Latest Blog Posts
University of Utah – brilliant
What an incredible choir and piece of music – perfect for your Saturday listening needs: “Salve Regina” by Josep Vila i Casañas
The 12 Things Good Choir Directors Believe
Acting off a Dan Pink twitter link, I read the article from Harvard Business Reivew called the 12 Things Good Bosses believe. I thought it might be worthwhile for choral directors, so I changed up some of the words and made it more applicable for choir directors. See what you think, and give me your […]
“Hey, “I’ve Got an Idea!”
Recent findings from IBM’s Institute for Business Value survey was published last week in Business Week magazine and demonstrate one competency leadership values above all others. I share this common value related to the work of the American Choral Directors Association. On my desk at the ACDA National Headquarters are nine ink pens, a […]
Monteverdi’s Best
I was at Podium 2010 and had a few moments to visit with Leonard Ratzlaff, a prominent Canadian conductor at the University of Alberta. I’m a big fan of Len and have blogged about him before. Len is a special kind of conductor. When he performs Monteverdi, he makes you want to perform Monteverdi. […]
The Hokey Pokey Heals
This one doesn’t need much commentary: Pay attention to some of the comments at the end, including this one: “Psalm 103 says ‘Forget not his benefits.’ Alzheimers is not scriptural.”
Remembering on Memorial Day
Brian Galante conducts the PLU Chorus in Ticheli’s “There Will Be Rest.”
The Real Dale Peterson
Dale Peterson is a minister of music in Auburn, Alabama. He’s an ACDA member and runs an active music ministry at First Baptist Auburn. He shares a name with another Dale Peterson, who is running for political office as the wanna-be Agricultural Commissioner. His friends and family are having some fun with the situation. […]
Winning on the backs of the losers – composition competitions
Paul Carey works to tell it like it is! In this blog post, Paul blasts the composition competitions that charge an entry fee in order to fund the grand prize. Lots of juicy stuff here. First, a story about composer Paul Crabtree: recently a very talented composer who you may know, Paul […]
Develop Choral Tone – By Choosing the Right Repertoire
Vern Sanders captures the highlights from Morna Edmundson’s presentation at Podium 2010. A few of her questions: Does this piece have a beautiful melody? Does this piece have architecture/structure/shape? Does the text of this piece create possibilities to explore expression, dynamics, and/or tone color? Does this piece allow the singers to sing most of […]