Latest Blog Posts

In this episode I have a chat with GRAMMY nominated conductor and composer, Benedict Sheehan of the St. Tikhon Monastery Choir. This passionate conversation begins with Benedict’s advocacy for people, like himself, who stutter. As you will hear, it is important that we remember that EVERYONE has something to say. We need only listen. We […]

“The only means of strengthening one’s intellect is to make up one’s mind about nothing, to let the mind be a thoroughfare for all thoughts.” John Keats To say the least, it’s been a challenging time for us all. As recently as three years ago, we could not have imagined wearing masks in rehearsals or […]

This is the fourth post in a monthly series: ​​https://choralnet.org/archives/661159 Wow! It’s mid-September. That happened so fast! I hope your initial choir rehearsals are going well and that there is a lot of positive energy around the beginning of the season.  If you’ve been following along with this blog, then you have likely already begun […]

“Relationships are built at the speed of trust, and social change happens at the speed of relationships.” (Rev. Jennifer Bailey) This is the third quote that’s guiding many of my actions this year. I’ve only served as Director of Music Ministries for about a month. As a new staff member, building solid relationships in the […]

The September 2022 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Salamone Rossi’s Synagogue Motets: The 400th Anniversary” by Joshua Jacobson. You can read it in its entirety at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is a portion from the introduction. _________________ Four hundred years ago, on October 5, 1622, the Bragadini Publishers in Venice issued a collection […]

Do you want a simple way to voice your choir? Would you like an easy approach that is both fast and efficient? I voice each new choir member in 3 minutes and returning members in even less time! This year, believe it or not, I chose a 40 minute period to voice 19 students. In that period, I had […]

Is creating a welcoming, inclusive, fun, engaging and safe learning environment enough to be an excellent choir teacher? I say no. Is choir an activity or an academic course of study? You can get a PhD in it. It is an academic subject. In this episode, I “dialogue” with many of you who joined a […]

“Live in such a way that you would not be ashamed to sell your parrot to the town gossip.” Will Rogers I’ve written about Mabel* before but can’t remember the pseudonym I gave her at that time. She directs a small choir with a very specific repertoire in a community with several other larger choruses. […]

Choral directors have unique opinions about choral tone.  In part 2 of our choral tone discussion, ChoralEd talks with Dr. Merrin Guice Gill and Dr. Sean Pullen about their approaches to choral tone.  Episode 8: Choral Tone, Part 3 – Dr. Merrin Guice Gill For Dr. Guice Gill, choral tone changes based on the style, […]

Welcome back to The Conductor as Yogi!  I took a break from blog writing this summer to create some space to breathe, be with my family, explore other writing projects, and to enjoy the summer’s long days and what nature has to offer.  I hope you, as well, had a chance to make some space […]