Latest Blog Posts

For me, it’s important to include musicality and expression, particularly that of phrase shape, from the very beginning of the learning/rehearsal process. The problem with ignoring the shaping of phrases (dynamic, agogic, stressed and unstressed syllables, etc.) is that the choir learns an unmusical shaping of the phrase which then has to be un-learned (and that […]

WHY BARBERSHOP ALONG WITH HIGH SCHOOL CHORUS? by Carl Taylor   In 1989, when a man I had never met called me and asked me to do some singing with him and two other fellows, I really had no idea what was ahead. In a very short time I found myself memorizing several songs, performing […]

Does your choir need a website? Yes! Yes, it does! This is the second in ChoralTech Guest Blogger Seth Garrepy’s series on DIY Web Design. Check out his first article while you’re at it, and come back next week for the thrilling conclusion. “Buy this, Get a Website” It’s almost too good to be true. […]

From the New York Times: The Grammy Awards are adding a new honor for music teachers. Neil Portnow, the president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, announced the new award for music educators, which will be presented for the first time next year. He made the announcement on Thursday evening at an […]

COMPOSITION SPOTLIGHT ~ by Jack Senzig   (Each week we look at a piece of useful repertoire from the ChoralNet Community Composition Showcase.  A variety of voicings and levels of difficulty will be presented.  Enjoy!)   The Lord's Prayer by Dustin Oldenburg SATB a cappella (click for PDF and AUDIO) Level: High School or higher Uses: Sacred, General […]

Edsel.  Beta-max.  New Coke.   In their respective days, these were supposed to be the “next big thing,” products that were thought to be so revolutionary that the paradigm would be re-written in their glorious image.   Not so much.  Contrary to what advertisers (particularly, it seems, the purveyors of various iGadgets) scream, “new” is […]

What will scare a choral conductor worse this Friday . . . the building-size asteroid passing within a few miles of the Earth or missing out on the reading packets at the ACDA National Conference?   The answer, of course, is missing the reading packets!   The American Choral Directors Association REALLY wants you to […]

  Have you wondered about having a website for your group? Not sure where to begin? Decided "it ain't for me?" Today is the first of a series from guest ChoralTech blogger Seth Garrepy on how to build your own choral website. “Your choir needs a website.”    Does this statement immediately cause gnawing anxiety […]

We all recognize a well-paced rehearsal when we experience one.   What does it mean to create a well-paced rehearsal?   I think one of the most important things is to plan in advance for variety: hard work on some individual pieces or sections of pieces, run-throughs of more familiar music, alternating faster with slower […]