Prescriptions For Choral Excellence

In shaping choral tone, directors often wish to improve the sound of their choir, but are challenged to pinpoint underlying problems or to guide singers toward solutions. Now, in Prescriptions for Choral Excellence, skilled vocal pedagogue Shirlee Emmons and leading choral director Constance Chase equip choral directors with the practical tools they need to help singers achieve peak choral performance. Drawing on years of experience, Emmons and Chase help choral directors and singers effectively diagnose and resolve problems. They cover topics ranging from breath management and diction to range and intonation, and much more. Beyond describing vocal difficulties, the book provides concrete instructions on how to apply the concepts in day-to-day rehearsal and performance. The numerous practical exercises and planning aides allow directors to maximize both time and talent to elicit the highest potential from their singers. While grounded in the most up-to-date research in voice science, the discussion of vocal anatomy and function is accessible to readers with no previous knowledge of voice science. Going beyond other vocal and choral guidebooks, the authors also apply the most current theories in leadership principles and group dynamics to choral settings, helping directors translate their natural musicality and charisma into inspiring and motivational leadership. A comprehensive and unique blend of practical expertise, voice science, and leadership psychology, Prescriptions for Choral Excellence is an invaluable guide for all choral directors seeking to create memorable and remarkable performances.

Presents research in voice science, and leadership and performance psychology. This volume addresses the topics relevant to choirs, and provides instruction on how to apply the concepts in day-to-day rehearsal and performance.

Designed for both the practicing choral director and the choral methods student, this is a compact and comprehensive overview of the many teaching methods, strategies, materials, and assessments available for choral sight-singing instruction. Sight-singing is an important, if sometimes neglected, facet of choral music education that often inspires fear and uncertainty in student and teacher alike. Written in an accessible style, this book takes the mystery out of teaching music reading. Topics covered include the history of sight-singing pedagogy and research, prominent methods and materials, and practical strategies for teaching and assessment. This is the only book to provide such a wealth of information under one cover and will become an essential part of every choral conductor's library.

Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition, is the ideal text for voice teachers, choral conductors, church musicians, and professional and amateur singers who wish to develop strategies for lifelong singing. It concisely and clearly presents the principles of voice pedagogy from the perspective of both conducting and voice science in a user-friendly fashion, including helpful charts and simple anatomic diagrams. In addition, it offers teaching methods from history and philosophy, medical and voice science, and pedagogical concepts from active musical experts. Special attention is given to the needs of amateur singers and conductors. Topics covered include choral diction, posture and seating, rehearsal practices, and matters of vocal health. For the third edition, the authors have completely revised the text, updating the medical information and expanding the exercises. They have also added three new chapters: A chapter entitled "Singing in the 21st Century" that considers the vocal/choral demands of the choral repertoire being written in this century.A chapter on teaching young boys to sing written by Vic Oakes, the conductor of the Chattanooga Boys Choir.A chapter entitled "The Value of Lifelong Singing." With its updates and additions, Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition, is a valuable resource for students of choral conducting, music education, church music, and choral singing.

Camerata: A Guide to Organizing and Directing Small Choruses distinguishes itself from all other works on choral conducting by starting at the very beginning—the conception and purpose of an ensemble—and continuing through all other aspects of rehearsing and organizing a chorus to performance and reception. Wenk offers basic information on getting started, recruiting singers, planning programs, rehearsing music, publicizing concerts, sharing responsibilities, financing the operation, knowing the law, and finally getting better. He also offers detailed suggestions for creating an executive group to manage the choir as well ideas for repertoire and programming.

Choral Music: A Research and Information Guide, Third Edition, offers a comprehensive guide to the literature on choral music in the Western tradition. Clearly annotated bibliographic entries guide readers to resources on key topics within choral music, individual choral composers, regional and sacred choral traditions, choral techniques, choral music education, genre studies, and more, providing an essential reference for researchers and practitioners. Covering monographs, bibliographies, selected dissertations, reference works, journals, electronic databases, and websites, this research guide makes it easy to locate relevant sources. Comprehensive indices of authors, titles, and subjects keep the volume user-friendly. The new edition has been brought up to date with entries encompassing the latest scholarship, and updated references and annotations throughout, capturing the continued growth of literature on choral music since the publication of the second edition.

This textbook prepares Music Education and Choral Conducting majors to be effective middle school and high school choral music teachers. It fully integrates the choral field experience for hands-on learning and reflection and allows the student to observe and teach the book’s principles. It covers the essentials of vocal development, auditions, literature, rehearsals, classroom management, and practical matters.