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Even non-musicians who have hearing loss complain about hearing aids. It’s hard to distinguish voices when there’s background noise, sounds are tinny, etc. For musicians, it can be particuarly excruciating. The New York Times writes: After he lost much of his hearing last year at age 57, the composer Richard Einhorn despaired of ever really […]

Choral Caffeine is here weekly to motivate, stimulate, and educate.   But that’s NOT what is important this Wednesday.   If I may opine.  Take a couple days away from frenetic 21st-century digital madness.  Look at the smile on the face of a family member, not a tiny glowing screen.  Listen to the sound of […]

National Council on the Arts Meeting Friday, October 28, 2011 at 9:00 a.m. EDT   Meeting to be webcast live at arts.gov   Washington, DC — The National Council on the Arts, the advisory body for the National Endowment for the Arts, convenes in public session on Friday, October 28, 2011 from 9:00 – 11:00 […]

In trying to find a little something spooky for Halloween, I occurred that scariest piece of music I ever conducted (on a Halloween, oddly enough) was the Thomas Tallis “Spem in Alium,” a monolithic 40-voice “motet” scored for eight choirs of five voices each set in a score that stands two feet tall.  Don’t misunderstand […]

The piece starts.  The choir is singing in G major.  All is well.    Somewhere in the B section you feel your back stiffen as the key slides down to the key of G-‘not-quite-flat-but-it-sure-ain’t-G-anymore.’  Then comes the modulation to the dominant, which is supposed to be D.  But because the choir is well below G […]

Every conductor has a bag full of audience horror stories . . . ringing cell phones, screaming kids, and clueless folks who think they’re at the local basketball game.  Oh, sure, we may laugh about it when we’re together at a conference, but truth be told it is a pretty big irritation for most of […]

Today we consider a little Vocal Jazz (and no, to answer the question I ask in today's Choral Caffeine, 'Jazz' is NOT a dirty word).  Listen to this recording and consider just a couple things. How carefully must the singers LISTEN to tune those challenging 7th, 9th and 11th chords?  How exactly must singers match […]

I’m going to say what is for many in the choral profession, a dirty word.  Brace yourselves.                      Jazz.   I guarantee that a lot of folks instantly clicked away.  If you are still here, then take just a few seconds to consider what James McCullough has to say in his article, "To Jazz […]

Today, let’s listen to articulation in this wonderful performance.  Note the ornamental slides . . . they are being made FROM the same pitch TO the same pitch and at the same rate.  Listen also to the balance in the phrase structure, particularly the performance of the crescendos and decrescendos.