Sometimes choral singers look, well, dour. I’m not talking about the serious face that accompanies the singing of some profound work. No, I’m referring to the pasty-faced, dead-eyed, I’d-rather-be-getting-a-tooth-drilled look that some singers have. Not so with today’s choir. Look at their sunny expressions and the sparkle in their eyes. That’s the joy of singing. […]
Search Results for: choir
This is NOT Glee. It’s BETTER
With all respect for Richard Dreyfuss, have you ever wondered why no Hollywood filmmaker has yet focued on a REAL real high school choral environment? Well, now one has. Meet Vardy Hardy, the award-winning director who is producing a documentary about a high school choir. "Glee," this is not. The producers of this film […]
The State of ACDA
It is appropriate to take a moment to reflect on the state of our American Choral Directors Association as I begin my fourth year as ACDA’s third Executive Director. The following information goes so far beyond the definition of a "blog", all I can say is, pour yourself a cup of tea, coffee, or prepare […]
David Bedford, 1937-2011
David Bedford, who died on October 1 aged 74, was a musical polymath, a composer whose output varied from arranging Mike Oldfield’s Tubular Bells to important Modernist works for the Proms; he also worked with Kevin Ayers’s cult 1960s band The Whole World and produced compositions for community choirs.
Stick Time: Cultural Authenticity
When I was in France some time back the person I was traveling with insisted on eating American food. WHAT!? Who looks for BBQ in Paris? Isn’t the purpose of travel to experience as much as one can about a culture? Today, let’s step out of the Western canon and get a little sonic taste […]
CJ Replay: The Art of Programming
Paul Salamunovich on selecting repertoire . . . “I choose music very carefully, trying to match the right piece with the right choir-like the Durufle Requiem with the Texas All-State and the Rutter Requiem with the Eastern ACDAHonor Choir. The reverse wouldn’t have worked nearly as well. A lot of repertoire can be deceiving. […]