Latest Blog Posts

“Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower.” Albert Camus Polly* and Paul* met when both were hired separately as section leaders for a famous chorus. (I won’t give a location, vague or otherwise, but can tell you it has been in existence for over a century.) They’ve been married three years […]

Show 2248 Listen – Hear… Going Beyond Words On ACDA Radio Theme: Choral Music That Comes In Sets This week on ACDA Radio and Going Beyond Words, host Stan Schmidt takes you on an hour exploration of choral music that comes in sets. There’s music by Benjamin Britten, Wilhelm Stenhammer, David Conte, and Randall Thompson, with texts by […]

The current issue of Choral Journal features an article on composer Kirke Mechem, who turned 91 earlier this year. Mechem has been called the “dean of American choral composers” and is still an active composer, adding to his impressive catalogue of over 250 works. This article provides readers with a compositional history for eight choral […]

Betsy Cook Weber pops in to talk about being present as a choral director and planning for her upcoming ACDA National Conference performance. LISTEN HERE!

  “You cannot create experience. You must undergo it.” Albert Camus  Last week I wrote about one of my favorite YCMs (Young Church Musician). This week I’d like to introduce you to one of my favorite Older Church Musicians…maybe Experienced Church Musician is a better way of describing him! Martin* and I have been friends […]

Going Beyond Words w/ Stan Schmidt Show 2247 – Missa in Labore Requies This week on ACDA Radio, host Stan Schmidt takes you to the Muri Abbey in Switzerland as we explore echoes of the Gabrieli brothers through the Missa in Labore Requies by Baroque composer Georg Muffat. Written in 1690, this piece utilizes a five “choir” concept […]

ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online magazine for choral directors and music educators. The articles in each issue are gleaned from ACDA state and division newsletters and from submissions. ChorTeach is specifically designed for those who work with amateur singers and are looking for practical material to apply to classrooms and rehearsals. Below is a preview of the articles […]

“Experience is simply the name we give our mistakes.” Oscar Wilde Daniel,*one of my favorite Young Church Musicians (YCM), has had a great church job for about five years. On the edge of the suburban community of a large city, the church appreciates him, his musicianship and his ability to get the choir singing. He’s […]

Show 2301 Listen – Hear… Going Beyond Words On ACDA Radio Theme: A Celebration of Going Beyond Words Beginning Its 24th Year   This week on ACDA Radio and Going Beyond Words, host Stan Schmidt invites you to celebrate with him the beginning of the show’s 24 th  year of continuous broadcasts of choral and vocal music. You will […]

The February 2016 issue of Choral Journal featured an article by Nicole Becker and Jeanne Goffi-Fynn titled “Discovering Voices: Expanding Students’ Musical and Vocal Ideals in an Urban Community Children’s Choir.” This article offers readers “an approach to choral training that seeks to broaden children’s musical ideals and abilities by training them in healthy, flexible […]