Latest Blog Posts

It’s reasonable to assume that every conductor working in an education institution has had a special needs student in their choral ensemble.  Though perhaps initially intimidating, there is reason to suspect that we all found the experience to have been rewarding, on many levels.   In her article, “Inclusion of Special Needs Students in Choirs” […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal  article In the Bleak Mid-Winter: A Candlelit Feast by Will Kesling)          The food was then brought to the tables in numerous dishes by a procession of servitors, every dish containing enough for two people. The gentlemen placed the food in trenches – scooped-out half loaves of bread […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal  article Textural Density in the Choral Music of Eric Whitacre by Andrew Larson)          Whitacre’s choral works exhibit harmonic flamboyance, crushing dissonance, and striking harmonic relationships abound in his works. Part of his compositional genius lies, however, in the accessibility of his works to listener and singer. Despite […]

(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article G.F. Handel’s Messiah: Drama Theologicus by Wayne Barrett)         Oratorio is musical drama. Good oratorio contains the same elements that make for good drama without music: an engaging protagonist, tension and release, crisis and resolution, vicarious involvement of the audience, colorful figures, strong emotional reactions, etc. Good […]

CRAWLING THROUGH MUD TO GET THERE ~by Chris Barbee   As choral musicians, students, and professionals we share an intense passion for what we do. We share a vast amount of information, millennia of music, and far too much knowledge for any single one of us to grasp on our own. We are addicted to […]

ChoralNet consistently strives to be the online professional network for us as choral conductors, and for ACDA in general. For many of us, myself included, we came to ChoralNet looking to ask questions, disuss new ideas, and learn from the experience of our peers. Beyond ChoralNet, though, there are many other ways to expand and […]