Tone and Style: Using Pop Music to Build Better Singers
Session Abstract: Why should we perform popular music with our choirs? How can we use contemporary music to build stronger singers and diverse programs while expanding traditional technique and challenging choral norms? This session will reveal the benefits of popular and contemporary music to choral singers and their communities while also addressing the most common roadblocks directors face while teaching it. Participants will leave with a better understanding of the importance of culturally native pop music in the choral program, strategies to successfully and authentically teach this music to their singers, and practical ways to incorporate it into their programs.
J.D. Frizzell
Briarcrest Christian School
Dr. J .D. Frizzell is the Director of Fine Arts at Briarcrest Christian School in Memphis, TN, where he is responsible for coordinating all Fine Arts programs and teaching the Concert Choir, Advanced Women’s Choir, Mens A Cappella, AP Music Theory, and internationally-acclaimed a cappella group, SONY Recording Artist OneVoice. His ensembles have performed at regional, national, and international conventions. Their music has been streamed and downloaded over 100 million times. Frizzell has had many best-selling compositions and arrangements and has co-authored “A Cappella Warm Ups” and "Teaching Music Through Performance In Contemporary A Cappella".
Rob Dietz
A Cappella Academy & National Contemporary/Commercial Co-Chair (Contemporary A Cappella)
Rob Dietz is an award-winning singer and beatboxer with over twenty years of experience in contemporary vocal music. Based in Los Angeles, Rob is best known for his work as an arranger/vocal coach for NBC’s The Sing-Off. He is a co-founder of A Cappella Academy, and a popular clinician who has led sessions at both the National A Cappella Convention and ACDA National. Rob is an avid choral composer, with work published by Alfred Music and GIA Publications. He is the author of A Cappella 101: A Beginner’s Guide to Contemporary A Cappella Singing, coming soon from Hal Leonard.
