Fall 2009, Volume 15, No. 1
Antiphon
Newsletter of the Arizona Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association
From the State President by Frank Sargent, State President, AzACDA
Dear People, As I assume the AzACDA presidency, I feel humbled, and yet, at the same time, eager to contribute toward our growth and improvement. I thank you for the honor and trust you showed by allowing me to serve you and ACDA in this capacity. You may look at the salutation of this article and think, “Oh, Frank is trying to copy Robert Shaw and his letters to his choirs.” As a matter of fact, no, I am not, even though I can think of no one better to copy! The truth is that the greeting fits perfectly. You all are my people. Let me explain. I had an epiphany in Oklahoma City at the ACDA national convention. When I walked in to the exhibit hall, I ran into some colleagues from Texas, where I spent the first thirty years of my choral directing career. It was really nice to see them. We exchanged greetings and pleasantries and moved on about our business. Then I ran into some colleagues from Arizona. The difference was amazing: big hugs instead of handshakes, big smiles instead of a professional demeanor. We have nothing to prove to each other. I suddenly understood that we are not just colleagues, but friends from Arizona who love the choral art so much that we have chosen it as our profession. We work together to bring that art to students and choir members—every day. So, again I say, dear people, having now spent six years in Arizona, I am so glad to live and work in this beautiful
state with its many beautiful people. I look forward to several more rewarding years of teaching choral music, trying to trigger life-changing experiences in choral singers. This is year thirty-five for me. We have had almost three weeks of classes as I write, and I’m still having fun! I also know that I am still learning—from my colleagues and from students. In this year of tough economic times and tight budgets, we will have to work to keep positive attitudes as we deal with conditions that are less than ideal. I urge you not to merely hang in there, but still to try to raise the bar. Take your choirs to festivals and concerts; attend conferences such as AMEA, ACDA Western Division, and Four Corners Choral Workshop. It has been a long time since we’ve had an ACDA convention in Arizona. Let’s have a great turnout in Tucson March 3-6! Participating in festivals gives you and your students a different perspective on your repertoire. It’s nice to hear an adjudicator urge another or a different way to interpret something. It’s equally nice to hear your views and methods reinforced by a respected colleague. This is the second year with a sightreading component at both the ChoDA Fall Festivals and the AzACDA State Festival. While I feel we should never “teach to the test,” the inclusion of that component offers us a way to gauge the success of our teaching that aspect of musicianship. Attending concerts and conferences
helps you re-energize and re-charge your batteries. We also must keep our approach to literature fresh. One “new program year resolution” I have made in recent years is to learn and perform new music—not necessarily brand new, but pieces new to me. Believe me, that’s not easy at this stage of my career. Nevertheless, this year I will program approximately fifty per cent new literature. Why not challenge yourself to do likewise? There is nothing magic about fifty percent; choose a proportion that suits you. It will help you continue to learn and grow as a musician and as a person. Teaching and performing choral music is one of the most human and emotional experiences available in the field of music. A few years ago, one of the new pieces I taught was “Life’s Loveliness,” by David Childs. Its lyrics help me to remember that each day contains the potential for a lifechanging experience, and life’s experiences make us who we are. May we draw from them as we bring students to this human art form. The last portion of the text of Childs’ piece sums it up: “Spend all you have for loveliness. Buy it and never count the cost. And for a breath of ecstasy, give all you have been, or could be.” All the best in your musical endeavors, Frank 1Life’s Loveliness, SSA and piano. © 2004 Santa Barbara Music Publishing, Inc, Santa Barbara, California. Music: David N Childs; text: Sara Teasdale. SBMP 551.
