Yesterday’s column featured a “CJ Replay” in which a colleague opined, “It is only logical that the choral director who memorizes his music like his/her singers shows respect for the singers by being equally prepared. After all, music is the director’s business.” Of course, memorizing an entire program can be challenging. However, if one […]
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Stick Time: Musical Universality
We’ve all said it: “Music is the Universal Language.” It’s probably trite; but one suspects it just happens to be true. In this brief selection, we hear a choir from Korea singing for the 2009 ACDA National Conference. Does the audience understand Korean? Doubtful. However, as choral musicians themselves, the members of the audience […]
CJ Replay: Choral Works with Woodwinds
(An excerpt from the Choral Journal article, "Choral Music Accompanied by Woodwinds: An Annotated List," by Jan DeShera) Programming choral pieces with instrumental accompaniments other than keyboard can be difficult. Accomplished string players are often scarce, and brass accompaniments create balance problems for the small choir. Woodwind accompaniments for choral pieces may be a […]
What’s on Great Sacred Music, Sunday, February 3, 2013
This Sunday I am featuring music written by famous composers when they were young. Vive la jeunesse! Schubert’s birthday was last Thursday. To honor him I have selected his Mass No. 1 in F in a recording which includes the late Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau as the baritone. Thanks for your support. Rob […]
Let the Children Play (and Learn in Peace) – SAB or SAA – appropriate for Newtown observance
ACDA Silver Platter award-winning composer David Avshalomov has released his newly-composed work on an original lyric, “Let the Children Play”. Although it was composed before the tragedy in Newtown and is not a memorial work for those victims , performances of the song may appropriately be dedicated to their memory (or to victims of any […]
We’re on a First-Name Basis
Ever notice the name tags at an ACDA conference? They use our first names. Not degrees, not titles, not ranks or appointments. Just plain ol’ first names. Those who stay in the choral conducting profession long enough typically accumulate a string of letters after their name. Some of us have an additional couple before […]