Latest Blog Posts

A guest blog from an not-yet-dead and anonymous composer:   How to Communicate with Not-Yet-Dead Composers Most composers never expect to become rich and famous. (Do we wish we could become rich and famous? Oh, sure!) The vast majority of us have day jobs that pay the bills (even Rachmaninoff had to give piano lessons […]

Singers sometimes have difficulty connecting the idea of gentleness with the idea of strength.  My common analogy is the difference between picking up a bag of suigar versus picking up a newborn.  While there’s not much difference in the weight, there most certainly IS a difference in the way in which we use our muscles […]

Spotted this on Twitter – it is a book about a love entanglement within a choir as they prepare for a perfomance.  Someone read it and let us know if it is any good!   About the book:   Tristan is a choral conductor, twice married and determined not to be caught again. Lucy is […]

If you’ve been using Twitter to broadcast what you had for lunch (or avoiding it because that’s all you think that it’s good for), it’s time to reconsider. Twitter is an immensely powerful tool for both your own professional interests and communicating with your groups. Let me show you three steps to become a Tweet […]

Olympic sport isn't the only special event taking place in London this summer.  Among the many valuable and highly visible undertakings by the American Choral Directors Association in the summer of 2012 was the inaugural National Youth Honor Choir's concert tour of England. Those traveling with the choir were impressed. "The thing that struck me […]

Drive-in theatres are making a comeback!  Yes, that iconic symbol of the 50s & 60s is experiencing a Renaissance.   “People love the communal experience,” said Kipp Sherer of drive-ins.com.  The recent USA Today article continues, saying “There is definitely a resurgence of drive-ins, maybe because people are tired of the sterile environment in multiplexes.” […]

The American Choral Directors Association has developed a mission statement that will serve as a guiding declaration for the Association as it grows though the second half of its first century: The mission of the American Choral Directors Association is to inspire excellence in choral music through education, performance, composition, and advocacy. The mission statement […]

A video from Central Washington University Chamber Choir and Gary Weidenaar. Watch for an article in the Choral Journal soon about Gary’s innovative thoughts about Facebook and YouTube.  

A very smart student of mine pointed me to this interesting BBC series on sacred music, specifically the modern British composers of sacred music. Very interesting to hear the perspective of Macmillan, Rutter, and Tavener. There are 6 short videos in the series.   Here is one that starts with Tavener and the funeral of […]

Recently a friend introduced me to chili infused chocolate.  It sounded less than appealing (okay, it sounded gross), but I tried it.  And although it killed me to admit it out loud, she was right . . . it was delicious; a tasty oxymoron in a foil wrapper.   Certain words just don’t go together, […]