Latest Blog Posts

Recently, we offered a free virtual meetup to practice “Choir Nerdery.” If you missed it, I have carefully curated some of the most useful and interesting moments for this episode. Discussion topics were derived from survey responses from 120 educators. The full 2 hour and 15 minute work session is available unedited over at Patreon or Substack for show […]

This is a Choral Ethics Blog post repeat from several years ago. I need to slow down and plotting out the rest of the summer now seems like a smart idea. I try to be here, one way or another, every week because I know many of you look forward to this blog and I […]

When selecting repertoire for the choral ensemble a great deal of care and thought should be given to each song as this music will serve as your curriculum for roughly eight weeks of rehearsal.  By selecting repertoire that is at the appropriate difficulty level, (as opposed to music that is too easy or difficult) you […]

The International Journal of Research in Choral Singing (IJRCS)  is ACDA’s scholarly publication that welcomes studies that apply rigorous, systematically-grounded methodologies, either quantitative or qualitative, to investigate phenomena of potential interest to all who sing in, work with, or are otherwise interested in choral ensembles. Below is the abstract from this article, “Scoping the Literature […]

“I don’t care much about music. What I like is sounds.” Dizzy Gillespie When I was about 18 or 19, soon after I began my undergraduate program, my late mother, a coloratura soprano, told me music is the easy part of being a musician. Being 18 or 19 and knowing EVERYTHING (as you do) at […]

“The greatest way to live with honor in this world is to be what we pretend to be.” Socrates Today is the Summer Solstice here in the Northern Hemisphere. It’s wonderful to have so much light during the evening of a balmy day. Sitting outside, with an adult beverage or lemonade or iced tea, is […]

“I cannot believe I’ve been muzzled by my own people.” All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, CA cancelled a concert that was set for June 2nd, 2024 citing the “pain and anguish felt by 18 Black members of the church.” The response was that Michal and the choir, and the music they were set to […]

The International Journal of Research in Choral Singing (IJRCS)  is ACDA’s scholarly publication that welcomes studies that apply rigorous, systematically-grounded methodologies, either quantitative or qualitative, to investigate phenomena of potential interest to all who sing in, work with, or are otherwise interested in choral ensembles. Below is the abstract from this article written by Ryan […]

“You don’t have to deserve your mother’s love. You have to deserve your father’s.” Robert Frost As I write today’s blog, I am sipping a glass of iced tea, brewed with mint from my own garden. The mint was the first thing we planted when we bought our house 30 years ago, but we should […]

“Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth.” Arthur Conan Doyle Believe it or not, I get many emails about loyalty. Loyalty to a chorus or church choir or alumni group and perhaps another type performing group of some sort. I get questions such as: if my university […]