Latest Blog Posts

Many of us with smaller or limited men’s choruses are often searching for music in no more than two or three parts.  The challenge here is that sometimes such music sounds too simple or is not “meaty” enough for our singers.  This week’s post will glance at three pieces for men’s chorus that are musically […]

“The world cares very little about what a man or woman knows; it is what a man or woman is able to do that counts.” Virgil I never expected to be a choral conductor; it was not my dream. And when I realized I would have to major in Music Ed, I was horrified! As […]

This week on Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio join Stan Schmidt for a program called “Musical Footsteps Through the Seasons”.  You will experience  styles from the Renaissance, French Impressionism, Baroque, Romantic, and Contemporary British.   Composers represented are Orlando di Lasso, Michael Hurd and Owain Park from England, Charles Koechlin from France, along with Friedrich […]

How do we measure success?  This, of course, is a lifelong question that stares us in the face every day. This article is far less philosophical, but does perhaps pose a way in which we should change the way we view success in terms of high school choral programs.   Find out the 14″Secret” Indicators […]

The Choral Journal archives dates back to May 1959 and contains many wonderful articles, some of which, yes, are out of date; but there are others that still hold importance for choral conductors in the twenty-first century.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 […]

Wrapping the Arms of Structure Around Your Middle School Singers     I’m not sure whether it’s a good thing or not, but I have been asked many times after a concert with my 300+ middle school choral music students, “What do you SAY to the students that keeps them so disciplined?”   When I […]

There is such a tremendous wealth of newly published music on the scene that sometimes it can be easy to forget about the classics.  There are also many pieces from the last few hundred years that have slipped through the cracks, and now editors are actively seeking them out and publishing them for today’s choirs.  […]

“A nation’s culture resides in the hearts and in the soul of its people. “Mahatma Gandhi Today we have two more stories from the Choral Ethics mailbag. Both seem pretty topical. One is from a male singer. The other is about three different church musicians who experienced the same thing, on the same day. The […]

This week on Going Beyond Words and ACDA Radio join Stan Schmidt for a program called Use Your Singing Heart.  Groups include the SWR Vokalensemble,MDR Rundfunkchor & NDR Choir with the Festspiel Orchestra Göttingen from Germany; The Salt Lake Vocal Artists; The Prague Singers; Soprano, Elin Manahan Thomas singing one of Handel’s Italian Cantatas;  The […]

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. The Summer 2012 issue contains the article […]