Latest Blog Posts
CJ Replay: Laziness in Big Choirs
(From the Choral Journal article “The Large Ensemble and Social Loafing,” by David Socker) It has been one of the prima facia assumptions of choral conductors that one of the benefits accruing to our ensembles is the greater aesthetic experience which results from singers working in a group, A part of this […]
CJ Replay: Spem in Alium
(From the Choral Journal article, “Thomas Tallis’ Spem in Alium Nun Quam: Grandur in 40 Parts,” by Brock McEhleran.) There is only one lasting problem in performing Tallis’s celebrated motet – for the rest of one’s life a great deal of Renaissance music has been spoiled. Everyone I know who has conducted or […]
CJ Replay: Grading Choir Members
(From the Choral Journal article “Grading the Choral Ensemble: No More Excuses!” by Peggy Dettwiler) Assessment of choral ensembles is often a challenging task for directors. Because much rehearsal time is spent with group activities that are difficult to measure objectively as individual contributions, many directors choose to grade their students on attendance alone. […]
Choral Arts in the School Curriculum
Today, Judy Bowers discusses choral arts in the school curriculum during a session recorded during the 2011 ACDA National Conference.
Men’s Choral Repertoire
Here is a list of recommendations for men’s choral literature from the interest session “Expanding the Repertoire: A Fresh Look at Programming and Literature for Male Chorus,” presented by Cameron LaBarr during the 2012 Southern Division Conference. Standard Zion’s Walls – Copland; Boosey and Hawkes At the River – Copland; Boosey and Hawkes Sometimes I […]
Gotta love this
It must have been a busy weekend, because I’m late with a Monday morning ChoralBlog. I found this little gem recently: the Boy Choir & Soloist Directory. Why do I like it so much? Because it has a great directory of lyrics for well known choral pieces! Don’t we all search […]
Heavenly Sounds: Whitacre’s Oculi Omnium
A home video of a brilliant piece:
Conductor motion capture
A video interview with Alan Gilbert, music directory of the NY Phil, includes some fascinating motion-capture computer graphics of his hand motions. Would that we could all have this kind of video taken for analyzing our own gesture! Can't embed the video. It's a sidebar to a general article about what a conductor does.
Stick Time: Lessons from a Drum Line
What can we as choral conductors learn from a performance like this? First, look at this ensemble’s precision – it is nothing short of razor-sharp. How about their disciplined approach to tempo? Sounds rock-solid to my ears. And what can we extrapolate from this performance about the individual performer’s dedication to the rehearsal process? I’m […]