Latest Blog Posts
Saturday Respite: Go for a Little Cruise
Ahhh . . . what a great way to spend a Saturday! Put the top down, put on your Wayfarer shades, and go for a cruise!
Bistritsa Babi Archaic Polyphony
When attempting to perform world music, one must take caution in the form of the presentation. Many a conductor has tried to present not just the music but the performance flavor of indigenous folk music only to end up treating the art as a caricature. Here, a taste of Bulgarian singing, specifically Bistritsa Babi Archaic […]
Saturday Respite: A Choir of One
Among the countless joys of choral singing is the element of community that it provides. Working alongside fellow singers toward a common goal of beauty is a wonderful demonstration of our humanity. Though I admire the cleverness and creativity of productions such as this (and he's not a bad singer at all), I do hope […]
Happy Memorial Day
Randall Thompson’s The Testament of Freedom, with words by Thomas Jefferson. This performance by the Turtle Creek Chorale and the US Army Chorus, along with the Dallas Wind Symphony. For the embedded-impaired: http://youtu.be/ruojMCl_DKg
Arts curricula and stopping
Education blogger Diana Senechal writes about the difficulties of assessment in music. Musicians in an orchestra, for instance, assess themselves continually as they play but have no need to document such assessment. One of the biggest challenges is assessing the development of musical judgment, which Diana, quoting NASM’s Samuel Hope, describes as “knowing when to stop”. Knowing […]
Greetings from Cuba
The American Choral Directors Association is south of the border this week for the inaugural U.S. / Cuba Symposium of Choral Music, May 25-31. Taking place in sunny Havana, the event features rehearsal demonstrations by Cuban choral conductors and performances by some of Cuba’s best choral ensembles; including the National Choir of Cuba, the Exaudi […]
From the Communities: Composer of the month
The Composers’ Community’s Composer of the month is Iceland’s Hildigunnur Rúnarsdóttir. Blog author Jack Senzig writes: Her music has depth and a wonderful sonority that rings with a Nordic flavor. This flavor is trademarked by a sense of melancholy, lyrical melodies, modal keys and open 4ths and 5ths. Hildigunnur’s music has been compared to Jon Nordal, […]
Reserve the Date Now!
You will want to reserve the date of March 13-16, 2013, now, for the next National Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. Pictured here is the Meyerson Symphony Hall, the Winspear Opera House, and the entire contiguous art district of Dallas, the home for our 2013 National Conference. Not only are the […]