Choral Director Magazine November 2012 by Choral Director Magazine

NOVEMBER 2012 $5.00

Built to Last David Moellenkamp

of Los Alamitos High School Choirs

Commentary: Singin’ in the Rain

What a Glorious Feeling! Sixty Years of Singin’ in the Rain By Keith Mason

Gene Kelly during his famous Singin’ in the Rain dance number. All photos from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

ingin’ in the Rain is one of the most quintessential film musicals ever produced. With 2012 marking the 60th anniversary of its 1952 premiere, this article profiles the creative team re-

sponsible for producing the film, and outlines activities that focus on concepts and music that can be utilized with both music and dance Singin’ in the Rain capitalizes on the transition from silent films to talkies in the late 1920s. Warner Brothers Studios produced its first talkie film, “The Jazz Singer,” in 1927, creating a strong impetus for similar films by all of the other major film studios. Singin’ in the Rain features songs written by Arthur Freed, head of the Freed unit at Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios that produced numerous film musicals between 1939 and 1970. The screenplay was written by the legendary team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green and was directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Kelly also choreographed the film, assisted by Carol Haney. The film starred Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, and Millard Mitchell, and featured Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse.

History of Film & Its Creators

Donald O’Connor (Cosmo Brown), Debbie Reynolds (Kathy Selden) and Gene Kelly (Don Lockwood). 12

While many musicals are written especially for the stage, the film version of Singin’ in the Rain actually preceded the stage version. The film version began production on June 18, 1951 and finished on November 21, 1951. The stage adaptation of the film was first performed in London at the London Palladium, opening on June 30,

1983, and ran for 894 performances. A Broadway staging at the Gershwin Theatre came two years later, opening on July 2, 1985, running for 367 performances. The stage version has been presented at numerous local theatres throughout the globe. The main storyline of Singin’ in the Rain features a popular silent film star, Don Lockwood, who had performed as a singer, dancer, and stunt man earlier in his career. Although the press links him romantically to leading lady Lina Lamont, Lockwood can barely tolerate her. When Lockwood jumps into the car of aspiring stage actress Kathy Selden to escape from overenthusiastic fans, Selden criticizes film actors as mere “shadows on film.” Kathy Selden later gets work at the fictitious Monumental Pictures, the same studio that produces the Lockwood/Lamont films. The head of the studio, R. F. Simpson, wants to change the next film, The Dueling Cavaliers, into a musical entitled The Dancing Cavalier. Unfortunately, Lina’s grating and irritating highpitched speaking voice and inability to sing creates a problem. Lockwood’s piano-playing friend, Cosmo Brown, comes up with the idea that Kathy Selden can dub Lina’s dialog and singing voice. The film is a great success, but Selden is upset about being forced to continue as Lina Lamont’s voice

Choral Director • November 2012

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November 2012

20 David Moellenkamp

“

I wanted the campus to know how great these kids were and I think getting more kids involved certainly helps with that. I wanted to be their champion. I wanted them to be really proud of being in choir.

”

Roundtable: Adjudication

Contents

Behind the Adjudicator Table:

When adjudicating school choral groups, what are the most common errors that you see? Tom Wine: Some directors approach contest as an entirely academic exercise. They assume that singing the correct notes at the right time will constitute a superior (I) rating. As a judge, this is only the starting point for a top rating. More important is how the director has made musical decisions regarding the performance. Is there nuance in phrasing? Have diphthongs been adequately addressed?

Improving Festival Performance and Ratings

hen preparing for an adjudicated choral festival per-

Features

formance, the fundamentals of musical execution –

What are the most important qualities for middle or high school choral groups to display at a choral festival?

pitch, balance, timing, and so on – are the first pri-

Alyson Shirk: Intonation, diction, and

ority for every choral director. While that may seem obvious, there are also many other perhaps-more-subtle elements that will impact the performance, the audience response, and the ratings from the judges. For a closer look at what adjudicators themselves look for from school choral groups, CD went straight to the source, asking a panel of accomplished and esteemed directors and adjudicators for insight into this particular domain.

10 Commentary: Singin’ in the Rain Keith Mason takes a look at the landmark film musical, Singin’ in the Rain, on the movie’s 60th anniversary, and proposes several relevant classroom activities.

ing of the vocal line: moving air and a sensitivity to the line as indicated by the composer. Absence of vocal energy turns me decidedly off.

20 20

dynamics are the most important demonstrable qualities for choral groups to display at festival. Intonation can be fixed in part by uniform and spacious vowel formation. Crisp beginning and ending consonants are within the grasp of every choral group. Don’t wait until the final rehearsals to add crisp consonants; start them right away! Layer in dynamics right away as well. Terracing dynamics on repeats and paying attention to crescendos and decrescendos adds an impressive level of musical professionalism to a performance.

Alyson Shirk: Aside from easily taught uniform vowel structures, the most common error I encounter is, shockingly, director repertoire selection. Too many directors choose from repertoire that is beyond the performance capability of their students. As a result, chords are badly tuned and many musically nuanced elements are missed. Choose repertoire that your students can read in part by sight. Never choose music for festival that you must teach entirely by rote. A group that can perform a less-difficult piece with beauty and musicality will always score higher than the group that poorly performs a song that is too hard for them. While uniform vowel formation drastically helps intonation, nothing is a substitute for basic music literacy. Whether using fixed or moveable do, numbers, or other syllable systems, if students can sing intervals in tune by sight and by ear, they will apply such skill to reading repertoire.

Survey: Accompaniment Instruments

Tom Shelton: I see difficulty unifying the vowel sounds and having the singers really listen to each other to create one beautiful sound. Another common problem area is singing the line of the phrase. Notes and pitches are normally accurate, but I have experienced a lot of “notes” at festivals that could have easily been put into a beautiful phrase. Particularly with middle school choirs, repertoire selection can be problematic for some conductors. Is the vocal range appropriate for the baritones/tenors/basses? Is the selected repertoire accessible to the choir? To quote Jean Ashworth Bartle, “Simple things sung exquisitely are far better than difficult things done badly.”

Choral Accompaniment:

Tom Wine is professor of Music Education and director of Choral Activities at Wichita State University. Wine was the recipient of the 2009 WSU President’s Distinguished Service Award as well as the 2009 Burton Pell Award from the Wichita Arts Council. This is his 19th year of college teaching following 10 years of public school teaching. Wine is editor of the book, Composers on Composing for Choir, published by GIA Press in March, 2007. Wine is also pastpresident of Kansas ACDA and currently serves as the Youth and Activities R&S board member for KCDA. Debbie Glaze serves as the coordinator of the Music Education Program at Portland State University, where she teaches courses in Choral Methods, Elementary General Music, and Introduction to Music Education, while also supervising student teachers. Debbie has also been a high school choral director for 17 years and is the assistant and interim director of the Portland Symphonic Choir. She has served as the president of the Oregon Music Educator’s Association, a board member of the Oregon American Choral Director’s Association, and as a state certified choral adjudicator. She is active as a clinician and an adjudicator in the choral arena, an active member of both ACDA and MENC, and is currently This recent Choral Director survey president of the Northwest Division of MENC.

Trends in the Backing Track

Tom Shelton: Choral tone is the most important quality. I listen for a beautiful supported tone with unified vowels that is energetic and has rhythmic vitality. I also listen for phrasing and singing in a musical line. All adjudicators listen for superior musicianship, but I can be forgiving with other areas of scoring if the tone is supported and beautiful. Debbie Glaze: The most important qualities are an understanding of beautiful and healthy tone production and a sense of the text that they are expressing. For high school groups, every piece should not sound the same. What are the stylistic and cultural factors that guide the interpretation? Harry Musselwhite: I look for a healthy full sung tone: breath-oriented and vibrant singing. I feel most choral singing I hear nowadays is undersung in the service of some sort of perfect accuracy. This leaves me cold. I also look for an attention to the phras-

Debbie Glaze: The most common error that I see is programming music that is too difficult for the singers, either given the time they have to prepare or the level of proficiency that the singers possess. A difficult piece performed poorly is always disappointing to listen to and, most often, difficult to perform under adjudication pressure. A choral director should always strive to set his or her students up for success and keep teaching until he or she can successfully achieve more difficult literature. If singers are struggling just to get through a piece, there is no joy on their faces, in their sound, or textual expression. Harry Musselwhite: I often see undersinging. Also precious perfection that takes the emotional content away from choral performance, and a lack of attention to musical detail. Do you have any simple or not-so-obvious recommendations for educators on how they can improve their group’s festival ratings?

Tom Wine: Judges tend to listen for different things. Where one judge will focus on diction and energized consonants, another judge might focus on balance and matched voices. My personal “pet

3% 8% Other

Guitar

12% Piano

88%

Yes

12%

hile most vocal music groups perform at least some material without accompaniment, having an instrumental reference is often a key part of instilling the building blocks of choral performance. As every chorister knows, the piano is the typical accompaniment of choice.

of musical influence from cultures that have their own unique instrumentation, it might be worthwhile to re-examine some long-held assumptions about choral instrumentation.

Choral Director • November 2012

57%

“I try to plan Nomusic to give opportunities to students 88%in my choirs who play flute, violin/viola or any other inGuitar struments that I might be able to work 3% 8% Other in.” Camille Blackburn Hillcrest High School 12% Ammon, Idaho

24 Survey: Accompaniment Readers weigh in on the latest trends in choral accompaniment and associated instruments.

28 Technology: Professional Development CD columnist John Kuzmich and Joe Pisano of TI:ME take a look at some of the latest online professional development resources for music educators.

32 Repertoire Forum: Spirituals John C. Hughes recommends spirituals arranged for school choirs.

Choral Director • November 2012

60%

29% Humor

18% Computers/YouTube/the Internet

13% My own experience/creativity 9%

Guest clinicians

7% A Projector/Smart Board 16% Festivals/competitions/honors choirs Choral Director • November 2012 25

57%

13% My own experience/creativity Yes

12%

Piano/Accompanist

2% SmartMusic/Finale

Guest clinicians

53% Nearby colleagues 7% A Projector/Smart Board 24% Friends & family

Piano/Accompanist

18% Music ed associations – ACDA, NAfME, etc. 2% SmartMusic/Finale 4% A mentor 1%

I’m all alone – help!