AzACDA Leadership At the conclusion of every Four Corners Choral Workshop, the Arizona state ACDA membership meets, and one item on every June agenda is congratulating those who have served, but now wish to move on, and welcoming new board members. This year was no exception. The AzACDA state leadership roster is a bit different, but the board hopes you will get in touch whenever you have something to say. President, Frank Sargent president@azacda.org
College and University Choirs, Bruce Chamberlain bbc@u.arizona,edu
President Elect, Greg Gentry presidentelect@azacda.org
Community Choirs, Dave Perry perry.pub@cox.net
Past President, J. Edmund Hughes jedmund@cox.net
Ethnic and Multicultural Choirs, Sarah Ross meisense@gmail.com
Secretary, Justine Farenga secretary@azacda.org
Jazz Choirs, Craig Peterson craig.peterson@mcmail.maricopa.edu
Treasurer, Steve Hickman treasurer@azacda.org
Junior High/Middle School Choirs, Ron Carpenter
Antiphon Editor and Public Relations, Lani Johnson antiphon@azacda.org Webmaster, David Topping webmanager@azacda.org Cantaremos Honor Choirs Chair, Andrea Rodgers cantaremos@azacda.org Cantaremos Honor Choirs Assisstant Chair, Riki Sloan cantaremosa@azacda.org Boychoirs, Heather Mitchell hmmm17@email.arizona.edu Children’s Choirs, Gloria Day gjeanned@aol.com
Male Choirs, Brook Larson brook.larson@asu.edu Women’s Choirs, Jordan Saul SaulJ@flowingwells.k12.az.us Music and Worship, Warren Dennis chwhdaz@cox.net Senior High School Choirs, Paul Olson polson@brophyprep.org Show Choirs, Daniel Tenney danieltenney@hotmail.com Youth and Student Activities, Ryan Holder ryan.holder@nau.edu
The Antiphon is the newsletter of the Arizona Chapter of ACDA (“AzACDA”). It is published three times a year, in Fall, Winter, and Spring, to communicate with AzACDA members and to heighten interest in joining AzACDA by non-members; to promote workshops, festivals, and other programs of AzACDA; to present educational articles for members and non-members; and to create a sense of community among choral directors and interested others across Arizona. Items for publication or advertisements can be submitted to the Editor at the address below. Advertising rates per issue are as follows: Full page (7 1/2 x 10) $130 2/3 page (5 x 10) $110 1/2 page (7 1/2 x 5 or 5 x 7 1/2) $90 1/3 page (2 1/2 x 10 or 5 x 5) $70 1/6 page (2 1/2 x 5 or 5 x 2 1/2) $50 Deadline for advertising and for items for publication for the next issue is November 1. Antiphon Editor, Lani Johnson 7820 S Avenida de Piña Tucson, AZ 85747 (520) 647-7492 lani@nysara.com AzACDA reserves the right to edit any application for appearance and to edit all materials proposed for distribution.
Calendar of Upcoming Events 9/12/09, 10 am, Board Meeting, Marana High School 9/18/09, Cantaremos audition tapes due 11/14/09, Cantaremos Honor Choirs Festival, Gilbert High School IN THIS ISSUE
A rare moment of nearly cosmic convergence brought presidents past, present, and future together in Flagstaff. Left to right: Frank Sargent, Greg Gentry, Edie Copley, Bruce Chamberlain, Ed Hughes
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From the State President ..................................... 1 Leadership List...................................................... 2 R&S Womens Choirs............................................ 3 Announcing 2010 Four Corners Clinicians........... 3 From the Editor..................................................... 3 R&S Women’s Choirs........................................... 3 In the Cool, A Cool Event...................................... 4 Cantaremos.......................................................... 5 ACDA In Arizona................................................... 6 Internet Assisted................................................... 7
Announcing 2010 Four Corners Clinicians By Gregory Gentry, AzACDA Presidentelect
It is a pleasure to announce guest headliners, Eph Ehly (University of Missouri-Kansas City, retired) and Susan McMane (San Francisco Girls Chorus, Artistic Director) will present at the next Four Corners Choral Workshop. Eph Ehly is renowned for his ability to inspire an ensemble, instigate creative programming, and reenergize teachers. Dr. Ehly has lectured and conducted in Canada, Brazil, Mexico, various European countries, and throughout the U.S. As an author, Ehly’s Hogey’s Journey (2005) offers his philosophical tenets of learning through a fictitious character named after a colleague. He was awarded the presti-
gious “Faculty Fellowship Award” by the UMKC Board of Trustees. In her ninth season as the Artistic Director of the San Francisco Girls Chorus, Susan McMane is sought out for her command of repertoire and her ability to create an exciting, pure, and thrilling sound with young voices. Dr. McMane has prepared the SFGC for performances with Michael Tilson Thomas, Helmut Rilling, Kurt Masur, and Robert Spano. She is the editor of the San Francisco Girls Chorus Music Series with Alliance Music Publishers and is a frequent choral clinician. Spread the word, mark your calendars now, and watch for pre-registration details in January 2010. Dr. Gregory Gentry is the newlyappointed Director of Choral Performance at Arizona State University where he administers both the graduate and undergraduate choral conducting programs. Dr. Gentry is also Chorus Master with the Phoenix Symphony.
