Across the Bar, The Saint Mary’s College Women’s Choir 4th CD on the ProOrgano label has just been released. Under the direction of Nancy Menk, the disc includes the following repertoire:
Gustav Holst: Ave Maria
Michael Torke: Song of Ezekiel
Michael Sitton: Missa Brevis
Claude Debussy: Salut Printemps
William Hawley: Regina Caeli
William Hawley: Alma Redemptoris Mater (World Premiere)
Franz Schubert: Standchen, Op. 135
Kinley Lange: [...]
A 40-million pound “Sing Up” initiative aims to get every child in the UK singing daily within 4 years. The initiative offers a magazine for teachers and online resources at their website. An excellent article on the new program says that children who sing achieve more at school as is evidenced by the fact that the top 30 [...]
NPR Celebrates Thanksgiving with Handel’s “Belshazzar’s Feast”
Listen to the entire oratorio performed in concert by the Church of Saint Igantius Loyola at NPR (will take you to the concert’s homepage). This synopsis of the oratorio comes from the NPR site:
Act One: The story is set in and around the walled city of Babylon in the year 538 [...]
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“I love music, I love teaching music, and I love young people. And the combination of those makes my job perfect.” ~ Laura Sam, 2007 Choral Teacher of the Year (NC Music Educator’s Association)
An inspirational article on Laura Sam in the Burlington Times can be found here.
Ricci Adam’s MusicTheory.net offers a wonderful html & flash-based suite of music theory lessons and trainers. The entire site is downloadable for use on your desk or laptop system and should work on both Windows and Mac based platforms. This excellent site covers most of what you need to know/learn for a university ‘theory core.’
Staves
Durations
Accidentals
Scales
Intervals
Chords
Ear trainers (many [...]
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“Most people don’t think about singing when they think about revolutions. But song was the weapon of choice when, between 1986 and 1991, Estonians sought to free themselves from decades of Soviet occupation. During those years, hundreds of thousands gathered in public to sing forbidden patriotic songs and to rally for independence.”
This is the subject [...]
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Favorite “Three Kings” repertoire suggested by members of the Choralist. These are, of course, appropriate for the entire Christmas season, but particularly apt for “12th Night” or Epiphany programs (Jan 5th & 6th).
“Ab Oriente Venerunt Magi” – Jacob Handl (1550-1591)
“Bethlehem Down” – Peter Warlock
“Do You Hear What I Hear?”
“Here is the Little Door (from “Three Carol-Anthems”)” [...]
. . . well, cough, hem-hem . . . so did I. It turns out, however, that we were both wrong . . . very, very wrong. It turns out that Gregorian chant had strong competition in the Medieval Europe, duking it out with it’s hearty rival: Ambrosian chant.
So what is Ambrosian chant? Music made from [...]
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A new Harris Poll links music education to higher incomes & levels of personal fulfillment: “Whether it’s chorus, band or just violin lessons, music impacts Americans’ lives. While singing in a chorus or playing an instrument is fun, it can also provide important skills like creative problem solving that can help lead to higher education [...]
“I’ve learned . . . how important it is for children to have something in life to contribute that’s greater than themselves. My fear is our society is teaching children to either win a medal or focus on performance only, rather than teaching children to love what they do. It’s my hope that in the Community Music [...]
I was first exposed to the concept of ‘complaints choirs’ last week when I stumbled upon a video from the Helsinki Complaints Choir on youtube. Today I came across complaintschoir.org : home of the worldwide complaints choir movement. While on the surface I find this mildly amusing, there is also something about it that bothers me.
Perhaps [...]
Having trouble getting your choir to open their mouths? Forget the old trick of making them stick their fingers in there.
Choralister Andy Huff suggests, “Use some imagery for [your] students: have them imagine they are taking a bite out of a big, shiny apple. That will not only open their mouths, but relax their jaws (keeping them [...]
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One thing I love about the choral world is that fresh talent is much more easily embraced than in the instrumental world. I think part of that comes from the fact that the voice is rooted in certain musical realities that are impossible for it to escape. You can only walk so far away from [...]
It is not for a composer to say if she/he is great or no, performers are the ones who will decide if his/her music will thrive and survive over time. I find it amusing though, when I hear people complain that there are no Bachs or Mozarts or Beethovens anymore. In one sense, of course [...]
My advice is this:
Spend some quality time with your text. If you are going to set it, you must like something about it. Let it become your ally, not your opponent in this creation of a new work.
I would further suggest analyzing your text poetically and trying to break it down into the smallest of understandable thoughts [...]