Compiled and Edited by Brian J. Winnie - The Choral Conductors Companion: 100 Rehearsal Techniques, Imaginative Ideas, Quote, and Facts

Published by

Meredith Music Publications

a division of GIA Publications, Inc.

7404 S. Mason Ave., Chicago, IL 60638

giamusic.com/meredith

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Copyright 2020 MEREDITH MUSIC PUBLICATIONS

International Copyright Secured All Rights Reserved

First Edition

August 2020

Text and cover design: Shawn Girsberger

Print ISBN: 978-1-57463-525-6

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-57463-526-3

Contents

FOREWORD

T he Choral Conductors Companion is the distillation of one-hundred separate books, a complete choral library, into the single driving ideas behind what could be a full book on every topic developed in this Companion . This is the gift of this publication: one hundred great ideas condensed to their very essence. As one of the contributors to this enormously practical and timely publication, my essential idea followed the exact rubric that each and every author followed in their reduction. Readers will appreciate the discipline at work in breaking complex subjects down to their very essence; but this was the purpose of this resource.

Depending on how one divides their rehearsal year, there are enough distilled ideas of transformational practicality in the following pages to introduce and cover over two years of rehearsal weeks. In addition, these are not simply transformational ideas, they have been refined and are presented by transformational individualsa literal whos who of choral leadership. This group-sourced compendium of wit, wisdom, and applied pedagogy is the very definition of best practices.

I am also especially grateful for the donation of royalties from this book to the American Choral Directors Association.

Tim Sharp, Executive Director

American Choral Directors Association

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

E ach and every contributor in this book deserves more gratitude than I can ever provide. They remained steadfast, flexible, and collaborative while writing these articles during the COVID-19 pandemic. To me, this showcases the professionalism, character, and kindness of spirit and sharing that makes each of them inspiring colleagues and mentors to so many. Thank you to each of them and their loved ones for taking time to share their knowledge and experience with the profession. May this book also connect each of us more deeply to one another.

To the American Choral Directors Association, thank you for their continued support of vocal/choral education and research. I hope the royalties from this project help support those future endeavors.

Finally, I give thanks to my colleagues, family, partner, students, and friends who supported this project and my passion for helping others on their journey.

Brian J. Winnie, Project Coordinator/Editor

INTRODUCTION

I continue to be inspired by the advances in research and pedagogy within the vocal/choral profession. There is so much to celebrate and so much information available to better ourselves, our craft, and our students. Even better, we can gain access to this information in an instant. Advancements in technology have allowed us to create and more easily share resources, view vocal performances from around the globe with the click of a button, and attend professional development webinars to learn about research and experiential approaches. But with all of this access to information, it can be hard to know where to start. How do we wade through the many potential topics to improve our teaching? How can we learn from the many experts in our field? Where can we find information in one easy-to-access resource? These questions were the impetus for this collaborative book project.

After some initial research and having worked with Garwood Whaley, the incredibly gracious and welcoming President and Founder of Meredith Music Publications (MMP), I was inspired by Gary Siths The Conductors Companion . His book, published by MMP, focused on the instrumental conductor-teacher, and this book serves as a companion text focusing on the choral/vocal conductor-teacher. It keeps Garys original design and includes 100 short articles offering rehearsal techniques, imaginative ideas, and pedagogical/philosophical considerations. It also includes 100 quotes and composer/conductor facts to inspire your teaching and ensembles.

It was my hope to invite as many contributors to this project as possible. So, this companion includes 100 authors from around the world who are expert choral pedagogues, composers, conductors, vocologists, music therapists, researchers, speech-language pathologists, studio teachers, and more. Together they showcase exemplary records in teaching, research, performance, and professional practice. Within this resource, you will find many of the articles are research-based and include further reading suggestions for you to get to know more about the subject matter of the article. Some topics naturally overlap, but each article offers a unique viewpoint to consider. Additionally, each author is a specialist in their topic area and would welcome further conversations about their research.

This resource was intended to be equally beneficial for beginning vocal ensemble conductor-teachers, undergraduate/graduate choral methods classes, and experienced professionals. You will find the articles appear in alphabetical order by author. However, allow yourself to pick a page and get started at any point in the book!

None of us, including me, ever do great things. But we can all do small things, with great love, and together we can do something wonderful. Mother Teresa

Brian J. Winnie, Project Coordinator/Editor

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Kirk Aamot is Director of Choral Activities at Montana State University in Bozeman, where he teaches choral conducting and choral methods while conducting the MSU Chorale and Montanans.

Frank Abrahams , Ed.D., is Associate Dean and Professor of Music Education at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. He was founder of the Westminster Conservatory Youth Chorale and editor of the Westminster Conservatory Youth Chorale Jewish Music Choral Series distributed by Hal Leonard. With Paul Head, he is co-author of Teaching Music Through Performance in Middle School Choir published by GIA and the Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy (Oxford University Press).

Kari Adams , Ph.D., is Assistant Professor of Choral Music Education at Florida State University. She is a passionate conductor, teacher, and researcher. Her studies and practitioner articles have been published in Music Educators Journal, Update: Applications of Research in Music Education, International Journal of Research in Choral Singing, and Journal of Research in Music Education.

Miriam Altman , is an elementary and middle school music teacher in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. She is a frequent presenter, guest conductor and workshop facilitator, and her students have had the honor of performing at various state and regional conferences. She humbly gives mad props to her tremendous CMP colleagues for constant inspiration, especially Patty Schlafer, for edifying the ideas of this article.