Latest Blog Posts

This is the last (I think!) in the series–although as my choirs know, when I say, “one more time” . . . I’m rarely going to do that!   Let me first give a link to a wonderful article: http://www.bulletproofmusician.com/how-many-hours-a-day-should-you-practice/   This deals with individual practice, but has much to do with choral rehearsal as […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “Choral Music: Predictions Regarding the 1980s,” by Lynn Whitten)          The student of today has posed many a problem for us, and the better educated, more liberated students of the 1980s will not pose fewer problems. The students must be listened to, but not capitulated to, if […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “The English Anthem,” by Paul R. Otte)          The term “anthem” is the modern form of the Old English word alltefn or antempne. This in turn, comes from the Greek word antiphonol which means a song which is sung “antiphonally,” that is, by two groups. One group […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “Tempo and Mensural Proportion in the Music of the Sixteenth Century,” by Stephen A Kingsbury)          At the most fundamental level, issues of mensuration and mensural proportion stem from the concept of tactus. Also referred to by theorists of the day as measure, full stroke, mensura, compas, […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “The Mid-Career Desert: Becoming a Self-Nurturing Conductor,” by Harley Muilenburg and Corryn Crosby Muilenburg)          The midcareer desert, if it occurs, is tremendously threatening because there are no pat answers for dealing with it. During this rite of passage, each person must take inventory and choose again […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “Grading the Choral Ensemble . . . No More Excuses!,” by Peggy Diane Dettwiler)          Assessment of choral ensembles is often a challenging task for directors. Because much rehearsal time is spent with group activities that are difficult to measure objectively as individual contributions, many directors choose […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “An Interview with Six Successful Elementary School Choral Directors,” by Angela Broeker)   We have found that boys become very enthusiastic when separated from the greater chorus and are permitted to perform as a small ensemble apart from the girls. There are many folk song octavos in which […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “An Interview with Robert Shaw: Reflections at Eighty,” by Jeffrey Baxter)   A citizenry concerned about its intellectual, artistic, cultural, and spiritual life will find ways to increase its support of that life. There’s no assurance that art and music will escape the bureaucratic problems that we experience […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, “An Interview with Rodion Shcherdrin,” by John Stuhr-Rommereim)   STUHR-ROMMEREIM: What do you feel are the special challenges facing choral composers in the latter part of the twentieth century?   SHCHEDRlN: I think we must return to natural means of expression. I am not a conservative, but I […]