Latest Blog Posts

Here’s a graduate research project for some brave soul: catalogue, compare and contrast the settings of the “Gloria” from the 5th century to this afternoon.  ALL of them.  It’s a mind-boggling thought, isn’t it?  Today, let’s look at a setting of the “Gloria” by Herzog.  Note the varying musical styles employed, the different compositional techniques. […]

On Black Friday, amid the feeding-frenzy of rampant consumerism, let Mr. Handel remind us of the reason for the season.

  “A must-read!”      “It’s how we roll EVERY TIME we meet.”          “Luvit: Fun and Creative!”              “What a fabulous idea! I want to work there!”                  “Beautiful . . . top class.”   See what everyone’s talking about.  Read “How Collaboration Works.”  

Paul Carey goes to a lot of choral conferences and I’m glad!   He helps all of us keep a digital record of what goes on at these conferences.   We saw each other at the latest conference of NCCO and Paul has created three posts about the literature sung.   You can find them […]

Shorter University is well known in my area for their strong students, faculty, and tradition of excellence.  In the field of choral music, they have recently been led by well known conductors that included recently deceased John Jennings, John Ratledge, and now Martha Shaw.  Their tradition of excellence continues under Dr. Shaw – they have […]

Who thinks up this stuff?  

NCCO is in Fort Collins, Colorado this week.  It is the fourth conference for the relatively new organization.  I’ve been to three:  the first in San Antonio, the second in Cincinnati (with my choir performing), and this one.   This is a very strong conference – top notch sessions and very strong performances from college […]

A podcast on station WQXR talks about changing role of the orchestra conductor. It was Arturo Toscanini whose famously broke batons, berated musicians and even threw a score at his orchestra during rehearsals, all we were told, in the service of the music. By the 1960s, collective bargaining agreements and workplace rules helped to do […]

Like any good coach, we all work to train our teams to get the most out of their bodies:  to use their voices with tremendous skill, to focus the energies of their breathing mechanism, to mind their posture whether seated or standing.  This choir has obviously work do develop the hearing of the singers to […]