arrange • compose • conduct
Posts specifically about choral music
The most we can achieve together in an ensemble are the lowest aspirations of any one member. I refuse to use the phrase the “only as strong as the weakest link” because someone with low aspirations isn’t weaker than anyone else. It’s just that their aims are different. It’s okay […]
I attended a great Zoom masterclass led by the great Anders Edenroth, of The Real Group, today. He spent the hour talking about his philosophies of recording, and especially about how to adapt to the new normal and make quality recordings in the home. But I also wrote down this […]
As my son navigates his first weeks playing the clarinet, of course he is squeaking and squawking as he learns to navigate the instrument, control his embouchure, and so many other basic skills. I reminded him that those cracks, those squeaks and squawks, are a natural part of learning to […]
You can discern the tone of a soloist, easily. A duet, a trio – these are ensembles where the individual singers’ timbres are center-stage. Even the quartets, quintets, octets that reach fame are often made of distinct voices. I can hear each voice in the New York Voices, The Real […]
Being in a choir is more than singing together. It’s a family. It’s a community. It’s the best place I know to learn collaboration and trust. Being in a choir is more than singing together, but I just know that the first time we can all sing together again, I […]
I’ve been thinking a lot about what sorts of musical characteristics will be effective in arrangements and compositions written for virtual choirs. Here are a few I’ve settled on: Guided aleatoric writing. A freely sung section lessens the burden on lonely singers to master tricky rhythmic timing. Great voice leading. […]
I was proud to produce eight virtual choir performances that premiered between May 18 and July 3. Here they are, all in one place. Happy 2020, y’all. Shades of Blue – “Fly Me To The Moon” (May 18) The Rockford Aces – “Hallelujah for the Day” (May 31) The Rockford […]
I am a choral music educator. I don’t know about you, but the last five months have made it easy to be reactive to day-to-day concerns, and forget the underlying truth. In preparation for the year to come, with all its many unknowns, maybe you, too, would benefit from making […]
What is the ethos of your choral institution? Merriam Webster defines ethos: The distinguishing character, sentiment, moral nature, or guiding beliefs of a person, group, or institution. Maybe there was a time when the ethos of a choral ensemble or institution needed no more specificity than “make music together as […]
If all were as we planned it, we would be at the Awards Ceremony for the World Choir Games today with 45 of our Rockford High School students. Of course, that wasn’t meant to be, and we cut our music-making tremendously short in March. But I deeply miss sharing this […]