Latest Blog Posts

Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio/ChoralNet invites you to the annual GBW Christmas in July broadcast.  You will hear 16 recordings by 16 composers from 10 countries…..Listen and see how many you know. Here are some of the Choirs Concordia College of Moorhead  The Slovenian Chamber Choir; Kansas City Choral; The St. Catharine’s Chirs’ Choir […]

What kind of warm-up do you do before your personal rehearsal time or general choral rehearsal warm-up? Of course, warm-ups may vary depending on the time of day you begin singing, your gender and age and what kind of singing you are about to do. What are your default “must-do” warm-ups? Here’s what our top […]

The June/July 2015 issue of Choral Journal is a focus on Vocal Jazz, guest edited by Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman. The Rehearsal Break column contains an article by Roger Emerson titled “Starting a Vocal Jazz Ensemble.” Below is an excerpt of the article, and you can read it in its entirety in the June/July 2015 issue! […]

Week 18: Friday, July 20, 2018 “Alleluia, Rejoice” arr. J. Edmund Hughes Chant and liturgical antiphon SA, handbells (or hand chimes or piano)  This arrangement by J. Edmund Hughes combines two separate holiday melodies – O Come O Come Emmanuel and Hodie Christus natus est – into one beautiful selection. The two melody lines dovetail […]

“What is drama but life with the dull bits cut out.” Alfred Hitchcock Last week’s blog got responses on ChoralNet and off. Several ChoralNetters have contacted me with interesting opinions and situations about auditions (which will become future blogs) but one thing is clear; auditions strike a chord with everyone! This is the beginning week […]

Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio/ChoralNet will introduce you to four new recordings featuring two university ensembles and two professional choirs. You will enjoy the Yale Schola Cantorum under David Hill, the Utah State University Chamber Singers guided by Dr. Cory Evans, the Concordia University Chicago Kapelle with Dr. Charles P. Brown, and finally, the […]

by Jamea Sale, contributing author, DevelopingVoices.blog “While the vocal apparatus does change as we grow older, researchers have found that voice training may help maintain the voice as we age.”  (Butler, 2001). The Female Voice undergoes changes throughout the lifetime. Her habitual voice pitch descends from age 4 to 50 years, & finally settles in […]

The current issue of Choral Journal features an article in the Rehearsal Break column by Gayla Blaisdell titled “Fostering Inclusion: Unpacking Choral Dress Codes.” Below is an excerpt of the article, and you can read it in its entirety in the August 2018 issue! Go to acda.org/choraljournal and click “Search Archives.” Choose August 2018 from […]

Week 17: Friday, July 13, 2018 “Da Pacem” by Jeff Enns traditional liturgical text SSAA, a cappella If your ensemble enjoys long lyrical lines and leaning into dissonances, this is a piece for you. My singers love this kind of crunchy-yet-pleasing harmony and couldn’t get enough of this song by contemporary Canadian composer Jeff Enns. […]

“Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do.” Potter Stewart There have been two music/choral ethics incidents in the news in the last week or so. I will not name names or places but you can probably figure out who is who from the […]