There is only one “first date” between a choir and a new piece of music. If it goes badly, it’s almost impossible to erase a sense of stress in the singers as we go on to master the score’s details. Conductors need to be armchair psychologists, under-standing what our singers need in order to feel […]
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Enhancing the Choral Art through Dalcroze Eurhythmics
This session introduces attendees to the Dalcroze approach and its application to the choral art by providing practical tools for enhancing rehearsals and performances. The goals of Dalcroze Eurhythmics are to develop and increase focus, rhythmic integrity, expression, musicianship skills, and social interaction. The presenters will demonstrate these techniques utilizing a variety of musical examples. […]
Embodied and Expressive: Mapping the Choral Gesture for Poised Performance
Effective choral conductors are artistic communicators with the ability to empower their singers. Body Mapping is a self-inquiry somatic (mind-body) education technique designed to teach musicians skills of self-evaluation and change for performing with sensory-motor integrity. The underlying premise of Body Mapping is the importance of understanding the neuro-physiological connections in the human body that […]
The Creative Process of Programming: Giving Voice to Community
If the choral art is to continue being a vital part of our culture, we must focus on ways to respond to current society. What does it take to reach a modern audience? Many of the ways that we have been taught to program no longer resonate with audiences that live their lives looking at […]
Creating Safe People: Honoring LGBTQ Singers in the Choral Classroom
Though they are not always openly acknowledged, singers bring their gender and sexual/affectional identities to the process of rehearsing, interpreting, and performing choral music. More can be done to explicitly value, honor, and respect singers’experiences and identities. This session will introduce practical tools for how choral conductor-teachers can become such people by providing research-based findings […]
A Conductor, High Atop the Hill
This session will consider a synthesis of three ideas: 1. self-understanding and realization, 2. issues of ownership, 3. shepherding and vulnerability. We will explore whether these ideas can be used in tandem to redefine our ensemble paradigm, what it means to be a conductor in the day-to-day grind of rehearsals, and whether there are ways […]
