Conducting & Performing

Chorus America advances the artistry of choruses by providing masterclasses for choral conductors, sessions on repertoire and performance practice, convenings of artistic directors, research on conducting careers and transitions, information on performance trends and innovations, and forums for discussion of artistic issues.

Articles

How Choruses Have Become Ambassadors of Peace

How Choruses Have Become Ambassadors of Peace

Kelsey Menehan | Community Outreach, Impact/Value, Profile, Repertoire, Singing

There is perhaps no more fitting metaphor for bridging discord than voices joined in harmony. Read more

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The Singer's Responsibility for Artistic Excellence

The Singer's Responsibility for Artistic Excellence

Kelsey Menehan | Recruitment, Singing, Volunteer

Over 40 million people sing in choruses in the United States and countless more worldwide. But why don't choruses usually garner the prestige that, say, symphony orchestras do? Is it because we're just not measuring up? Read more

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Reaching for Artistic Excellence

Reaching for Artistic Excellence

How Choruses Actively Plan for Improvement

Kelsey Menehan | Governance, Impact/Value, Professional, Recruitment, Singing, Technique/Tool, Volunteer

No matter where your chorus is on the road toward artistic excellence, you can take steps to get better—a diverse sample of choruses tell their inspiring stories. Read more

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Building Today's Professional Choruses

Building Today's Professional Choruses

Matthew Sigman | Careers, Innovation, Management/Leadership, Professional

Adventuresome repertoire, distinctive voices, flexible organizations, and innovative productions have expanded the concept of what a professional chorus looks like today—here's what it takes to excel. Read more

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Watch & Learn A Chinese Folksong

Watch & Learn A Chinese Folksong

Jing Ling-Tam | Repertoire, Singing

"Mò Li Hua" (Jasmine Flower) has been popular since the Qing Dynasty. Read more

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The 10 Commandments for Recording Your Chorus

The 10 Commandments for Recording Your Chorus

Brad Spencer | Impact/Value, Legal/Licensing, Management/Leadership, Marketing/Public Relations, Technique/Tool

Professionally produced recordings are still one of the best ways you can enhance the quality, image, reputation, and morale of your chorus. Read more

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Breaking the Silence of Addiction

Breaking the Silence of Addiction

Daniel O'Neill | Community Outreach, Education, Health

Composer Michael Shaieb's oratorio, "Through a Glass, Darkly," is making choral music a vehicle to address methamphetamine addiction in the gay community. When the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington, DC set out to perform it, they did a lot more than just learn the music. Read about the comprehensive outreach initiative they developed to bring this growing social problem to light. Read more

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The Wow Factor

The Wow Factor

Kelsey Menehan | Composing/Commissioning, Impact/Value, Innovation, Marketing/Public Relations, Repertoire

Think choral music is only found in drafty churches or formal concert halls? Think again! These innovators are stretching our imaginations and taking choral performances to the next level. Read more

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Out of the Concert Hall...

Out of the Concert Hall...

Choral Concerts in Unusual Venues

Kelsey Menehan | Audiences, Community Outreach, Innovation, Operations, Performance

What happens when you take your concert to a museum, armory, warehouse, stone mill, or parking garage? Performing music in unusual venues can ignite a spark of creativity and community connection for choruses. Read more

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Bringing Today's Choral Composers into Your Community

Bringing Today's Choral Composers into Your Community

Kelsey Menehan | Children/Youth, Composing/Commissioning, Education

How Minnesota's VocalEssence and composer Eric Whitacre helped high school students, choral directors, and community members of all ages discover the power of contemporary choral music through a festival and community sing event. Read more

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Resources

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Orientation Materials Checklist

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Orientation Materials Checklist

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Governance, Operations, Sample/Template, Strategic Planning

A checklist of documents and organizational background to prepare for the incoming music director. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: Developing a Communications Plan

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Developing a Communications Plan

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Governance, Marketing/Public Relations, Sample/Template, Strategic Planning, Technique/Tool

A worksheet to help choruses communicate to all constituents in the event of an artistic founder transition. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: Determining Your Organizational Direction

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Determining Your Organizational Direction

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Governance, Strategic Planning, Technique/Tool

Thirteen questions to help determine the future of the chorus when an artistic founder transition is imminent. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: Building Your Search Budget

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Building Your Search Budget

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Finance, Governance, Operations, Strategic Planning, Technique/Tool

Searching for new artistic leadership requires its own budget. This list of income and expense considerations will help. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: Annual Employee Performance Evaluation Guidelines

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Annual Employee Performance Evaluation Guidelines

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Evaluation, Governance, Strategic Planning, Technique/Tool

Ten helpful guidelines to help establish a healthy annual performance review process for the music director of your chorus. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: Action Plan Matrix

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Action Plan Matrix

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Governance, Sample/Template, Strategic Planning

A worksheet to help choruses plan for founding artistic leadership transitions. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: 4 Tips for Building Your Board

'Music Director Transition' Tool: 4 Tips for Building Your Board

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Governance, Recruitment, Strategic Planning

A founder transition requires strong leadership from the board. Is your board ready? Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: 3 Key Transition Questions

