| Comment: Re: Conducting and singing jazz choral pieces | Phillip Olson | May 16, 2012 |
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Hi,
Listen, listen, listen to great groups. I would MINIMIZE the role of conductor in any jazz group. If anything snap on 2 and 4 or conduct on 2 and 4 in a one beat pattern if necessary. For ballads, conducting can work, but I would caution against getting too slow and losing a groov... |
| Comment: Re: Choir CD | Phillip Olson | August 18, 2011 |
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Hi,
I would advise talking to a local recording studio who may be able to do a series of small batch runs. If none are available in your area, email me and I can handle the duplication and CD printing. I go off premises to an online print company for inserts and tray liners. hotcards... |
| Comment: Re: Choir vs Band issues | Phillip Olson | November 16, 2010 |
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I think it is time to get creative w/ scheduling. Perhaps allow students to split between band/choir on an alternating basis. We do this at the middle school and high school levels to maintain numbers. Students only get the credit for one, but sign up for a semester of each and alternate. ... |
| Comment: Re: Help with justifying choral music in languages other than English during traditional service | Phillip Olson | November 15, 2010 |
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Can't argue much with the points already made, but I am reminded of a quote I learned from a music history professor long ago. (it is completely un-PC, but still makes the point) - Disclaimer - these are not my words, I just find them humorous.
"Translations are like women, if they're b... |
| Comment: Re: SATB Celebration Music | Phillip Olson | November 8, 2010 |
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David Brunner has a great setting of "In Celebration" w/ text by Walt Whitman - I celebrate myself and sing myself....etc... that the first piece that comes to mind. Works as a great opener or closer.
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| Comment: Re: Looking for "upbeat" pieces for War and Peace | Phillip Olson | October 18, 2010 |
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Oops, No Mark should be Effinger, not Fissinger - sorry.
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| Comment: Re: Looking for "upbeat" pieces for War and Peace | Phillip Olson | October 18, 2010 |
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We did a set called "An Emotional History Tour of the Revolutionary War". It told both sides and I was afraid it would get too heavy also so added a bit of lightness in the middle. So not all War and Piece but all the emotions involved
British Grenadiers - arr. Rutter
Johnny, I Hardl... |
| Comment: Re: Repertoire Suggestion: I need your ideas of finale pieces with "peace theme" for choral festival | Phillip Olson | September 2, 2010 |
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Reconcilliation - from Vaughan Williams "Dona Nobis Pacem". The octavo comes with a piano reduction that would work well on organ with the proper registration. Beat, Beat drums is available as a single, not sure about Reconcilliation.
I did both Beat, Beat Drums and Reconcillation with ... |
| Comment: Re: Madrigal Sets for Christmas | Phillip Olson | June 12, 2010 |
| Warrell's arrangement of "We Wish You" is very "Madrigal-like" and I think would fit the bill nicely. |
| Comment: Re: International Contest of Habaneras - Torrevieja, Spain | Phillip Olson | May 24, 2010 |
| HI Joel,
We have the same invitation (also through World Projects ) but for July of 2011. Thanks for the references. I'll be in touch and look forward to hearing about your experiences.
Best of Luck!
Phil |
| Comment: Re: Strategies to improve diction clarity/intelligibility | Phillip Olson | May 24, 2010 |
| I'll take a pragmatic approach. If it were me in front of that combined choir and discovered that the diction was a mess after the first run through, AND that that was where our energies would be best spent for the next 25 minutes. (the desire that text could be understood - assuming notes, rhyt... |
| Comment: Re: International Contest of Habaneras - Torrevieja, Spain | Phillip Olson | May 11, 2010 |
| Thank you Philip!
I thought to ask privately, but perhaps the answers provided could benefit others.
Where does one find assistance in establishing the "correct style" of singing a habenera?
