Choral music educators continue to develop diverse concert programs based on a variety of considerations (i.e., genre, language, time period, tempo) to promote a well-balanced choral program and curriculum for ensemble singers. However, at the middle-school level, as in all stages of vocal development, it is also important for choral music educators to consider how […]
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Cross-Choral Training – Part II Musicianship and Literacy with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Cross-Choral Musicianship Training is aimed at developing vocal musicians with the skills and understanding to study and perform in virtually any musical context. Following the cross-training model, students learn several complementary systems for reading and sight-singing music to provide the greatest fluency in the widest range of settings—from the classroom to the symphony hall. Based […]
Cross-Choral Training – Functional Voice Training with the Brooklyn Youth Chorus
Cross-Choral Training (C-CT) is a proven holistic and experiential approach to developing singers in a group setting. It is functional voice training based on voice science and health and a comprehensive approach to building sight-reading and musicianship skills. C-CT was designed by Dianne Berkun-Menaker to meet the needs of the Grammy award-winning Brooklyn Youth Chorus […]
Choral Singing For Boomers and Beyond: Celebrating the Aging Voice
Choral directors seeking to expand their choral community should be looking to the retiring “baby boomers” and older adults who are returning to, or continuing their interest in, singing as they age. But the older singer has specific needs, and the Encore Chorale program has been created to provide a challenging choral environment while being […]
Beyond Burnout Prevention: Embodied Wellness for Conductors
Mental and physical health are not separate concerns. Effective wellness interventions attend to both simultaneously. Conductors are susceptible to physical and emotional challenges unique to our profession because of the athletic demands on our bodies and leadership demands on our minds. In this session, participants will: 1. Participate in mindfulness-based stress-reduction activities including elements of […]
Better Choirs, Better Singing through Voice Science
Choral directors today must serve not only as choral director but also as voice teacher. Yet some choral directors—particularly those for whom voice was only a secondary instrument—feel unprepared to truly take on the role of the choir’s voice teacher, fearing that they are unprepared or unable to help their choristers find and develop their […]
