MMEA Mid-Winter Clinic Day 1, Part 2

Part 1 of this thread of consciousness was posted here.

During the 2:15-3:15 session period on Thursday, 12 February 2015, I went across to Central Lutheran Church where the choral performances are held.  The Mound Westonka High School Choir under the direction of Kate Larson was the first choir to perform.  Ms. Larson is the 2014 ACDA-MN Young Director of the Year, and she has created an outstanding program at Mound Westonka during the past 8 years.  Not only do I enjoy the sound this ensemble creates for a high school group, Ms. Larson utilizes very inventive programming ranging through a variety of cultures, time periods, and styles.

The Mound Westonka Program...

• "Alleluia Incantation" Andrew Miller (Santa Barbara Music Publishing)
• "Cantate Domino" Claudio Monteverdi (CPDL)
• "Bobinom' Saintom'" arranged by Stephen Hatfield (earthsongs)
• "Good-Night" Matthew Emery (Santa Barbara Music Publishing)
• "Fear Not" Daniel Schreiner (Santa Barbara Music Publishing)
• "Balleilakka" A. R. Rahman / arranged by Ethan Sperry (earthsongs)

Larson selected music predominantly from SBMP and earthsongs, two publishers I regularly trust due to the high quality of the repertoire that they put out.  Rarely, do I find pieces published by these two smaller companies lacking in musical quality.  When I am looking for new repertoire, these are the two websites I check first.  The repertoire was both a choral nerd's delight, and contains music that an audience will find entertaining and moving.

The second choral performance during the 2:15 session was the Willmar Senior High School Cardinal Choir under the direction of Neal Haugen.  Mr. Haugen has had a distinguished career as a vocal music educator at Willmar.  I appreciated the Cardinal Choir's vitality of sound, and the numerous genres represented in Mr. Haugen's programming.

The Willmar Program...

• "Hainerot Halalu" by Stanley Hoffman (ECS Publishing s492)
• "Ave Verum Corpus" by William Byrd (ECS Publishing 2976)
• "Evening Prayer" by Ola Gjeilo (Walton Music / GIA Publications WW1520)
• "Run to You" by Pentatonix (www.ptxfans.com/run-to-you)
• "I Can Tell the World" by Moses Hogan (Hal Leonard HL08703198)
• "One Day More" from Les Miserables, arranged by Mark Brymer (Hal Leonard HL0862112)
• "The Ground" by Ola Gjeilo (Walton Music / GIA Publications WW1460

I thoroughly enjoyed the first two selections, especially hearing the Byrd.  EC Schirmer is another publisher of quality choral repertoire who I trust and appreciate. Ola Gjeilo is arguably one of the most popular composers in the current repertoire and much of his work is published by Walton Music. Walton recently transferred over its distribution rights from Hal Leonard to GIA Music.  

The Pentatonix arrangement I did not find particularly interesting, which is unusual because I enjoy Pentatonix, and have followed them since their season on the Sing-Off.  Brymer's "One Day More" performance did not particularly move me either.  However, this is not a criticism of the programming of either piece.  These are pieces that will connect with the regular audience in our communities the most.  In the end, we as choral educators need to sell our programs to our audiences. By programming these pieces for the MMEA Conference performance, Mr. Haugen shared with his colleagues two pieces that have worked for him in that manner.  

I think programming like this is valuable to the membership from a community advocacy perspective.  Too often, I see choral directors at an ACDA or NAfME convention program to show off to his or her colleagues.  (On the flip side, I see and hear too many choir directors make snide comments about a choir's performance or a director's programming at a convention.)  I love the program Mr. Haugen showed in this instance, a complete combination of Ivory Tower programming and programming for the masses. 

Well done to both Kate Larson and Neal Haugen!

