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ACDA Publications

Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle – Composer Resource

May 16, 2022 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

One of the many challenges that leaders of community choruses faced when Covid-19 lockdowns began in March 2020 was figuring out how to sustain a connection with their audience members in the absence of live performances. The forced cancellation of concerts nationwide led Philip Brunelle, founder and artistic director of VocalEssence and organist choirmaster at Plymouth Congregational Church, Minneapolis, Minnesota, to conclude that his imperative was “to give people a sense of joy when they were stuck at home.” Capturing the interest of viewers meant that the project needed to be musically stimulating and visually engaging; and to help with the latter, Brunelle enlisted his son Tim Brunelle, a marketing professional and videographer, to work with him on the project.

With father as creative director and presenter and son as videographer, the team set about creating a one-of-a-kind video catalogue of choral composers whose compositions have been performed by VocalEssence or the adult choir at Plymouth Congregational Church over the past fifty-three years. They titled the series Musical Moments, and the first video debuted on March 23, 2020, featuring Dominick Argento (1927-2019), an American composer who lived most of his life in Minnesota. To Brunelle, Argento “was just a natural…I had studied with him, I had performed a lot of his music and I commissioned him.” Each individual composer video is eight to ten minutes in length, but in the project’s last week the daily videos were expanded to include eight brief composer “snapshots” rather than focusing on a single composer and were lengthened to twelve to fifteen minutes each.

Their initial plan was to make fifty videos, but as the pandemic continued, Brunelle and his son decided to keep going. The completed Musical Moments project encompasses a total of 330 videos, of which 320 feature one composer, five feature eight composers, four show Brunelle discussing general topics related to choirs, and one is a conversation between Philip and Tim Brunelle about the project. Altogether, the series examines a total of 361 composers. The final episode aired on July 2, 2021.

Read the rest of this article, along with a table of selected composers, at acda.org/choraljournal
Musical Moments project: https://www.vocalessence.org/category/musical-moments/.

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, Choral Journal

K-12 Teaching: Resources and Inspiration

May 2, 2022 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online publication, designed for those who work with singers of all levels but specifically K-12 and community choirs. A full annotated ChorTeach index is available online at acda.org/publications/chorteach. Over 160 articles are organized into seventeen categories. For more information, email  or visit acda.org/chorteach. Following is an excerpt from an article in the current Winter 2022 issue compiled by Cheryl McIntyre titled “K-12 Teaching: Resources and Inspiration from Northwestern ACDA Members.”

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*This is a selection of content from this article. Read the full list at acda.org/chorteach and choose the Winter 2022 issue. You must be an ACDA member and logged into the website with your username and password.

Lacey Hanson
Center, North Dakota
Online curriculum Quaver Music.

Home

The YouTube channel Musication for playing instruments to interactive videos. https://www.youtube.com/c/musication

Beth’s Notes is a great site that gives access to tons of songs and games that go with them. https://www.bethsnotesplus.com

Musictheory.net is a great platform for teaching theory. It has content lesson and exercises that go along with the lessons. https://www.musictheory.net

I have used flipgrid (especially during online learning times) to have kids turn in playing tests. I even used it for fifth- and sixth-grade band because it is an easy platform. https://info.flipgrid.com

Connie Stordalen
Bismarck, North Dakota

I have used Sight-Reading Factory online and the Alfred “Sing at First Sight” series by Andy Beck, Karen Farnum Surmani, and Brian Lewis.

The Music K-8 Magazine has great unison, 2-part and sometimes 3-part music to sing, recorder music, boomwhacker music, etc. It also has seasonal music! https://www.musick8.com/html/whatsmk8.php

Lauren Brandenburg
Fargo, North Dakota

Musictechteacher.com – lots of learning games

https://solfeg.io/ – pop music sing-a-long

Elise Opp
Hazen, North Dakota

Chrome Music Lab – I usually use Song Maker when I want my fifth and sixth graders to compose without having to worry about using Finale or Sibelius. There are other options that can be used for all age ranges.

Trudy Fraase Wolf
Superintendent,
Music and Library
Zeeland, North Dakota

I use “Ready to Read Music” and “60 Music Quizzes” by Jay Althouse. Also by Audrey J. Adair is “Basic Music Theory” and “Reading and Writing Music.” One resource that I use for my subs who might not be musically knowledgeable is “Accent in Composers” by Jay Althouse and Judith O’Reilly. It’s a mini history lesson on a composer complete with a CD of listening selections and a listening chart.

