Latest Blog Posts

I have been most fortunate in that, during the course of writing Music Within Reach, many readers have suggested attainable pieces that have worked for their choirs and several composers have sent some of their own works that they think fit the bill.  On occasion, I would like to take the opportunity to feature some […]

“A loaf of bread, a jug of wine, and thou.” Omar Khayyam For the month of July, my Choral Potpourri and Choral Ethics Blog will focus on things to get you thinking so you are able to hit the ground running in the fall. Every Thursday, while you are sipping a nice, cold adult beverage […]

This week on Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio Stan Schmidt invites you to a special Fourth of July Celebration called Dreams of the Fallen a 25 minute work composed by Jake Runestad in 2013. The Premiere was presented by the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra and Symphony Chorus of New Orleans at the National World War II Museum New Orleans. The performance you will hear was aired on Minnesota Public Radio on Memorial Day 2017 that took place in 2015 featuring the VocalEssence Singers and Chorus of Minneapolis, Piano Soloist, Jeffrey Biegel and the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra led by Conductor Philip Brunelle.

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: Happy Fourth, everyone!! Between the brick and mortar publishing companies, the online publishing companies, and the online self-publishers, there is more music to search through than time in the day. Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of music that we search through doesn’t fit the bill of what we need. Here are 9 […]

The Choral Journal archives dates back to May 1959 and contains many wonderful articles, some of which, yes, are out of date; but there are others that still hold importance for choral conductors in the twenty-first century. In 1974-1976, Carole Glenn published a fascinating series of interviews with seventeen choral conductors on various questions of […]

In my humble opinion, there can never be an overabundance of great text settings for choir.  The text of a piece is usually the first thing I notice, and I have a special fascination for how different composers treat the same text with individual senses of meaning, nuance, and texture.  This week’s post will focus […]

“No man thinks there is much ado about nothing when the ado is about himself.” Anthony Trollope I have a soft spot in my heart for choir ringers. You know, those paid singers who help out, fill out and sing out for typical church or community choirs who need a little extra help. My own […]

This week on Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio join Stan Schmidt for a program of Three Musical Perspectives from three very important composers whose genres of expression are very different.  These creators had residence in Argentina, Poland and Germany.  Bartlomiej Pẹkiel was one of the most prominent Baroque Composers of Poland.  The Second Musical […]

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: While I love the concept of online choral publishing companies, self-publishing, and instantly downloadable sheet music, I tend to order choral sheet music from traditional brick and mortar publishing companies 95% of the time. I’m wondering if you are suffering from the same main issue as I am. My Problem with […]

The Choral Journal archives dates back to May 1959 and contains many wonderful articles, some of which, yes, are out of date; but there are others that still hold importance for choral conductors in the twenty-first century. In 1974-1976, Carole Glenn published a fascinating series of interviews with seventeen choral conductors on various questions of […]