Latest Blog Posts

What would have happened if choral musicians of the mid-15thcentury had told Guttenberg that they didn’t want anything to do with his new-fangled movable-type printing press?   Would we have the New World Symphony if Dvorak had been afraid to take a ship to the U.S. in 1892?   Imagine if no one thought that […]

Philip Lawson of the King’s Singers has announced his retirement from the group this coming January:   I have made the decision after 18 years of touring and recording with The King’s Singers, to move on, and begin the next phase of my career. It won’t come as a surprise to those who are familiar […]

Vic the Vicar is depressed about the demise of choral music in his country.  Read a few of his thoughts here:   The thrill of singing with others and making a sound that echoes the concord of God and touches something deep inside of us is something that we are fast losing. My girls (have […]

Vacation . . .   For some people that term conjures dreams of lying on a seaside beach amid flowing palm trees. For others it’s fly fishing in an icy mountain stream.    For ACDA Executive Director Tim Sharp, his 2011 summer “vacation” cast him in the role of Principal Guest Conductor at the Festival […]

I would call this a version of “Spam.”     My permanent search of “choral music” on twitter now seems to be broken.  Nearly 50% of the mentions of it lead to amazon.com links.   Sigh.  

Does performing chant intimidate you?   We all learned about how to "read" chant notation in Music History class but few of us can pick up a Liber Usualis and perform chant with any confidence.   I found these videos yesterday – and I think they help us get over our inhibitions to performing this […]

Celebrating creativity wherever we find it:     <p><a data-cke-saved-href=”http://vimeo.com/17951191″ href=”http://vimeo.com/17951191″>MUSIC PAINTING – Glocal Sound – Matteo Negrin</a> from <a data-cke-saved-href=”http://vimeo.com/user5512945″ href=”http://vimeo.com/user5512945″>Smile Lab</a> on <a data-cke-saved-href=”http://vimeo.com” href=”http://vimeo.com”>Vimeo</a>.</p>

A new report released by the NEA demonstrates once again that cultural industries are economic powerhouses and states have the data to prove it.  Drawing on data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, Arts and the GDP: Value Added by Selected Cultural Industries is a new NEA research note that examines the value added by […]

Clychau Aberdyfi by Hywel Girl’s Choir on a Decca Junior gramophone next to the Einion stream behind Graig Chapel Furnace.   Clychau Aberdyfi yn Ffwrnais from jacob whittaker on Vimeo. Presumably the significance of the stream is that Clychau Aberdyfi (“The Bells of Aberdovey”) is a folk song about a submerged kingdom whose bells can be heard […]

Two types of tweets are burning up my “choral” twitter feed this morning and both feature videos.   One is the Capital Children’s Choir singing Lady Gaga’s “Judas” and the other is news of the UPLB victory in a Chinese choral competition.  Congrats to both these choirs and their directors.  Videos of both below.