For Singers

Chorus America champions the dedicated choral singer by developing online resources and tools to advance skills and promoting connections between singers. We recognize that choral singing is the most popular form of participation in the performing arts, that choral singers are active and engaged citizens, and that children who sing have greater academic success and social skills.

Articles

Music Theory Crash Course

Music Theory Crash Course

Chorus America Staff | Education, Technique/Tool

For those who never learned, didn’t understand, slept through class, or simply forgot. Read more

  • Views (499)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
In Praise of Church Choirs

In Praise of Church Choirs

Kelsey Menehan | Adults/Seniors, Impact/Value, Participation

Warbly sopranos, amateur conductors, untrained musicians—you never know what you're going to get with a church choir. But one singer explains why she keeps coming back for more... Read more

  • Views (465)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
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

  • Views (378)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Put Your Money Where Your Mouth Is

Michael Shaughnessy | Finance, Impact/Value

We're stuck here in the land of "interesting economic times," and we might as well try to make the most of it. Read more

  • Views (365)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Choruses in the Movies: Part Two

Choruses in the Movies: Part Two

Kaaren Holum | General, Profile

Wondering what to put in your Netflix queue? These must-see choral films explore the power of singing in unlikely circumstances and places. Read more

  • Views (312)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
So You Can Sing but Can You Talk?

So You Can Sing but Can You Talk?

Jan-Marie Petersen | Careers, Fundraising, Marketing/Public Relations, Networking

Call it what you will—networking, hobnobbing, rubbing elbows—it is a skill that everyone should know how to do, even choral singers. Read more

  • Views (566)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Youthful Exuberance

Youthful Exuberance

Michael Shaughnessy | Diversity, Impact/Value, Venue

Are conductors getting younger along with choral singers? Read more

  • Views (413)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
The Singing Pathologist

The Singing Pathologist

Chorus America Staff | Education, Health, Profile

Arie Perry is a doctor who sings about tumors and diseases, and his songs are downright...infectious. Read more

  • Views (349)
  • Favorites (1)
  • Comments (0)
A Young Singer's Olympic-Sized Adventure: Part Two

A Young Singer's Olympic-Sized Adventure: Part Two

Kelsey Menehan | Children/Youth, Impact/Value, Profile

Los Angeles Children's Chorus singer Gianna Horak returns to China, 14 years after being adopted by American parents. Read more

  • Views (307)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
New Conductor, New Perspective

New Conductor, New Perspective

Pasadena Master Chorale performs James Erb's "Shenandoah"

Michael Shaughnessy | Conducting, Repertoire, Singing

A guest conductor can bring a fresh set of eyes and a new interpretation to pieces you thought you knew. Read more

  • Views (353)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)

Resources

Singer Handbook Table of Contents

Singer Handbook Table of Contents

Chorus America Staff | Operations, Performance, Rehearsal, Sample/Template, Singing

Most choruses provide singers with a handbook for participation; use this sample table of contents to make sure you haven't forgotten any policies. Read more

  • Views (881)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Access and Accommodation Resources

Access and Accommodation Resources

Chorus America Staff | Diversity, Legal/Licensing, Operations, Singing, Technique/Tool

A list of resources to help choruses provide reasonable accommodation in accordance with ADA regulations. Read more

  • Views (405)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Daily Warm-Ups to Prepare for the New Choral Season

Daily Warm-Ups to Prepare for the New Choral Season

Kathy Fitzgibbon | Singing, Technique/Tool

You wouldn't run a marathon on your first day back from a jogging hiatus. The same concept applies to singing. Head of faculty at Berkshire Choral Festival and director of choral activities at Lewis and Clark College, Kathy Fitzgibbon, offers her advice for coming back to singing after a summer off. Read more

  • Views (719)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Sing Along with Melanie DeMore

Sing Along with Melanie DeMore

Melanie DeMore | Singing, Technique/Tool

Warm up your voice with Melanie DeMore during this "Morning Sing" at Chorus America's 2011 Conference in San Francisco. Her exuberant energy and innovative technique for teaching the songs are at the core of these refreshing and uplifting clips. Read more

  • Views (479)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Yoga for Singers: Introduction

Yoga for Singers: Introduction

Justin Montigne | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

The ancient practice of yoga can help you establish good singing posture, become aware of your body, and use your breath effectively. Read more

  • Views (644)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (1)
Yoga for Singers: Why Yoga?