Filed Under: ChorTeach Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, ChorTeach, K-12

Reconnecting Singing Communities through Participatory, Singer-Led, and Educational Performance Events

April 25, 2022 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online publication, designed for those who work with singers of all levels but specifically K-12 and community choirs. A full annotated ChorTeach index is available online at acda.org/publications/chorteach. Over 160 articles are organized into seventeen categories. For more information, email  or visit acda.org/chorteach. Following is an excerpt from an article in the current Winter 2022 issue titled “Reconnecting Singing Communities through Participatory, Singer-Led, and Educational Performance Events” by Jennifer C. Hutton.
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For many choral musicians, the abrupt halt of live performances in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic revealed the power of collective musical performance. Without in-person connections among singers, between singers and audiences, and among community members who support the choral arts, many felt a profound sense of loss. Along with painful disconnection from musical communities, we experienced the collective trauma of the pandemic, oppressive racial and socioeconomic inequities that intensified in 2020, and significant declines in mental health.

As conditions have allowed choral groups to safely gather and to welcome audiences back to performance venues, choral leaders have reunited with individuals who are changed. Singers and community members are arriving at our choral doorsteps seeking reconnection and healing after an extremely challenging time.

As choral organizations return to regular, live performance, leaders might consider how performance events can facilitate reconnection. In this article, I aim to support leaders by drawing attention to performance events that have the potential to enhance human connection and communal life in choral organizations. I suggest that while traditional choral concerts offer significant benefits, participatory, singer-led, and educational performances can further deepen singers’ and community members’ interactions and help individuals heal and reconnect as they gather together again.
…
Participatory, singer-led, and educational performances offer multiple possibilities for increasing engagement and building community in choral organizations. When reimagining the traditional concert schedule in school and community choir settings, I envision a series of events that include a traditional formal concert for all and a slate of other performance opportunities. Participatory, singer-led, and educational performance opportunities can empower singers and offer community members multiple ways to interact. By facilitating these events, choral educators can re-center choral ensembles as the connective tissue of their communities and promote healing as individuals reunite around the power of song.

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Read the full article in the Winter 2022 issue at acda.org/chorteach.

Filed Under: ChorTeach Tagged With: ACDA Publications, ChorTeach

A Study of Indianas by Carlos Guastavino

April 18, 2022 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

The May 2022 issue of Choral Journal is online and features an article titled “FLOWERS AMONG THORNS: A STUDY OF INDIANAS BY CARLOS GUASTAVINO AMID ARGENTINE POLITICAL UNREST” Benjamin T. Saunders. You can read it in its entirety at acda.org/choraljournal. Following is a portion from the introduction.
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Carlos Guastavino (1912-2000) is one of the most recognized and prolific Argentine composers and pianists of the twentieth century. He composed and performed his neo-romantic works amidst the political turmoil and upheaval that took place in Argentina throughout his life. He is best known for his compositions for solo piano and solo voice, but little focus has been on his original choral works and the choral arrangements of his songs. This article studies the original choral composition Indianas (1967) by Carlos Guastavino, with a focus on political and historical context, the influence of Argentine folk music and the Nuevo Cancionero, and a brief analysis of Guastavino’s musical language, including his homophonic and syllabic compositional style, direct modulations, and extended harmonies.

Carlos Guastavino composed Indianas in 1967 for SATB quartet or SATB chorus accompanied by piano. The titles of the six movements are 1. “Gala del día,” 2. “Quién fuera como el jazmín…,” 3. “Chañarcito, chañarcito…,” 4. “Viento norte,” 5. “Al tribunal de tu pecho,” and 6. “Una de dos.” Guastavino set texts in Indianas from various Argentine poets. The text of “Gala del día” is by Arturo Vazquez, “Quién fuera como el jazmín…,” “Chañarcito, chañarcito…,” and “Al tribunal de tu pecho” by León Berarós (1915-2012), “Viento norte” by Isaac Aizenberg (1918-1993), and “Una de dos” by Juan Ferreyra Basso (1910-1984). These poets penned metaphors that compare the elements of nature with love and life. Guastavino dedicated Indianas to Antonio María Russo (b. 1934), an Italian-born Argentine citizen who was a respected choral and orchestral conductor and colleagues with Guastavino at the Conservatorio Nacional de Música “Carlos López Buchardo” [The Carlos López Buchardo National Conservatory of Music].14 The following year, Guastavino composed Indianas No. 2 for TTBB chorus and piano.

