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(From the Choral Journal article “Church Music in Times of Crisis [p.63], by Tim Sharp.)        After the tragedy of September 11, 2001, church musicians were reminded once again of the importance of their work through the medium of choral and vocal music. As houses of faith filled with people in the weeks following […]

     The American Choral Directors Association is currently accepting applications for the 2013 Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Music Composition Contest.      The award includes a cash prize of $1,000 and the prospect of having the winning work premiered during a divisional or national conference of the American Choral Directors Association.      ACDA has long […]

Composer Dan Forrest was the winner of the American Choral Directors Association's Raymond W. Brock Memorial Student Composition Competition in 2005.  Since then his compositions have been heard in a variety of venues, including this performance of "You Are the Music" by the Hilliard Darby High School Symphonic Choir (Michael G, Martin, conductor) during the […]

(From the Choral Journal article, “Jester Hairston: Background and Interpretation of ELIJAH ROCK, by Tim Sharer [p.34].)          Originally, the work was intended to be staged and lighted, much as we would now do to a current pop or jazz tune.  The curtain should open to find a bare and dimly lit stage as […]

(From the Choral Journal article, “Camden-Rockport Project: A Choir Writes Its Own Song” by Michele Pressley)          For several years general music students explore the elements of music, developing a basic understanding of melody, harmony, texture, tone, dynamics, rhythm, etc., through the creation of mini-compositions. These same techniques, in a slightly modified form, are […]

       There’s no getting around it . . . the National Conferences of the American Choral Directors Association are spectacular experiences that have the power to alter career trajectories and change lives.  Anyone who has ever attended an ACDA National Conference can point to “that moment” – a specific experience that changed their personal and […]

The e-mail arrived from a young colleague in her first year of teaching. Her words were were direct, and the pleading tone was crystal clear: "They're singing the correct notes. NOW what do I do?" To which I replied, "Now, the FUN begins! Now you get to create the magic and the majesty of choral […]