Selecting pieces of music from different cultures will enrich your students’ life. However, it is challenging to choose pieces if you are not familiar with the languages. Japanese pronunciation is just like Latin and is easy to learn and teach. In this session, native Japanese choral conductor Mihoko Tsutsumi will share examples of Japanese choral […]
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Rediscovering Mexico: Music of the Mexican Cathedral Archives
This session aims to provide participants with an overview of the music of the Mexican cathedrals; educate participants about the choral music of colonial Mexico with particular respect to Antonio Juan as; and offer resources for locating performing editions of music from the cathedrals of Mexico. Until recently, scholarship on the music of the cathedrals […]
Reaching across Boundaries: Teaching the Choral Ensemble as a Humanities Course
Choral music educators can invert the practice of “arts integration” by purposefully integrating humanities studies into their music curriculum. By choosing repertoire that is thematically linked, each concert cycle becomes a curricular unit in which singers explore more deeply some aspect of what it means to be human. Choral music educators can transform their thinking: […]
A Meaningful Approach to Teaching Improvisation in the Choral Rehearsal
The 2014 publication of the National Core Standards for Music has centralized improvisation as an essential element in the artistic process of creating. Structuring improvisation activities that are engaging and meaningful in a choral context, however, can be tricky. We can argue that activities that are too structured might reduce the creative impulse, but we […]
Integrating Contemporary A Cappella into Your Choral Program
Contemporary a cappella is exploding all over the globe. This workshop will explore all aspects of contemporary a cappella, including custom and stock arrangements, where to get them and how to begin to write them; vocal percussion, solo instruction, creating a rock star without hurting their voice; sound, live and recorded; choreography, no, this is […]
Homogenize Your Rehearsal: Balancing Repertoire, Technique, and Literacy Needs
Rehearsal time is a precious commodity, and conductors must make difficult choices about what occupies space on a rehearsal agenda. The pressing demands of learning repertoire for performance often win out over the conductor’s need or desire to also be a music educator and a vocal pedagogue. This session explores ways to meet the musical […]
