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

Best Little-Known Choral Recordings

Best Little-Known Choral Recordings

Helene Whitson | Repertoire, Singing

Choral music sleuth Helene Whitson has sifted through used CD bins and trolled the Internet to bring you some of the hidden gems of the choral repertoire. Read more

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Eric Whitacre Speaks Out

Eric Whitacre Speaks Out

An Interview With Choral Music's Rock Star

Kelsey Menehan | Composing/Commissioning, Education, Impact/Value, Innovation, Profile, Social Media

Eric Whitacre muses on how he gets inspired to compose, his special connection with young people, and what he thinks about the future of choral music. Read more

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What Is "Shape-Note" Singing?

What Is "Shape-Note" Singing?

Elisabeth Higgi... | History, Repertoire, Singing, Technique/Tool

In this musical tradition, singers read a variety of different note shapes—each one corresponding to a different syllable: fa, so, la, or mi. Read more

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Inside Conspirare: A Different Kind of Chorus

Inside Conspirare: A Different Kind of Chorus

Kelsey Menehan | Composing/Commissioning, Innovation, Performance, Repertoire

Choruses have a real chance to be innovators and maybe help lead the way for all the arts. Read more

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A Performance of a Lifetime

A Performance of a Lifetime

Children's Choruses Sing at Barack Obama's Inauguration

Jan-Marie Petersen | Children/Youth, History, Profile

Children's choruses from San Francisco sang for millions at the inauguration ceremony of President Barack Obama. Here's what happened on that historic day. Read more

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A Conversation with Craig Hella Johnson

A Conversation with Craig Hella Johnson

Chorus America Staff | Conducting, Innovation, Performance, Repertoire

We sat down with Conspirare founder and artistic director Craig Hella Johnson to get the inside scoop on how the group came to be and the magic behind their success. Read more

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Ligeti in Winter

Ligeti in Winter

Gregory Boals | Audiences, Impact/Value, Rehearsal, Repertoire, Singing, Symphonic

Much in the same way you might stop and get to know your neighbors during a snowstorm, a difficult piece can draw singers together in solidarity amdist the flurry of notes. Read more

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Conquering the B Minor Mass

Conquering the B Minor Mass

Chorus America Staff | Composing/Commissioning, History, Rehearsal, Repertoire, Technique/Tool

The Bach B Minor Mass takes Olympian fortitude to learn and perform. In this interview with conductor and historian Dennis Shrock, we take a look at the history of the work and what singers can do to make the performance experience easier on themselves. Read more

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Where You Lead, They Will Follow

Where You Lead, They Will Follow

An Interview with Sir David Willcocks

Chorus America Staff | Composing/Commissioning, Conducting, History, Profile, Rehearsal

Famed conductor Sir David Willcocks speaks about his special love of choral singing and of choral singers through his experience as director of music at King's College, Cambridge and of the Royal College of Music's Bach Choir. Read more

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He Changed Choral Music in Canada

He Changed Choral Music in Canada

Chronicling Elmer Iseler's Impact

Walter Pitman | Conducting, History, Profile

Ten years after his death, a new book about conductor Elmer Iseler examines his legacy on choral music not just in Canada but throughout the choral music field. Read more

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Resources

Choral-Orchestral Engagements

Choral-Orchestral Engagements

Survey Results and Best Practices

Chorus America Staff | Community Outreach, Legal/Licensing, Operations, Performance, Research/Data, Sample/Template, Symphonic, Technique/Tool

This 2004 whitepaper provides practical guidance on the unique issues choruses face in working with orchestras for concert engagements. Based on data gathered from Chorus America's symphonic chorus members, it also provides a sample contract and budget to use when negotiating your engagement. Read more

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Choral Conductors Today: A Study

Choral Conductors Today: A Study

Chorus America Staff | Careers, Conducting, Management/Leadership, Recruitment, Research/Data

Chorus America interviewed more than 700 conductors about their career paths, levels of education, salary, job satisfaction, and more in 2005. The resulting data provides a profile of the "typical" choral conductor that may be surprising. Read more

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Additional content: Ambassadors of Peace

Additional content: Ambassadors of Peace

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

Examples of concert programming that are designed on themes of peace or reconciliation. Partner piece to "How Choruses Have Become Ambassadors of Peace." Read more

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28 American Master Choral Composers

28 American Master Choral Composers

A Repertoire and Recording Listing to Support NEA's American Masterpieces

Chorus America Staff | Composing/Commissioning, Conducting, Government/Policy, Repertoire

Celebrating America's greatest choral composers, this publication provides repertoire and recording lists for 28 composers from Billings to Whitacre. Read more

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Commissioning Timeline

Commissioning Timeline

Chorus America Staff | Composing/Commissioning, Operations, Sample/Template

Commissioning a new work? Follow this two-year timeline to help plot out which steps you should take when. This timeline is appropriate for a work that does not involve complicated instrumental requirements or multiple movements. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: Sample Search Timeline