29% Humor Yes

43%

57%

18% Computers/YouTube/the Internet 16% Festivals/competitions/honors choirs 13% My own experience/creativity 9%

Opening Notes

38 Vocal Tip

Headlines

39 Classifieds

35 New Products

Piano/Accompanist Humor

2% SmartMusic/Finale 18% Computers/YouTube/the Internet

16% Festivals/competitions/honors choirs Yes, frequently

57%

43%

19% 29%

43%

Columns

Yes, occasionally 6%

21%

Yes

Five accomplished adjudicators share insight into what judges really look for at choral festivals, along with tips for improving performance and ratings.

7% A Projector/Smart Board

I’m all alone – help!

88%

20 Roundtable: Adjudication

1% I’m all alone – help! 16% Festivals/competitions/honors choirs

24% Friends & family

With the prevalence and Does your vocal music program 18%ac-Music ed associations – ACDA, NAfME, etc. 13% cessibility of electronic instrucollaborate with instrumental My own experience/creativity ments, have you noticed ensembles in your music depart4%a trend A mentor 9% towards non-traditional choral ment? Guest clinicians accompaniment instruments? 1%

Keyboard

“I perform a lot of songs that use percussion instruments.” Piano Marie Dewar 77% Ambridge Area High School Ambridge, Pa. Yes No

Nearby colleagues

“I encourage my students who play “While we know it is24% out there, we piano to accompany one song each for are very traditional for the 2/3Friends of the& family the performances. This has worked out year and then we end the with 18%year Music ed associations – ACDA, NAfME, etc. well and they all enjoy the experience.” full-blown pop productions.” 29% Humor Susan Saposnik David 4%Henderson 53% NoOlive Middle mentor Yes Nearby Mt. Schoolcolleagues Edina 18% HighASchool Internet Lake, N.J. 88% Budd 43% Edina,Computers/YouTube/the Minn.

21 “I use a Yamaha Arius YDP-V240. It has a very good digitally sampled piano sound. It, unlike acoustic pianos in our dry climate, is always Yes in tune. I can also record accompaniments 12% for use in rehearsal.” Deanna Amend La Cueva High School Albuquerque, N.M.

Yes, frequently

Friends & family “What would a choral performance 60% 19% without percussion! 18% All kidding Music ed associations – ACDA, NAfME, etc. aside, there is an abundance of good choral music with percussion, espe4% cially multicultural selections.A mentor We’re that our school has a1% percussion Yes,lucky frequently I’mchoir all alone – help! ensemble! We also combine one 60% and our jazz band from time to time.” Margaret Anne Butterfield Wilmington Friends School Wilmington, Del. 53% No

21%be

77%

24%

occasionally

77%

12%

Choral Director • November 2012

Yes

3% 8%

Yet with changing technology, budget restrictions – pianos are quite expensive, after all – and an influx

“While I think that is true in many districts, it is not the norm in our district. Yes, occasionally We fortunately still use predominantly acoustic rather than recorded or elec- No 19% tronic instrumental accompaniment.” 21% Marie Miller Cheston Elementary School 53% Nearby colleagues Easton, Pa. Yes,

12%

Keyboard

19%

“My students are craving digital accompaniment – either CDs or keyYes, frequently board.” Kim Levan 60% Dunkirk Middle School Dunkirk, N.Y.

Does your school choral proOther 3% gram have 8% a full time accompanist?

Keyboard Harry Musselwhite is senior lecturer in Music and director of Choral Activities at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. As a soloist, his basso voice Piano has been heard throughout the United States and Europe, and he has led his choral groups throught England and Europe. He is an award-winning filmmaker and recently released, with Hal Leonard, his first children’s book, Martin the Guitar.

14 UpClose: David Moellenkamp

Yes, occasionally No

21%

12%

Keyboard

asks readers to share their accompa-

Tom Shelton is assistant of Sacred nimentprofessor experiences – the instruments Music at Westminster they Choiruse, College whereensembles he how their collaboteaches classes in Sacredrate Music, andgroups, and the withConducting, instrumental Music Education. Prior to teaching at Westminlatest relevant trends among school ster, he was a middle school choral director for choral 18 years in Winston-Salem, NC,groups. and served as associate director of Music for Children and Youth at First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC. Mr. Shelton has Which instrument do you conducted elementary, middle and high school choral festivals in typically use to accompany your 14 states, and has served as a choral adjudicator for Paramount school choirs? Carowinds Theme Park Choral Festivals, NCMEA Regional Middle School Choral Festivals, NC Elementary Honors Chorus Auditions, NC Governors School Auditions, National ACDA GuitarACDA Middle Performing Choirs Listening Committee, National Other School Honor Choir, and the Southern Division ACDA Performing Choirs Listening Committee. He has compositions published by Colla Voce, Heritage Music Press, Hinshaw Music, and Santa Barbara Music.

Choral Director • November 2012

Choral Director catches up with the director of California’s Los Alamitos High School choir, a current national show choir champion, to discuss recruitment, retention, and maintaining quality even while the student population is in flux.

Guitar

“I generally use the ‘canned’ accompaniments available.” Piano Carl Beck New Road77% School/Schoenly School Parlin/Spotswood, N.J.

Guest clinicians

7% A Projector/Smart Board 6%

Piano/Accompanist

2% SmartMusic/Finale

40 Ad Index

Cover Photo by Sara Press, Los Angeles, Calif. Choral Director® Volume 9, Number 5, is published six times annually by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781)453-9310, publisher of School Band and Orchestra, Musical Merchandise Review, Music Parents America and JAZZed. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: $20 one year; $30 two years. Rates outside U.S.A. available upon request. Singles issues $5 each. Resource Guide $15 Standard Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to Choral Director, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham MA 02494. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. Copyright © 2012 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

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Opening Notes

The Many Hats of the School Choral Director The editorial content in this publication is intended to address the many challenges facing vocal music educators. To achieve that aim, it can be helpful to look with greater detail at some of the roles played by the school choral director. Those can include music teacher, coach, artistic director, accompanist, and recruiter, among others, and that is in addition to serving as director of the choir. How these responsibilities are balanced is unique to each school situation. The educational component is always a considerable portion of any job that involves working with children. The vocal music educator must often introduce not just basic musical ideas like scales and harmony, but also work to impart life skills on impressionable young minds. An enhanced understanding of the value of discipline, focus, and teamwork are among the many rewards that follow a successful choral performance. Meanwhile, it’s also critical to keep in mind that beyond the mechanical elements of singing (breath control, intonation, pitch, timbre, and so on), the larger aim involves more than getting it right or performing perfectly. The goal of a “Beyond the mechanical choir is to create music, to present auditory art – ideas and elements of singing emotions, thematic concepts that can transport the singers, (breath control, the director, and the audience to another time and place. Repertoire selection plays a large part of this – finding music that intonation, pitch, timbre, will challenge singers to grow creatively and musically, but and so on), the larger still allow them to showcase their abilities with confidence. goal involves more Be sure to follow this publication’s “Repertoire Forum” for than getting it right or recommended pieces for an array of common voicings – this s edition of that column focuses on choral arrangements performing perfectly.” issue’ of spirituals. Then again, there are also the practicalities and limitations – realities, if you will – so common in public schools. In a reader survey found on page 24, 92 percent of responding choral directors indicated that they did not have a fulltime accompanist in their school program. Many also commented on the challenges of simultaneously playing piano and giving the attention that the choir both needs and deserves during rehearsals. Some directors work around this by relying upon students as accompanists, a move that provides a wonderful opportunity for young musicians while also freeing up the director to focus more energy and attention on his or her primary role with the choir. Of course, that option is limited by students’ instrumental talents, which can prove to be a major hindrance to that effort. Other directors work around this dilemma by employing technological tools. The possibilities of virtual accompaniment are considerable and expanding rapidly, and they can now include innovations like tempo and pitch adjustment. On the other hand, the prospect of depending upon “canned music” is abhorrent to many. And even before one can worry about such problems as accompaniment, vocal technique, or the life lessons found in the choir room, one must create a place where students want to be. This issue’s cover story features David Moellenkamp from Los Alamitos High School in Orange County, California, who has built a vocal music program that includes almost four hundred students. “The moment you stop recruiting is the moment that your numbers start to drop,” says Moellenkamp. Please take a moment to visit Choral Director online (www.choraldirectormag.com) and on Facebook (www.facebook.com/choraldirectormagazine) to comment and share the ideas and content provided herein. Also, if you have suggestions for other areas of coverage in Choral Director, don’t hesitate to drop us a line…

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Headlines NAMM Foundation Launches 2013 Best Communities Survey The NAMM Foundation kicked off the highly regarded Best Communities for Music Education survey during their SupportMusic teleconference and webinar in early November. The Best Communities program recognizes and honors schools and districts across the U.S. for their commitment and support of music education as part of the core curriculum.

www.nammfoundation.org

Choral Icon Warland Inducted into Classical Hall of Fame Among 2012’s class of eight new inductees to the Classical Music Hall of Fame was longtime choral artistic director Dale Warland. Warland led the renowned Dale Warland Singers for over 30 years, establishing a bold repertoire consisting primarily of twentieth-century composers like Arvo Part, Samuel Barber, Charles Ives, Joseph Ott, and more. The group won awards from the American Society of Composers, the Grammys, ASCAP, and more for its work with a large variety of music, and its 2005 album Harvest Home reached number 11 on the Billboard Top Classical Albums. Warland retired from the Singers in 2004 and has continued a busy career composing music for choir and guest conducting prominent ensembles, as well as editing choral publications and teaching.

www.americanclassicalmusic.org

YPC Launches After-School Chorus in NYC

The YPC at La Sociedad Coral Latinoamericana.

