Latest Blog Posts

Guest Author: Dale Trumbore Let’s say you have a promising musician in your choir who’s interested in composing. As a conductor, how can you encourage them to write music?   I don’t use the word “encourage” lightly. The most important thing for anyone new to composing, even more important than feedback or criticism, is encouragement […]

The June/July 2023 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Concerning the Choral Music of William Byrd: An Interview with Peter Phillips of The Tallis Scholars” by Sean Michael Burton. Following is a portion from the article. _________________ William Byrd (c. 1540-1623) is considered one of the greatest musicians of the sixteenth century. Born […]

“Theater people are always pining and agonizing because they’re afraid that they’ll be forgotten. And in America they’re quite right. They will be.” Agnes de Mille Today is the second part of Leo’s Choral Ethics story. Leo* contacted me initially to explain he never imagined retiring would cause such an uproar. The plan was Leo […]

ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online publication, designed for those who work with singers of all levels but specifically K-12 and community choirs. A full annotated ChorTeach index is available online at acda.org/publications/chorteach. Over 160 articles are organized into seventeen categories. For more information, email  or visit acda.org/chorteach. Following is an excerpt from an article in the Spring 2023 issue […]

Our choral field frequently recognizes the “top” ensembles from “top” music departments. Yes, those “select” ensembles deserve recognition for their achievement, BUT choral success is much more than that. For many of us, going to a convention and hearing those “top” middle school and high school ensembles perform brings us mixed emotions: We love hearing […]

In this special Oxford Series episode, I catch Dr. Zanaida Robles for a conversation about her philosophy as a composer, as well as the way all of her musical and personal identities mingle to create a context for her music making. We discuss the compositional process, including the philosophy she holds related to the “end product” for […]

“The opposite of a fact is falsehood, but the opposite of one profound truth may very well be another profound truth.” Niles Bohr Leo*contacted me a while ago wanting to share his story. It isn’t the kind of story you think it will be, he was the one who left. Leo directed a choral program […]

In episode 21 of ChoralEd Dr. Rachel Carlson discusses techniques for developing sight-reading skills during the vocal warm-up.  Suggested exercises include: To watch ChoralEd, Episode 21 on YouTube click HERE To listen to ChoralEd, Episode 21 on Apple Podcasts click HERE

Over Memorial Day Weekend, I visited friends and family in New Jersey. On the way back to Iowa City, I flew out of Newark Airport, Terminal A. It had been totally redesigned and renovated since the last time I had flown out of that terminal. The entryway met more of 21st century needs with more […]

Nominations are being accepted for the next Julius Herford Prize, which will be awarded for a dissertation by a student earning their degree in 2022. This award recognizes an outstanding doctoral terminal research project in choral music. Projects are eligible if they comprise the principal research component of the degree requirements, whether the institution defines […]