MMEA Mid-Winter Clinic Day 1, part 1

The Minnesota Music Educator Association hosted its annual Mid-Winter Clinic, February 12-14, 2015 at the Minneapolis Convention Center.  As a middle school and high school choral music educator, I was very pleased with the number of interest session options that the MMEA scheduled for this clinic, along with some great concert sessions.  It is impossible to go to everything, but to the credit of the scheduling committee, I did not have an hour where I felt there was nothing to go to.  In fact, I probably spent a great deal less time in the vendor area than normal which is fine with me.  Normally, I prefer not speak with vendors unless I have a specific reason, and I had enough time to visit the booths I needed to visit.

Most of the choral interest sessions that were offered that I attended were centered around one of two areas: (1) Recruiting, teaching, and keeping male singers in your ensembles, and (2) vocal pedagogy.  As I have spent time in a new position this year, it is always helpful to get reminders in ways other teachers have successfully recruited.  Also, I always worry that in my hurry to teach repertoire, I may be missing important details in teaching proper vocal technique.  Again, I was reminded of a lot of fantastic ideas that reinforces what I am already doing or will enhance my approach in the classroom.

First Session: Thursday, 12 February 2015, 1:00-2:00 PM. Building a Beautiful Sound with Young Tenors - Stephen Sieck, DMA, Co-Director of Choral Studies, Lawrence University.

     Dr. Sieck's session reinforced much of what I have learned over the course of my career about voice classification in young male singers, specifically finding young tenors (ages 12-20).  However, there were a few subtle points that he brought up that set off some alarm bells in my own teaching, and I want to make sure I recheck how I am doing things in order to best serve my middle school and high school aged men. He references Richard Miller's The Structure of Singing in his presentation.  The Miller text is referenced by later presenters during the conference, and is text that I recall glancing at as an undergrad, and looking at in greater detail as an graduate student.  However, I do not own this text, and I believe it is a source I may need to revisit in greater detail.  I know there have been advances in scientific understanding of the human voice since it was written in 1986, but it continues to be an important text in the field of singing.

     The topics that Dr. Sieck touched upon that I felt were good refreshers were numerous.  He began by reviewing the principal of the bell curve principal: most male voices are baritones.  There are few true basses and tenors.  In diagnosing where a singer is one must pay attention to a singer's (1) fry tone, (2) modal (chest) voice, (3) mixed voice, (4) upper (head) voice, and (5) falsetto.  When assessing a singers range we need to pay attention to a number of aspects. When a singer shifts from a modal tone to a fry tone is important to note.  A fry tone is difficult for a singer to sustain and is essentially not useable for an extended period.  It is something I pay attention to individual singer evaluations, but maybe not as closely as I should.  The next important step is identifying the lifts/breaks/passagio in a singers voice.  This is something I pay the closest attention to, but according to Dr. Sieck's presentation, I may need to be certain unhealthy modifications are not being utilized to mask or negotiate the breaks.  I may have baritones (or baritenors) that can not healthily sustain pitches above an F4.  From that point finding a singers "highest" note is less important, but valuable in identifying how smoothly he changes registration and whether or not it is with healthy technique.

     After identifying the pitfalls, Dr. Sieck identified three common problems and rehearsal strategies to avoid the problems and build healthy techniques.  The problems he identified include: (1) lifting of the larynx, (2) spreading of the vowel, and (3) overly nasal timbres.  All of these can be addressed directly or indirectly by teaching the singer to engage his head voice in a relaxed and unforced manner.  Keeping the tongue forward, using voiced consonants and rounded vowels, and singing "ng-ah" passages all will help the singer develop understanding through sensation.

     The challenges I face is delivering this information to my middle school men in a mixed choral setting.  It is difficult for men to explore this vocal sensations in a room in which the opposite gender is present.  I can do these things in one on one lessons or sectional rehearsals, but it will take some work to develop a culture in which my men will feel "safe" to take these risks in our middle school choir rehearsal.  I attempt to do some of these activities already, but again serious engagement is difficult in this setting.  It is less of a challenge in the high school choral rehearsal, because a culture has been quickly been established in which figuring out proper vocal technique for men and women is essential.  Dr. Sieck has provided great tools, and I appreciate the information he provided.

