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When people hear the term 'weather report' they probably think of the local news, The Weather Channel, or perhaps even the 70s jazz-fusion band (I'll share that just for fun in the next "Saturday Respite").  Maybe now we'll think of this performance of "Weather Report" (Chilcott) by The Choir of the West from Pacific Lutheran […]

Our summer ends with the autumnal equinox taking place on Saturday (at 10:49 EDT to be exact).  It seems an appropriate time to listen to this performance of “Shall I Compare Thee to a Summer’s Day” (Lindberg) by the Commonwealth Singers from Virginia Commonwealth University (John Guthmiller, conductor) recorded during the 2012 ACDA Southern Division […]

(From the Choral Journal article “Is Your Baton Suffering from the ‘Terrible Two's’?” by Michael Yachanin, p.37)          Which is the only conducting pattern with a downbeat that does not move straight down? In what pattern is it most difficult to achieve variety? Which pattern is most prevalent in Renaissance music? It is the […]

(From the Choral Journal article “The Interpretive Process in Choral Music” by John H. Peed)          “Interpretation,” as defined by The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, is “a concept of a work of art as expressed by the character and style of its representation or performance. ” In this respect, let’s begin […]

Dean, Brandon L.   A Repertoire Assessment Rubric for Preservice and Beginning Choral Conductors Based on Criteria of Aesthetic and Pedagogical Merit.  Doctor of Musical Arts dissertation.  University of Cincinnat College-Conservatory of Music, 2011.        The foundation of successful choral music education begins with the selection of repertoire that is of artistic and pedagogical merit and […]

       For those of us in the choral profession, the search for literature is an almost daily quest.  We troll, prowl and lurk, constantly on the hunt for something new for our ensembles.  While the middle school and collegiate conductors may be stalking different “prey,” their hunting techniques are the same.        For seekers of […]

Depending on where one spends more of their choral life, there is always a body of work that is out of our reach.  The symphonic chorus conductor may get to conduct such works as the Verdi Requiem or Beethoven Missa Solemnes on a regular basis, but how would the philharmonic choir handle a Phil Mattson […]

While the bulk of the choral music performed during ACDA conferences tends to issue from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries, there are some who paint with the entire brush of choral music history.  Here is a performance of “Tristis est Anima Mea” by the South Carolina Governor’s School Cantus Chamber Choir (David Rhyne, conductor) during […]

This is the first installment of a new feature called, “It’s About the Phrase.”  

(From the Choral Journal article “Mozart’s Missa Solemnis K.262: An Overlooked Masterpiece”by Susan C. Welch)          Musical value is a difficult thing to establish. Value is often ascribed to a piece based on the appearance of beautiful melodies, pleasing harmonies, dynamic or textural contrasts, or other unusual effects. While all of these elements are […]