Technique/Tool

Articles

Conductor's Corner: Tips for Healthy Rehearsals

Kelsey Menehan | Conducting, Health, Rehearsal, Singing, Technique/Tool

As wonderful and therapeutic as choral singing can be, the rehearsal process is sometimes stressful for both singers and conductors. Here are a few ideas for creating a hospitable and healthy space that enhances the body, mind, and spirit of all involved. Read more

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Can Everybody Sing?

Singer and Composer Melanie DeMore Says Yes!

Kelsey Menehan | Audiences, Community Outreach, Conducting, Diversity, Participation, Performance, Rehearsal, Singing, Technique/Tool

Singer and composer Melanie DeMore enjoys nothing more than gathering together a group of people and forming a spontaneous choir. “I think that singing in a community allows people to have a certain bigness that they cannot have in a solitary way,” she says. In this Chorus America interview, DeMore talks about the importance of spreading the gift of choral singing far and wide. Read more

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Going Viral: The Power of Video to Raise Your Chorus's Profile

Kelsey Menehan | Audiences, Civic Engagement, Community Outreach, Fundraising, General, Impact/Value, Innovation, Marketing/Public Relations, Singing, Social Media, Technique/Tool, Technology

Plug the words “choir videos” into your search engine and you’ll get an astounding number of links (Google found 112,000,000. Yes, million.) Is your chorus among them? It could be—and more easily than you may think. Chorus America asked several choruses to tell us how they are making video a key part of their marketing strategy. Read more

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Chorus America's Top 10 Most Viewed Web Articles

Lauren Rosenthal | Performance, Recruitment, Rehearsal, Repertoire, Research/Data, Singing, Technique/Tool, Volunteer

The beginning of a new year is a time for reflections, resolutions—and top 10 lists. Here are 2012's most viewed articles from the Chorus America website. Read more

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Is It Okay to Ask Questions During Rehearsal?

Kelsey Menehan | Conducting, Management/Leadership, Operations, Performance, Rehearsal, Singing, Technique/Tool

Chorus America polled a number of choral directors and singers about the pros and cons of allowing questions in rehearsal. Their answers shed light on different teaching and learning styles and the collaborative process in general. Read more

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Learning Leadership

“More than just waving our hands”

Don Lee | Careers, Conducting, Governance, Management/Leadership, Professional, Strategic Planning, Technique/Tool

Many choral directors take on administrative responsibility with little formal preparation. Here are strategies to excel in the office and boardroom as well as the concert hall. Read more

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The Art of Strategic Alliances

Matthew Sigman | Composing/Commissioning, Governance, Innovation, Management/Leadership, Strategic Planning, Technique/Tool

When do partnerships add value and when do they distract from a chorus’s mission? Philadelphia’s venerable Mendelssohn Club explores the spectrum of collaboration, from artistic to administrative. Read more

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Member Spotlight: Justin Montigne, Clerestory, San Francisco

Chorus America Staff | Adults/Seniors, General, Health, Impact/Value, Performance, Professional, Rehearsal, Singing, Technique/Tool

Justin Montigne, a professional choral singer, voice teacher, and registered yoga teacher, teaches workshops, classes, and private lessons in the Bay Area and around the country. His interest in the free and easy alignment of body and instrument led him to yoga, which helped revolutionize his singing and teaching. Read more

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Singing and Wellness Resource Guide

Chorus America Staff | Adults/Seniors, Children/Youth, Evaluation, General, Health, Impact/Value, Participation, Schools, Singing, Technique/Tool, Volunteer

Continue to explore the topic of Singing and Wellness with this online Resource Guide that includes studies cited in Voice articles as well as further reading. Read more

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Is it Ok to Ask Questions During Rehearsal? Tips and Strategies

Kelsey Menehan | Conducting, Governance, Management/Leadership, Participation, Performance, Rehearsal, Singing, Technique/Tool

Here are more techniques for both conductors and singers to consider after reading the article "Is It Okay to Ask Questions During Rehearsal" by Kelsey Menehan. Read more

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Resources

The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Relaxing the Tongue

Karen R Clark | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

The practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark demonstrates how to train the powerful tongue muscle to cooperate with rather than hinder the singing process. Read more

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The Choral Warm-Ups of Robert Shaw