ACDA-MN State Conference, Day 1

November 21, 2014

Today was day one of the Minnesota chapter of the American Choral Director's Association annual fall conference held at St. Andrew's Lutheran Church.  Every year ACDA-MN does an outstanding job of putting together diverse interest and reading sessions to help re-energize the choral director's in our membership as we surge into the holiday season.

This morning I attended two interest sessions that addressed the concepts of creating a community within the choral classroom.  First, Reid Larsen of Cottage Grove Middle School lead a session entitled, Finding Unison in a Harmonized World. Mr. Larsen did an excellent job of reminding us that there ways in which can get students to feel ownership in the ensemble.  He suggested a variety of simple games that require interaction, communication, listening, and trust.  Empowering students to be leaders and established community expectations has been effective in his classroom.  His ideas were numerous, and Larsen invited many of us to share what has been effective in creating community in our classes, adding to the shared knowledge.

The second session, was lead by Steven Albaugh of Rosemount High School with a session entitled, Creating Connections in a Disconnected World.  Mr. Albaugh did not provide us with handouts, but kept all of us very engaged in many of the activities he does on regular basis with his ensembles. (Sometimes handouts and powerpoint presentations can be distracting in an experiential interest session.) To boil it down, Albaugh shared ways in which he creates an energized, engaged, and invested community with his ensembles.  His approaches range from silly to serious, and active movement to more quiet introspection.  However, he picks activities and interactions that come naturally to him so they come across as genuine to his students.  (At the same time, if we are encouraging our students to stretch outside of their comfort zones, we must be willing to do so as well.)

Overall, Reid Larsen and Steven Albaugh provided great information and encouragement for the rest of us to continue to create learning communities in our choral ensembles.  It is important to remember that although we must worry about the notes, rhythms, and other content, in order to take our students to a higher experiential level we must take the time to build community in our ensembles.  Likely, I am better at creating this environment than I give myself credit for, however I must continue to challenge myself to do more.

Choral Music of the Americas Symposium Day 1

North Dakota State University in Fargo in conjunction with the American Choral Director's Association hosted the Choral Music of the Americas Symposium this weekend May 3rd - 5th. 

The blog entries over the next couple of days will serve as a collection of my thoughts for the sessions and concerts that I observed during the day.  They may form the basis for a future article for the ACDA-MN quarterly publication Star of the North.  The schedule is so full of interesting sessions it may take a few days to mentally unpack everything which I have heard and hopefully learned. 

The days events began at 8:00 AM with a key note speech by ACDA Executive Director, Dr. Tim Sharp.  The primary focus of the day was music of Latin America.  Dr. William Belan of Cal-State Los Angeles presented upon the choral music of Costa Rica.  Over the past thirty years, Dr. Belan has spent a lot of time contributing to and learning from the choral music community in Costa Rica.  He has published over 100 Latin American choral pieces that he has either edited or arranged.  Later in the afternoon, Maria Elina Mayorga and Ana Alejandra Blech presented the choral history and repertoire of Argentina.  What I took away from these two sessions was there is a rich repertoire base from both the classical and folk traditions from the Latin American countries that are available for U.S. conductors to program.  The pieces composed out of the sacred classical tradition provide a great fusion of classical form and indigineous rhythmic patterns.  The pieces arranged from folk music or dance rhythms provide different tonal and rhythmic challenges for our students and singers to learn.  Many of the folk arrangements could be programmed by vocal jazz ensembles because many of the Latin rhythms have fused with the jazz repertoire of the past half century.

Another session I found interesting from the days events included Brainerd Blyden-Taylor's presentation on Afrocentric Choral Traditions.  Dr. Blyden-Taylor is the founder and artistic director of Toronto's Nathaniel Dett Chorale, a choir dedicated to the performance of Afro-centric music.  He presented a packet of great spiritual literature from a variety of composers.  I most appreciated his sharing some of the "forgotten" arrangements of Wendell Whalum and Nathaniel Dett. Adolphus Hailstork's "Set Me as a Seal", Ruth Watson Henderson's "Make Me a World", and Ivo Antognini's "I am the rose of Sharon" all stood out as a remarkable pieces from composers whom I have admired over the years.

