Latest Blog Posts

I found this on the “New Liturgical Movement” blog:    

Google Plus has launched and I’m trying it out.   The “tech” world is really buzzing about this new service so I’m glad it is finally open for business for others.  Is any other ChoralNet member auditioning the new service??  Look me up and add me to a “circle” if you want.   Find out […]

I have a visceral – and not necessarily positive – reaction to the term “curriculum.”   Shudder. . . !   I envision a fusty, prim old schoolmarm type glaring at me over the top of her wire-rimmed glasses scolding me for failing to dot some preposterous “i” or cross a meaningless “t” in some […]

Summer Hilarity:

Diana Laufenberg teaches 11th-grade American History at the Science Leadership Academy in Philadelphia. In her recent TEDtalk, she discusses three surprising things she has learned about teaching — including a key insight about learning from mistakes. Much of her message heralds three points  that we embody in the practice of choral music: experiential learning empowering […]

http://youtu.be/9ETrr-XHBjE   Combined choirs of Naval Academy, Air Force Academy, West Point, and Coast Guard Academy. What happened to the Marines?

  This is part 2 of a six-part video series about choir miking, created by Audix Microphones. You can see the whole series here. I put in part 2 because part 1 is about "how to choose a microphone" and, coming from a microphone manufacturer, it might not be totally objective; but still might be […]

Lara Patriquin (daughter of Donald) sent me this video – it is a testament to the power of a choir to bring people together for a common purpose:    

Don’t we all LOVE to eat?  Oh, the myriad tastes, textures, sensations!  And, of course, most of us have those gastronomic guilty pleasures that we’re perhaps just a little too embarrassed to share.  But rather than gorging on cheeseburgers every night, the sensible person develops a dietary habit that achieves some sense of balance.   […]

As the summer strolls casually along, perhaps you have considered the value of placing singers into a mixed formation, as we discussed last week thanks to Danny Detrick ‘s article “Mix It Up – You Won’t Believe What Will Happen” (Texas Sings!, Vol. 24, No.2).   I can hear someone . . . “Whimper!  I […]