ChoralBlog 
Music returns to Haiti » Date: February 9, 2010 
ChoralNet user Tom Lloyd sent me this great news about music returning to earthquake stricken Haiti:
"Amid the desperation and despair in earthquake-ravaged Port-au-prince, musicians from Haiti's national chorus, jazz band and philharmonic gave their first post-quake concert. The musicians were able to rescue some instruments from the rubble, and they held the concert in the devastated neighborhood of Bell Aire to bring hope to the displaced." The complete story was broadcast on NPR Weekend Edition Saturday.
Thanks, Tom! Choral Apathy » Date: February 8, 2010 
The Choir Girl is accepted into a graduate program and realizes she won't be able to make the summer choir tour.
I have to admit that when I received my acceptance call from the University, after the initial shock from that message died down, the FIRST thing that popped into my head was: "That means I can't go to Italy." :( Interesting reading today - a choir member is accepted into a graduate program and has to miss the yearly choir competition: For a second I felt like declining my Masters acceptance! I realize that may sound a bit sick to some of you readers . . . I have slowly come to term with the fact that I won't be able to go, trying to find trivial details to make me feel better like "That means I don't have to fundraise like crazy this year! Whoot $2500 saved!", "Nobody knows where Seghizzi is anyway!", and "The performance venue doesn't look that nice". All in attempt to placate my silently suffering self.
I have never been through such a bout of choral apathy. It is a deadly thing. It's the crippling unmotivation that is getting me. I feel like I have nothing to work towards this year. Why should I memorize that piece? I won't be able to sing it anyway. Why should I go to that performance? I don't need performance experience anyway. Maybe it's even better for me not to sing since I'm just throwing off the group balance that actually will be touring. I've always known it's important to have a common goal in choir, whether it is for a particular concert or competition, but once that end goal is no longer in sight, it's hard to motivate yourself to continue what you're doing. We all need something to drive us and inspire us to be better. When that stimulus is gone... we're directionless.
Not just children anymore » Date: February 7, 2010 
ACDA has a new name for one of the R&S areas and they are talking about it.
Here is Robyn Lana, the National Chair for the newly named "Children's and Youth Community Choirs" Repertoire and Standards Committee:
The committee proposed the title change in an attempt to be inclusive and clearly indicate who is served by this R & S area. We are proud to include our youngest training choirs in community, church, and school programs. It is our responsibility to build the foundation for the future of choral music in the United States. We are also proud to serve community youth/children’s choirs that have developed from community, church, and school programs and are not part of regular school curriculum/course offerings. To those of us active in the field, it has always been clear that "children's choir" involves older youth as well as elementary programs. As Karen Bruno eloquently pointed out in her October 2009 Choral Journal article “Keep America’s Youth Singing,” much of the national misperception is due to the success of MENC and their service to school based curricula. Church and community programs have often been misunderstood to fit into such a mold.
Online Auditions for Choir and Voice » Date: February 6, 2010
The Progression » Date: February 5, 2010
Do you ever have the sense that your choir thinks you are talking about someone else when you make a correction during a rehearsal? I do, and one of my students helped me come up with this pyramid yesterday. The Band Industry is Killing Music Education » Date: February 4, 2010 
My colleague told me this story about a recent happening in the "band" world that you may not have heard about:
Here is the outline of the story:
1. On January 30, 2005, a parent wrote an article in the Washington Post that bemoaned instrumental music education in general and substandard literature in particular. He also wrote a "follow on" article entitled "The Repertoire is the Curriculum: Getting Back to Basics in Music Education" that elaborated on the original issue.
2. All of it caused quite a furor. (He "received more than 100 messages and phone calls from band directors, students, ex-students, elementary school teachers, church musicians . . ") His mail ran about 7 to 1 in favor of what he had said.
4. He was about to publish another article, but the article was pulled at the last minute by a new president of the association.
Online ACDA Voting: Highest Turnout Ever » Date: February 3, 2010 
First, congratulations to Karen.
Second, congratulations to ACDA!
Here are some of the details:
- Over 12% of active membership voted in the National election and bylaws.
- Highest percentage of voting on record. (Participation in voting is one measure of associational loyalty.)
- First time ACDA has had national election, division elections, and bylaw changes determined by online voting.
- Voting participation grew steadily throughout the month, but spiked in the last 3 days of voting.
- NO PAPER BALLOTS were requested, which is an option. No one asked for one and none were used. ACDA National, Division, and State elections are all taking place online now. One of the three bylaw changes included the wording "vote by mail" to include "voting via electronic means" for future elections.
- Continues Executive Director Tim Sharp's initiative of using technological advancements to improve and enhance the mission and purposes of ACDA.
