Latest Blog Posts
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 […]
Attracting younger audiences
A great video aimed towards bringing younger audiences to our concerts. : Hat tip: On an Overgrown Path
The arts aren’t dead . . . yet
Good news! We aren’t abandoning the arts in public education, at least not yet: Rumors of the death of arts education in public schools have been greatly exaggerated, new federal findings suggest. Over the past decade, the availability of music and visual-arts instruction on average has changed little, and remains high, when compared […]
Choral Caffeine: Humor in the Choral Rehearsal, Part 2
Let’s continue our look at the value of humor in our work with a little more from Steven Sieck’s article, “Humor in Choral Rehearsals.” Today Steven tells us that “Humor frees singers to make mistakes without fear . . . .” Singers will make mistakes. If you’ve been in a professional choir […]