Given that the first of ACDA’s seven Divisional Conferences kicks off next week in Madison, Wisconsin, it seems a good time to share a few helpful hints for those journeying to one of these grand events. (You ARE planning to attend your ACDA Divisional Conference, aren’t you? You can still register.)
To help with some of the financial concerns, ACDA has provided a detailed discussion for seeking funding from your school or church. There is also a sample letter available to help you reach out to your superiors.
Given that the first of ACDA’s seven Divisional Conferences kicks off next week in Madison, Wisconsin, it seems a good time to share a few helpful hints for those journeying to one of these grand events. (You ARE planning to attend your ACDA Divisional Conference, aren’t you? You can still register.)
To help with some of the financial concerns, ACDA has provided a detailed discussion for seeking funding from your school or church. There is also a sample letter available to help you reach out to your superiors.
<> Arrive well-rested. We don't get much sleep at ACDA Conferences.
<> Don’t be shy about reading those name tags. You could be sharing the elevator with Eric Whitacre or Tim Sharp.
<> Arrive early for concerts. They're usually packed.
<> Attend EVERYTHING! An ACDA conference is not the time to nap or shop.
<> PLEASE visit with exhibitors. They are our industry partners in the choral arts (and save some room in your luggage for all the stuff you will buy in the exhibit area).
ACDA Conferences are exhilarating, overwhelming, and exhausting . . . they are absolutely the crown jewels of ACDA activities.
(Next week in Choral Caffeine, we’ll discuss ways to focus our listening to get the most out of those fabulous conference concerts.)
In Elliot Eisner’s book The Arts and the Creation of Mind (2002, Yale University Press), Eisner states, “The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.” In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows, Eisner outlines Ten Lessons the arts Teach:
The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships.Unlike curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.
The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solutionand that questions can have more than one answer.
The arts celebrate multiple perspectives.One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.
The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to
In Elliot Eisner’s book The Arts and the Creation of Mind (2002, Yale University Press), Eisner states, “The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.” In Chapter 4, What the Arts Teach and How It Shows, Eisner outlines Ten Lessons the arts Teach:
The arts teach children to make good judgments about qualitative relationships.Unlike curriculum in which correct answers and rules prevail, in the arts, it is judgment rather than rules that prevail.
The arts teach children that problems can have more than one solutionand that questions can have more than one answer.
The arts celebrate multiple perspectives.One of their large lessons is that there are many ways to see and interpret the world.
The arts teach children that in complex forms of problem solving purposes are seldom fixed, but change with circumstance and opportunity. Learning in the arts requires the ability and a willingness to surrender to the unanticipated possibilities of the work as it unfolds.
The arts make vivid the fact that neither words in their literal form nor numbers exhaust what we can know. The limits of our language do not define the limits of our cognition.
The arts teach students that small differences can have large effects. The arts traffic in subtleties.
The arts teach students to think through and within a material.
All art forms employ some means through which images become real.
The arts help children learn to say what cannot be said. When children are invited to disclose what a work of art helps them feel, they must reach into their poetic capacities to find the words that will do the job.
The arts enable us to have experience we can have from no other source and through such experience to discover the range and variety of what we are capable of feeling.
The arts' position in the school curriculum symbolizes to the young what adults believe is important.
The National Art Education Association (NAEA) gives reprint permission for the above 10 lessons, with proper acknowledgment.
A recent article in the Wall Street Journal calls Morten Lauridson the "best composer you've never heard of."
Choral musicians don't say that, do we?
It looks like a film will come out soon on this composer -- a deep look into the composer's thoughts, inspirations, and ideas.
From the article:
The film, directed by Michael Stillwater, is a heartening rarity, a thoroughly intelligent classical-music program that strikes an appropriate balance between words and music. Most of the talking is done by Mr. Lauridsen himself and all of it is to the point, but plenty of time is devoted to the music that is the true point of "Shining Night," and by film's end you'll know what it sounds like and whether you want to hear more of it—as I expect you will.
A great trailer here from YouTube gives you a feeling for the hymn:
A good friend from the Samford Music faulty pointed me to this article - Thanks, Ron!
