Latest Blog Posts
Choral Caffeine: Conducting Without Sight
Lessons come to us in so many ways; many are merely difficult, while others scar us as they teach us. Overcoming adversity is probably life’s sweetest success; certainly recovering from failure teaches us lessons we never forget. One of the things we try to do as teachers is to help our students learn our […]
Stick Time: Rehearsal Idea
The new semester is starting soon (sorry . . .), so now is the time to look for a few new ideas to enliven your rehearsals. Here is an excerpt from an interest session presented during the 2009 ACDA National Conference.
Saturday Respite: Wishing for Summer Fun
Is any one else looking forward to the return of summer on this second weekend of January?
CJ Replay: Conductor Attributes
(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article “Choral Art” by Harold Decker) One could almost say that the true choral conductor, in addition to other attributes, must have two vital characteristics: First, a devotion to choral music as an artful expression. Second, the ability to communicate musical ideas through word and […]
Slowing down
Again, as I’m finishing up the semester (and chairing a search committee), I’ll draw from a previous blog post–this one about slowing down to speed up–does that sound intriguing? Once again, it has a connection to the culture we build in our choir–and in our fast-paced, multi-tasking world this is a challenging culture to build. […]
Composition Spotlight: Prothalamia: In Celebration of Marriage for All
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!) Prothalamia: In Celebration of Marriage for All by Charles Norman Mason and Dorothy Hindman TTBB and Organ (click for PDF and for audio from each movement Kyrie GloriaCredo Sanctus Agnus […]
ChoralTech: Task Management and Swatting Flies
(nytimes.com) Buzz, buzz, buzz… I call them “flies:” those quick to-dos that are constantly floating across my brain, usually at the worst possible time. They’re the ones that pop up in the middle of dinner, a conversation, rehearsal or class. Their buzz often sounds like “I was supposed to…”, “Don’t forget to…” or “I […]
Stick Time: Capabilities of a Church Choir
A week from now, Christian churches of all stripes will be filled to capacity with parishioners attending services in celebration of Christmas. It is not hyperbolic to state that more people will hear live choral music and raise their own voices in song early next week than at any other single time of the year, […]