arrange • compose • conduct
Posts specifically about choral music
I’m glad you like that music, even though I don’t. I work in niches of niches: vocal jazz, contemporary a cappella, TTBB choirs, etc. I love the niches I work in, and I have developed strong opinions about various genres of music – and specific pieces or performers – over […]
Sometimes, it’s enough in a rehearsal to not go backwards. In times of great busyness, I do my very best to maintain regularly scheduled rehearsals. Sometimes, of course, it’s impossible – dress rehearsals, exams, performances, etc. can encroach on rehearsal. But if possible, even if everyone is exhausted, I hold […]
Feeling stressed? The best thing you could do is head for choir rehearsal. Deep breathing is recognized as the only method for calming the fight-or-flight response; the breathing seems to stimulate the vagus nerve, which interrupts the stress response. (Dr. Laurie Santos has described this effect, which is well-researched.) It’s […]
Good ensemble teaching sometimes means completely relinquishing control. I’ve been doing a lot of riding in the passenger seat with a training driver; having completed his Driver’s Training, he now has to log dozens of hours of driving before he can receive his unrestricted driver’s license. The thing about this […]
Is there a more precious moment in the year than the annual pivot? The pivot is the moment in the semester or the year when you transition from spending a majority of time on notes and rhythms to a majority of time on higher-order musicality. When you can step back […]
On and off, I write weekly letters to my ensembles, emulating but by no means coming close to the legendary “Dear People” letters of Robert Shaw. On and off because my life commitments don’t always allow me to give these letters the attention they need soon enough to be useful. […]
When we’ve moved past notes and rhythms into singing for musicality, I really like to invite ensemble members to “Give three intentions for this run-through.” The intentions might be as specific as “I want to nail that transition on page 5” or as overarching as “Dynamics!” They might be a […]
We sing a lot about love in choir. I guess we sing a lot about love anywhere. My long-standing policy for pronouns has been that you should sing with whatever pronouns feel right for you to describe a loved one. Certainly for soloists, but I think it could plausibly work […]
Coming out of the profoundly complex, anxious, confusing, continuity-breaking last two years is going to take time. It’s going to take persistence, imagination, and a commitment to rebuilding the traditions that our students have become decoupled from. I say that because just in the last week, I’ve seen glimmers – […]
I relished the opportunity to spend time in rehearsal tonight letting the ensemble pick their new piece for State S&E. They had two options, and we spent about 20 minutes reading through each piece, with the urging to stay as focused as possible so they could debate with as much […]