'Music Director Transition' Tool: 3 Key Transition Questions

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Governance, Operations, Sample/Template, Strategic Planning

Questions to answer as you begin a founding music director transition. Read more

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The Choral Music of Ruth Watson Henderson

The Choral Music of Ruth Watson Henderson

Chorus America Staff | Composing/Commissioning, Conducting, Repertoire, Research/Data

Research Memorandum Series No. 198 Read more

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Events

Sound Imaginarium

Sound Imaginarium

1717 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue, WA 98004

Master Chorus E... | Audiences

  An imaginarium is a place devoted to stimulating and cultivating the imagination.  Master Chorus Eastside explores the amazing and creative sound worlds of other cultures, other eras, and our own innovative age with Sound Imaginarium, a concert devoted to inspiring the imagination through the choral art.  Come enjoy a Mongolian rendering of their love affair with horses, the otherworldly sound of aboriginal overtone singing, the kaleidoscopic intricacies of a Bach fugue, and an exploration of the mind of Leonardo da Vinci as he dreams of a flying machine, and more, accompanied by the mighty organ at First Presbyterian Church of Bellevue.  You’ll have to hear it to believe it!   Read more

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Essence of Joy Alumni Singers Concert

Essence of Joy Alumni Singers Concert

22nd and Spruce St.

bluelyric7 | Adults/Seniors, Audiences, Community Outreach

For one night only, we've got a choir of over 70 singers who are traveling in from all over the country, some straight from Broadway, Off-Broadway and National Tours for a special evening celebrating inspiring choral works and gospel music!  Tickets cost $15 and can be purchased here: http://eojas.eventbrite.com/ or at the door.For more information about our mission, visit eojas.org Read more

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Festival Chorale Oregon Presents Two Magnificats

Festival Chorale Oregon Presents Two Magnificats

Salem, Oregon

diltis | Performance

In the second of three concerts following its 2012-2013 theme, "Ancient Texts, Contemporary Voices," Festival Chorale Oregon will present two contrasting settings of the traditional Magnificat text, both by living composers, on Saturday, March 9 at 7:30 p.m. at Salem’s First Presbyterian Church. Read more

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Handel's Messiah

Handel's Messiah

Williamsville, NY

HGrant | Adults/Seniors, Audiences, General, Performance, Singing, Symphonic

 The Buffalo Philharmonic Chorus (BPC) is known for its annual December presentations of Handel's Messiah. This year, the BPC is extending the telling of this magnificent story by performing the rarely heard Easter movements from Messiah.           Read more

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“Music of the Three B’s”

“Music of the Three B’s”

Ingomar United Methodist Church, 1501 W Ingomar Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15237

PCCsing | Audiences, Community Outreach, Conducting, Performance

Tickets: Adults- $20 advance, $22 at the door; students-$8; children (under 12)-$0   Description: In addition to Beethoven’s Choral Fantasy, the concert will include Bach’s classic Cantata No. 4, Christ lag in Todesbanden, and Brahms’ stunning Schicksalslied.  Further details, including ticket ordering, can be found at www.PCCsing.org Read more

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HICKORY CHORAL SOCIETY 35TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION CONCERT

HICKORY CHORAL SOCIETY 35TH ANNIVERSARY REUNION CONCERT

HICKORY, NORTH CAROLINA

HICKORY CHORAL ... | Performance

HICKORY CHORAL SOCIETY WILL BE CELEBRATING 35 WONDERFUL YEARS OF BRINGING FINE CHORAL MUSIC TO OUR COMMUNITY.  THEY WILL BE PREMIERING A COMMISSIONED WORK "REQUIEM FOR THE LIVING" BY COMPOSER, DAN FORREST.  THE SECOND HALF OF THE PROGRAM WILL FEATURE SEVERAL SELECTIONS WHERE THE CHORUS WILL BE JOINED BY FORMER SINGERS TO CELEBRATE THE 35TH ANNIVERSARY. www.hickorychoralsociety.org     Read more

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The Heirs of Tantalus

The Heirs of Tantalus

41 Broad Street, NYC, NY 10004

salonsanctuary | Performance

The Heirs of Tantalus From the House of Atreus to the Palace of Nero Read more

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A CENTURY OF NEW YORK PSALMS

A CENTURY OF NEW YORK PSALMS

316 East 88th Street, between 1st and 2nd Avenues New York City, 10128

Manhattan Chora... | Composing/Commissioning, Conducting

Three new works commissioned by the Manhattan Choral Ensemble from James Bassi, Christian Carey and Martha Sullivan will be premiered alongside illustrations by New York artist Brett Helquist (best known for the children's books Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events), bringing to life these ancient poems in one of New York’s most beautiful churches. Following music by John Corigliano, Virgil Thomson, Bobby McFerrin and Nico Muhly, the program will conclude with Leonard Bernstein’s luminous Chichester Psalms. Read more

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Dialogue

Questions During Rehearsal?

Questions During Rehearsal?

Anonymous | Rehearsal, Singing

Conductors, do you let your singers ask questions during rehearsal? What are the pros and cons? Read more

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