arrange • compose • conduct
Posts specifically about choral music
I could write volumes about what I have learned spending time talking music with Alice Parker. Actually, I hope someday to do just that. But what struck me most on my most recent visit, when we set aside an hour or two every day for little musical projects, is her […]
Why would a composer choose a career that minimizes new compositional work? I think this is true for many composers, but I thought about it the other day about Eric Whitacre. Eric is a celebrated choral composer, with a huge number of “hits” in the choral world. I have no […]
Studio recording is an entirely different experience from either performance or rehearsal. You’ll hear new things, have new reactions, and learn a ton. That’s why I love to take my students into the studio. But they’re almost always always new to the experience, so I start by giving a few […]
One of the biggest gifts of the microphone is that it’s the greatest vocal equalizer. When I have sung in a concert choir, often I would be in a section with someone with a beautiful, big instrument. I personally have a small instrument, so in that situation there were only […]
One of my goals this year is to send out an agenda the night before every weekly rehearsal. I can’t think of a single ensemble I’ve ever sung in that had a specific agenda that I was aware of ahead of time. I am certain my conductors had specific plans […]
One of the joys of singing choral masterworks is being aware of the connection across time. Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony has surely been sung by millions of singers since its premiere 1824 (198 years ago!). Getting the chance to perform it connects you with all those amazing singers across ten generations […]
Back to my old ways… I gained two things during my months of conducting with a mask. First, I learned ever more clearly how to conduct with just my eyes and hands. I, like many conductors, tend to use my whole face, and it was a great education in how […]
Follow these two opposing instructions in sound checks. First, sing consistently like you’ll sing in concert. Don’t mark, because the sound person can’t get a reliable level if you’re marking. Second, don’t oversing. You’ll be singing a lot in a dress rehearsal/sound check, and you don’t want to overuse your […]
It’s obvious. The best thing about your first year is your second year. That’s often been said to and about first year teachers, and it’s true there, for sure. The learning curve of your first year teaching, and in most jobs, is so steep that the second year is better […]
There are two types of vocal jazz ensemble. One (call it the Lambert, Hendricks, and Ross-type) uses group singing as a means to deliver improvisation, solo artistry, and essentially a vocal cover of instrumental jazz. It’s a jazz combo, but voices. The other (call it The Singers Unlimited-type) uses group […]