In the afternoon, Dale Warland gave an interesting session on his 15 keys to improving choral tone.  As a midwest educated choral director this was a fantastic session, but one that I have heard from Dr. Warland in the past. Inspiring and always a great refresher, but I won't elaborate upon it greatly here.

The evening concert was an enriching experience for the choirs of the greater Fargo-Moorhead community and many of the guest headlining conductors who came to the conference.  I will elaborate upon it further on my next post.

Job Update!

Super Quick Post...

The odyssey has ended.  On Monday, I signed my contract for the Music Director of Traditional Worship at Gethsemane Lutheran in Maplewood, MN.  Today, I was offered the 0.6 FTE High School Choir Director Position at Richfield (MN) High School, and have verbally accepted.

Great Day at Iowa Choral Director's Association...

Quick post today...

I had a great day at the Iowa Choral Director's Association's 36th Annual Summer Symposium.  The highlight of my day was co-leading the Ethnic and Multicultural Music Reading Session with Nick Page.  The session was my last official duty as the out-going Repertoire and Standards Chair for E/M music.  It was a pleasure to meet Nick, who is a wonderful person and a strong advocate for multicultural music as a bridge to understanding.  Also, a special big thank you to my long-time friend Darcy Hendriks, who accompanied both Nick and I for the reading session.

Another great part of the day was the annual worship service held at the convention.  This year's prayer service of hymns and scripture was lead by Michael Burkhardt.  Dr. Burkhardt is a nationally renowned church musician, and he did a fantastic job creating this year's prayer service.

Carol Stewart's speech about the importance of our art upon receiving the Robert McCowen Award inspired and empowered.  I hope to carry the echoes of her words a long time in my heart.

Finally, it was a bittersweet day for me.  I have been an extremely active member of the Iowa Chapter of the American Choral Director's Association since joining in 2005.  There are many men and women in the ICDA for whom I have developed a great deal of respect and admiration. Some of these colleagues have become like family.  We rejoice in each other's success, and help each other in our moment's of professional frustration.  It was humbling to hear so many of my colleagues who I admire, lament my departure from the state.  It is great to feel that sense of belonging and appreciation.

 As I re-establish myself in my home state of Minnesota, I am hopeful that I can develop similar professional connections.  But to those brothers (and sisters) in song from Iowa, I will always remain close.  I may make a point to come down to future ICDA conventions from time to time, but I will definitely see you at divisional and national conventions.

A preview for the Iowa Choral Director's Association Ethnic and Multicultural Music Reading Session

On Wednesday, July 27th, 2011 I will be presenting the ICDA Ethnic & Multicultural Perspectives reading session with the help of esteemed clinician Nick Page.  For more information on Mr. Page please visit his website.  The purpose of this blog is to provide as much additional information on the pieces printed for this year's reading session as possible.  Where possible, I will provide the publishers link and any performance/recording links available.  While compiling this years reading session list we tried to cover a variety of cultures.  We also attempted to pick pieces that would cover ensembles from a variety of ages and ability levels.  It was my goal to have an elementary music teacher and a collegiate choral director both have a couple pieces from this session worth considering. 


I will write a second blog covering pieces suggested by Nick Page and a handful that did not make the final cut that I reviewed. Enjoy.


1. Bowling Green (2 part treble). arranged by Nick Page. Boosey & Hawkes (Hal Leonard) #48005003.
         This selection is a Page arrangement of an American Bluegrass piece suitable for a middle school treble choir, originally commissioned by the Central Kentucky Children's Choir.  This is an uptempo piece with sections of unison singing and simple harmonies.  It is definitely a crowd pleaser.  Originally performed and recorded by Cousin Emmy in the 1940s.  Here is a decent live performance link via youtube.


