“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 Molina has been leading the Tucson Girls Chorus since 2006, first...

“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 to play.” Jessica Nápoles is Professor of Choral Music...

“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 Director of Choral Activities at the University of Minnesota Duluth where he...

"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 making music her entire life. She grew up in Aberdeen, South Dakota, and then...

"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. Stephen Caldwell is Associate Professor and Outgoing Chair of the Faculty Senate at the...

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, Jean Berger Chichester Psalms, Leonard Bernstein(x2) Ave Maria, Franz Biebl Ballad of the Brown King,...

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 [email protected] with the following info: Subject Line: Choir Fam MinisodeFirst and last name, pronouns optionalCity...

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 [email protected] with the following info: Subject Line: Choir Fam MinisodeFirst and last name, pronouns optionalCity and state you live inSchool where you teach or study, choral organization you work with, etc.Answer any and all of our lightning round questions: a. Beach or Mountain...

“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 what do you have to say?” Prof. Jean-Sébastien Vallée is a...

“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 them pedagogically, and bring people to my concert and make...

“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’ or ‘direct enough.’ That's language that we're already familiar with as people.” Dr. Eric...

"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't change your sound based on what is in vogue in the music world. Be true to yourself....

“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 me.” Born in Australia and raised in an immigrant family,...

“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 Professor of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas. He earned...

“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 in Stockholm, Anders Edenroth started playing piano and singing in...

"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 brain and actually helps in all the other things that I was able to accomplish." Dr. Elizabeth...

“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, composer/arranger, vocal contractor, singer, and music activist. Blake is...

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 and the three contemporary a cappella groups.  In addition, he...

“I really thought I wanted to be a high school teacher, but the first job I got was in elementary. That turned out to be the best ‘teaching-me’ experience I could have had, because I learned that if one could get music across to people without much background, you can get it across to anybody.” Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt is Professor Emerita of Choral Studies at the University of Toronto where she held the Elmer Iseler Chair in Conducting and received the inaugural Teaching Excellence Award in...

“We were doing some Anglican chant, and we went on to the Hogan ‘Ride On, King Jesus.’ It was as if it was the first time we had ever seen light. It was a revelation for me and for the singers and led to a lot of rebranding of who we are, our values, whose music is important, and the right balance we should be striving for. I felt like I had finally found a place where I could express my full musical identity because it had been fragmented in every other professional setting.” Arreon A....

“If people think you value them, they will do anything in the world to make the music for you." André J. Thomas is an Associate Artist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Thomas is Professor Emeritus of Music at Florida State University. He was visiting Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale University from 2020-2022. He also served as faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin. Dr. Thomas received his degrees from Friends University (B.A.), Northwestern University (M. M.), and The...

B.E. (Brittney Elizabeth) Boykin is a native of Alexandria, Virginia, and comes from a musical family. At the age of 7, she began piano lessons and continued her studies through high school under the tutelage of Mrs. Alma Sanford. Mrs. Sanford guided her through various competitions, such as the NAACP’s ACT-SO competition where she garnered 1st place for 3 consecutive years in the local competition, as well as being awarded The Washington Post “Music and Dance Award” in the spring of...

“It’s people first. You need to address the humans that are there in front of you and help them be where they are. There are some kids who are hungry, who haven’t had anything since their last meal at school the day before or the week before. The human part of them has to feel safe before they can care about whether that’s a late sixteenth note.” Dr. Lynn M. Brinckmeyer recently retired as Professor of Music, Associate Dean of the College of Fine Arts and Communication and Director of Choral...

“Social practice is the ability to let peer groups problem-solve together and work things through. This is what I try to practice a lot of in the learning stages of music making. The phrase I use is ‘You learn music with us so that someday you can go learn music and make it without us.’ If they’re not identifying how to problem-solve and correct on their own, they are less likely to go out and be able to do that independently.” Joseph Svendsen is the Director of Choral Studies and Associate...

“It’s powerful to see [the Dallas Street Choir] perform. It’s powerful to see the invisible become visible. Both the audience reaction to take an invisible, isolated population and see them for the very first time in many ways, but it’s also powerful for them to be seen.” Jonathan Palant is Associate Dean of the Arts and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Texas at Dallas and is founder and conductor of the Credo Community Choir, a 140-member adult mixed choir, and the Dallas...