Latest Blog Posts
ChoralEd: Vocal Exercises, Ensemble Cohesion
In ChoralEd Episode 16 Vicki Bailey shares some vocal exercises for the development of ensemble cohesion. Ms. Bailey suggests the use of kinesthetic movement as a means to enhance an ensemble’s collective musical experience. Kinesthetic activities to internalize the pulse include gently tapping the shoulder of a neighbor or walking in tempo. Additional kinesthetic activities […]
Composing for Middle and High School Choirs: A Conversation with Laura Farnell and Reginal Wright
ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online publication, designed for those who work with singers of all levels but specifically K-12 and community choirs. A full annotated ChorTeach index is available online at acda.org/publications/chorteach. Over 160 articles are organized into seventeen categories. For more information, email or visit acda.org/chorteach. Following is an excerpt from an article in the Fall 2022 issue […]
YEAR IN REVIEW! TOP EPISODES OF 2022″
Year in Review! Top Episodes of 2022 2022 was an exciting year on this show! The first solid year of weekly episodes, a wide range of topics. (Only ONE Covid episode, thank God.) We saw lots of growth in the audience, exciting LIVE recordings, and so much more. In this episode, I have curated some […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Let There Be Peace on Earth
“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” Leonard Bernstein For the month of December, I’m rerunning some Choral Ethics blogs from years past with a few modifications where needed. Two of my MOST REQUESTED December Blogs will be making their yearly appearances, including […]
Midweek Meditation: Endings and Beginnings
Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end. (“Closing Time”) Tell me you are a member of Generation X, without telling me you are a member of Generation X. [Starts final blog with a quote from the song “Closing Time” by Semisonic] This column marks the end of my series on mindfulness and meditation on […]
The Conductor as Yogi: May You Know
We’ve made it through another calendar year. Some combination of joyous, fatigued, inspired, bruised, cautious, or hopeful, on any given day. Stories to tell and plans still in the making. Intersections of work life and “real life” (can they be the same thing?). And though I have no idea how many read this blog, I […]
Gospel Choir as a Space for Racial and Religious Expression for Black Students at a Predominantly White Institution
The International Journal of Research in Choral Singing (IJRCS) is ACDA’s scholarly publication that welcomes studies that apply rigorous, systematically-grounded methodologies, either quantitative or qualitative, to investigate phenomena of potential interest to all who sing in, work with, or are otherwise interested in choral ensembles. Below is the abstract from this article written by Diego […]
Going Beyond Good Intentions with Robyn Hilger
In part two of my conversation with ACDA Executive Director Robyn Hilger, we pick up right where we left off last week in Episode 130. I begin by asking Robyn about the ACDA national conventions session line up. We discuss what is there, and what is missing. We move from there into a deep discussion of ACDA’s […]
Choral Potpourri/Choral Ethics: Christmastime Is Here
“Christmas is a season not only of rejoicing but of reflection.” Winston Churchill In two days, it will be Christmas Eve and three days until Christmas Day. Your plans have been made for months if you’re anything like me. But this is the Christmas of 2022, so you probably have a “Plan B” if […]
Advocacy & Collaboration: Turn Your Community Outward (Part 2 of 2)
By Dr. Tim Westerhaus Are you burned-out? Exhausted? Feeling behind or inadequate as our choral programs are smaller in numbers or skills in this year of emerging-from-the-pandemic? How can we intentionally rebuild our programs, and where can we find the energy to do so? How can we honor this stage of our journey (for ourselves […]