Improvisation is the foundation of jazz! Many educators have come up through the educational system having never experienced first hand improvising in a jazz setting. Thus, many jazz choir directors avoid including any kind of improvisation with their own groups. This session will explore strategies and techniques to successfully integrate vocal improvisation into your rehearsals/performances.
Sample Page
Repertoire for Advanced Women’s Choirs
This session explores the wealth of available music for advanced women’s choirs—ranging from excellent high school groups to university and community or professional groups. The session will include repertoire lists of new and recent works, as well as significant historical works for women’s choirs, with an emphasis on lesser-known works. A sampling of scores and […]
Percussion Techniques For the Choral Classroom
It has probably been a while since you took a percussion methods course. Many choral composers have written music with percussion accompaniment; some simply list the instruction “ad lib.” Whether you’re playing the part yourself or helping a student, you will need to know the correct playing techniques. This session will help you gain confidence […]
Musicality is in Their Hands
The role of a choral conductor is, at its basest level, to show singers when and how to breathe, release sound, and breathe again. One might consider us Air Port Controllers. There is, however, an oft-overlooked resource with great and immediate musical results: the singers’ own hands. This session will explore a series of exercises […]
Jazz Choirs at the Middle School Level
This session will show how to start a jazz choir at the middle school level. Topics include voicings, amplification, literature, rehearsal techniques, and working with rhythm sections.
The Grading Conundrum
Grades. What do they mean? How do we arrive at a grade for students?What is the difference between assessment and grading? What is fair grading practice? What about standards-based grading? Grading and assessment are not always addressed in pre-service music education but are part of the job of every music educator. This session is participatory […]
