There’s this guy. Like many of my friends, he is a gifted musician. He is a bass-baritone with real pipes and can sing and act at an amazing professional level. He has done leading roles in regional opera, oratorio and community theatre productions across the country—I’ve seen him on stage […]
This really ought to be a “guest blog” so that someone else could rave about these pieces. As it is, I’m going to have to take the risk that some folks will find this list rather…um…self aggrandizing. What can I say? The plain truth is that lots of choral […]
Birthdays, especially as they begin to mount up, can make you a bit introspective. That can be a good thing if your life has been one of steady progress toward success and happiness. However, if you’ve spent forty of your years wandering in the wilderness, it can be a […]
In Part One of this series we examined some of the requirements of a singable text or lyric and lamented the fact that such verses were rare and difficult to find. At the end of that little essay I cleverly set up this second entry in the series by posing […]
Over the many years during which I have been associated with choir directors I can recall numerous occasions when I have cheerfully encouraged someone to form a new group. “Start a new choir!” I said. “It will be fun!” I said. Starting a new choir can be a fine way […]
One of the questions most frequently posed to those of us who work at attaching notes to words is, “Where do you get your texts?” When I am feeling impish I sometimes answer with a perfectly straight face, “Walmart.” I don’t think anyone has ever believed me on that, but […]
Number 2 will change your sound forever! Choir directors, like nearly all musicians, suffer from perpetual job insecurity. They know full well that choral music programs in public schools are being cut every day, churches are dropping choirs in favor of praise bands and music listeners are wandering away […]
I recently posted on my FaceBook newsfeed a little meme (see illustration) about the piece of mine which is surely better known than any other, Sing Me to Heaven. Indeed, it may be better known than all of the others combined. I am profoundly grateful on a daily basis for […]
If you’re walking down the street and some nosy reporter sticks a camera in your face and asks you to sing your favorite song, chances are good that you won’t sing the alto part–you’ll sing the melody. For most people, the melody is the song and all the other parts […]
Recently I spent some time on the phone chatting with a young composer whose name, I predict, you will be seeing frequently. Jacob Hasler, who is beginning a master’s degree, has just had a piece accepted for publication by Hinshaw. Watch for it. I’ve seen a selection of his work […]
Over the years ACDA conferences have offered me many profoundly moving musical experiences. My reactions have included tears, smiles, joy, laughter and the occasional moment of heart-stopping awe. Every time I attend one of these events I am deeply impressed by the quality of performances presented. Although the variety of […]
The life of a composer is seldom the glamorous sort of affair that it’s made out to be in movies and novels. I thought it might be of interest to some of you to have a glimpse into the actual process from the composer’s view, and so with apologies to […]
Recently I received an e-mail message from a composition student at a high school who was working on a senior project which required him to write a piece of choral music and to present some information about composing for choruses. He asked if I would mind answering a few questions […]