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FIVE FROM THE FOLDER: 3-PART (8th Grade) by Lisa Larsen   1.  "A Song to You I Sing," Arcadelt, arr.Liebergen, Brilee, SAB, #BL530 A short renaissance work, a cappella, add drums and finger cymbals.   2.  "In This Ancient House" (Momoshiki Ya), R.M. Gray, Heritage Music Press, SAB, #15/2407H Sung in both Japanese and English. […]

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BODY ALIGNMENT (Part 3), by Dina Else   You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make them drink!  You can walk a student to the ladder but you can’t make them climb.  There are countless analogies for this age-old issue.  Pick one…they’re all true, and all lead us straight down […]

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BODY ALIGNMENT (Part 2), by Dina Else   Last week we broke down what constitutes a beneficial body alignment for singers.  I’m a firm believer that if you stand with confidence, the emotion/mind-set is bound to follow!  I once heard Richard Miller liken body alignment to a flagpole saying, “If the flagpole is […]

VOCAL ADVANTAGE: BODY ALIGNMENT (Part 1), by Dina Else   I agree with Julie Andrews when she sings, “let’s start at the very beginning, a very good place to start”, and for me, that beginning is body alignment!  Not the ‘sit up straight’, ‘stand at attention like a soldier’ with ‘good posture’ kind.  But instead, […]

We continue to be gratified that filmmakers are turning to choral music and musicians for inspiration.  Recently, we have shared trailers for films on Paul Meator and Jester Hairston.  We have also commented previously on the Big Voice project, and happily, have learned that the production continues to develop.  The choral community can all look […]

The September issue of the Choral Journal is now available at the ACDA website.  The issue includes such articles as:   “Italian Grandiosity and German Pragmatism: An Analysis of Coexistant Style Traits in ‘Aus der Tiefe ruf ich Herr, zu dir’ (SWV 25) from Heinrich Schutz’s Psalmen Davids of 1619” (Garrepy) “Multi-Purpose Images: How to […]

THE “WHY” QUESTION: CATALYST FOR INSPIRED TEACHING AND PERFORMANCE.  PART 3:  SYMBOLS AND GESTURES – IMAGINATION & REALIZATION: A GUIDE TO INSPIRED TEACHING CATALYST FOR INSPIRED REHEARSALS by Jameson Marvin          For conductors, acquiring this “inspired revelation” is a complex process. In other words, realizing the symbolic notation, in sound, requires the mind’s ear, […]

THE “WHY” QUESTION: CATALYST FOR INSPIRED TEACHING AND PERFORMANCE.  PART 2:  ANSWERING THE “WHY” QUESTION: A GUIDE TO INSPIRED TEACHING by Jameson Marvin          Today, if we understand why the composer did that we have begun to develop a consciousness of the expressive gestures that lie behind the symbolic notation of them. Attaining this […]

THE “WHY” QUESTION: CATALYST FOR INSPIRED TEACHING AND PERFORMANCE.  PART 1:  ASKING THE “WHY” QUESTION: NOTATION & GESTURE = EMOTION  by Jameson Marvin          If a choral conductor has studied a score carefully, and has given considerable thought to the musical meaning represented by the composer’s notation and vocabulary of expression, (s)he can not […]

In the first choral wake-up call on last week’s “Stick Time,” we discussed the importance of refocusing one’s ears for the coming choral season.  We continue in that vein, just to bring our listening from the sounds of summer to that of our art.   Last week we heard collegiate singers performing Bach with chamber […]