2. Great Mornin' (2 part). arranged by Cristi Cary Miller. Hal Leonard #08552267.
        This piece is a simple two part arrangement of four different African American Spirituals by Cristi Cary Miller.  In my opinion Ms. Miller is one of the finest choral arrangers for developing voices active today.  Her ability to interweave melodic material and create counter melodies that makes 2 part and Three Part Mixed choral music interesting for students to sing is outstanding.  If you are not familiar with her arrangements, I highly recommend them.  Here is the Hal Leonard link, with studio sound clip.  Here is a youtube link that I found. Not the greatest video quality, but quality age appropriate performance.


3. "We're Goin' Around" from Treemonisha (SSAB). Scott Joplin / arranged by Nick Page. Boosey & Hawkes (Hal Leonard) #48019422.
        This piece is another Page arrangement of a piece from Joplin's second opera, Treemonisha.  Suitable for high school or more advanced junior high choirs, this piece exposes choral students to the ragtime genre.  Ragtime of course is covered prominently by piano students, and its place in the history of African-American music is essential when one seeks to see the evolution of the spiritual to later styles like jazz, blues, and gospel.  Here is the Hal Leonard link with a studio recording.  Here is a youtube clip from the 2008 Windy City Youth Choir Festival - good quality.


4. Alma Llanera (SATB). Pedro Gutierrez / arranged by Angel Sauce. earthsongs #S-37.
        This wonderful Venezuelan piece was selected by both Nick Page and myself separately.  An SATB a cappella arrangement suitable for an advanced mixed ensemble (high school, collegiate, or community choir), Alma Llanera "is a joropo, a typical Venezuelan dance rhythm which is based on the simultaneous combination of 3/4 and 6/8 meter" (Maria Guinand's editorial notes at the back of the score). It is an exciting, spirited Latin American piece that will energize your concert program.  Here is the earthsongs link on the publisher's website.  There are a few youtube clips available.  Here is one I found well done.  Check out some others that add instrumental accompaniment (drums, guitar) to the piece.


5.  Boatmen's Song (SSAA). Bright Sheng. G. Schirmer (Hal Leonard) #50486623.
          Bright Sheng's arrangement of a folk song from the Shaanxi Province in China was originally commissioned by the Young People's Chorus of New York City under the direction of Francisco J. Nunez.  Sheng is one of the premiere classical composers active today, but many may be unfamiliar with his work.  It is a great opportunity to create a bridge for your singers to modern classical composers.  
          This piece is designed for an ADVANCED women's chorus or children's choir.  In my opinion it is the most difficult piece in the session, and quite a challenge, but the end result is worth the effort.  Here is the link to the program notes from Bright Sheng's website.  Check it out further for more information about Dr. Sheng.  Here is the Hal Leonard link with brief audio clip.  A recording by the Young People's Chorus of New York can be found on their CD, Transient Glory 2.


6. Desh: An Indian Raga (TTBB). arranged by Ethan Sperry. earthsongs #S-330.
          Staying on the Asian continent, we move down to India for an arrangement of Desh by Ethan Sperry, for advanced men's choir.  This piece is also available from earthsongs in an SATB arrangement (#S-252).  I have personally been intrigued by Indian choral music ever since I first heard, Victor Paranjoti's Dravidian Dithyramb.  Dr. Sperry further contributes to this genre for earthsongs. Desh is named for a specific raga (ie. scale) that is similar to the major scale with a lowered seventh on the descent.  Sperry provides very detailed ethno-musicological notes at the back of the score.  The piece alternates between a slower 7/8 section, followed by a fast 4/4 essentially operating in cut time.  Here is a link to the publisher's page.  Here is a youtube link of the Miami University of Ohio Collegiate Chorale performing the SATB version, under the direction of Dr. Sperry. Outstanding and it works as a primary resource in your preparation.