I'm assuming (as with most things cultural) that there are multiple interpretations of habeneras a... |
| Forum message: International Contest of Habaneras - Torrevieja, Spain | Phillip Olson | May 8, 2010 |
| This is primarily a Spanish festival for choirs from Spain, Europe and South America, but we may have the opportunity to be a part of this with my midwestern high school choir in 2011. Is anyone familiar with this festival? Although the music is different than the typical choral classical repert... |
| Comment: Re: How do you respond to this statement? | Phillip Olson | April 12, 2010 |
| I have had this problem in the past and learned from a very wise and experienced teacher early in my career. I have a rule that no negative comments are allowed in the rehearsal room about any piece until AFTER performances. One person's dislike can turn any piece into poison for an entire ensem... |
| Comment: Re: Standards | Phillip Olson | March 25, 2010 |
| It's a bit dated because of the publication date, but you don't have to reinvent the wheel. Margaret Hawkins already did some of the work for you. I think a discussion regarding pieces from the last 20/30 years or so would be beneficial.
For only $5, every high school choral director should h... |
| Comment: Re: Re: Battle Hymn of the Republic | Phillip Olson | March 24, 2010 |
| We were doing a high school choral festival in Salt Lake 10 yrs ago and sang the Wilhousky w/ the Mormon Tabernacle and all the participating groups - it had to be 800 or more voices in the Tabernacle.
There were only a few of us not singing and just enjoying the moment. I happened to be standin... |
| Comment: Re: Jazz mass help needed | Phillip Olson | March 23, 2010 |
| And does he or she have a clue about the amount of work it takes to get Episcopalians to swing?!!!
+1
People write LOL all the time, I actually did and my students heard me!
As long as you're looking into the grey area - a piece that should be done and isn't is Kurt Weill's "Kiddush" (ble... |
| Comment: Re: Help finding program to play scanned sheet music | Phillip Olson | March 17, 2010 |
| There are however, lots of free music theory sites where you could learn to read and sight read. emusictheory.com is one I send students to regularly.
Learn key signatures,major/minor scales and major/minor triads and you're well on your way to singing almost 90% of all choral music you will l... |
| Comment: Re: Help with Zulu | Phillip Olson | March 15, 2010 |
| I would suggest the language department at a local college. I had a similar situation several years ago and they were very helpful. If they didn't know they knew a local contact. |
| Comment: Re: What's wrong with jazz, show tunes, pop, etc in choir? | Phillip Olson | March 15, 2010 |
| Is John Cage's 4'22" a great piece? Few word argue the merits of the piece itself, but the concept....incredible (or at least worthy of lengthy, valuable debate)
Using that as a model, I teach my high school students that "why you do anything" is as important as "what you do" and I certainly hold ... |
| Comment: Re: Works about Night | Phillip Olson | February 20, 2010 |
| Der Abend - Brahms - Great Poem, great piece - Greek mythology set by Schiller? |
| Comment: Re: How do I prepare inexperienced singers for a musical? | Phillip Olson | February 16, 2010 |
| A trick I've learned over the 20 yrs of teaching high school is that no matter how much I told students to project their speaking or singing voices they didn't do it naturally in rehearsal. I was constantly reminding them until I learned to regularly stand in the back of the rehearsal room.
The... |
| Comment: Re: Music from American Wars | Phillip Olson | February 15, 2010 |
| I love the tune "Buttermilk Hill" (Johnny has gone for a soldier). There's some very nice arrangements (SA - Bacon) that may fit your program. I was looking for one for my high school choir for a Kennedy Center set that I did on the Revolutionary War and couldn't fine one so arranged it myself... |
| Comment: Re: legal issues with selling recordings | Phillip Olson | February 15, 2010 |
| We produce a Holiday Cd every year. We do it all in-house. I plan a few months in advance, check Songfile on Harry Fox to make sure its easily covered and then go. If a piece isn't listed in Songfile and I really want to do it, I then contact the publisher and handle it the old fashioned wa... |
| Comment: Re: Lord's Prayer choral setting | Phillip Olson | February 15, 2010 |
| One of the finest recent settings I would recommend strongly is by John Harmon from Alliance Publications. AP 1053, don't know if a recording has been made but if you've got a group that can sing, its definitely worth the effort to learn. The group and the congregation will love it.
Phil |