Read the rest of this article in the May 2022 issue of Choral Journal.

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, Choral Journal

May Choral Journal Preview

April 11, 2022 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

The newest issue of Choral Journal is available online. Following is a list of the articles you will find in this issue.

ACDA members can log in with their username and password to view and download the newest edition. You can also read our electronic version. If you are not already a member of ACDA, join today to start receiving your monthly Choral Journal!

ARTICLES

Flowers Among Thorns: A Study of Indianas by Carlos Guastavino Amid Argentine Political Unrest by Benjamin T. Saunders

Rejuvenating France’s Choir School Tradition: An Interview with Mark Opstad, Artistic Director of La Maîtrise de Toulouse by C. Michael Porter

Repertoire and Resources
Musical Moments with Philip Brunelle by Mary Kay Geston

Choral Conversations
An Interview with Amanda Sprague Hanzlik by Jean Hickman

Student Times
The Informed Conductor: Score Study Considerations for the Beginning Conductor by Jordan D. Boyd

International Conductor Exchange Program Relaunches

2022 Summer Festival and Workshop Listings

Filed Under: Choral Journal Tagged With: ACDA Membership Benefits, ACDA Publications, Choral Journal, Choral Journal Preview

Performance Anxiety – 5 Strategies that Worked for Choir Students

March 28, 2022 by Amanda Bumgarner Leave a Comment

ChorTeach is ACDA’s quarterly online publication, designed for those who work with singers of all levels but specifically K-12 and community choirs. A full annotated ChorTeach index is available online at acda.org/publications/chorteach. Over 160 articles are organized into seventeen categories. For more information, email  or visit acda.org/chorteach. Following is an excerpt from an article in the current Winter 2022 issue titled “Performance Anxiety – 5 Strategies that Worked for Choir Students” by Mikayla Feldman.

______________________

In March of 2020, as our high school choir rehearsal schedule plateaued and “temporary distance learning” became more prolonged, my program director and I raced to convert our sight-singing, music theory, music history, and performance materials into something that the students could engage with digitally and asynchronously. Still, with 110 class minutes to fill and our repertoire load reduced to one piece for a virtual choir, we needed more curriculum. “What else do I wish I could have learned as a young singer?” we asked ourselves. My mind was immediately drawn to the expertise of Dr. Kristina Driskill, a voice teacher of mine at Chapman University who wrote a doctoral dissertation called “Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies for Performance Anxiety in Singers: A Synthesis of Research.”(1)

From the very beginning of our voice work together, she took a holistic approach: singing is a physical, mental, and emotional process, not simply a technical one. As such, the highly personal nature of the singing art—where one’s body is the instrument—is a major reason that many singers experience performance anxiety. I knew if my students could learn to overcome these fears at a young age, they would become more empowered individuals both on and off the stage.

Pursuing this idea, I asked my high school students to share their experiences in an online discussion based on the following question: “Have you dealt with performance anxiety before?” The response was overwhelming. Of 161 students who responded, 97% reported experiencing physical and/or cognitive symptoms of performance anxiety that affected their ability to perform or practice. And this wasn’t just on stage. It affected everything from sight-reading in class to attempting a solo in front of peers, auditioning, or even raising their hands to ask a question. Though most common in singing, it spilled over into public speaking, test taking, athletics, and more. To better understand the science of dealing with performance anxiety, I set up a Zoom interview with Dr. Driskill.(2)

In a fascinating ninety-minute discussion, she outlined strategies for tackling anxiety and growing in confidence as a performer (readers can fi nd the full video interview linked to the QR code at the end of this article). Eager to share these tools with my students, I presented the interview to my classes over a short series of lessons and discussions about performance anxiety. A year after those lessons, I asked a number of students which strategies turned out to be most effective for them. What emerged were five essential themes that students cited as helping them manage or diffuse performance anxiety.

NOTES

1 Kristina Driskill, “Symptoms, Causes, and Coping Strategies for Performance Anxiety in Singers: A Synthesis of Research,” DMA diss., West Virginia University, 2012.
2 Mikayla Feldman and Kristina Driskill, “Dealing with Performance Anxiety – An Interview with Dr. Kristina Driskill (Full Video),” YouTube Video, 1:29:30, https://youtu.be/PUTA9Dkh_1s.

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Read more in the Winter 2022 issue at acda.org/chorteach.

Filed Under: ChorTeach Tagged With: ACDA Publications, ChorTeach, performance anxiety

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