arrange • compose • conduct
Posts specifically about choral music
I just finished a Virtual Game Night with the vocal jazz ensemble I direct, GRCC Shades of Blue. Seven of the nine members this semester were able to attend. We’ve been rehearsing and recording virtually all semester, and owing to the nature of our system, they haven’t all even met […]
I am so glad that music classes rarely focus on winning. Even at state adjudicated festivals, even at the World Choir Games, judgements are based on objective assessments, not on a true head-to-head competition. So any awards or “wins” can be filed under “reaching the ensemble’s potential.” The reason I’m […]
Here’s a core philosophy I hold about the groups I conduct: This group doesn’t belong to me. I’m just its caretaker. This group belongs to you. The members of the group have primary control of the trajectory of the group, of the sense of ensemble, of the progress from week […]
Let’s make sure we clarify the difference between singing concurrently and being an ensemble. Singing concurrently is about projecting. Being an ensemble is about listening. Singing concurrently is about confidence. Being an ensemble is about humility. Singing concurrently is mechanical. Being an ensemble is affirming and soul-filling. The best some […]
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. […]