Choir Fam Podcast

“Octave displacement is a really big thing with adolescent singers. Make a game out of it - I’ll have them match me, match me up an octave, match me down an octave - versus scolding when you’re in the middle of rep and someone is singing too low and you just point and say ‘that’s too low.’ That’s a little ambiguous for the average 13-year-old. To give them the strength to identify it themselves is practicing the skill we want to se...

“I started to see the possibilities of what a youth community choir could be. Seeing that profound impact on a young woman was very transformative for me. After two or three years, everything that I did had more layers. There was a new potential of enhancement and community impact. The things that make me go like a volcano are about community, access to programs, and how to break barriers for participation.”

Dr. Marcela Mo...

“If a student has been unsuccessful at elementary and middle school, by the time they get to high school, it’s really hard to shift and course correct. But if they haven’t been successful at elementary and you get them at the middle school level, you really do have the potential to shift that course in a monumental way, to reshape their views about whether they are indeed successful and worthwhile. You really have such a big role t...

“Contemporary commercial music is closer to the students’ everyday musical culture. There’s that component of culturally relevant pedagogy that both show choir and vocal jazz meet. They are a bit more naturally motivating to a majority of students, and we honor the musical culture of the United States and our popular styles from the last 100 years when we teach these things."

Ryan Deignan is Assistant Professor and Di...

"I didn’t want to do any middle level teaching because of behavior, but I ended up teaching eight years at Patrick Henry Junior High. I loved every moment of it. I learned that if the kids loved and trusted you, they would do anything for you. It was just so much fun to take what they were willing to give and do some good work with them. It all translated into how they behaved in choir."

Cathleen Britton has been...

"The greatest lesson that I learned as a gig singer is that your career and reputation are built one chance at a time. You get one chance and one chance only. If I want people to go out on a limb for me and recommend me for a gig, then I have to make sure that I'm protecting their reputation as well as my own. That starts with never being late, always being prepared, and almost never missing a note."

Dr. St...

Thank you for listening to our show this season!!

Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the second season:
Sommerpsalm, Waldemar Åhlén
Christmas Oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach
Komm, Jesu, Komm; Johann Sebastian Bach
Agnus Dei, Samuel Barber
Bluegrass Mass, Carol Barnett
Afternoon on a Hill, Eric Barnum
Missa Solemnis, Ludwig van Beethoven
The Eyes of All Wait Upon Thee, Jea...

Choir Fam Minisode 3 includes Lightning Round answers from two of our Choir Fam listeners:

Stephen Salamunovich
Renton, Washington

Anneliese Zook
Garfield, Washington

We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to answer our Season 1 lightning-round questions for us to share with our audience. We are looking forward to getting to know you better.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail...

We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to answer our Season 3 lightning-round questions for us to share with our audience. We are looking forward to getting to know you better.

Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com with the following info:

1. Subject Line: Choir Fam Minisode
2. First and last name, pronouns optional
3. City and state you live in
4. School where you teach or study, choral organization you work with, etc.
5. A...

“The number one thing that I look for when I meet a younger conductor is imagination, someone who comes with ideas but also has a story to tell with the music. Often younger conductors are really worried about technique, the way they look, the way they rehearse, but it starts with imagination. What do you want to communicate? People are so worried about technique that they hide themselves. We want to see the person. Who are you and...

“We are there to be servants of our community. A lot of amateur choirs can become bowling leagues; they show up on Wednesday night, they have a great time, and that’s the reason they do it. I think the trick is to satisfy the needs of our singers, develop them as artists and people, but also make the focus constantly about reaching out to our audience: how do I find pieces that are going to meet my singers where they are, challenge...

“So many people view conducting as a reflection of the music, and if that works for them, that's great. I view conducting as a reflection of the movement. Undergrads aren't always predisposed to musical language, but they are already predisposed to the language that Laban uses: time, space, weight, flow. Instead of saying 'that's not marcato enough,' you could instead say 'that's not heavy enough’...

"The question I had to ask myself was, 'Do you want to change who you are as a composer just so can match a particular sound that is in fashion or is expected of you in the concert hall world or do you want to say true to yourself as an artist?'" Time and time again, whenever this question pops up, it's always you turn towards yourself and ask yourself who you are and you stay true to who you are. You don&a...

“The music that I fell in love with that made me want to be a musician when I was a young teenager was not loved because it’s super difficult. That’s not the reason you love music. You love music that makes you feel and makes you think. If something is challenging, that feeling of reaching the finish line and being able to create a performance that you’re proud of is super rewarding. If something is impossible, that doesn’t excite ...

“You can’t be a good teacher, you can’t be a good conductor, without being a good human being... I’m grateful that I have stuck with so many of the things that felt true to me. I’m honest and vulnerable but also still open to learning from other people, because everything that I do is not right. If I realize it’s not right, I need to ‘fess up to it really quickly.”

A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett is Associate Prof...

“My professional career comes from something that I did not study. I think it’s called the hidden curriculum - things that you learn that are not on your schedule that are many times equally or more important as things on the schedule. Now, don’ t tell your students not to study and only spend time doing whatever they do. The combination is the secret - the inspiration you get from your fellow students and teachers.”

Born ...

"When you're singing choral music, you can't be thinking about all those other things that are going on in your life. It takes incredible mental focus. People would say to me, 'how do you have time to sing in a choir when you're working on a doctorate?' and I would tell them that for me, it's like getting a mental holiday. It revives me. It refreshes me. It fills a different part of my soul and my...

“Being text-focused has been really beneficial and a change from the way I’ve seen concerts programmed in the past: ‘Do the keys align? What is the soundscape?’ Those things are important, but for these concerts, the message that we’re putting out there has to be priority. We are choral musicians, and we have words and stories to share, and those have to take precedent.”

Dr. Alexander Lloyd Blake works as a conductor, comp...

Ryan W. Holder is currently in his eighteenth year as the Associate Director of Choral Studies at Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ), where he directs Vox Astra and the Northern Voices and High Altitude vocal jazz ensembles, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting and choral methods, supervises choral student teachers, and serves as the adviser for the NAU student chapter of the American Choral Directors Association ...