Yoga for Singers: Why Yoga?

Justin Montigne | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

Instructor Justin Montigne explains how the practice of yoga or proprioceptive awareness can benefit singers. Read more

  • Views (751)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Yoga for Singers: Twists

Yoga for Singers: Twists

Justin Montigne | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

Long seated rehearsal? Alleviate tiredness in the lower back with this simple twist. Read more

  • Views (822)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Yoga for Singers: Pose for Sitting and Singing

Yoga for Singers: Pose for Sitting and Singing

Justin Montigne | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

Learn to find your "sitting bones" and develop a grounded posture for seated singing. Read more

  • Views (551)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Yoga for Singers: Lunge

Yoga for Singers: Lunge

Justin Montigne | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

Learn how tension in the tailbone can negatively affect your singing, and how to counteract it with a lunge exercise. Read more

  • Views (444)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Yoga for Singers: Internal/External Rotation

Yoga for Singers: Internal/External Rotation

Justin Montigne | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

The bones in the body can move in internal or external rotation -- learn how to recognize the difference between these two motions and develop an awareness for how they can be used to reduce tension. Read more

  • Views (539)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)

Events

Reservation Period Open for Encore "Singing at Sea" Danube River Cruise May 2014

Reservation Period Open for Encore "Singing at Sea" Danube River Cruise May 2014

Budapest to Prague

Jeanne Kelly | Adults/Seniors, Performance

Join Encore Creativity for Older Adults on a 12-day trip starting May 21, 2014 combining land and river cruise from Budapest to Prague.  This "Singing at Sea" adventure is for singers 55+ and will include 2 or 3 concert performances along the way, including in Vienna.  Encore Chorale is the largest and fastest growing choral program in the US for singers 55+ but you need not be a current Encore singer to join us on this journey.  Reservations are now being accepted with a modest deposit, and space is limited! Read more

  • Views (68)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
CHORAL CHAMELEON SUMMER INSTITUTE for Composers & Conductors

CHORAL CHAMELEON SUMMER INSTITUTE for Composers & Conductors

New York City

JefferyThyer | Adults/Seniors, Composing/Commissioning, Conducting, Education, Innovation, Networking, Participation, Performance, Professional, Rehearsal, Repertoire, Singing

The Choral Chameleon Institute is an eight-day intensive workshop in New York City, designed to immerse emerging composers and conductors of choral music in the intricacies of the choral idiom in a nurturing environment surrounded by respected professionals. It gives students an opportunity to explore and experiment with writing and conducting techniques in a "best-case scenario". During the course of the institute, many new pieces of choral music are cultivated and ultimately publicly performed, with live recording of the concert. Standards of the choral repertoire serve as a springboard for young conductors to work on challenging matters of gesture, musicianship, and rehearsal technique. Generous lab and podium time is given to all participants to ensure maximum practical and hands-on experience. The Choral Chameleon Institute also places heavy emphasis on ear training and analysis as means of deep, joyful discovery and informed, innovative interpretation.   Read more

  • Views (92)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
A-Tisket, A-Tasket, Help Us Fill Our Basket! Pro Coro Alexandria Spring Concert and ACS Fundraising Event

A-Tisket, A-Tasket, Help Us Fill Our Basket! Pro Coro Alexandria Spring Concert and ACS Fundraising Event

Alexandria, VA

Alexandria Chor... | Adults/Seniors, Audiences, Children/Youth, Community Outreach, Families, Fundraising, General, Performance, Singing