In a celebration of its 25th anniversary season, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City is expanding its award-winning music education program to even more of the city’s schoolchildren through the launch of its first after-school community chorus, the Young People’s Chorus of New York City in Washington Heights (YPCWH). YPCWH, the first community chorus in a new YPC initiative, is located at P.S. 366 (Washington Heights Academy) and was established in partnership with Washington Heights Academy principal Renzo Martinez. Weekly after-school rehearsals began in early November. Taught by YPC-trained conductors and accompanied by professional pianists, this YPC curriculum, based on the methods of former Choral Director magazine cover subject Francisco Núñez, provides children with a comprehensive music education that exceeds national standards, as well as a path to higher education and a haven where schoolchildren throughout the community can meet and bond.

www.ypc.org

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L.A. Master Chorale Receives $1M Gift

After our September cover story ran on the challenges facing Ohio’s Little Miami High School choirs and the successes that school has had in spite of them, director Sarah Baker wrote to clarify the situation regarding the school’s difficulties in applying for need-based grants: Dear Choral Director Staff, Students qualify for free and reduced lunch (and breakfast) based on household income. We have a good number of students who take advantage of the program, However, according to poverty reports, Warren County is shown to be one of the most affluent counties in Ohio. Many grant applications will ask for the percentage of students in the program, basing some of the need for funds on that information. Our district is unique in the fact that we have an older population base, but the last 15 years or so, the housing boom created a vast increase of population and demographic change. With the economic crisis, building stopped, and foreclosures were appearing everywhere. The failure of eight tax levies placed the school district into fiscal emergency, and ultimately, state control. Sarah Baker Little Miami High School Morrow, Ohio

The Los Angeles Master Chorale (LAMC) has received a $1 million gift from Los Angeles attorneys Kiki and David Gindler in support of the Chorale’s visionary artistic leadership, it was announced by LAMC President and CEO Terry Knowles. This gift establishes the Chorale’s “Music Director’s Circle,” creating an opportunity for donors of $50,000 or more who share a passion for the musical experiences of the Los Angeles Master Chorale under the artistic vision of music director Grant Gershon.

ArtistWorks Launches Online Vocal School ArtistWorks, an interactive online music education provider, has launched a new interactive vocal school from vocal coach Jeannie Deva, offering one-on-one singing lessons online using ArtistWorks Video Exchange Accelerated Learning Platform. This is the 23rd online music school from ArtistWorks.

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Choral Director • November 2012

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Commentary: Singin’ in the Rain

What a Glorious Feeling! Sixty Years of Singin’ in the Rain By Keith Mason

Gene Kelly during his famous Singin’ in the Rain dance number.

All photos from Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer.

ingin’ in the Rain is one of the most quintessential film musicals ever produced. With 2012 marking the 60th anniversary of its 1952 premiere, this article profiles the creative team responsible

for producing the film, and outlines activities that focus on concepts and music that can be utilized with both music and dance students. Singin’ in the Rain capitalizes on the transition from silent films to talkies in the late 1920s. Warner Brothers Studios produced its first talkie film, “The Jazz Singer,” in 1927, creating a strong impetus for similar films by all of the other major film studios. Singin’ in the Rain features songs written by Arthur Freed, head of the Freed unit at Metro Goldwyn Mayer Studios that produced numerous film musicals between 1939 and 1970. The screenplay was written by the legendary team of Betty Comden and Adolph Green and was directed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen. Kelly also choreographed the film, assisted by Carol Haney. The film starred Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen, and Millard Mitchell, and featured Rita Moreno and Cyd Charisse.

History of Film & Its Creators

Donald O’Connor (Cosmo Brown), Debbie Reynolds (Kathy Selden) and Gene Kelly (Don Lockwood). 10

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double. While Lina is “performing” the song “Singin’ in the Rain” to the audience after a screening of The Dancing Cavalier, Kathy Selden is actually behind a curtain with a microphone, singing for Lamont. Cosmo, Don Lockwood, and R.F. expose Lina by raising the curtain; Lina runs off in embarrassment. After Kathy storms off, Don asks audience members to stop Kathy and announces to them that Kathy is the true star of the picture. The film ends with the characters of Lockwood and Selden standing in front of a billboard for their new movie, Singin’ in the Rain. In his book entitled Singin’ in the Rain, Wollen (1992, p. 9) observed that “The single most memorable dance number on film is Gene Kelly’s solo dance ‘Singin’ in the Rain,’ in the film of the same name, which he co-directed in 1951, with Stanley Donen, for the Freed Unit at MGM.” Kelly did the number as if he were a child playing and splashing in the puddles, making it famous throughout the globe. While MGM’s An American in Paris swept the Oscars, Singin’ in the Rain was nonetheless enormously popular and a box office hit. The characters in Singin’ in the Rain are based on real-life film stars: Cosmo Brown was based on actor Oscar Levant, Lina Lamont was based on silent picture star Norma Talmadge, who did poorly going from silent movies to talkies, Zelda Zanders is based on “it girl” Clara Bow, and radio show host Dora Bailey, played by Madge Blake, is supposedly based on famous gossip columnist Louella Parsons. Betty Comden (1917-2006) and Adolph Green (1914-2002) were hired by Freed to work on a screenplay using his catalog of songs. They were told the work would be entitled Singin’ in the Rain, after Freed’s song with Nacio Herb Brown. Comden and Green thought that the late 1920s, when silent films went to talkies, would be the ideal time period for the project because this period aligned with the beginning of the Freed and Brown song collaborations. Comden and Green wrote Broadway musicals and Hollywood musicals over a six-decade span. On the Town was the pair’s first Broadway endeavor

with music by legendary composer Leonard Bernstein. They also played key roles in the musical. See the sidebar for a list of Comden and Green’s stage and film works, which garnered a number of awards including Tony

Awards for Best Musical, Best Original Score, Best Composer, and Lyricist. Comden and Green received Kennedy Center Honors in 1991. One of the key issues behind the transition to talkies was the inability

Stage and Film Works of Betty Comden and Adolph Green Applause The Band Wagon Bells Are Ringing Billion Dollar Baby” Do Re Mi A Doll’s Life Fade Out-Fade In Hallelujah, Baby! It’s Always Fair Weather

On the Town On the Twentieth Century A Party with Betty Comden and Adolph Green Peter Pan Singin’ in the Rain Subways Are For Sleeping Two On the Aisle Will Rogers Follies Wonderful Town

Gene Kelly as Don Lockwood. Choral Director • November 2012

Debbie Reynolds and Gene Kelly.

of some actors to deliver dialog with a pleasant-sounding voice or to sing on key. The character of Lina Lamont is a prime example in Singin’ in the Rain, whereby Kathy Selden is commissioned to perform both her dialog and her singing voice. Dubbing became a regular practice, especially in film musicals. One of the most famous dubbers, Marni Nixon, sang for a variety of different non-singing actresses including Deborah Kerr in The King and I, Natalie Wood in West Side Story, and Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. Nixon did in real life what fictional Kathy Selden is depicted doing in Singin’ in the Rain.

Arthur Freed (1894-1973) began his entertainment career as a songplugger and pianist in Chicago. He then met the Marx Brother’s mother, Minnie, and became a singer as part of the Marx Brother’s vaudeville act. He wrote material for them and then went on to write song lyrics; he was hired by MGM. Freed wrote song lyrics for numerous MGM musicals, many with music by Nacio Herb Brown. In 1939, after serving as an un-credited associate producer of The Wizard of Oz, Freed was promoted to head of his own unit at MGM. He helped make the studio the leading creator of film musicals. His first musical was Rodgers and Hart’s, Babes in Arms (1939), starring Mickey Rooney and Judy Garland. The success of this film invited a long series of “let’s put on a show” or “backyard musical” films, all of which starred Rooney and Garland. Two of Freed’s MGM films won the Academy Award for Best Picture: An American in Paris (1951) and Gigi (1958). Ironically, his most highly regarded film, Singin’ in the Rain, won no Oscars. Legendary dancer Gene Kelly (1912-1996) had immense contributions to Singin’ in the Rain, co-directing, choreographing, and starring in the film. Kelly was an actor, singer, and producer as well. He originally wanted to be a baseball player, but

his mother encouraged him to be a dancer. Kelly appeared in a number of MGM musicals, mainly from the mid 1940s until the late 1950s. He was particularly famous for making ballet dancing commercially acceptable to movie audiences. Kelly also blended solo dancing, mass movement, offbeat camera angles, and vibrant colors to tell a story in purely visual terms. Besides Singin’ in the Rain, Kelly also appeared in An American in Paris, For Me and My Gal, Cover Girl, Anchors Away, and The Pirate. In addition, he directed The Tunnel of Love, Gigot, A Guide for the Married Man, Hello, Dolly! and The Cheyenne Social Club. Dream ballets first became famous and popular when Rodgers and Hammerstein included one in their 1943 Broadway musical, Oklahoma! It became common for musicals to feature such a ballet as in Carousel and Flower Drum Song. Kelly built a ballet around two of Freed and Brown’s songs: “Broadway

Jean Hagen as Lina Lamont and Debbie Reynolds as her voice double Kathy Selden.

Songs from Singin’ in the Rain

First Film Appearance

“Fit as a Fiddle (and Ready for Love)” “Temptation” (instrumental only) “All I Do Is Dream of You” “Singin’ in the Rain” “Make ‘Em Laugh” “Beautiful Girl Montage”

College Coach (1933) Going Hollywood (1933) Sadie McKee (1934) Hollywood Revue of 1929 (1929) Original “I Got a Feeling You’re Foolin’” from Broadway Melody of 1936” (1935), “The Wedding of the Painted Doll” from The Broadway Melody (1929), and “Should I?” from Lord Byron of Broadway (1930) Going Hollywood (1933) or Stage Mother (1933) The Broadway Melody (1929) Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935) Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Babes in Arms (1939) San Francisco (1936) The Broadway Melody (1929) and “Broadway Rhythm” from Broadway Melody of 1936 (1935)

“Beautiful Girl” “You Were Meant for Me” “You Are My Lucky Star” “Moses Supposes” “Good Morning” “Would You?” “Broadway Melody Ballet”

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Melody” and “Broadway Rhythm.” An artistic scarf dance was also interpolated, danced by Kelly and Cyd Charisse. Stanley Donen (born 1924), an American film director and choreographer, is best known for Singin’ in the Rain and On the Town, both of which he co-directed with Gene Kelly. His other major films include Charade, Damn Yankees!, Funny Face, Indiscreet, Royal Wedding, Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, and Two for the Road. Film critic David Quinlan called Donen “the King of the Hollywood musicals.” Donen is known for changing Hollywood musical films from realistic backstage dramas, in which songs were motivated by stage settings or the physical presence of musicians, into an integrated art form, whereby the music was unmotivated and songs became a natural continuation of the story.