From The Editor Beginnings By Lani Johnson antiphon@azacda.org So much begins at the end of summer: academic years, program years for church and community choir musicians, and a renewed panel of AzACDA board members rolls up its sleeves. Craig Westendorf, having ably edited Antiphon for the past few years, decided to pass on the quill. I’m eager to take it up, hoping I can fulfill your expectations. It will be easier to aim toward what you want to see in a state choral directors’ newsletter if you talk back. E-mail me, please. That said, and unless we hear differently from you, this next year should see only small Antiphonal changes. We will head toward a web-based publication, still printing copies for those who request. We will try, as past editors have, to keep in touch with other state newsletter editors, publishing items of general interest from outside our state. We will
formalize a style sheet. We will print the ACDA membership application once a year only, acknowledging that readers overwhelmingly already are members. Dreams? We long for input in the form of articles, photographs of you and your students in action, notices of triumphs and events, and letters of opinion. At present, the state board provides Antiphon’s content. To represent choral directors from all over Arizona, we must see and hear you. Especially if you hate to “write,” give it a try: send ideas in an email and give the editor permission to shape from them an article about your work. Address writer’s block by posing a question: “What are my initial impressions of this year in my teaching life? What are my hopes?” Catch up with who has agreed to serve in your choral areas of interest on the leadership page, opposite, and adopt president
AzACDA R&S, Women’s Choirs By Jordan Saul, AzACDA R&S Literature Review The Silver Swan Theodore Morrison SSA, piano Earthsongs, ES.S-106a, $1.60 Silent Love, No. 1. The Silver Swan, No. 2. A Silent Love, No. 3. Echo Theodore Morrison SSA, piano Earthsongs, ES.S-106, $5.15 “The Silver Swan” is the first of three pieces composed by Theodore Morrison for Silent Love, A Rhapsody for Treble Voices and Piano. Set to the haunting and anonymous Elizabethan poem, this piece offers lush sonorities polished with austere and memorable dissonance. The initial gliding piano chords lead gently through the narrative text to the agonized words of the swan herself, crafted into a climax that is at once dramatic and lyrical. The piece closes delicately, as it began, with a wizened perspective as listeners are returned to a world of smaller forces. Suitable for concert and festivals, the rich vocal color palette betrays Morrison’s own experience as a vocalist. The alto range flows warmly from Ab3-C#5. Second sopranos weave into and away from duets with both other voices, working between D4 and E5. The first sopranos float above, F4 to G5. Frank Sargent’s inspiration (page 1). This year, really, really, really help your students audition for Cantaremos (page 5), grab some of Betsy Schauer’s excitement about the upcoming ACDA convention in Arizona (page 6), and learn-–or teach-– composer Dave Perry (page 7) about choir management aids via internet. It’s a new year. Let’s celebrate.
www.azacda.org
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In the Cool, a Cool Event By Lani Johnson, AzACDA public relations It happens every June: Four Corners Choral Workshop on the wonderful Northern Arizona University campus. The weather at home in Tucson was hot; in Flagstaff it was cool and sunny. Headline clinician Dr Craig Jessop’s lecture-demonstrations were at once inspiring, energizing, informative and just plain fun.
First-time attendee Chizuru Jurman wonders how to absorb everything.
Dr. Bruce Chamberlain’s expressive gestures always look spontaneous.
Sarah Ross, Multiculture R&S, elicits more than we thought we could sing. What are the altos singing now? Craig Jessop keeps them on task.
Attendees again included teachers from all sorts and levels of school, an abundance of advice, experience, and ideas in sandals and shorts. Breakout sessions ran from dance—okay, music in motion for elementary students—to conducting master class, using real choral masterpieces.
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Accompanists were first-rate throughout.
Fun, love of music, and great vocal technique in Dr. Edith Copley’s skilful hands.
There was ample opportunity to socialize, including Edie Copley’s popular party. There was right-on-target shopping, thanks to Music Mart. There were reading sessions galore, really well chosen literature skillfully presented.
Turn and turn about, two keyboard artists back up every effort & meet every request.
Altogether a mini-vacation for Type A people unwilling entirely to let go of teaching during vacation. The price is right, even partially offset by the wealth of music participants take home; continuing education credits are offered; and lodging is reasonable. It’s not that far to drive, even with today’s gasoline prices. Flagstaff also is a family vacation venue, so some arrive early or stay after the workshop closes.
Gloria Day’s breakout session gets participants moving.
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Andrea Rodgers offers sage advice at Music Mart’s exhibit.
