety in the October 2018 issue! Go to acda.org/choraljournal and click “Search Archives.”Choose October 2018 […]
Turn Sight-Singing Fear Into Fun!
Do your students FEAR Sight-Singing? Have you tried to make it fun, but it just isn’t working? Is sight-singing a drain on your students, your rehearsal, and your prep time? If so, I have some suggestions! Here is my latest blog post! 8 Keys to Turn Sight-Singing Fear into Fun!
One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs
Week 27: Friday, September 21, 2018.
“Lux Aeterna” by Michelle Roueché
SSAA, a cappella
If you’re looking for that one specific selection to round out your concert: something lush, pleasantly-dissonant, legato, and full of opportunity for musical growth, I would highly suggest Michelle Roueché’s “Lux Aeterna.”
Choral Potpourri: The Care and Feeding of Creatives
“Curiosity about life in all of its aspects, I think, is still the secret of great creative people.” Leo Burnett I first heard the term “creatives” a few years ago and hated it. I was at a meeting of the community arts and business alliance I am involved with and our leader was speaking of […]
The Brothers Haydn and Others
This week GBW and ACDA Radio/ChoralNet travels to Austria and Norway to hear music by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Michael Haydn, Franz Joseph Haydn and Norway contributes a selection from Alfred Janson. Host Stan Schmidt give this listen a title of The Brothers Haydn and Others. The main feature is the Missa Sancti Nicolai in G […]
The Voice of the Very Young Child: Birth to 5 Years Part 2: The Physical Ability to Sing
What are the basic requirements needed for children to learn to sing? The physical ability to sing depends on the degree of normal and healthy development of the vocal mechanism (larynx, vocal folds, breathing apparatus), and on one’s neuro-biological ability to process music pitch.
Anyone who has heard a child improvise melodies from the crib knows it is a precious sound. Little ones can babble repetitive songs with pitch accuracy as early as the age of ten months. It’s likely these children have been sung to and/or have heard singing frequently during the pre-birth and early infant years.