Latest Blog Posts

In last week’s Choral Caffeine column, we commented that filmmakers are increasingly turning to choral musicians as subject matter for their films.  Almost as if on cue comes this trailer for a documentary currently in production that highlights one of the choral art’s beloved figures.   AMEN: The Life & Music of Jester Hairston, pays […]

Concert tours are a relatively common event in the life of a college choir.  The litany is familiar to many of us – long rides in a motor coach, pot-luck suppers in a church basement, warm receptions from concert audiences full of smiling alumni, and a welcome to a host home to end the day.  […]

So, away from tuning systems for a bit!   If you read Mike O'Neil's excellent guest post, you'll notice he talked about vocal production and vowels as barbershoppers are taught to work on both tuning and blend.   The basic principles are no different, no matter what the style and level of choir you conduct: […]

The June/July issue of the Choral Journal is now available at the ACDA website.  The issue includes such articles as:       "Creating a Choir Culture: Lessons Learned from the Business World" (Aldrich)     "The Diverse Communities of a Community Choir: Fostering a Sustainable System" (McCoy)     "Enriching Choral Opportunities for Aging Voices" (Parks)     […]

NO MORE STRAW HATS by Joe Cerutti          It’s time to throw away the striped vests and straw hats!  Barbershop isn’t just for old folks anymore!        If you haven’t been actively involved with the barbershop art-form, you might not be aware of the renaissance that has been taking place over the last 10 years.  Lately, even the simplest […]

(An excerpt from the interest session, “Integrating Common-Core Learning Standards into the Choral Curriculum,” by Victoria J. Furby.  Presented during the 2013 ACDA National Conference.)          Changing lesson planning ideas to address the Common Core Learning Standards is presenting new challenges to integrate literacy into the choral music classroom.  Many choral music teachers are […]

(An excerpt from the interest session, "Vocal Jazz Concepts for Young Choirs," by Natalie Wilson. Presented during the 2013 ACDA National Conference.)   As we choral directors strive to provide a multi-cultural program for our singers, we must include our own cultural music – jazz.  The skills that are required to learn music from other […]

(An excerpt from the interest session, “Building and Maintaining Dynamic State Websites," by Howard Meharg. Presented during the 2013 ACDA National Conference.)          Websites are the “home-base” for information…the principal source for quick information and news for our constituents. We have a responsibility to communicate the ACDA message to our members. As my wife […]