It does happen every year, and, as always, I wonder why so many Arizona choral directors miss this opportunity, year after year?
Cantaremos Riki Sloan, Cantaremos Honors Choirs Assistant Chair Andrea Rodgers, Cantaremos Honors Choirs Chair cantaremos@azacda.org
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he Cantaremos Honor Choir Festival guarantees singers a substantial and wonderful musical experience. Please offer this opportunity to your fifth through ninth grade students. The festival consists of three choirs: Fifth and Sixth Grade Treble Choir, directed by Mary Jo Finkle; Seventh through Ninth Grade Girls Choir directed by Dr. Laura Inman; and Seventh through Ninth Grade Boys Choir, directed by German Aguilar. Students who attend are exposed to good literature under the direction of talented conductors. They forge friendships with students from around the state who share their passion for music. Most importantly, they develop skills and self-confidence that will make them leaders in your classroom.
The audition process is simple. Each student records an audition tape, due no later than September 18. On this tape, a student sings “My Country Tis of Thee� in the key specified for their voice part, a major scale, and an excerpt from one of the festival pieces. Teachers receive a list of student selected to participate as part of an honor choir. It is your responsibility to ensure singers attend on November 14, and that they are prepared, ready to sing. Gilbert High School has again agreed to host Cantaremos festival. Rehearsals begin at 8:30 am, preparing a festival concert at 4:00 pm, at which all three choirs perform for each other and for family and friends. We ask that you seriously consider participating in this event. For boys, it is a wonderful, and often novel, chance to sing in a choir of 60! For ninth grade students who will not participate in Regionals, this is an opportunity to stretch their talents beyond their own choir. For elementary students who may not have choir in school, or who need to recognize their musical potential, the Cantaremos Honor Choir Festival is perfect. For all junior high students, during this explosive developmental time when their eyes may open to a new art, here is a supreme lesson in preparation, discipline, and lots of fun. Seeds planted now will, hopefully, take root and instill in these students the desire to continue their musical endeavors. Cantaremos offers a positive experience, a chance to partake of the beauty that is music in a wider way than is available a daily basis. We would love it if every junior high school teacher took part in Cantaremos! More detailed information is posted on the AzACDA website, www.azacda.org/Cantaremos.html. Welcome to the beginning of the new school year, and we hope to see you on November 14! Cantaremos Honor Choir Festival 2010 — www.azacda.org/Cantaremos.html
www.azacda.org
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ACDA in Arizona! By Elizabeth Schauer 2010 Western Division Site Chair erschaue@email.arizona.edu
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or those who have never been able to attend a regional or national convention, now is the time! I can still remember my first convention and how overjoyed I was with the opportunity to be surrounded by people who shared my passion for choral music as we attended inspiring concerts, learned from master conductors, sang new music, visited exhibits and fervently discussed, argued and celebrated all of the above. If you have attended a conference before, I urge you to bring a colleague who has never had that experience. Participants can expect to be wowed by the Grammy Award-winning sound of Chanticleer, the only full-time classical vocal ensemble in the United States; as well as the internationally acclaimed Incheon City Chorale, Korea’s top chorus. Concerts also will feature fifteen choral groups, selected by audition, from our five-state region, representing high school, community, middle school, college, jazz, children’s and boy’s choirs. Choristers from Arizona’s three regents’ institutions (Arizona State University, Northern Arizona University and University of Arizona) will combine efforts in a special concert of Honegger’s King David with orchestra, conducted by William Hatcher. Reading sessions of new music with thirteen different focus areas (women’s/men’s, college, worship and music, multi-cultural, children’s, etc.) will be offered. Interest sessions on topics including rehearsal techniques, score study, sight-reading, vocal tone, Eurythmics, interpretation, recruiting, and literature will round out the program. Opportunities for student choristers abound as well: three honor choirs are a
vital component of the conference and include a children’s choir conducted by Cheryl DuPont, conductor of the New Orleans Children’s Choir; a high school mixed choir, conducted by Jeffery Ames of Belmont University, and a college/university mixed choir, conducted by Weston Noble, Conductor Emeritus of Luther College. For information on how your students can participate, visit the convention website. Deadline for auditions (children’s and high school choirs) is October 2 and for director recommendations (college choir), as well. What does Tucson have to offer? At the beginning of March, the temperatures are in the 70s and 80s during the day, with plenty of sunshine, ideal for exploring this wonderful city. From anywhere in Arizona, Tucson is a reasonable drive, saving the cost of plane fare. All convention sites are within walking distance (no shuttles!). A city of around 500,000 people, Tucson is rife with cultural and entertainment offerings. Come early or stay late, bring your family and take advantage of the many live musical, dance and theatrical events, great golf, award-winning chefs and restaurants, art and national history museums, an active nightlife scene, outdoor activities, Reid Park Zoo, high end as well as a quirky retro/hippie shopping, and much more. There truly is something for everyone, not just cowboys and cacti (though we have that too)! Check out the convention website for Tucson hotspots and other helpful information. I look forward to welcoming you in March. Please let me know how I can help you in your plans to attend.