It is worth noting that these are the first Bylaw changes in ACDA since 2006 -- another indication of change and improvement.
Our national organization is moving ahead, one step at a time.
Podium 2010 - Where Canadian Choral Communities Meet. » Date: February 2, 2010 
Details of the the biennial ACCC Canadian national choral music conference, known as "Podium" have been released. This year, the conference runs from May 20th to the 23rd in Saskatoon Saskatchewan.
Here are highlights of this year's conference:
During this four-day event, delegates will attend concerts from some of the best choirs in Canada including the Canadian Chamber Choir, the Elora Festival Singers and the National Youth Choir. Delegates will be able to visit the MarketPlace Trade Show, network with other professionals and choral enthusiasts, hear presentations at key choral development sessions such as 'WOW-ing' Your Audience, Developing Tone by Choosing the Right Repertoire and French Diction. Three young emerging conductors will have the distinct opportunity of completing a series of Master Classes with Dr. Julia Davids, Artistic Director of the Canadian Chamber Choir.
Follow this link for more information about the conference, and to register online. What to wear » Date: February 1, 2010 
The age old debate of what a classical musician should wear on stage continues over at The Rambler.
Here is a sample of his post. Read the full post at this link
There are the beginnings of a debate on Twitter on the vexed subject of formal wear for performers at concerts. I go to enough contemporary music concerts that I very rarely see performers in full formal dress any more. When I do, it doesn’t bother me that much – although it does still surprise. What disturbs me more are the peculiar ritual/non-ritual practices that occur before the music begins. (And this, again, is not something that I ever remember having seen at a new music concert except occasionally those involving the major venues and the large ensembles – new music players tend to be pretty slick at getting on stage and getting playing.)
The debate about formal wear is generally couched as part of the wider debate about increasing attendance at classical music events. Such a debate is especially governed by a certain green-eyed view of the audience who go to plenty of other cultural events – arts galleries, the theatre and so on. There are plenty of people who go to the theatre all the time, the argument goes; how do we get them to come to classical concerts too? My choir has experimented in the past by moving away from the tuxedo, but we always come back. Do you feel that wearing a tuxedo in concert hampers efforts to increase attendance?
I don't.
Happy Birthday, Franz Schubert - b. 1797 » Date: January 31, 2010
The Chant Jock » Date: January 30, 2010
Highlighting what we sing: Using Google Docs for Choir Tasks » Date: January 29, 2010 
I am exploring different ways of using Google Docs for my choirs and I hit upon a new one today: highlighting the text.
Here was my task:
- I'm working up Mendelssohn's "Die erste Walpurgisnacht" for the Alabama Symphony
- My chorus speaks Alabama, not German
- Our language expert is coming Monday to help us
- I need to identify exactly what/where we needed help
So . . . I found Goethe's text online but we don't sing all of that - and the men sing part and the women sing part and we combine on other parts.
What do you think - a useful tool?
Do you have other uses for Google Documents and your choir? Will the Apple "iPad" Revolutionize Music Publishing? » Date: January 28, 2010 
After the much anticipated announcement of the release of the Apple tablet, the " iPad", yesterday - it got me thinking - will this finally be the step that makes digital music stands a reality? Perhaps with the price tag starting at $499 per iPad, maybe not just yet. However, I can't help but to think of the future application as it applies to our industry.
The most obvious use will be the practical application. A musician could scan in their scores, carry the iPad to their gig, set it on a music stand and just go - no need for stand lights, no losing music, quick clicking through repeat sings, da capos, digitally mark up scores the way you like, with as many colors as you like, and delete old markings with ease. Turn pages with the touch of a finger, or even by a foot pedal if your fingers are in use. These programs already do exist ( see this youtube video), but the hardware is bulky, requires cables, and you need to find a way strap your laptop sideways on the stand, or own the old generation bulky tablets that have not succeeded. Not to mention, the cost!
The iPad is smaller, thinner, and lighter. The iPad boasts a 10 hour battery life (that's four union services) plus wireless and bluetooth networking. The screen is slighter smaller than letter sized paper, 1 inch thick, and 1 1/2 pounds (perhaps a bit heavy to hold for a long time in a black folder) and full of all the toys that many of us know and love in our iPod Touch's or iPhones - including an intuitive operating system based on simple icons and touches. It also has the capacity of 64 gigabytes of flash storage. That's a lot of scores - my rough calculation - nearly 15,000 pages of music at high quality resolution (10 mega pixels) - perhaps up to ten times that at a lower resolution. One could conceivably hold the entire printed works of Bach with room to spare.
