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(From the Choral Journal article “Adding Birds to Mozart’s ‘Sparrow Mass’: An Arrangement with Children’s Instruments,” by Paul Wranitzky.)          The birdcalls play not only specific pitches, but also characteristic rhythms and, in the case of the cuckoo, a characteristic melodic idea. The quail plays the three-note rhythmic pattern familiar from Beethoven’s imitation of […]

A picture is worth a thousand words, and the picture history of the American Choral Directors Association is full of great images from ACDA's tremendous heritage. This document is now available as a digital download. It is great to be able to say the images from the publication Portraits of America: The American Choral Directors […]

The 2011-12 academic year is in the history books, or it soon will be.  If we’ve done our jobs right, we are completely spent.  We left it on the field, or in our case on the stage.  We. Are. Exhausted.   It’s time to take a break; to free our minds, hearts and souls.  I […]

You can now enjoy Portraits of America: The American Choral Directors Association on your favorite digital device!  This book recounts the development of ACDA from the middle of the 1950s through its first 50 years of phenomenal growth.  Written by Christina Prucha and Tim Sharp, the book offers a never-before seen peek at important photos […]

The academic year is winding down; for some, it’s already in the history books.  You soon get to take a well-deserved break from the daily grind.   However, for most of us it doesn’t take too long before our brains start thinking about the next season.  Among the myriad details you will probably ponder while […]

Back in March, we stated in our “Choral Caffeine” column, “There is a school that has been represented repeatedly on the ACDA conference stage by its woman’s choir.  The reason is simple: The institution made a conscious decision that the woman’s ensemble would be (to use the athletic term) the varsity team.  It’s an interesting […]

Many conductors believe strongly in the value of singers understanding the music they perform on a kinesthetic level.  We believe it is useful for the choir member to have a clear sensory awareness of both the macro- and micro-pulse, as well as the flow of energy and the circular nature of the breath cycle.  Usually, […]

(from the interest session: “The Theatrical Rounds of Bob Applebaum,” by Daniel Wallenberg.  Presented during the 2012 Central Division Conference)   Bob Applebaum is a Chicago composer, residing in California. His music is published by EC Schirmer  and Transcontinental,  among others. Every two years I have been performing a concert entitled: Gather Ye Round, which […]