The Singin’ in the Rain Score Arthur Freed’s songs serve as the bulk of the Singin’ in the Rain score. “Catalog” pictures were a sub genre of musicals normally presented as biopics utilizing a musician’s catalog of songs. Thus, Singin’ in the Rain does not have an original score, but rather a compilation of selected songs with lyrics by Arthur Freed and mostly composed by Nacio Herb Brown. The only original song written especially for the film was “Moses Supposes” with lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Roger Edens.

Gene Kelly and Debbie Reynolds.

The original song “Singin’ in the Rain,” first appearing in the film Hollywood Revue of 1929, did not include the lyrics “and dancin’” in the line “Singin’ and dancin’ in the rain.” The two words were added for the film version so that Don Lockwood would be highlighting both the songs and choreography.

Score and Film-Related Activities The Arthur Freed songs that comprise the Singin’ in the Rain score invite a number of activities that can enhance both music and dance curricula. Consider the following activities: Dubbing Activity: In class, each student can partner with someone who dubs his or her singing voice as in “Singin’ in the Rain.” One student sings the song while the other lip syncs or mouths the words. How close are the dubber’s vocals to the lip-syncher’s? Songs from Singin’ in the Rain could be used for this activity. Singing and Playing: Students could learn one or more songs from the Singin’ in the Rain score and sing them or play them instrumentally. MGM Musicals/Arthur Freed Unit: Singin’ in the Rain is one of many MGM musicals. Teachers can have students research the Freed unit. What other musicals were produced? How many musicals were produced? How many musicals on average per year were produced? Songs in Original Films: Investigate the original films in which the Singin’ in the Rain songs were used. How was each song used within the context of its original film or films? Dream ballets: The dance sequence in Singin’ in the Rain called “Broadway Melody,” featuring Gene Kelly and Cyd Charisse, may be considered a dream ballet. Find out about other stage or film musicals that utilize a dream ballet. How does the ballet help move along the plot and story as well as contribute artistically to the work? Dance during Singin’ in the Rain: Analyze the dance sequence during the song “Singin’ in the Rain.” What types of dance steps are used? Why do you think this song and dance number is so well known? How does rain contribute to the overall scene?

Conclusion Singin’ in the Rain is not only one of the best film musicals of the 1950s, but arguably one of the best films, musical or otherwise, ever produced. Celebrating the 60th anniversary of Singin’ in the Rain can truly enhance a choral, vocal music, show choir, or dance curriculum. What a glorious feeling! Keith Mason, Ph.D. teaches World Languages at New Providence High School in New Providence, New Jersey. Dr. Mason received eight Rising Star Awards for Educational Impact from the Paper Mill Playhouse for integrating his school’s musicals into the high school curriculum. He has authored many articles about using musicals in the interdisciplinary curriculum.

Print Sources

Bingen, Steven, Stephen X. Sylvester, Michael Troyan, and Debbie Reynolds. MGM: Hollywood’s Greatest Backlot. Solana Beach, CA: Santa Monica Press, 2011. Comden, Betty, and Adolph Green. Singin’ in the Rain: Story and Screenplay: Classic Film Scripts. London: Lorrimer Publishing, 1986. Fordin, Hugh. MGM’s Greatest Musicals: The Arthur Freed Unit. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press, 1996. Green, Alexander. Gene Kelly – His Life of Stage and Screen – A Biography. Hess, Earl J., and Pradibha A. Dubholker. Singin’ in the Rain: The Making of an American Masterpiece. Lawrence: University Press of Kansas, 2010. Hirschhorn, Clive. Gene Kelly: A Biography. New York: St. Martins Press, 1985. Miner, Sylvia. Gene Kelly – A Short Biography for Kids. Amazon: Kindle Edition, 2011. Morby, Sheridan, Ruth Leon, and Leslie Caron. Gene Kelly: A Celebration. Brighton, England: Pavilion, 1997. Wollen, Peter. Singin’ in the Rain. London: BFI Publishing, 1992.

Choral Director • November 2012

UPCLOSE: David Moellenkamp

t’s no easy task to retain high enrollment in any school choir, regardless of location. Choir directors must be vigilant in their communities and persistent with new recruits, using all tools available to them – everything from direct outreach to word of mouth, colleague support, and fundraising are all vital. Wild success year after year in performances and competition never hurts. This past school year marked the second year in a row that choirs from Los Alamitos High School were named National Grand Champions at the Finale show choir competition (the honors went to both the school’s mixed AAA choir and its allgirl advanced choir). The Orange County, California students were part of a program steeped in a proud choral tradition, but choral director David Moellenkamp is actually a recent addition to that timeline.

Choral Director • November 2012

Built to Last

Los Alamitos High School has always had a strong choral program, but the ranks of its singers have doubled in the last four years. Director David Moellenkamp reveals how. By Matt Parish

In the four years since Moellenkamp came onboard, enrollment numbers in Los Alamitos choirs have doubled and their showings at competitions have improved dramatically. The school’s choirs have combined to win 29 first place/ championship awards and have also collected over 80 “Best in Category” recognitions. Moellenkamp was a seasoned veteran when he was hired, having begun work as a choral director at the age of 21 at his old high school’s rival program in Sullivan, Illinois. During those formative years, he found fast success in the Sullivan program while rapidly expanding his reach by adjudicating at competitions throughout the country and getting involved with choir camps like the Butler Showchoir Showcase in Wichita and the famous Stagedoor Manor in New York’s Hudson Valley. By the time he arrived at Los Alamitos in 2009, he had over 100 first place finishes to his credit. And yet, Moellenkamp says that the size of the trophy has become less important to him than the development of his kids. “The kids don’t remember the placement,” he says. “But they do remember how great it felt coming off the stage after having just performed for a really great crowd.” Choral Director spoke with Moellenkamp about his own development and the success he’s had at Los Alamitos, particularly regarding the incredible recruiting and retention numbers. Choral Director: How did you approach the job at Los Alamitos when you first began there? David Moellenkamp: The kids’ complaint when I first started was that everyone else thought that all they did was stand and sing. So my main goal was to change the perception of choir on campus – first by changing the perception the kids had about being in the program, and second (really at the heart of it all) by giving these kids more confidence. I wanted the campus to know how great these kids were and I think getting more students involved certainly helps with that. We try to instill confidence in all these kids. I wanted to be their champion. I wanted them to be really proud of being in choir. That was my main goal. CD: Your first job directing choir was back in Illinois, at Sullivan High School. How did that affect you in your early years? DM: I started when I was 21, right out of college. It was quite a shock to me. When I was in high school, we competed in a national competition against the Sullivan Singers. I went to Rolling Meadows High School in Illinois and I remember watching them when we were in competition and just being in awe of everything about them – their performance, their strength, their costumes, and their sound. It was weird that four years later, I’d find a job opening there. Actually, after I graduated college at Millikin, I didn’t think I was going to teach. I really thought it was time to do something else. I found that this job was open and I interviewed on a Tuesday morning and was given the job that afternoon. I thought, “Okay, I can last a year to make my parents think I’m grateful for my four-year private school education.” Now, 16

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21 years later, here I am still teaching. Even that program doubled in size within the first three years. We started more groups – we started a girls group and the mixed group got larger. When I showed up the first day, I thought they’d be just like I had seen them in competition and that wasn’t the case at all. It actually took a lot of hard work! I hadn’t realized that, naïve as I was. It was quite a program. When I took over, it was a very successful program so I had quite a lot to learn. I still do, obviously. But it was a very challenging first couple years trying to figure out how to navigate that program. CD: What was it about that first year that got you hooked? DM: The hope that it would be better next year. Everyone says your second year is going to be much easier and that you’ve got to stick it out. You’ve got to try. And honestly I’ve always really loved show choir. I was in show choir in high school and in college at Millikin. I enjoyed doing it but the challenge came later on. You just learn as you go. At Sullivan, I had very big shoes to fill. I was replacing David Fehr, who teaches at Clinton, Miss. – he’s the Attache Show Choir director. He’s a really strong director so I had a lot to learn to measure up to that, and I definitely still do. CD: Was there anything in particular during those experiences that has really changed the way you’ve approached choir direction?