Convention website: acda.org/Western/Convention.html Honor Choirs information: acda.org/files/Western_Division_2010_Conference_Honor_Choirs_Booklet.pdf
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Arizona Presents at
ACDA Western Regional Choirs Phoenix Boy’s Choir Georg Stangelberger, conductor University of Arizona Symphonic Choir Elizabeth Schauer, conductor Northern Arizona University “High Altitude” Ryan Holder, conductor Tucson Choral Artists Eric Holton, conductor
Interest Sessions What’s on the Page? Determining Authentic versus Editorial Information in the Choral Score Elizabeth Schauer, clinician Boy Singers— Matters That Matter Julian Ackerley, clinician In the Beginning, the Words: Focusing on the Text as a Means to Musical Interpretation and Compelling Performance David Schildkret, clinician
3 Auditioned Choirs 3 Clinicians Culminating Concert (invite family and friends)
INTERNET ASSISTED By Dave Perry, Repertoire and Standards Chair, Community Choirs perry.pub@cox.net
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he internet is ubiquitous, isn’t it? Weekly, and often daily, I discover some new internet-based tool to help run a community choir. The most obvious is that I can communicate, day or night, with any and all members of the choir. When I consider a certain singer an excellent “fit” for that alto solo, I can ask her to give it a go at the next rehearsal. If the air conditioning has gone out at our rehearsal location, I send a quick message to the choir to meet at another, more comfortable place. When I finish the draft of a concert program, I send around an Adobe pdf file for proofreading, saving time and eliminating one rehearsal distraction. No longer need we circulate the program while rehearsing. A few days before each meeting, I send a message that includes rehearsal order, seating changes, reminders of memorization expectations,
and other tidbits that save time during rehearsal or performance. I can hear you saying, “But if they don’t check their e-mail...” and “they don’t even have e-mail.” I work with two choral groups. One is a small, ten-member church ensemble. Only one member lacks e-mail, and, consequently, requires phone notification. That saves at least nine calls each time there is something to communicate. The second group is a community chorus of twenty-four, all equipped with e-mail accounts. In fact, e-mail is the primary method of communication with this group, and all know it is their responsibility to check for choir messages. When, as I do, you use e-mail to communicate, it’s helpful to ask that choristers acknowledge receipt of information, even if all they say is, “OK” or “got it.” This eliminates the phone tree. The
The Desert Blooms In Song: 2010 Western Division Regional Convention, March 3, 2010 - March 6, 2010 Tucson, Arizona
A perfect city for singing, learning, listening, gathering, shopping All within walking distance www.acda.org/western
downside is that I have to plan and organize my rehearsal strategy earlier than I would have in the “good old days.” Other handy internet possibilities: • Got a new piece the choir should hear before the next rehearsal? Send a link to the audio file. • If there’s a particularly fine performance on YouTube, send the link. • Want your choristers to better understand the ethnic or historical environment of a song? “Google” it; then distribute a link, or send an informative e-mail. I’m sure there are many other tools to discover. So far, I don’t Twitter, don’t have a blog, and am terrible at responding to FaceBook. I would like to hear ways you use the internet in community choir work. So, over the next few months, clue me in. I’ll publish them for others to enjoy. Just drop me an e-mail.
Benefits of ACDA Membership • Online choral forums, inter-
active journal articles, CJ archives, music lists, conference handouts • Practical, in-depth writing: Choral Journal, Sharp Notes, ChorTeach, regional Tactus, statewide Antiphon • Repertoire & Standards tips, literature, advice • News from around the choral world • Festivals, Conventions, Workshops, Conferences Convenient online membership application — acda.org/formregistry
www.azacda.org
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Arizona Choral Directors Association (AzACDA) Arizona Music Educators Association, Inc. 6818 E. Kingston Pl Tucson, AZ 85710
009 2 L N FAL IPHO T AN
2009 Four Corners Choral Workshop: June 18–20, 2009
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