high school

This blog post was contributed by the staff at Edco, one of ACDA’s partners in online fundraising. In it they share information about their product. Profile of a choir director: This year I need to scrape together over $20,000 for travel expenses, new music, and uniforms/risers/music folders and I know about half of that is […]

Conducting a children’s choral group can be both energizing and exhausting at the same time. On one hand, your students LOVE to sing! On the other hand, it can be hard to get them to focus when it’s rehearsal time. Leading a children’s choir successfully requires you to get creative in the way you keep […]

By Jonathan Babcock, DMA, Texas State University Throughout my years as a student, I was always drawn to opportunities to lead and contribute to my musical community. As a high schooler, I was thrilled to be elected the president of the school marching band. The process of being elected by my peers, provided this lanky, […]

How do we measure success?  This, of course, is a lifelong question that stares us in the face every day. This article is far less philosophical, but does perhaps pose a way in which we should change the way we view success in terms of high school choral programs.   Find out the 14″Secret” Indicators […]

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: I agree with the criticism about the “award-bearing” adolescent world we live in today. Every student gets a trophy. Students get participation awards just for breathing. Does Every Student Deserve An Award? The answer isn’t as cut and dry as you might think…..  

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: As we move closer to our Spring concerts, many of us believe a memorized concert will make for a better performance. How we teach and run daily rehearsals greatly impacts our students’ ability to be responsive to our conducting, sing freely, and be communicative. How Students Can Memorize Music Without Really […]

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: Rubrics have a place in the performing music classroom, but they should not be used to recognize achievement. They must be used properly and give every student the opportunity to be successful. Don’t Use Rubrics Unless Everyone Can Succeed  

Choral Clarity Blog Presents: In recent years, rubrics have become a popular trend for assessing student achievement; they have been the common grading tool at most choral and solo festivals for as long as any of us can remember. While rubrics can be useful, they also present several pitfalls thats can severely impact the long-term growth and motivation of students at […]

By Brandon Moss There is no shortage of stellar choral programs in this country. Like many of you, I was privileged to attend this year’s ACDA National Conference in Minneapolis, where we witnessed at least a couple dozen of the country’s most gifted ensembles from K-12 schools, universities, and churches. Think of how many other […]

Choral Clarity Presents: It’s so easy to allow daily rehearsals to become repetitive and automatic. When we become repetitive, our choir tends to move into automatic pilot; students learn to anticipate exactly what is going to happen and end up focusing less and less. This then leads to decreased retention from rehearsal to rehearsal. Here are 12 Tricks to Re-gain Rehearsal Focus   […]