Join us in celebrating the arrival of spring with songs of love, beauty, and the springtime, performed by Pro Coro Alexandria, the chamber choir comprised of select members from Alexandria Choral Society. In between sets, you'll have a chance to mingle with singers and patrons alike while you enjoy refreshments and peruse the offerings of our fundraiser raffle.  Read more

  • Views (91)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 - Choralis and Alexandria Choral Society

Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 - Choralis and Alexandria Choral Society

Alexandria, VA

Alexandria Chor... | Audiences, Children/Youth, Community Outreach, Families, General, Performance, Singing, Symphonic

Beethoven’s final masterpiece will be brought to life in its entirety by the Choralis Orchestra with the combined voices of Choralis and the Alexandria Choral Society, with a stellar cast of soloists. Also on the program is Brahms’ Schicksalslied (Song of Fate), making this concert a must for the lover of symphonic works as well as the choral aficionado. Read more

  • Views (75)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Sing’n’Joy Louisville Kentucky

Sing’n’Joy Louisville Kentucky

Louisville, Kentucky, USA

Interkultur | Singing

  • Views (61)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Songs of San Francisco: From Gold Rush to Golden Gate (1840's-1930's)

Songs of San Francisco: From Gold Rush to Golden Gate (1840's-1930's)

2515 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA

Tricia Bell | Performance

An unusually charming concert of historical popular songs depicting life in San Francisco from before the Gold Rush to the mid-twentieth century, featuring rollicking arrangements for piano and choir by Eric Davis. Read more

  • Views (48)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
Songs of San Francisco: From Gold Rush to Golden Gate (1840's-1930's)

Songs of San Francisco: From Gold Rush to Golden Gate (1840's-1930's)

2515 Fillmore Street, San Francisco, CA

Tricia Bell | Performance

An unusually charming concert of historical popular songs depicting life in San Francisco from before the Gold Rush to the mid-twentieth century, featuring rollicking arrangements for piano and choir by Eric Davis. Read more

  • Views (83)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
A cappella Joy

A cappella Joy

River Forest, IL

Oak Park Concer... | Performance

The Oak Park Concert Chorale (OPCC), conducted by director Paul Lindblad, will present A cappella Joy on Sunday, April 21, 2013 at 4:00pm, atGrace Lutheran Church, 7300 West Division Street, River Forest, IL. General Admission is $18; Seniors/Students are $10. Group Rates are available. To order tickets, call 708.383.4742 or email info@OakParkConcertChorale.org. For more information or to order tickets online, visit our website at www.OakParkConcertChorale.org. Read more

  • Views (61)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
The Philadelphia Singers Presents Philadelphia Premiere of “Tchaikovsky and Schnittke”

The Philadelphia Singers Presents Philadelphia Premiere of “Tchaikovsky and Schnittke”

18th and Benjamin Franklin Parkway

Theodora W. Ashmead | Performance

Spanning 100 years of Russian choral music, this concert presents two different worlds of sacred composition, one composed by Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky, his Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom and the other a century later by Alfred Schnittke, his Choir Concerto. One an insider, the other an outcast, one composer commissioned by the Tsar, and the other composed under communist rule, while struggling to achieve artistic freedom. Hear why these pieces are so similar yet so uniquely different. This is the first time the works have been presented together in Philadelphia and it is also The Philadelphia Singers inaugural performance at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, a beautiful example of Roman-Corinthian architecture. Read more

  • Views (79)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (0)
The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass

The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass

110 Wilson Downing Rd, Lexington, KY 40517

Lexington Chamb... | Audiences

The World Beloved: A Bluegrass Mass by composer Carol Barnett Lexington Chamber Chorale with a bluegrass band, The New Ky String Ticklers Also featuring Memories, a commissioned work by Earlene Rentz, and other Kentucky works   Read more

  • Views (90)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (1)

Dialogue

Questions During Rehearsal?

Questions During Rehearsal?

Anonymous | Rehearsal, Singing

Singers, does your conductor allow questions during rehearsal? What are the pros and cons from your perspective? Read more

  • Views (773)
  • Favorites (0)
  • Comments (4)