DM: Oh sure. At Butler Showchoir camp, working with Valerie Lippoldt Mack was life-changing. Her teaching methods are so uplifting, motivating, and positive and she’s so gracious to everyone that she comes in contact with. The way that she’s able to build a group’s self-esteem and their camaraderie was extremely inspiring. I also spent 13 summers working at Stagedoor Manor, a music theater program up in the Catskills. That experience was incredible because I was able to work with a different kind of kid than I had at Sullivan. These kids from New York were all the music theater stars. Then there was going to Show Choir Camps of America with Dwight Jordan and Sue Moninger. In general, every director you run across, you should be able to learn something from. I feel like a sponge trying to pick up everybody’s knowledge. CD: What do you do to get the kids excited about the program? DM: Success breeds success. I remember our first show back in 2008, our Broadway show. The kids were so proud of their vocal sound and proud of their performance and proud that they’d worked very hard. It was during Halloween weekend and I think we only sold 100 seats the last night of the performance. Overall, we sold maybe 700 seats for the production. We are at the point now that we’ve added a fourth show for all of the performances and we sold 2,700 seats for our Broad-

way Show this last year. Still, that first show created a buzz around campus. We always invite the staff to come to the show and they’re very supportive. They talk about the performances and eventually more people show up. CD: What are some direct steps you take to keep your recruitment efforts strong? DM: There are a number of ways to recruit kids into the program. Having taught grades 6-12 for so many years, I knew that it was easier when you were able to get to know kids early on and transition them into the high school program. Now that I’m only teaching in high school, I’ve had to come up with other ways of listening to different colleagues and look for many ways to

“

– to the kids at the middle schools that we feel would be great in our program. CD: Are there specific events for which you harness your choirs’ talents that are designed to help with recruiting? DM: We do a district choral festival with a big group number including every boy that’s currently enrolled in choir from grades 4-12. They do a big singing and dancing performance and that’s a big deal. Also at that choral festival, our groups all perform together and for each other including all grades 4-12. That seems to be a very popular event. We’ve also gone into the middle schools and done performances at their assemblies and spoken about the choirs

”

The moment you stop recruiting is the moment that your numbers start to drop.

get the job done. I spend a lot of time at junior high, whether I’m doing a workshop with them, choreographing a song, or teaching a song. We’ve gone in and actually taught the middle school physical education classes where we’ve done choreography and show choirs – keeping them active, of course. I’ve also been given written recommendations from current students and teachers at the middle school for certain kids that we need to have in our program. So we write personal letters – the students and myself

there. At the high school, we’ve done a class-by-class performance where we’ll be getting ready for a show and invite the classes to come in and watch students perform. Whether it’s the kids in the classroom or the whole school, for students to see what our kids did and the success they were having onstage. The fun and pride that they shared was really incredible. And we picked up a lot of kids from that. CD: How important is it for you just to be present in the schools and get to know the younger students?

DM: I try to get to know the kids on campus as best as I can. If I can’t get out of my classroom at lunch or after school, I at least try to communicate to the students who are already on our campus. I do think that it’s important to get kids early. If you get students as freshmen, you can keep them throughout their years. The kids that join late are always so disappointed that they didn’t join earlier. We had a whole conversation recently in our boy’s group and some of them were talking about the letter they received from me as an 8th grader and how it made them feel so special that someone wanted them in the program. Choral Director • November 2012

There were five boys in that group that year that would not have been there if they hadn’t received that letter. It was amazing how much a difference that one letter made in their high school career. CD: Do you find that there’s a critical mass for the amount of boys in particular in the program to keep it moving? DM: Yeah, but the moment you stop recruiting is the moment that your numbers start to drop. You can’t ever stop. They’re not going to run to you. Most of those boys are not going to walk into that room. You’ve got to get them in there. We had that whole talk about how the choir had changed their life, but then we started talking about their responsibilities.

At a Glance:

Los Alamitos High School 3591 Cerritos Avenue Los Alamitos, Calif. On the Web: www.losalamitoschoir.com Students in the LAHS Choir: 385 Students Enrolled at LAHS: 3,200 Ensembles: Xpressions SoundFX Xtreme Axcent Soundtrax Deluxe/Dynamix

Staff: David Moellenkamp (Director) Eddy Clement (Accompanist) Heather Hoppus-Werner (Choreographer) April James (Choreographer)

CD: Do you try anything to actively instill that attitude in them? DM: My choir director at Millikin, Richard Hoffland, told me something important after one show. We’d gone on tour in Russia and had been performing in St. Petersburg. The show was amazing and I was so moved. It was a mind-blowing experience – just singing in that choir always was, but that performance especially. So I talked to him afterwards and I asked, “How do I ever thank you?” He said, “You pay it forward. You share your talents, you give kids that skill, and that’s how you repay me.”

This year, my students and I talked about what this experience has been like for the first six weeks of the year and how our lives have already changed. They didn’t know they could have this much confidence, they didn’t know they could have this much fun.

And at that point, we entered a conversation about paying it forward. I think we had 80 percent of those boys think of someone on this campus that could benefit from this program. So your kids can actually be big recruiters. The more confidence they have in the program, the more confident other students will be in a decision to join. CD: How do you balance the need to build the program as fast as you can with the challenge of making sure the quality improves? DM: That’s tough. Last year was the biggest leap. We grew this year as well, but it was only by about 20 kids. We’ve been doing more vocal sectionals where the basses meet, the tenors meet , the altos and sopranos meet – that way, the kids don’t get lost. All the section leaders meet with them at lunch or after school. That certainly helps. We call them “tribes” – the tenor tribe and the bass tribe and so on. We make smaller groups within the big

Choral Director • November 2012

groups and make sure they feel like they’re part of some community as well as part of a big group. It’s easy to get lost in the shuffle. CD: Do you think formal successes like those found in regional and national competitions plays a big role in recruitment? DM: It does help to remind people how great the choirs are, but the normal kid on campus doesn’t have any idea of who the other groups are that we go up against in competition. I think the success that really translates best is when they can actually see what the choirs can do in a show and do it really well. That’s exciting. Winning a competition is fun, but it’s not really what we’re about. Having said that, I always expect that they give a Grand Championship performance! At competitions, we just want to be the best we can be and hopefully receive some positive comments about what we were able to do. If you’re just chasing a trophy, it’s an empty chase. I learned that along the way. When I first started teaching, it was all about getting that first place trophy, but then it really became about the experience with the kids and them growing as people. CD: Now that you’re five years into this experience on the West Coast, what have you learned about kids that you can compare to students of yours back in the Midwest or at camps in the East? DM: Everyone always wants to know how kids are different in California or New York or Kansas or Illinois or wherever. You know what? The kids all really just want one thing – they want to be proud of what they do. They want to fit in and be proud of who they are. Being a teenager is tough and that’s why Los Alamitos has been so successful, because it is a haven for kids that want to express themselves and be successful. People figured that out and that’s why the program keeps growing every year.

Choral Director • November 2012

Roundtable: Adjudication

Behind the Adjudicator Table: Improving Festival Performance and Ratings

hen preparing for an adjudicated choral festival performance, the fundamentals of musical execution – pitch, balance, timing, and so on – are the first pri-

What are the most important qualities for middle or high school choral groups to display at a choral festival? Alyson Shirk: Intonation, diction, and dynamics are the most important demonstrable qualities for choral groups to display at festival. Intonation can be fixed in part by uniform and spacious vowel formation. Crisp beginning and ending consonants are within the grasp of every choral group. Don’t wait until the final rehearsals to add crisp consonants; start them right away! Layer in dynamics right away as well. Terracing dynamics on repeats and paying attention to crescendos and decrescendos adds an impressive level of musical professionalism to a performance. Tom Shelton: Choral tone is the most important quality. I listen for a beautiful supported tone with unified vowels that is energetic and has rhythmic vitality. I also listen for phrasing and singing in a musical line. All adjudicators listen for superior musicianship, but I can be forgiving with other areas of scoring if the tone is supported and beautiful. Debbie Glaze: The most important qualities are an understanding of beautiful and healthy tone production and a sense of the text that they are expressing. For high school groups, every piece should not sound the same. What are the stylistic and cultural factors that guide the interpretation? Harry Musselwhite: I look for a healthy full sung tone: breath-oriented and vibrant singing. I feel most choral singing I hear nowadays is undersung in the service of some sort of perfect accuracy. This leaves me cold. I also look for an attention to the phras-

Choral Director • November 2012

ing of the vocal line: moving air and a sensitivity to the line as indicated by the composer. Absence of vocal energy turns me decidedly off.

Tom Wine: After pitches and rhythms, the most important thing is that the group has a defined concept of choral tone. This is presented by the way groups focus breath (technique), match vowels (diction), and address intonation. When adjudicating school choral groups, what are the most common errors that you see? Tom Wine: Some directors approach contest as an entirely academic exercise. They assume that singing the correct notes at the right time will constitute a superior (I) rating. As a judge, this is only the starting point for a top rating. More important is how the director has made musical decisions regarding the performance. Is there nuance in phrasing? Have diphthongs been adequately addressed? Alyson Shirk: Aside from easily taught uniform vowel structures, the most common error I encounter is, shockingly, director repertoire selection. Too many directors choose from repertoire that is beyond the performance capability of their students. As a result, chords are badly tuned and many musically nuanced elements are missed. Choose repertoire that your students can read in part by sight. Never choose music for festival that you must teach entirely by rote. A group that can perform a less-difficult piece with beauty and musicality will always score higher than the group that poorly performs a song that is too hard for them. While uniform vowel formation drastically helps intonation, nothing is a substitute for basic music literacy. Whether using fixed or moveable do, numbers, or other syllable systems, if students can sing intervals in tune by sight and by ear, they will apply such skill to reading repertoire. Tom Shelton: I see difficulty unifying the vowel sounds and having the singers really listen to each other to create one beautiful sound. Another common problem area is singing the line of the phrase. Notes and pitches are normally accurate, but I have experienced a lot of “notes” at festivals that could have easily been put into a beautiful phrase. Particularly with middle school choirs, repertoire selection can be problematic for some conductors. Is the vocal range appropriate for the baritones/tenors/basses? Is the selected repertoire accessible to the choir? To quote Jean Ashworth Bartle, “Simple things sung exquisitely are far better than difficult things done badly.” Debbie Glaze: The most common error that I see is programming music that is too difficult for the singers, either given the time they have to prepare or the level of proficiency that the singers possess. A difficult piece performed poorly is always disappointing to listen to and, most often, difficult to perform under adjudication pressure. A choral director should always strive to set his or her students up for success and keep teaching until he or she can successfully achieve more difficult literature. If singers are struggling just to get through a piece, there is no joy on their faces, in their sound, or textual expression. Harry Musselwhite: I often see undersinging. Also precious perfection that takes the emotional content away from choral performance, and a lack of attention to musical detail. Do you have any simple or not-so-obvious recommendations for educators on how they can improve their group’s festival ratings? Tom Wine: Judges tend to listen for different things. Where one judge will focus on diction and energized consonants, another judge might focus on balance and matched voices. My personal “pet

