Latest Blog Posts

I was recently reminded of this video the other day – an arrangement of “Abide with Me” by composer Greg Jasperse.  It is a stunning piece and beautifully filmed by Riddle Films.   I thought I would explore more videos by the Nathaniel Dett Chorale and found this one – a video that gives more […]

Anyone growing up with The Bullwinkle Show like I did may remember the cultural moment in the show when the cartoon moose was featured in "Bullwinkle's Corner", reciting poetry. Yep, go figure. And, unfortunately, it was probably Bullwinkle that led to the cliché"ing" of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's poem "I shot an arrow into the air, It […]

Grammophone magazine features an article this headline:   Composer Eric Whitacre on why British choirs are best.  There was a huge backlash, first from Patrick Dupre Quigley making a case for American choirs.  Patrick took his case to ChoralNet, and there was a huge discussion about it in the ChoralNet forums.  NPR has taken an interest in the […]

I get most of my choral news from twitter these days – it is a fascinating exercise to see news and opinions of our art come across that site.   Here are a couple of recent tweets I have enjoyed.   First, a reaction to the flash mob:             Next, a […]

Bizarre: Thousands had gathered at the shopping mall's food court to take part in a group rendition of Handel's Hallelujah Chorus as part of a flash-mob concert – when groups of people – often strangers – conspire on social networking websites to turn up at the same place at the same time and start singing. […]

The King's College service is almost here.   This great website that gives a history of the service as well as PDF versions of past years programs.     Here is a little information about the 2010 service: This year's service includes favourite carols like 'Ding! Dong! merrily on high', 'God rest you merry, gentlemen' […]

Fans of the Straight No Chaser version of The Twelve Days of Christmas record their own versions, cleverly edited into a single video.  

Sorry the music’s so cheesy:  

No, I’m not talking about flying reindeer. I mean going to the airport on December 25 to catch a flight to visit relatives. This will be about the tenth year I’ve done it, and it’s really a good choice for choral musicians with responsibilities on Christmas Eve.   When you fly on Dec. 23 or […]