Latest Blog Posts

CALL for PAPERS AND PRESENTATIONS *The Phenomenon of Singing International Symposium IX* July 7-10, 2013 – St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada If you are interested in singing… The place to be in the summer of 2013 is Newfoundland and Labrador. Indulge your musical, creative and scholarly spirit and join us for this exciting event! […]

CONFESSIONS OF AN OUTSIDER ~ by Varda Hardy (director of the documentary BIG VOICE…dare to dream)   A year ago I launched into production on BIG VOICE, a documentary about the challenging musical journey of a high school choir director and his most advanced co-ed ensemble.  We have completed principal photography and begun the extensive post-production […]

Garbes, Heather MacLaughlin.  To The Bards: The Choral Music of Estonian Composer Ester Mägi.  Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation.  University of Washington, 2008.          Although the popularity of Arvo Pârt and Veljo Tormis have brought the awareness of Baltic music to a new level in the past few years, there is an immense amount […]

STOP TEACHING KARAOKE  ~ by Carl J Ferrara I’ve had many arguments with administrators and fellow teachers about the use of pre-recorded accompaniment. Many believe it’s a cheap, easy, and convenient alternative to hiring an accompanist. Purchase of a recording saves you money over the hourly fee charged by most pianists. It is also a […]

From guest blogger Nick Cummins:   This Huffington Post article above deals with the texting issue and the ramifications of media and electronic communication.   In recent weeks, I have learned that some large school systems in Mississippi have programs that allow teachers to send mass texts to their students without the ability to reply. […]

Whether they are known by the term “Warhorses,” “Chestnuts,” or the somewhat more pedantic “Standard Repertoire,” there is a body of major choral works that seem to have been generally accepted as falling under the heading of “masterpieces.”  The titles should be familiar to everyone in the profession and include such works as Ein Deutsches […]

Recently, a friend whose choir had been invited to perform in a prestigious venue asked me to make some literature recommendations.  Though a humbling request, it was, of course, impossible.  Programming is already a massive challenge for us in working with our own choirs, let alone trying to select literature for a choir we know […]

Inspiration comes in many forms, from many places.  Here a thoroughly modern composition takes as its inspiration a chant from the sixteenth century.  Of course, there is nothing particularly earth-shattering about a composer taking inspiration from the past, but it does tend to reinforce the timelessness of the choral art form.  

Pinsonneault, Albert.  A Conductor’s Guide to Selected Choral Works of F. Melius Christiansen (1871-1955).  Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation. University of Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, 2009.   F. Melius Christiansen (1871-1955) created a pioneering American a cappella choral ensemble, the St. Olaf Choir, which influenced an entire philosophical school of choral performance within the United […]