Latest Blog Posts

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: There are many approaches to developing the ear. I believe that this one exercise is the very best tool for singers to develop their ear at the secondary level. This exercise is equally effective for beginning, intermediate, and advanced singers. I firmly believe that this is: The Best Ear-Training Exercise You […]

Those of us who teach school have been back now for a little over a month, which means that it is almost time for that most frightening of endeavors—the FALL CONCERT.  I do not know about other teachers, but the fall concert gives me more sleepless nights and gray hair than anything else I do.  […]

“Conductors start getting good when everybody else retires.” Simon Rattle Two weeks ago, I briefly introduced the history and design of the Chorus America report, Choral Conductors Today: An Updated Report, A Comparison of 2017 and 2005 Findings. Released on September 7, 2017, their report compared findings from their 2005 report to new data gathered […]

This week on ACDA Radio and ChoralNet, Going Beyond Words Host, Stan Schmidt invites you to an hour of music that is quiet with texts that can cause you to ponder why the world is so noisy when it dosen’t need to be. Composers represented are Kim André Arnesen, Wolfram Buchenberg, Patrick Hawes, Anthony Maglione […]

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: These 8 steps are frequently missed when teaching students to sight-sing. Each step is a must for every beginning and developing musicians. Without having achieved these specific skills, sight-singing is like throwing at a dart board….and some students are facing the wrong direction. The 8 Steps to Prepare ALL Students to […]

If you have not already done so, I imagine that many of you are in the middle of selecting music for the holiday season.  For me, this is always one of the trickiest programs to choose.  There are so many favorites that I want to include, but the canon of Christmas choral music is largely […]

“The measure of who we are is what we do with what we have.” Vince Lombardi Last week, I briefly introduced the history and design of the Chorus America report, Choral Conductors Today: An Updated Report, A Comparison of 2017 and 2005 Findings. Released on September 7, 2017, their report compared findings from their 2005 […]

This week on ACDA Radio and ChoralNet, Going Beyond Words with Host Stan Schmidt helps you lean into the winds of Reformation history with four new releases from the Carus Record Company of Germany. You will hear several important melodies created by Martin Luther and how during subsequent centuries, composers such at J.S.Bach, Johann Fischer, […]

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: Ever wonder why so many singers in our choirs never learn how to sight-sing, even when we teach it day after day? Once we know the reasons, we can find the solution. Here are: The 6 Reasons Why Your Singers Can’t Sight-Sing….    

A great perk of writing this weekly blog has been that many composers send me their more attainable pieces to peruse and possibly recommend.  This week’s post will focus on two great pieces that were passed on to me that I would like to share with the choral community. The first is “Hold My Hand!”, […]