Latest Blog Posts

Welcome to this summer series on questions and possibilities for a new era in our personal lives, professional lives, the choral landscape, and in society! I’m so glad you’re here for the journey. By now, many of us have started rehearsals again for the year, whether in a school, worship, collegiate, or community setting. In […]

The September issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “Utilizing the Principles of Storytelling to Design Engaging Concert Programs” by Emilie Bertram. You can read it in its entirety at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is a portion from the introduction. ____________________ The creation of an engaging concert program has been a topic of interest among choral music […]

Part of the Oxford Series on the Choralosophy Podcast The next installment of the Oxford Series is THE John Rutter. We have all grown up knowing the name and legacy that John represents. In this conversation, my goal was to give you a peak behind the curtain revealing the human side of the legend. We discussed the […]

“Firmness in enduring and exertion is a character I always wish to possess. I have always despised the whining yelp of complaint and cowardly resolve.” Robert Burns Today’s Choral Ethics blog is a rerun from several years ago. It’s still applicable as we begin to get back to normal. I’ll be back with new Blogs […]

Jazzmone Sutton, now the State Advocacy Engagement Manager for National Association for Music Education, was teaching elementary music when her school shifted to virtual teaching. Due to concerns about screen time, there weren’t formal music classes, so she provided music resources for students. Pre-COVID, she implemented “Technology Fridays,” which proved to be helpful for online […]

Welcome to this summer series on questions and possibilities for a new era in our personal lives, professional lives, the choral landscape, and in society! I’m so glad you’re here for the journey. As I was preparing for this week’s post, I re-read the earlier entries I wrote and remembered the mindset I was in […]

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 Karen Howard titled […]

CDC published epidemiologist returns to the show to discuss the science of schools in the shifting sands of Delta. 2 PARTS! Since appearing on the show in November on Episode 49, Dr. Høeg has been very busy both researching and making public commentary about the issues surrounding Covid, kids and schools. Since her first Choralosophy appearance, […]

“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of the intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the beauty in others; to leave the world a bit better whether by a healthy child, a garden […]

“Where the Light Begins” by Susan LaBarr
Text by Jan Richardson
SSA, piano

Everyone’s choir plans are different and in flux right now (#coviddelta). No matter what your fall looks like though, I’m hopeful this selection will be universally helpful. It is a hauntingly beautiful piece, with relatable text (especially now!), fluid vocal lines, supportive piano accompaniment, (pleasantly) repetitive structure, and multiple avenues for music literacy tie-ins. I look forward to putting this on whatever concert I get to program first — whenever and wherever that happens to be.