Organizers of the Palestinian version of “American Idol” said Thursday the Gaza Strip’s Hamas rulers have banned residents from participating in the popular reality show.
The organizers said Hamas told them the program is “indecent,” in what appears to be a new attempt by the fundamentalist militant Muslim group to crack down on behavior it sees as contrary to its conservative interpretation of Islam.
Hamas permits male barbershop style singing groups that do not use musical instruments and sing of the glory of Islam and to fighting Israel. Young, prepubescent girls also perform in their own singing groups, but teenage girls and women are never seen singing in public. Many devout Muslims believe singing by women is provocative.
Could be fertile ground for SPEBSQSA, or whatever they call themselves these days.
As I mentioned the other day, I'm teaching Choral Literature this semester and I'm exploring new resources. The primary resource I am investigating is Dennis Shrock's new book, Choral Repertoire.
The class is primarily for undergraduate students. Like others have done, I'm trying to focus on the most important figures in each period.
I did a little investigation of Shrock's overview of the composers of the Renaissance and this is what I found.
Some observations:
Shrock listed many composers I had never heard of. That shouldn't be too surprising of course, but I was. I don't normally catalog my ignorance for others to see, but I bolded the composers that I hadn't heard of and kept a record of them.
If Dr. Shrock listed "favorites" of the composer at the end of the description, I counted the number of entries. According to the number of entries, the top four composers of the Renaissance are Orlando di Lasso (68 entries), Palestrina (39 entries),
As I mentioned the other day, I'm teaching Choral Literature this semester and I'm exploring new resources. The primary resource I am investigating is Dennis Shrock's new book, Choral Repertoire.
The class is primarily for undergraduate students. Like others have done, I'm trying to focus on the most important figures in each period.
I did a little investigation of Shrock's overview of the composers of the Renaissance and this is what I found.
Some observations:
Shrock listed many composers I had never heard of. That shouldn't be too surprising of course, but I was. I don't normally catalog my ignorance for others to see, but I bolded the composers that I hadn't heard of and kept a record of them.
If Dr. Shrock listed "favorites" of the composer at the end of the description, I counted the number of entries. According to the number of entries, the top four composers of the Renaissance are Orlando di Lasso (68 entries), Palestrina (39 entries), William Byrd (34 entries), and Josquin Desprez (32 entries).
Rounding out the Top Ten are: Victoria (27), Guerro (27), Tomkins (25), Weelkes (24), Tye (22), and Gesualdo (21).
I asked Dr. Shrock about my investigation and he said this:
The number of citations of composers does not indicate their popularity, although many frequently cited composers are well known. Frequency of citation generally indicates frequency of reference. Gesualdo, for example, is not one of the most significant composers of the Renaissance. Because of his mannerist style, he is merely mentioned a lot. Otherwise, I'd like to clarify that the listing of repertoire is not meant to reflect popular appeal, but instead, familiarity. I discuss this in the sixth paragraph of the preface.
Thanks to Dennis Shrock for this thorough piece of scholarship and for taking the time to respond to my inquiry.
The ACDA Southwestern Division Conference will include a performance of "Angel of the East." The work sets part of John Donne’s poem Good Friday, 1613. Riding Westward, explaining the spiritual context: the poet rides out on business on a Good Friday, neglecting his meditations on Christ’s death. He journeys away from Jerusalem and the crucifi xion, which lies due east, moving in the opposite direction to which his mind automatically turns. Donne argues against his guilt that by travelling westwards he will eventually reach the east. Thus, the earth is a sphere where east and west become one. The work is scored for solo soprano, SSA voices, bass instruments, plucked instruments, organ, virginals, harmonium, two percussionists, violins.
“The Eastern Conference is all about "Community" beginning the day with Yoga, Tai Chi, or a free breakfast with your colleagues,” said Eastern Division President Bob Eaton, “Then sharing of talents and expertise in concert and presentations, learn about "Building Community through Song" for Special Needs, Homeless, Hospice and other outreach programs and end the day with an outstanding concert.”
