One of the most important, yet underdeveloped, teaching tools is our ability to clearly represent what we mean musically through gesture. Often in rehearsals, we send conflicting messages to the ensemble. We tell the choir one thing but show something else entirely. Creating consistency between what the ensemble is told and what they are shown […]
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Zielenski in Venice: “Italian” Gems from Renaissance Poland
The music of Poland’s leading late Renaissance composers reveal much about the important relationship between Poland and Italy during the seventeenth century, and the striking influence the Italianate style had on Polish composers of the time. Mikolaj Zielenski, most notably, may have even studied with Giovanni Gabrieli; his choral works display typical Venetian influence, but […]
Where Are All the Boys?
Would you like more boys in your children’s choir? This session deals with the challenge of recruiting boys into a children’s choir, and retaining them and meeting their needs once you get them. (Naturally, the ideas presented will work for girls as well!)
Planning and Implementing Interfaith Programs
It is relatively easy for disparate faith communities to cooperate in social action projects. But it is much more difficult to create effective and meaningful interfaith services of worship because various obstacles—including exclusivity—are inherent in all denominational worship. This session will provide suggestions for interfaith programs, which are not directly tied to worship, but are […]
Music Literacy
Teaching music notation in the choral classroom can be difficult at times. Gather the tools to eradicate music illiteracy and get your singers excited about reading music. From Kodály hand signs to examples in modern rock, your students deserve a fun approach to sight reading.
Movement: the Key to Making Your Choir Sound Good!
This session will cite recent research into how movement helps people learn and retain ideas, concepts, and sounds. The clinician will be demonstrate movement of the singers’ bodies in vocalizes, as they rehearse apiece, and as they perform music, and move the singers into different positions both on and off the risers. Subtle movements—such as […]