Dr. Alyson Shirk is the director of Music for the Bryn Mawr School in Baltimore and the artistic director for the Children’s Chorus of Maryland. A lyric soprano, Alyson has a healthy respect for the pedagogy of both choral and solo vocal technique. She is a frequent choral clinician, adjudicator, and master class teacher. Tom Wine is professor of Music Education and director of Choral Activities at Wichita State University. Wine was the recipient of the 2009 WSU President’s Distinguished Service Award as well as the 2009 Burton Pell Award from the Wichita Arts Council. This is his 19th year of college teaching following 10 years of public school teaching. Wine is editor of the book, Composers on Composing for Choir, published by GIA Press in March, 2007. Wine is also pastpresident of Kansas ACDA and currently serves as the Youth and Activities R&S board member for KCDA. Debbie Glaze serves as the coordinator of the Music Education Program at Portland State University, where she teaches courses in Choral Methods, Elementary General Music, and Introduction to Music Education, while also supervising student teachers. Debbie has also been a high school choral director for 17 years and is the assistant and interim director of the Portland Symphonic Choir. She has served as the president of the Oregon Music Educator’s Association, a board member of the Oregon American Choral Director’s Association, and as a state certified choral adjudicator. She is active as a clinician and an adjudicator in the choral arena, an active member of both ACDA and MENC, and is currently president of the Northwest Division of MENC. Tom Shelton is assistant professor of Sacred Music at Westminster Choir College where he teaches classes in Sacred Music, Conducting, and Music Education. Prior to teaching at Westminster, he was a middle school choral director for 18 years in Winston-Salem, NC, and served as associate director of Music for Children and Youth at First Presbyterian Church, Greensboro, NC. Mr. Shelton has conducted elementary, middle and high school choral festivals in 14 states, and has served as a choral adjudicator for Paramount Carowinds Theme Park Choral Festivals, NCMEA Regional Middle School Choral Festivals, NC Elementary Honors Chorus Auditions, NC Governors School Auditions, National ACDA Performing Choirs Listening Committee, National ACDA Middle School Honor Choir, and the Southern Division ACDA Performing Choirs Listening Committee. He has compositions published by Colla Voce, Heritage Music Press, Hinshaw Music, and Santa Barbara Music. Harry Musselwhite is senior lecturer in Music and director of Choral Activities at Berry College in Rome, Georgia. As a soloist, his basso voice has been heard throughout the United States and Europe, and he has led his choral groups throught England and Europe. He is an award-winning filmmaker and recently released, with Hal Leonard, his first children’s book, Martin the Guitar.

Choral Director • November 2012

peeve” is choirs that do not sing in tune. Try to bring guest directors into the classroom before contest. Get a different set of ears in front of the students to help sort out areas that might not be a priority to the director.

Debbie Glaze: Don’t get so bogged down teaching notes and memorizing texts that you forget to always have them breathe together, in the shape of the vowel they are about to sing. Good breathing habits and vowel shapes will immediately improve a choir’s sound, blend, and intonation, and create beauty. Alive faces will also energize and beautify their sound, as well as express the text more fully. Too often, an adjudicator can tell that the choir has spent the majority of their rehearsal time on learning parts and has neglected to build habits that inform their sound and expressive elements. Tom Shelton: Choral Festival is a wonderful performance opportunity for the singers to share their musical growth and musicianship. It’s not about the product – it’s the process. If your process is sound, then your product will be sound. Use the warm-up process in your rehearsal to focus on listening and unifying vowel sounds. Have the singers make the connection between the warm-ups and the repertoire. As you are teaching the music, lis-

ten – detect errors and fix them quickly – and do not allow the singers to sing out of tune or sing incorrect notes and pitches. Teaching musicality is part of the teaching process. If you have not worked on singing a legato phrase, you can’t add that articulation to the rehearsal before the festival and expect it to stick. Prepare your students for the non-musical elements of the experience – what the stage is like, where the adjudicators will be, what the adjudicators are listening for, will you announce the songs, and so on. The “unknown” causes “unrest.” Preparing them as much as possible beforehand will make the experience calmer and more rewarding.

Tom Shelton: First impressions are very important. The performance starts the moment the singers step on the stage. Singers should take the time walking to the risers to focus and prepare themselves for singing, which will lead to a better performance. Choral singing is working together. Having a unified “look” helps foster the feeling of “we are in this together.” Posture/alignment is the basis for good choral tone, so even though it is “nonmusical,” it is monumental!

Harry Musselwhite: When a choral group enters the adjudication space, at that moment, they are performing, and so is the conductor. Enter the space in performance posture and performance attitude. Let this lead to the actual vocal presentation that you have worked so hard too execute.

Debbie Glaze: Choirs who carry themselves with a sense of pride will enter and leave the stage professionally and wear appropriate attire for their performance. This is important, because it’s one of the few times in a student’s life that this sort of disciplined teamwork is essential to the success of the group and builds community and confidence for individual students. In terms of adjudication, it is always noted, though appropriately scored less heavily than musical aspects such as quality of sound, musicality and technique.

How important are non-musical elements, such as posture, facial expression, wardrobe, and entering and exiting the stage?

Harry Musselwhite: I feel these items are sometimes as important as the actual sound a choral group makes. Pride of performing power is not to be underestimated!

Tom Wine: Posture is very important, as it is directly related to vocal technique. Lack of focus on posture indicates lack of preparation on breath support. Facial expression can be a positive because it tends to indicate connection to the text, but it is not a negative if students sing with good tone and musicality. Matching outfits can help create a positive first impression, but will never be the defining item in a final score.

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Alyson Shirk: As an adjudicator, I am always impressed by how students present themselves and the precision with which they enter the stage. Wardrobe is important, too. A uniform look allows for full concentration on the musical performance. A well-choreographed entrance and exit and a spiffy look never detract from a performance! Students who show expression in their faces generally show expression in their music. Only a few children are gifted with natural ability to emote facially – most students must practice. It may seem like time is better spent working on the music but when students engage emotionally (as they must even to fake a facial expression), I find they sing more musically and better in tune. Any additional thoughts or tips on preparing student performing groups for a festival performance?

Harry Musselwhite: Worry less about perfection and worry more about expression. Engage the text, the vowels, the sounds, and execute through these aspects. Alyson Shirk: I recommend inviting a clinician you know and trust to come to a rehearsal several weeks before the assessment. Students will hear the recommendations that you give them on a daily basis differently from someone else and will benefit from the work of an outside party. It is also helpful to record a full rehearsal for the director’s edification and to record a partial rehearsal for the students’ growth. The director will pick up on things she or he has missed and the students will benefit from hearing the good things that are happening in rehearsal as well as the things that need improvement. If they can make meaningful commentary on their own performance, they will own the process. If space and rehearsal parameters allow, take the students to a different rehearsal location and have them practice walking on risers and singing in a different space. Just the experience of a different acoustic and a mock riser load-in can add a level of serious concentration that will counterbalance an attack of nerves that often arise when students sing in unfamiliar spaces. Tom Shelton: Plan ahead. Make longrange and short-term goals for your choir. You don’t want them to “peak” too soon, but you want them to be comfortable, self assured, and confident in their performance. Singing in a choral festival is a great educational tool. Go over the adjudication sheet with the singers several weeks before the festival. This explains exactly what the adjudicators are listening for, and can be a wonderful assessment tool for you (and the singers) in the rehearsal. Don’t just go for the “rating.” After the festival, listen to the taped (or written) evaluations with the singers and discuss the comments with the goal of improving before the next performance. Debbie Glaze: I like to think of the festival performance as a culminating experience of weeks of hard work and rehearsal. It is a time to put it all together and do the choir’s best work, yet enjoy the process as well as the product. Rather than looking only at the adjudication numbers or ratings, look at how much the choir has grown and improved in the process. This is easier said than done, but singing in a choir is for life; a festival score is a measure of that day. Go to a festival to hear other great choirs and hear new and wonderful pieces. Finally, festivals are always more satisfying when the choir can read a wide variety of music, so remember to teach musical literacy continually, giving them lifelong tools and facilitating more productive rehearsals in preparation for festival season. A good choral conductor is a good teacher.

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Survey: Accompaniment Instruments

Choral Accompaniment:

Trends in the Backing Track

Yet with changing technology, budget restrictions – pianos are quite expensive, after all – and an influx of musical influence from cultures that have their own unique instrumentation, it might be worthwhile to re-examine some long-held assumptions about choral instrumentation.

Choral Director • November 2012

Guitar

3% 8% Other No

21%

12%

This recent Choral Director survey asks readers to share their accompaniment experiences – the instruments they use, how their ensembles collaborate with instrumental groups, and the latest relevant trends among school choral groups.

Keyboard

“I generally use the ‘canned’ accompaniments available.” Piano Carl Beck 77% New Road School Parlin, N.J.

“My students are craving digital accompaniment – either CDs or keyYes, freq board.” Kim Levan 60 Dunkirk Middle School Dunkirk, N.Y.

Guitar

Which instrument do you typically use to accompany your school choirs?

12%

Keyboard

Yes

Guitar

12%

3% 8% Other

Piano

77%

12%

Keyboard No

Piano

77%

88%

Yes

12% “I use a Yamaha Arius YDP-V240. It has a very good digitally sampled piano sound. It, unlike acoustic pianos in our dry climate, is always Yes in tune. I can also record accompaniments 12% for use in rehearsal.” Deanna Amend La Cueva High School Albuquerque, N.M. “I try to plan Nomusic to give opportunities to students 88%in my choirs who play flute, violin/viola or any other inGuitar struments that I might be able to work 3% 8% Other in.” Camille Blackburn Hillcrest High School 12% Ammon, Idaho

57%

43%

24%

occasionally

Yes, frequ

Friends & family “What would a choral performance 60 19% be without percussion! All kidding 21% 18% Music ed associatio aside, there is an abundance of good choral music with percussion, espe4% cially multicultural selections.A mentor We’re that our school has a1% percussion Yes,lucky frequently I’mchoir all alone – help ensemble! We also combine one 60% and our jazz band from time to time.” Margaret Anne Butterfield Wilmington Friends School Wilmington, Del. 53% No

Nearby colleagues

“I encourage my students who play “While we know it is24% out there, we piano to accompany one song each for are very traditional for the 2/3Friends of the& family the performances. This has worked out year and then we end the with 18%year Music ed associatio well and they all enjoy the experience.” full-blown pop productions.” 29% Humor Susan Saposnik David 4%Henderson 53% NoOlive Middle mentor Yes Nearby Mt. Schoolcolleagues Edina 18% HighASchool Computers/YouTu Budd Lake, N.J. 88% 43% Edina, Minn. No

57%

24%

1% I’m all alone – help 16% Festivals/competi

Friends & family

With the prevalence and Does your vocal music program 18%ac-Music ed associations – ACDA, NAfME, etc. 13% cessibility of electronic instrucollaborate with instrumental My own experienc ments, have you noticed ensembles in your music depart4%a trend A mentor 9% towards non-traditional choral ment? Guest clinicians accompaniment instruments? 1%

A Projector/Smart

19% 29%

Piano/Accompani Humor

I’m all alone – help!