To Be Certain of the Dawn was commissioned by the Basilica of Saint Mary in Minneapolis as a gift to Temple Israel Synagogue in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the Nazi death camps. It is the result of interfaith dialogue and stands as a testimony to the power of understanding and of music’s unique ability to encourage hope, to promote peace. The rehearsal and performance of this transformative piece are being approached in an exceptionally process-driven way, with the intention of modeling the Beyond the Notes philosophy on which this conference is based. The oratorio will be performed on February 10 by choirs from Nebraska Wesleyan University, Minnesota State University, Wartburg College, and members of the Madison Boys and Girls Choirs, the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra, and soloists from throughout the North Central Division.
One of the risks of adding movement to a choral performance is that the physical gesticulation could have a negative impact on the sound of the choir. Sometimes, however, certain works almost cry out for movement, as in this performance of "War Song" from the 2007 ACDA National Conference. Note how simple the movement is, yet how it enhances the performance.
Among the features of ACDA's Eastern Division Conference will be a performance of the Messa da Requiem by Giuseppe Verdi on Thursday, February 16. The performance will feature the Boston University Symphonic Chorus and Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Ann Howard Jones. Soloists for the evening will be soprano Michelle Johnson, mezzo-soprano Jana Baty, tenor Richard Clement, and bass Anton Belov. Admission to the concert is included in Conference Registration.
BBC MOBILE -- A record company has begun a worldwide search for the singer who can sing a note so low that it is thought never to have been sung before.
Written by Military Wives composer Paul Mealor, the choral work De Profundis includes a low E, which lies more than two octaves below middle C.
It is six semitones below the lowest note found in a mainstream choral work - a B flat in Rachmaninov's Vespers.
The search for the bass voice will take place via trade magazines and online.
"My setting of De Profundis calls for a rich and powerful voice; a voice that can not only touch the heart with its sincerity and truth, but also make every fabric of the human body resonate as it plunges into the very lowest parts of the vocal spectrum," said Mealor.
(Ed. note: the current Guiness World's Record for lowest note is F#, a whole step above this target, sung in 2011 by US gospel quartet singer Roger Menees)
NAPLES, FL -- It's been said that when you love what you do, work doesn't feel like work. And for 51-year-old Becky Lynn Weese, truer words have never been spoken. "I just love what I do," proclaims Weese, director of music and the organist at the Naples United Church of Christ (UCC). "I love, love, love it," she adds for emphasis.
Weese, who has undergraduate degrees in church music and music education and a doctorate in musical arts and choral conducting, doesn't see her job as work, but more as something she's both called and blessed to do.
"I'm one of those people, that I get up in the morning and I pinch myself how lucky I am," she says enthusiastically of the job she's had for almost 11 years.
Forty-five members of Indianapolis Children's Choir will sing the national anthem along with recording artist Kelly Clarkson at the Super Bowl in Indianapolis on Sunday, the local not-for-profit announced Thursday.
The choir members will be conducted by ICC founder Henry Leck and Assistant Artistic Director Joshua Pedde.
VICTORIA, BC -- When Victoria choral director Sue Doman formed the Starlight Pops Choir in 2008, she never dreamed that the group, made up mostly of retirees, would be able to wrap their heads – and their voices – around the music ofElton John, Paul Simon, The Police, Queen, U2 and The Rolling Stones.
“Some folks hear the words ‘rock music’ and it scares them a bit because they think it’ll be loud and harsh, but it’s not,” said Doman. “Our program focuses on classic songs people know like Rock Around The Clock, Louie Louie, and I Heard It Through The Grapevine.
"We’ve had tons of fun putting this concert together, and we know our audiences will have fun, too. As usual, they may just find themselves singing along.”
SWARTHMORE, PA -- “Light of the world, You stepped down into darkness. Opened my eyes, let me see; Beauty that made this heart adore You; Hope a life spent with You.” These are the lyrics of “Here I Am to Worship,” a song written by Tim Hughes and covered by Israel and New Breed. It is typically sung in churches as a way of showing praise and worship.
The Swarthmore Gospel Choir, founded by ten students in 1971, is one of the student groups that represent the culture of the black community at Swarthmore. According to the description of the choir on the college website, the Gospel Choir “serves as a spiritual uplift, a cultural identification, and a special outlet for black students at Swarthmore.”
and The Rolling Stones.
