Latest Blog Posts

Reno, Timothy. A Messiah for Our Time: An Analysis of Sven-David Sandström’s New Oratorio.  Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation, University of Maryland, 2010.        In honor of Handel’s anniversary year in 2009, German conductor Helmuth Rilling commissioned Swedish composer Sven-David Sandström to create a new oratorio using the full text of Messiah, by Charles Jennens.  […]

Wheatley, Kyle D. The Growth of Music Education at Friends University during the Tenure of Cecil J. Riney (1960 – 2005). Master of Arts thesis, University of Alabama, 2012.        The purpose of this study was to investigate the growth of the Music Education program at Friends University during the tenure of Dr. Cecil J. […]

Monroe-Fischer, Marjorie.  An Examination of Selected Choral Music of Judith Bingham.  Published Doctor of Arts dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2012.     Judith Bingham (1952-     ) is the most acclaimed female British composer of our time.  Her work encompasses most genres; however, a quarter of her compositions are choral.  In spite of her fame in […]

Seighman, Gary B. Expanding the Choral Conductor’s Horizon: The Application of Selected Literary Theories to the Process of Choral Score Study. Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation, University of Maryland, 2009.        The various movements associated with literary theory can provide unique interpretative insights for the choral conductor during score study. Traditionally, score study focuses on […]

Redfearn, Christopher Michael. The Choral Philosophies and Techniques of Craig Jessop. Published Doctor of Arts dissertation, University of Northern Colorado, 2012.     Craig Jessop is widely accepted among American choral directors as one of the pre-eminent choral leaders of our time. For over twenty-five years, he conducted high-profile instrumental and choral ensembles in the United […]

This Chick-fil-A controversy was brutal, wasn’t it?   I stayed on the sidelines – I didn’t express an opinion or buy a sandwich or protest or anything.   I watched Facebook erupt with pictures of chicken sandwiches and thoughtful condemnations of those that bought them.  I’m sure you saw plenty of the same thing; none […]

Everyone,    For years, Scott Dorsey has done an invaluable service for ACDA members by placing all of the articles of the Choral Journal into a manageable resource.  He based his project on Gordon Paine's monograph, a work that featured CJ organization for the first eighteen years of the journal.     The most recent […]

Today, we have several things to consider in this short fragment from a recent ACDA divisional conference performance: asymetrical meter, mixed meter, and even a bit of cheironomy.  We only have four measures to consider, but they are chock-full of information. In the initial measure (following a preparatory gesture), our colleague starts the work with […]