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Sample Search Timeline

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

A sample timeline to help with music director search planning. Read more

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'Music Director Transition' Tool: Readiness Quiz

'Music Director Transition' Tool: Readiness Quiz

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

Is your chorus ready for a founder transition? This 9-question quiz will help you determine the answer. Read more

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Events

¡Figaro! (90210), In Concert

¡Figaro! (90210), In Concert

151 Bank Street, New York, NY

GBFpress | Performance

Figaro! (90210) showcases Mozart’s celebrated music from The Marriage of Figaro note-for-note with a new English libretto by Vid Guerrerio.  Read more

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Figaro! (90210), In Concert

Figaro! (90210), In Concert

151 Bank Street, New York, NY

GBFpress | Performance

Figaro! (90210) showcases Mozart’s celebrated music from The Marriage of Figaro note-for-note with a new English libretto by Vid Guerrerio.  Read more

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Pacific Chorale presents "The Moon, the Sea and the Stars"

Pacific Chorale presents "The Moon, the Sea and the Stars"

Costa Mesa, CA

Ryan McSweeney | Performance

Pacific Chorale and Pacific Symphony perform music invoking rivers, seas, and starry nights, featuring the world premiere of Frank Ticheli's first choral-orchestral work, "The Shore," on text by poet David St. John. Read more

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A Tribute to William Appling: The Celebration Continues!

A Tribute to William Appling: The Celebration Continues!

296 Ninth Ave (at West 28th St), New York, NY 10001

21C Media Group |

      A Tribute to William Appling: The Celebration Continues! (A program of music & readings) Date & time:  Saturday, June 29, 2013, 1:30pm Venue:Church of the Holy Apostles, 296 Ninth Ave (at West 28th St) Artists:  William Appling Singers & Orchestra; Jim Hall, guitar; Ian Frazier, writer; Matthew Oltman, conductor; a choir of Appling’s students, colleagues & friends Program: Includes “Have Ye Not Known?” and “Ye Shall Have A Song” from Randall Thompson’s The Peaceable Kingdom Tickets:$25 general admission; available at http://www.muzen.com/waso.html  or by calling 201-854-7483 A reception with food and beverages immediately follows the program in the church Read more

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Figaro! (90210)

Figaro! (90210)

151 Bank St, New York, NY 10014

GBFpress | Performance

The debate over immigration reform takes center stage in this multi-cultural adaptation of Mozart’s opera “The Marriage of Figaro” set in present-day Los Angeles. Figaro! (90210) also makes the opera more accessible to contemporary audiences by distilling the action of the show to two and a half hours, including a fifteen minute intermission.   Read more

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San Gabriel Valley Choral Company Presents "Tell It!"

San Gabriel Valley Choral Company Presents "Tell It!"

Pasadena, CA 91101

San Gabriel Val... | Adults/Seniors, Audiences, CA News, Community Outreach, Conducting, Performance, Repertoire, Singing

The San Gabriel Valley Choral Company presents a concert entitled “Tell It!”  Complete with soloists and instrumentalists, this rousing concert features folk songs, spirituals, and American classics by Aaron Copland, Stephen Foster, and more.  Tickets are now available at the cost of $9 to $15 for two performances:  June 8 at 6:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Monrovia and June 15 at 5:00 p.m. at All Saints Church in Pasadena.  More information can be found at www.choralcompany.org or by calling 626-579-2433. Read more

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San Gabriel Valley Choral Company Presents "Tell It!"

San Gabriel Valley Choral Company Presents "Tell It!"

Monrovia, CA 91016

San Gabriel Val... | Adults/Seniors, Conducting, Families, Performance, Repertoire, Singing

The San Gabriel Valley Choral Company presents a concert entitled “Tell It!”  Complete with soloists and instrumentalists, this rousing concert features folk songs, spirituals, and American classics by Aaron Copland, Stephen Foster, and more.  Tickets are now available at the cost of $9 to $15 for two performances:  June 8 at 6:15 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Monrovia and June 15 at 5:00 p.m. at All Saints Church in Pasadena.  More information can be found at www.choralcompany.org or by calling 626-579-2433. Read more

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Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra

Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra

Dallas, TX

Greg Hobbs | Performance

Magnificat Johann Sebastian Bach Mass in D György Orbán Read more

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Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra

Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra

Dallas, TX

Greg Hobbs | Performance

Stabat Mater Emanuele d'Astorga The Spirit that Sets Us Free Stephen Paulus Missa in Solstitio Andrew Smith Read more

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Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra

Highland Park Chorale and Orchestra

Dallas, TX

Greg Hobbs | Performance

When David Heard Richard Burchard Be Not Afraid Knut Nystedt Take Him, Earth, for Cherishing Herbert Howells Ein feste Burg, ist unser Gott Johann Sebastian Bach 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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