Yes, occasionally 6%

21%

Yes

Keyboard

“I perform a lot of songs that use percussion instruments.” Piano Marie Dewar 77% Ambridge Area High School Ambridge, Pa. Yes

“While I think that is true in many districts, it is not the norm in our district. We fortunately still use predominantly acoustic rather than recorded or elec- No tronic instrumental accompaniment.” 21% Marie Miller Cheston Elementary School 53% Nearby colleagues Easton, Pa. Yes,

Does your school choral Other 3% have 8%a full program time accompanist?

43%

57%

Yes, frequently

60%

2% 18%

SmartMusic/Finale Computers/YouTu

16%

Festivals/competit

13%

My own experienc

29%

Humor

18%

Computers/YouTube/the Internet

16%

A Projector/Smart Festivals/competitions/honors choirs Choral Director • November 2012 25

13%

9% 7%

Guest clinicians

“Occasionally we will have a string quartet play with the choir, or soloists if the piece calls for it. The Omaha Symphony has a great collaborative program with Opera Omaha that brings together several HS choirs each fall to perform a large choral work and opera choruses with professional soloists. Our school performs every other year. I would love to be able to perform a large work with our HS orchestra someday.” Lyn Bouma Omaha Central High School Omaha, Neb.

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Choral Director • November 2012

“I seek out opportunities and/or write music for my choral students who study on other instruments. We have used students on harp, French horn, violin, cello, clarinet, oboe, and trumpet. My assistant director and accompanist are also skilled on flute, violin, and percussion. I am also Orff certified and frequently use an Orff ensemble for choral accompaniment. We often perform in church and have use of a wonderful pipe organ. I also have a professional bass violinist and a drummer who play (for a fee) on most major concerts.” Leah Baskin Rock Valley Children’s Choir Rockford, Ill. For those that do collaborate with instrumental groups, what are the primary challenges of bringing vocal and instrumental students together for a single performance?

“Time to get all students together. Music students are always in other extra curricular activities and sports. Schedules are difficult to coordinate” Cheryl Breitzman Absegami High School Galloway, N.J. “Balance – high school instrumentalists are challenged to play softly and vocalists do not have the development to sing over a band or orchestra.” Mary Beth Shumate Brevard High School Brevard, N.C. “Attempting to re-create authentic performances of ethnic music with

complex rhythms. I have found that with the really good arrangements, the songs take on a totally different rhythmic feel when percussion is added.” Marshall Butler Jesse O. Sanderson High School Raleigh, N.C. Additional thoughts on recent trends or developments in choral accompaniment and accompaniment instruments?

“I think there should be a dramatic push for hiring accompanists at the local level for high school choral programs. Even the best pianists/choral directors simply cannot effectively evaluate singers while playing simultaneously! We should be given the flexibility to conduct, which is what choral conductors should do. Too often we are forced to accompany instead in interest of time. It should be a standard procedure to have a staff accompanist, particularly at the high school level, and I believe strongly that much advocacy needs to occur to make sure that we work to provide this resource for our secondary choral directors.” Rachel Sossoman Patton High School Morganton, N.C. “I enjoy the fact that authentic multicultural music is available and if you have some exotic instrument, you can usually find a piece that can use it. I have a concert quality didgeridoo and have been able to use it in choral concerts because I’ve found music for it.” Kat Doebel Gross Catholic High School Bellevue, Neb. “I think that it is a ‘forward progression’ to bring other instruments into play when appropriate, besides the piano.” Julie Ciesinski The Gow School South Wales, N.Y. “I think sometimes we believe using a track is a cop-out. We rarely use tracks, but I try to remember that sometimes it is fun to sing with a track. The instrumentation can add a lot to the piece of music.” Megan Wicks-Rudolph Vestavia Hills High School Vestavia, Ala.

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Technology: Professional Development

The Emerging World

of Online Professional Development by John Kuzmich, Jr. and Joseph M. Pisano

rofessional Development is evolving rapidly. Gone are the days when teachers needed to wait for a conference or the next journal for help and happenings – it is now available when-

ever and wherever needed via the Internet. Collaborative technologies such as social-networking and interactive websites have brought professional development into the digital, virtual-world. Consultation, coaching, community discussion, collaborative engagement, individual study, and mentoring all appeal to various learning styles and address individual needs and concerns.

In the music related fields, perhaps the most exciting professional development conversations are revolving around the practitioners’ abilities to congregate and have discussions utilizing well-adopted social networking sites such as Google+, Facebook, and Twitter. A number of very large online social groups have begun to emerge, focused around established entities such as the National Association for Music Education (NafME), as well as ad-hoc groups such as the Facebook “Music Teachers Group” (facebook.com/groups/mpln). In every case, the discussions that are happening within these robust environments are engaging and leading to the furthering of each member’s knowledge. One of the acronyms of today’s online educationally-related world is “PLN,” which is short for “Personal Learning Network” or, in the case of a group-centered organization, a “Professional Learning Network.” While the concept of a personal learning network is not new, the development of seemingly universally-adopted integrated social media networks such as Facebook have increased the “personal” part from being limited to those living in a close-proximity of each other to now include anyone with access to the Internet. Even the language barriers have become greatly reduced due to the increased accuracy of integrated auto-translation services such as Google Translate. The notion of professional development, for many people, still creates the picture of attending a conference or attending a lecture given by an expert in the field. While these are still viable ways to develop professionally, to more fully take advantage of the incredible resources available in professional development using online venues, one must expand the definition to include concepts such as creative exploration, collaboration, peer-discussion, and self-guidance. Once these

Choral Director • November 2012

concepts are embraced, the true value of online professional development can be realized; still, in some cases, the personal human element can appear to be lessened. Composer and director Travis J. Weller notes, “Social media platforms have increased access to online professional development. Online professional development is now a viable option with a much broader scope and yet has increased in quality. My only criticism is that it does take away true human interaction from the process. Still, with so many knowledgeable educators contributing, music teachers and directors need to take advantage of these opportunities to broaden and enrich their contacts and knowledge base.” Because a PLN is tailor-made to each individual’s needs, many people believe that starting their own PLN is difficult, but in actuality the process is quite simple. A person’s learning network can start with the very social networks sites that he or she is already using simply by searching for topics of interest and “joining-in” on the conversations found or by asking their peers what online resources they are using and then exploring them. Dr. Charles R. Jackson, Jr., noted MusicForAll clinician (musicforall. org), when discussing PLNs, describes some of the strengths and needs for these online opportunities: “One of the many apparent strengths of online professional development for music educators is the ability to focus with pinpoint accuracy on the topics most important and relevant to their needs and interests.” He also points out there are advantages to sitting at home and searching through the many online forums for answers to questions that, for one reason or another, a teacher might be hesitant to bring up in a public meeting involving their colleagues and peers. Better still is to become engaged in a two-way communication through an online resource and have an in depth discussion on very specific topics. Online professional development has the potential to become, if it has

not already, the life-line that will save many novice music teachers from falling victim to the staggering statistics which reflect the intolerably high number of talented individuals who leave the profession. As might be expected, music related industries are increasing their discussions and interactions with music teachers and musicians through social media and by doing so they are helping to better understand each other’s needs and how their crosspurposes can be better met. Marina Terteryan, marketing manager at Alfred Music Publishing, has been keen on cultivating this relationship. She says, “The music education community, which includes teachers as well as businesses, is so powerful because of its common goal to bring music to the world. Any time that cross-

tion” have been created specifically to share and collaborate information among their members. Also, organizations and product developers are now frequently using their Facebook pages to discuss topics and products in an online forum. Google+ (plus.google.com) – “Circles” of friends and like-minded professionals are being utilized to create groups and share information. In addition, “Hangouts” (video conferencing) are being used to create small groups on the fly, as well as seminars around a “topic of the day.” LinkedIn (linkedin.com) – Music teachers and music professionals are listing potential jobs and posting their resumes. In addition, LinkedIn offers group forums and large-scale professional career networking opportunities.

“This bodes well for professional development and the ability to communicate and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues in unprecedented ways.” collaboration happens, everybody benefits because we can better serve each other as well as the students. That is why it’s so important for us to constantly communicate with the teachers and musicians that we serve. We not only listen and take everything into consideration, but we seek this information out because of how much we value it. Social media is one of the wonderful tools that allows us to do all this in real time.” The “Big Four” of the social networks being used for professional development are Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn and Twitter. Each one of them is being used in a different manner, and all of them are being used to disseminate useful information pertinent to the fields of music and music education.

