Latest Blog Posts

WHAT ARE YOU DOING RIGHT NOW by Sundra Flansburg   Because now is an excellent time to join ACDA. Join Now!   Today we’re launching something we’ve never done here at ACDA. We’re having a membership drive – Sing Up! – starting today through October 31.   Oh, you’re already a member? Then it’s time to […]

COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig   (Each week we look at one or two of the best choral works posted in the Composition Showcase here on ChoralNet.  This is where we store a treasure trove of works that your choirs will love to sing and your audiences will love to hear.)   Carmen fratrum Arvalium by […]

Choir and choral singing was everythere this summer – the internet was ablaze with news of how singing unified heartbeats into a singular rhythm.  There were articles everywhere – CNN, NPR,  and medical news.     Last week, TIME magazine added another interesting observation with the article:  Singing Changes Your Brain.   We knew that something special was […]

FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: COMMUNITY CHOIRS by Karen P. Thomas   1.”Five Flower Songs.” Benjamin Britten.  Boosey & Hawkes 48011505 Five separate “character” pieces, related to flowers – can be performed separately. “Evening Primrose” is gentle and gorgeous. “Ballad of Green Broom” a fun and fast romp.   2. “Bring us, O Lord.” William Harris. […]

Another thing to test for in an audition is musicianship: sightreading and ear skills, primarily.   There are several things to test: sightreading pitches sightreading rhythms the ability of the singer to hear something and reproduce it vocally Given the level of your singers, you will want to choose examples to read that start with […]

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BREATH (part 5), by Dina Else   Before we move on to the topic of breath management and support I have a few last words of wisdom to share with you about breath intake.   Before I share those words, I must again give credit where credit is due. I was very fortunate […]

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BREATH (part 4), by Dina Else   We left off last week discussing noisy versus silent breath inhalation.  Before we leave this topic I’d like to address one more way that noisy inhalation sneaks into the process.  In my travels I have had the privilege of singing under, and observing many fine conductors.  […]

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BREATH (part 3), by Dina Else   Now that we’ve ensured the proper body alignment is well underway and have established the basics of breath intake, let’s journey a step further.   As we wrap up our discussion of breath intake, I would like to point out that we don’t think about breath […]

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BODY ALIGNMENT (part 4), by Dina Else   Hopefully your school year is off to a fabulous start and the body alignment and breath intake information have been helpful reminders.  Before we move on to breath management I wanted to touch base with body alignment now that we are firmly engulfed in rehearsals. […]