Latest Blog Posts
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Reaping What We Sow
“Always do right. This will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain I believe in Karma. Oh, I don’t know if I would really call it that, exactly. I feel if you do something good, it usually comes back to you. If you do something bad, it can come back to you […]
Five Steps to Making Every Rehearsal Count
This article is submitted by Dr. William O. Baker, Special Contributor to DevelopingVoices.blog. The five steps to making every rehearsal count is designed to help create the mindset that each rehearsal is a special occasion, one that can be likened to a greatly anticipated dinner party. I don’t think this concept is a stretch at […]
Agile Development Instructional Framework
The September 2018 issue of Choral Journal contains a feature article titled “Agile Development Instructional Framework (ADIF): A New Strategy for Student-Centered Music Education” by Brian O. Ackles. Below is an excerpt of the article, and you can read it in its entirety in the September 2018 issue! Go to acda.org/choraljournal and click “Search Archives.” Choose September 2018 from the […]
One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs
Week 22: Friday, August 17, 2018 “She Tore A Map” by Timothy C. Takach Text by Naomi Shihab Nye SA, piano Looking for an uptempo piece with a fun story-driven text and a jaunty style, especially one that is SA and accessible for a wide range of abilities? If so, this selection by Timothy Takach […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Kindness is NOT for Wimps
“What wisdom can you find that is greater than kindness?” Jean-Jacques Rousseau It is easy to forget we need to work regularly with others. Unless you are a soloist all the time, you must work with other musicians. Unless you conduct exactly the sort of ensemble you wish, with the musicians you wish, you must […]
A NEW YEAR ~ A NEW HABIT ~ Avoiding vocal fatigue in the classroom
Educators can be at unusual risk for developing vocal fatigue and hoarseness. Demands of heavy voice use throughout the week is tremendous with little time for the voice to rest and recover. WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT? please refer to […]
New Article Posted in the International Journal of Research in Choral Singing!
The International Journal of Research in Choral Singing (IJRCS) is ACDA’s official scientific research publication. The second article in the 2018 Volume 6 is now live at acda.org/ijrcs. It contains the following article: “A gender analysis of composers and arrangers of middle and high school choral literature on a state-mandated list” by Vicki D. […]
One from the Folder: Weekly Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/Treble Choirs
Week 21: Friday, August 10, 2018 “Dance Ablaze!” by Janika Vandervelde Text by Jody Johnson SSA, percussion, hand claps A rhythmic, energetic piece, this work by Janika Vandervelde is both a physically and emotionally engaging selection for your women’s/treble choir. Between the mixed meter, the handclaps, and the poetic text, your singers and audience alike […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Amateur Versus Professional
“Every artist was first an amateur.” Ralph Waldo Emerson The word amateur is taken from Old French and means ‘lover’. Many definitions of the word speak of doing something for pleasure and most of us, I am sure, became choral conductors because we found pleasure in singing or leading singing. Is it the other definition […]
Bending Toward the Light – A Jazz Nativity
It all began in 1986 when The Rev. John Gensel, the Jazz Minister at St. Peter’s Lutheran Church at Citycorp ask New York Musician Anne Phillips to write “A Jazz Nativity”. The result?…Bending Toward the Light – A Jazz Nativity…..plus.. hundreds of Jazz Musicians and thousands of audience members have experienced this great expression from […]