Latest Blog Posts

Wednesday, May 17, 2023 By Dr. Robert Bode April was poetry month, so the Advocacy and Collaboration Committee posted weekly ideas, stories, and even favorite poems on their social media platforms to celebrate. Week one featured a poem by poet, author, and choral conductor, Dr. Robert Bode. This sparked a conversation – what better person […]

For most of us, the performing season or year has ended or will end, soon.  With a combination of celebration and relief, we look forward to the change that summer represents.  But before getaways, let’s look at the takeaways; let’s tidy up the desk of our minds as we wrap up and make space for […]

The May 2023 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “A Gateway to Ukrainian Choral Music: Guide to the Ukrainian Language and Lysenko’s “Prayer for Ukraine” by Marika Kuzma. Following is a portion from the introduction. _________________ n recent decades, American choirs have been exploring Eastern European choral repertoire with ever greater frequency and […]

Choirs are not a democracy.   Yes, we want to empower our students, but we are still in charge.   If we are in charge, shouldn’t we be responsible for the students who work for us?   Student officers represent us and they represent our ensemble members.   Here is an approach that allows the RIGHT […]

In this episode, we are honored to have Dr. Matt Zakreski, a clinical psychologist, joining us to discuss neurodiversity, autism, and gifted children in our classrooms. Dr. Zakreski brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to our conversation, and we will be delving into various considerations for such kids in education, and in Fine Arts […]

“The greater the power, the more dangerous the abuse.” Edmund Burke  Might be triggering. Maddie* and I have been emailing back and forth for weeks. Her story—only part of what I will share here—is tragic. As fantastic as it may sound, it is all true. And that is part of the tragedy of it; it […]

I’m not sure how the weather has been where you live, but it felt like spring took its sweet time arriving in Iowa City. Thankfully, about two weeks ago, the weather started getting warmer and more leaves on the trees are starting to emerge. It’s refreshing to be able to wear shorts when I’m not […]

The May 2023 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Representation in Choral Music: An Examination of Choral Literature Performed by All-State Mixed Choirs 2000-2020″ by William McLean. Following is a portion from the article. _________________ Choral conductors are constantly searching for and evaluating repertoire to program with their ensembles. This ongoing practice occurs […]

My 3-year-old Son Could Be Considered Tone-Deaf!   I have an adorable video to share of my son, Nolan, singing L-O-V-E by Nat King Cole. As you will hear, the correct pitches are rarely to be found.   But, there is a clear reason why this is occurring:   Young girls have the opportunity to successfully […]

In this unique episode of Choralosophy, we are taking it into the future that is now with a very special guest. It’s ChatGPT, a cutting-edge artificial intelligence language model that has been trained to understand and communicate with humans. ChatGPT is here to share its insights on topics relevant to choir directors, including innovative ways […]