How the “Big Four” are Being Used as PLNs: Facebook (facebook.com) – Groups such as “Music Teachers” and “American Choral Dirctors Associa-

Twitter (twitter.com) – Perhaps the fastest way to find the latest, most succinct, information about a particular topic is to utilize Twitter and Twitter hashtags. Not unlike colleges and universities that have moved a portion of their offerings online, a number of organizations are now offering professional development opportunities through online “webinars” (web seminars). SoundTree (soundtree.org) offered the first-of-a-kind, day long, professional development conference in 2010 aptly named the “Music Education Technology Online Summit.” In 2011, this “summit” became the SoundTree Institute and it now offers a variety of on-going classes and webinars. Also, long established groups such as TI:ME (Technology Institute for Music Educators) are increasingly offering a number of their courses through online channels as well. Ad-hoc, large-scale, professional development opportunities have also developed as an outgrowth of the

Choral Director • November 2012

members of the PLNs themselves. A complete professional development day that utilized all of the major social networks was put together by longtime music professional learning networker and music teacher Catie Dwinal. Called “Music Ed. Motivational Day,” this day consisted of a number of free webinars given by well-known and tech-fluent music educators, focused around a myriad of music education topics. The webinars were transmitted and delivered by Google+ Hangouts and available live to anyone who wished to watch or participate. In addition, the webinar topics were also simultaneously discussed via Facebook and Twitter. This type of communicating easily demonstrates the long reach and power of an active social-media-based PLN. There are endless professional development opportunities similar to those listed in this article. Most of them are available at any time of the day and may be custom-selected to provide for almost any type of developmental need. Regardless of all of the day-to-day demands that all music teachers and directors face, taking the time to develop an online PLN is becoming both a necessary and en-

joyable step for everyone. Everyone is an “expert” at something. Active membership in a PLN allows everyone to share their expertise and their experiences with each other.

Staying on top of your Social Media Presence Managing multiple social media platforms can take time and require time-management skills. One timesaver for busy music educators is a social media manager, or “dashboard,” such as Alternion (alternion.com), Hootsuite (hootsuite.com), or Seesmic (seesmic.com). The benefit of a social media dashboard is the ability to easily view all the activity connected to your social media accounts in one location, eliminating the need to visit each of the sites individually. They also allow the scheduling of updates and the posting of photos to the various accounts with an easy-touse interface complete with crossaccount-posting capabilities. Utilizing a social media manager provides increased productivity and time-saving benefits which, naturally, should be the goal of all technology-related endeavors!

Closing Comments Smart phones and tablets are fast becoming the norm, with less need to be connected to a laptop or desktop to have an acceptable Internet experience. This bodes well for professional development and the ability to communicate and collaborate seamlessly with colleagues in unprecedented ways. This open-ended and, often, self-directed architecture offers almost limitless opportunities for learning and instructing. A good first step to participating in online professional development is simply to get on a social-media platform that is comfortable for you. There are already plenty of people using PLNs and all of them are ready to help. The benefits are epic; and time, for once, plays nice with our schedules. Dr. John Kuzmich Jr. is a veteran music educator, jazz educator and music technologist with more than 41 years of public school teaching experience. He is a TI:ME-certified training instructor and has a Ph.D. in comprehensive musicianship. As a freelance author, Dr. Kuzmich has more than 400 articles and five text books published. As a clinician, Dr. Kuzmich frequently participates in workshops throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, and South America. For more information, visit www.kuzmich.com. Joseph M. Pisano, Ph.D. is currently the associate chairman of Music and Fine Arts at Grove City College, where he is an associate professor of Music and serves as the associate director of Bands. Abroad, Dr. Pisano is an active instrumental conductor, adjudicator, author, jazz trumpet player, arts advocate, and the founder of a number of very popular webresources including: MusTech.Net, MusicEdNews. Com, and the Music Teachers and Jazz Educators Facebook Groups. He is an active member of a number of professional organizations including: PA Intercollegiate Bandmasters’ Association, Phi Beta Mu International Bandmasters’ Fraternity (Nu Chapter), PMEA, NAfME, and holds Associate membership in the American Bandmasters Association.

For the latest news and content, follow CD on Facebook: www.facebook.com/choraldirectormagazine 30

Choral Director • November 2012

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Repertoire Forum: Spirituals

Selected Spiritual Arrangements For All Choirs By John C. Hughes

or many choirs and audiences, spiritual arrangements are the highlight of concerts. Although the following is certainly incom-

plete, I’ve listed some of my favorite arrangements below. Some are “barnburners,” while others have interesting histories and subtexts. Take time to explore the depth of these works and how they fit into the tapestry of American history; spirituals can be much more than a flashy show piece. For more information on the history and performance practice of the spiritual idiom, I cannot recommend highly enough André J. Thomas’s book, Way Over In Beulah Lan’: Understanding and Performing the Negro Spiritual (Heritage Music Press, 2007).

TWO-PART “The Drinking Gourd” Arr. André J. Thomas Heritage Music Press Easy André J. Thomas is a renowned conductor, teacher, and composer. When working on this underground railroad song, take the time not only to learn the notes and rhythms, but also to discuss the piece’s background and meaning. With a wonderful piano part, interesting rhythms, and dramatic shifts, both choirs and audiences with enjoy this piece. Performing a piece like this truly helps students emotionally connect with American history. www.lorenz.com/product.aspx?id=15_1564H 32

Choral Director • November 2012

“Great Day!” Arr. Rollo Dilworth Hal Leonard Easy This arrangement of “Great Day!” has all the elements discerning choir directors have come to expect from Rollo Dilworth. His understanding of the young voice is evident in his writing. The call and response texture makes this piece a great introduction into harmony. Add in his exciting piano part, and Dilworth’s arrangement stands out as a wonderful choice for developing voices. tinyurl.com/929pycr

TTB “Good News!” Arr. André J. Thomas Heritage Music Press Medium Easy Feature the young men in your choir with this arrangement of the popular spiritual, “Good News!” This arrangement has an infectious melody that everyone is sure to enjoy. Thomas adds excitement and fervor through the blue notes. The frequent repetition of the refrain makes learning this piece go very quickly. This arrangement is also available in a SSA voicing. w w w. l o r e n z . c o m / p r o d u c t . aspx?id=15_1886H

TTBB “Soon-Ah Will Be Done” Arr. William Dawson Neil A. Kjos Publishing Medium While many wonderful new arrangements of spirituals are published every year, it is worthwhile to perform spirituals that helped secure the idiom’s rightful place in choral music. The fundamentals of this piece are fairly straightforward; however, the piece re-

quires expressive and artistic nuance. Help guide students towards an understanding of the emotional depth of this work. Dawson’s arrangement is also available in a SATB voicing. tinyurl.com/8lcrlo4

SSA “Elijah Rock” Jester Hairston Bourne Music Medium Easy Jester Hairston was another composer and arranger who helped establish the choral spiritual. This is his most famous arrangement and often appears on festival and honor choir repertoire lists. There is also a SATB voicing available. www.jwpepper.com/183517.item

SSSA “Ev’ry Time I Feel the Spirit” Arr. Rosephanye Powell Fred Bock Music Medium There are many great arrangements of this spiritual, and Powell’s fits right in with the best of them. She writes well and creates a captivating musi-

cal experience. It is unaccompanied, so strong intonation and sense of ensemble are needed. However, the hard work this piece requires will be worth it at the concert. Rehearsal and performance CDs are available. w w w. f r e d b o c k . c o m / D e t a i l . asp?tid=JG2380 “Listen to the Lambs” R. Nathaniel Dett G. Schirmer, Inc. Medium R. Nathaniel Dett has a thoughtprovoking and inspiring life story. Born in Canada in 1882, he grew up in a home where, due to financial struggles, only his older brothers were able to take piano lessons. However, Dett’s hard work, talent, and determination carried him far, and he graduated from Oberlin College. This arrangement is particularly interesting because Dett draws upon the spiritual model for inspiration, but infuses it with Romantic stylistic elements. “Listen to the Lambs” is a wonderful choice for choirs. www.jwpepper.com/Listen-to-theLambs/409052.item

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Choral Director • November 2012

THREE-PART MIXED “Wade in the Water” Arr. Moses Hogan/ed. Purifoy and Day Hal Leonard Medium Easy What listing of spirituals would be complete without one by Moses Hogan? While all choir directors probably have their favorites by Hogan, this new edition by Purifoy and Day adapts Hogan’s superb arranging style to fit the needs of younger voices. With an added piano part and simplified voicing, developing choirs can also enjoy Hogan’s sense of drama and deep expressivity. tinyurl.com/8jlnfm9

SATB “My God Is a Rock” Arr. Alice Parker and Robert Shaw Alfred Music Publishing Medium Alice Parker and Robert Shaw’s arrangements are among the most beloved in the American choral repertory. “My God Is a Rock” has superb choral writing, expressive text setting, and powerful emo-

Choral Director • November 2012

tional import. Feature a baritone in your choir through the moving solo. www.alfred.com/Products/My-GodIs-a-Rock--00-LG51107.aspx “My Lord, What a Mornin’” arr. Harry T. Burleigh Alfred Music Publishing Medium Advanced While many spirituals work well as closers because of their grandiosity, Burleigh’s “My Lord, What a Mornin’” is different. It begins and ends very softly and quite slowly. The moving text, which deals with loss, is expertly set by Burleigh. The piece builds to a stupendous climax, where there is significant divisi (however, this is very accessible). Then, the piece retreats to its former sublimity. Burleigh’s sincere arrangement will captivate audiences. www.alfred.com/Products/MyLord-What-a-Mornin--00-FCC00412. aspx

SSAATTBB “Ride on King Jesus” Arr. Stacey V. Gibbs

Colla Voce Advanced Stacey V. Gibbs is quickly rising to the top of current arrangers of spirituals. His pieces are always expertly crafted, heartfelt, and musically satisfying. This particular arrangement has been on several reading lists and festivals in 2012. Gibbs strikes a balance of treating the familiar melody in new and innovative ways while maintaining the overall structure and character of the piece. A true barnburner, “Ride on King Jesus” will have audiences on their feet. www.collavoce.com/catalog/item/ ride-on-king-jesus-36-20168 John C. Hughes is a versatile choral musician and pedagogue, drawing from experience as a K-12 teacher, collegiate conductor, and church musician. Presently, Hughes is pursuing the D.M.A. in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy at The University of Iowa, as well as serving as music director at The Congregational United Church of Christ in Iowa City. Please contact him directly at his website: www.johnchughes.com.

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