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More from Daniel Coyle:  Tip #32 Make positive reaches   “There’s a moment just before every rep when you are faced with a choice: You can either focus your attention on the target (what you want to do) or you can focus on the possible mistake (what you want to avoid). This tip is simple: […]

In this brief interest session excerpt, famed conductor Christopher Hogwood (d. 2014) shares his thoughts about music as a career, versus music as an avocation.  He also hints to the incredible and pernicious narcissism of the present age.    

(An excerpt from the interest session “Innovative Warm-ups for the Volunteer Choir,” presented by Michael Kemp, during the 2015 ACDA National Conference.)   Why Bother Changing Your Routine Warm-ups?        Ask yourself this.  Where did your current warm-ups come from?  Are you using warm-ups from your college choir days?  But if you are directing a […]

(An excerpt from the poster session “Stylistic Development and Hybrid Genres in Chinese Choral Music,” presented by John Winzenburg, during the 2015 ACDA National Conference.)          Chinese choral music is a meeting point of regional, national, and international forms interacting over the course of the twentieth century. The choral repertoire has developed along three […]

(An excerpt from the interest session “The Revival of 19th-Century A Cappella Music,” presented by James Henry [with Marty Monson, the Fairfield Four, and Crossroads], during the 2015 ACDA National Conference.)          Strong evidence suggests that African Americans, particularly those in the South, were chiefly responsible for forging the early “close harmony” style that […]

(An excerpt from the interest session “Building Sound and Spirit: Discovering the Voice of the Choir,” presented by Amanda Quist during the 2015 ACDA National Conference.)   One of the highlights from this session centers around the concept that the chiaroscuro balance and use of overtones that we train in the solo voice can be […]

(An excerpt from the interest session “Creating Safe Space: LGBTQ Singers in the Choral Classroom,” presented by Paul Caldwell & Joshua Palkki during the 2015 ACDA National Conference.)   • Say things that encourage an atmosphere of inclusivity. Our gender non-conforming and trans* respondents raised the issue of addressing groups of singers with language which is based on a notion […]