Latest Blog Posts

Week 3: Friday, April 6, 2018 “Breakable” by Jenni Brandon Text by Annabelle Moseley SA, piano My intermediate college group* is singing this in our next concert, and they have fallen in love with it. (*small ensemble, all non-majors, rehearses ~90min/week. Many have some performance experience before joining, but not all.) The 2-part nature of […]

“Do the right thing. It will gratify some people and astonish the rest.” Mark Twain About half of all emails I get are from folks who want my opinion about the right thing to do. I’ve written about this before; many choral directors don’t trust their instincts any longer and want validation. I don’t blatantly […]

This week on the ACDA Network Radio and ChoralNet, Host Stan Schmidt, on Going Beyond Words, takes you back to a broadcast that he did on February 10, 2013. You will be introduced some lost choral music by French Romantic Composer Max d’Ollone and how he was involved with the Prix de Rome Prize that […]

In May, August, and September 2015, the Choral Journal featured a three-part article series titled “Notes for Success: Advice for the First-Year Choral Teacher.” As part of the series, 11 choral conductors with teaching experience ranging from 4 to 34 years answered 10 questions related to setting expectations for your first year, classroom management, balancing a successful […]

Week 2: Friday, March 30, 2018 Hello and welcome back to the second installment of my weekly Women’s/Treble Chorus blog, here on Choralnet.org! Last week, I focused on What is a women’s/treble choir? Who sings in a women’s/treble choir? Why?. This week, I’d like to continue with that introduction, looking at the challenges conductors often […]

“Nothing is a greater impediment to being on good terms with others than being ill at ease with yourself.” Honore de Balzac We are almost finished with another Lenten, Holy Week and Easter season. Church musicians are rounding the corner, heading toward the end of the finish line of their busiest six weeks, exhausted and […]

Conducting a children’s choral group can be both energizing and exhausting at the same time. On one hand, your students LOVE to sing! On the other hand, it can be hard to get them to focus when it’s rehearsal time. Leading a children’s choir successfully requires you to get creative in the way you keep […]

This week on the ACDA Network Radio and ChoralNet,  Stan Schmidt, Host of Going Beyond Words, offers you an easy way to celebrate the festival of Easter.   During the broadcast, you can enjoy several hymns and spirituals, a Cherubic Hymn from Finland, Music from Handel’s Messiah and a short cantata by Johann Sebastian Bach written […]

Does every student who enters your choir for the first time have a path provided for long-term success? Does EVERY STUDENT have both the ability and opportunity to thrive within your program not just one year, but for the entirety of their high school career?  The 4-Year Learning Plan & The Differentiated Learning Myth CHOIR: The 4-Year Learning […]

ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly publication for choral conductors and teachers at all levels. It is published online, and each issue contains four practical articles. If you are not already a member of ACDA, you can join as an Associate for $45 per year and receive access to ChorTeach and the Choral Journal online. Below is an excerpt from an article written by […]