If the iPad takes off, as Apple anticipates it will, and why wouldn't they - they designed it after all, I feel the real potential is in the field of music publication. Many iPod users are already quick to depart with $0.99 to buy a track of music they desire, I know I'm guilty. Wouldn't it be grand if major publishers like Carus and Barenreiter offered a similar service to download their scores into your iPad for small "paperless" fees? Downloading music is nothing new - we have CPDL, Handlo and Sheet Music Plus to name a few, However they are often unreliable, and full of errors. If Apple can get big name music publishers on board, the way we read music (and I mean that in a literal sense) could change. I feel it is inevitable.
When will this happen?
"Choir, please load up the Haydn, click to Rehearsal C and touch in these markings ... or, better yet - import MY markings" Like Leonardo » Date: January 27, 2010 
ACDA Executive Director Tim Sharp is blogging (and twittering).
-Leonardo kept a notebook, writing all of his ideas down, no matter how trivial or inconsequential. He tied his notebook around his waist and it served as his constant companion. In one margin he wrote he was taking a break from work “perche la minestra si fredda” (“because the soup is getting cold”). Sure, it is a great reason to stop, but why write it down? That was what he did. No idea was trivial. (Was he the original “Twitterer”?)
I keep a notebook and write every idea down. I value it so much that I give Moleskine notebooks as graduation gifts telling my students to “fill it up”. I also encourage those that work with me to keep a log of their ideas.
Like Tim and Leonardo, I keep a notebook and mine happens to be a Moleskine that I "hacked" into a wallet so that it is always with me. I got tired of losing everything I ever wrote and digital notes never worked for me.
Read more of Tim's thoughts here.
How do you recruit? » Date: January 26, 2010 
I have picked up recruiting pointers along the way. (An athletics director at Oxymoron was particularly helpful in suggesting ways to make students feel welcome, even if one is on a limited recruiting budget.) But mostly I think back to how I was treated when I looked into colleges, both good and bad, and what I found appealing. Students want to feel valued and important. They want us to remember their names. (I keep files for this reason because I suck at remembering names.) They want, especially if they aren't the "top tier" students, reassurance that a professor will help them succeed. They want to feel like a person, not a number.
There's no "secret" to recruiting. It's about finding what matters to each student and treating them as individuals of value.
Leadership Opportunities in ACDA » Date: January 25, 2010 
From the ACDA website:
The American Choral Directors Association is now accepting applications for positions on the Choral Journal Editorial Board as well as for chairs on the National Repertoire & Standards Committee. Both areas are part of ACDA's six standing committee structure, and represent excellent national leadership opportunities for interested and qualified members.
Choral Journal, ACDA's professional monthly publication, is accepting applications for editors of the Choral Reviews standing column, and the Sound Recordings standing column. Applications should be emailed to Choral Journal editor, Dr. Carroll Gonzo, at clgonzo@stthomas.edu, on or before April 15, 2010. Selected candidates will begin their duties June 1, 2010 (see below for materials to include in the electronic application submission).
The National Repertoire & Standards Committee is accepting applications for the position of Male Choirs chair, Women's Choirs Chair, and Showchoirs chair. Interested applicants should email a resume and short vision statement for the position to Nancy Cox, National Repertoire & Standards Chair, at nrcox@swbell.net, on or before April 1, 2010 (see http://acda.org/repertoire for additional information).
Details here.
I Hear Music » Date: January 24, 2010
Singing in Haiti brings relief » Date: January 23, 2010 
Tom Lloyd sent me a story about singing providing the Haitians some relief from the disaster.
For more than a week, there have been stories about Haitians struggling to cope with the destruction of their country. But even amid the rubble, there are moments of reprieve. In this audio postcard, we hear how some women and children formed a circle and chanted praise for Joshua's victory in Jericho.
Time to Vote ACDA » Date: January 22, 2010 
It is time to vote if you are an ACDA member! Deadline is Monday, January 25, 2010.
ACDA's National Nominations Committee and National Board are pleased to offer candidates Karen Fulmer and Donald Trott for your consideration for National President-elect-Designate. Each candidate brings strong credentials and significant ideas for the future of ACDA.
For a Vision Statement and Biographical information for each candidate, visit www.acda.org/members/elections.
Also on the ballot are three proposed ACDA Constitutional amendments. Voting will take place beginning January 1, 2010, and will continue through January 25, 2010.
Voting will be for each of the following three proposed changes:
1. That the ACDA Bylaws reassign the Chair of the ACDA Membership Committee from the President-Elect to the Chair of the Past Presidents' Council.
2. That the wording "vote by mail" be understood to include voting via electronic means.
3. That the R&S title "Children's Choirs" be changed to "Children and Youth Community Choirs".
Chanticleer on Prairee Home Companion » Date: January 21, 2010 
In case you missed it, Chanticleer was on the Prairie Home Companion this past weekend.
A great program!
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