7. Fog Elna Khel (SATB). arranged by Salim Bali. earthsongs #S-320.
          Moving west to the Middle East, I chose a rare piece: choral music from a Middle Eastern country.  Choral music is not a common art form in this part of the world, and Salim Bali's work has been an invaluable resource in cultivating music for this genre.  Fog Elna Khel is an arrangement of a folk song with both Iraqi and Syrian origins.  The part writing is excellent, and provides an opportunity to explore a non-Bel Canto singing technique with your ensemble (ie. bright and non-vibrato) to attempt to create a sound that is authentic to the Arab World.  Although not overly complicated, I would recommend this piece for an advanced high school choir, beginning collegiate, or community ensemble.  Here is the link to the publisher's webpage.  And here is a youtube link. It appears to be a high school ensemble (unsure?), but fairly well done.


8. N'kosi Sikelel'i Afrika (unison to four parts a cappella). Joseph Shabalala and Nick Page. World Music Press VTS #14.
          This another great selection contributed by Nick Page through his collaboration with Joseph Shabalala of Ladysmith Black Mambazo.  This is a four part arrangement of the South African National Anthem composed by Enoch Mankay Sontonga in 1897.  The voicing is very flexible and therefore it is an approachable and programmable selection for any number of ensembles. Here is the link from World Music Press. Of course here is the famous video of Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and Paul Simon. In the words of Stan Lee, "Nuff said."


9. Hamisha Asar (3 part treble). Flory Jagoda / arranged by Nick Page.  Boosey & Hawkes (Hal Leonard) #48004912. 
          This piece is an arrangement of a piece by Flory Jagoda by Nick Page. (Page also created an SATB arrangement.) Ms. Jagoda was a descendent of Sephardic Jews living in Bosnia.  The lyrics are in Ladino which is a Spanish / Hebrew hybrid language.  The piece dances in a fast, 7/8 meter, providing an energetic contrast in your program.  Here is the Hal Leonard link.  Here is a youtube link of the 2003 New Mexico All-State Women's Choir.


10. "Sano Duso" from Two Serbian Folk Songs (SATB). arranged by Tina Harrington. Pavane Publishing (Hal Leonard) #P1373.
          Staying in the former Yugoslavia, I selected an arrangement of a Serbian folk song by Tina Harrington entitled Sano Duso.  Oscillating between F minor and F major, the piece is about love and longing.  This a great slower and deeply emotional piece for your programming.  It sounds like a hybrid between Arabian and Russian influences, and considering the geographic location of Serbia and the country's history, this is not surprising. Here is the Hal Leonard link with a sound clip.  And a youtube clip.


11. Ma come bali bene bela bimba (2 part). arranged by Mark Sirett. Boosey & Hawkes (Hal Leonard) #48019930.
          This Venetian folk song is beautifully arranged for two part treble choir that would be well suited for an advanced middle school or junior high ensemble, or high school women's choir.  A fantastic up tempo Italian piece.  Here is the link to the Hal Leonard page with sample audio.  And a youtube link, low quality recording, but gives you the idea.


12. D'ou Viens-tu, Bergere (2 part), by Thomas Bell. Hal Leonard #08751311.
          An up tempo, French language piece with alternating meter composed by Bell for the Mississauga Children's Choir in Ontario.  This is a great piece for middle school treble choirs with great part writing and strong unison sections. Here is the Hal Leonard link, with sample audio.  Here is a great youtube clip of the Indianapolis Children's Choir performing the piece.


13. The True Lover's Farewell (SATB). arranged by Reginald Unterseher. Walton Music (Hal Leonard) #08501740.
          This piece is a good arrangement of a traditional English folk song.  Unterseher's arrangement is designed for female heavy junior high ensembles or beginning high school choirs in which the tenor part frequently doubles the soprano, and the bass line frequently doubles the alto.  It is a great approach for developing choirs with changing voices.  Here is the link to the Walton Music website with sound clip (very high quality).  






Again, I hope this post provides an additional more in depth resource to the piece presented at this summer's reading session.  Later, I will post a list of pieces that Nick Page and I considered for the reading session, but did not make the cut.