Pamela Elrod | Rehearsal, Singing, Technique/Tool

Believing that the chorus was a corporate entity with a spirit of kinship, famed conductor Robert Shaw used the warm-up period to focus on matters of tuning, tone color, ensemble blend, acoustical conditions, and development of the dynamic palette. We've compiled several of his warm-ups. Read more

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Chorus Operations Survey Report (2012)

Roland Kushner | Evaluation, Finance, Fundraising, Governance, Management/Leadership, Marketing/Public Relations, Operations, Research/Data, Technique/Tool

Chorus America's annual survey of the operations of choruses, the Chorus Operations Survey Report includes more than 40 different analyses, from number of board meetings to board giving, from ticket pricing to chorus dues amounts, from accompanist pay practices to marketing efficiency. The 2012 report features data from the 2010-2011 season. Read more

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The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Achieving Relaxed Alertness

Karen R Clark | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

The practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark demonstrates how being both relaxed and alert can bring greater freedom in singing. Read more

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The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Vocalizing To Release Tension

Karen R Clark | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

Through a self-discovery process using movement, the practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark guides a singer to notice and then release tension while vocalizing. Read more

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The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Releasing Eye Tension

Karen R Clark | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

The practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark demonstrates how releasing tension around the eyes contributes to less effortful singing. Read more

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The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Opening the Throat

Karen R Clark | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

The practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark demonstrates how opening the throat releases tension and allows for greater freedom in singing. Read more

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The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Centering with the Breath

Karen R Clark | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

The practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark demonstrates the use of breath to center and stabilize the singing process. Read more

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The Feldenkrais Method for Singers—Introduction

Karen R Clark | Health, Singing, Technique/Tool

You know that freed-up feeling where it seems your body is singing itself? Singers yearn for more of that, but myriad stresses, tensions, confusions, and vocal issues can get in the way. Through a self-discovery process using movement, the practice of Feldenkrais can help singers perform with minimum effort and maximum efficiency. In this video series, Feldenkrais practitioner Karen Clark describes and demonstrates how this approach has helped her—and the singers she works with—release tension and find greater freedom in their singing. Read more

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Virtual Voice Lesson: The Farinelli Breath Exercises

Shauna Fallihee | Singing, Technique/Tool

Carlo Broschi, known as Farinelli, was a famous, and wildly popular castrato of the early 1700s. One of the secrets to his magnificent voice was the seemingly unending stream of breath that supported it. Voice teacher Shauna Fallihee demonstrates the breathing exercises Farinelli created to strengthen the intercostal muscles. Read more

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Events

Choral Conducting Master Class with Dr. Jan Harrington

Princeton, NJ

The Princeton F... | Adults/Seniors, Conducting, Education, General, Performance, Rehearsal, Technique/Tool

This 5-day professional choral conducting master class will offer practical rehearsal strategies, choral warm-up ideas, and sessions on performance issues, score study and preparation, creating compelling performances, and readings of new and recently published choral literature for choirs of all levels. Read more

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Voices of Light: The Passion of Joan of Arc

Southborough, MA

Robert Eaton | Adults/Seniors, Audiences, Education, General, History, Impact/Value, Innovation, Performance, Singing, Technique/Tool, Technology

Voices of Light merges the legendary silent film masterpiece The Passion of Joan of Arc, widely considered to be one of the greatest films ever made, with a live performance of a ravishing score by award-winning composer Richard Einhorn. An incredibly moving composition for solo voices, chorus and orchestra, Voices of Light has been hailed as "a triumph" (Los Angeles Times) and "an overwhelming experience" (Chicago Tribune). Read more

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The Complete Conductor: Orchestral Conducting for the Choral Director

New York City

Jeffery Thyer | Conducting, Education, General, Networking, Performance, Professional, Rehearsal, Repertoire, Technique/Tool

The Complete Conductor: Orchestral Conducting for the Choral Director is an intensive program for choral directors to gain more experience in working with an orchestra. Read more

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Feldenkrais Workshops for Performing Artists - Montréal

Montréal

Cory Davis | Conducting, Health, Performance, Singing, Technique/Tool

Join Feldenkrais practitioners Julian Wachner (conductor/composer) and Maud Tizon (dancer/choreographer) for a day-long, intensive master class designed especially for musicians, actors, dancers and other performers. Read more