Submitted by Jason Throne, Brandywine Valley Chorale & Unionville High School This past February I had the honor of hosting English composer Will Todd. Our collaboration culminated with a performance featuring my high school and community choirs (the Unionville Chorale and Brandywine Valley Chorale, respectively) and the composer himself at the piano. The concert included a commission by Will Todd setting the text of O Magnum Mysterium featuring solo soprano saxophone and percussion, followed by his setting of Passion Music, a 50 minute work for choir, Gospel soloist and jazz ensemble. Much of Will Todd’s repertoire has a jazz influence giving a fresh take on what would normally be “classical” choral writing. If you have been thinking about collaborating with composers I would highly recommend it. The experience of performing original works on stage alongside the composer is refreshing and exciting. Having them with you allows insight to their works that makes the performance special and memorable for all involved. The combination of adult community and high school choirs performing together creates a special experience. The intergenerational aspect of our performance is quite meaningful "as the wide age range (in this instance, 14 - 80), imbues the experience with new life. In fact, it gives the opportunity for mothers and fathers who perform in the adult choir the ability to share the stage with their children. This creates special moments not soon forgotten. I took this opportunity to invite some local high school choirs to join us for this event. I firmly believe these types of experiences should be shared with other high school choirs if possible. This was a perfect opportunity to bring in advanced choirs from Kennett and Pequea Valley High Schools who were thrilled to join us. Their participation added depth and richness to our ensemble. If you plan on inviting outside groups, make sure all involved understand what the participation requirements are for the performance. I would be happy to speak with anyone who is interested in doing their own choir collaboration with choral composers. I have participated in a handful of composer collaborations, including one with Ola Gjeilo, featuring a concert of this music with the composer once again at the piano. These experiences are obtainable and will prove to be a highlight of your career in music education. Submitted by Joy Meade, ACDA-PA President
Director of Choral Activities, Messiah University Big things can happen when great arts organizations work together. It's amazing the impact advanced planning, humility and teamsmanship can have on our students, institutions and communities! This month, a fantastic collaboration between the Susquehanna Chorale, the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra, Messiah University Choirs, composer Jonathan Leshnoff and conductor Eric Nelson from the Atlanta Master Chorale is happening, and you're invited IN on this collaborative endeavor! Premiering a massive symphonic oratorio is no small feat, and these organizations have combined to premier Jonathan Leshnoff's newest oratorio, Saul, on April 20/21, 2024. Come join us for a sneak-peak at this collaboration during a joint rehearsal on February 13th, as guest conductor Eric Nelson leads you and all of these choirs through this fantastic new work. The rehearsal will be followed by a Q&A and cookies with Dr. Nelson, sponsored by the Messiah student ACDA chapter. If you are in driving distance, we'd love to have you join us! 2/13/24, 7-9:30pm, Messiah University. by Shaun Cloonan, ACDA-PA Communications Chair
North Hills High School, Pittsburgh October 2023 brought about the realization of a brain child that had been discussed for years by choral directors in the Pittsburgh area - the first annual Allegheny County Chorus festival. While there are many county chorus events across the commonwealth, for whatever reason, no such event was ever held in the immediate area around the city of Pittsburgh. Gateway High School choral director Erich Lascek tossed the idea out at a PMEA District Chorus festival a year or 2 before the pandemic, and last spring was when it finally began to take shape with more serious discussions about how it could happen. The goal was to provide a one-day festival experience for a greater portion of our high school singers who we knew would enjoy and benefit from singing with students from other districts, but who would likely not prepare an audition for the tiered festival system and in turn not have those important experiences. This particularly rang true for me as it was sitting on a stage at a district chorus festival in high school when I made the decision to become a choral director, so any chance to open that possibility to a student was very appealing. Collaboration was truly the name of the game for this festival’s success. 20 high schools and more than 200 students participated in treble and mixed ensembles that rehearsed simultaneously. Rather than bringing in guest conductors, 4 of the participating directors shared conducting responsibilities, another 2 served as accompanists, and the remaining directors helped with logistics, created schedules and programs (can’t imagine who might have made the program!), and spent time during the rehearsals singing with the students to provide vocal leadership in their respective sections. The 2 ensembles shared an evening concert and got to sit and watch each other perform. A few pieces required instruments and we were able to cover each part with students who were in attendance that day. One school didn’t have enough robes for the number of students they had participating, so we even shared robes with each other! Repertoire was chosen from pieces the directors had in their own school choral libraries so no one needed to purchase music. The only cost to any school was their transportation and a $10 contribution to a pizza dinner. The end result was a wonderful choral experience for a group of students who might not have otherwise sat with peers from other schools during their high school years. They got to learn from other directors in the region and maybe hear some of those same things said in rehearsal at home from a different voice. We plan to make it an annual event. And it all started with the question “what would happen if we got together to make this happen?” The next time you get an inspiration, don’t hesitate to bring it up to your choral colleagues. You never know when one little idea might turn into an event we’ll be talking about for years to come! This month, we collaborate with Stephanie Magaro, Jr. High/Middle School R&R Chair, to learn about creating partnerships in the commissioning process.
As a middle school director, I think it is important that we show our students how to collaborate, not just with each other, but with the larger musical community around us. In 2019, Jordan Shomper, who was at Cocalico Middle School at the time, and I decided to work together with Amy Gordon to commission a piece for our collective 7th and 8th grade choirs, using poetry written by a student. I started by writing a grant through my school district’s MCFEE (Manheim Central’s Foundation for Educational Enrichment) program. I was able to secure funds through this grant to pay for half of the contract that the composer agreed to, which included her travel costs to come and clinic with our choirs. Both Manheim Central and Cocalico held a poetry contest in our choirs and sent all of the entries to the composer. Amy Gordon chose a poem called “The Moon’s Tears” by two 7th graders at Cocalico. You can read more about Amy Gordon’s music here, on her website. Unfortunately, we were just getting started on learning the piece in January and February of 2020, and had scheduled her visit for March 25th, 2020. The performance of the piece did not happen, nor did any meeting of the two schools, due to Covid-19, unfortunately. However, Amy Gordon was amazing and hosted a zoom session where she talked to our students about becoming a composer and her journey with music. She was great with the kids, and even though we didn’t get to keep rehearsing the commission–it was a very beneficial experience to collaborate with her and with a nearby choir program. I hope that this experience can also inspire others to reach out to other like-minded local directors and get them thinking about what their combined funds could produce to give their students an unforgettable experience! Maybe there is a budding poet or composer in your middle school choir just waiting for this opportunity! Captivating Audiences Through Creative Transitions
Kyle Zeuch, President-Elect of ACDA-PA Let’s face it, we live in a world of 21st century humans that can be entertained 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year with the screen in their pocket! While we may not see our primary focus as entertainers (the journey is just as important as the destination, right!?), as choral conductors and teachers, we can captivate our audience in creative ways. Maybe an audience member has limited experience with choirs but is attending the concert because their child has joined the seventh-grade chorus. Maybe they have been to high school choral concerts before and just don’t get why this singing thing is so important. Maybe the audience member is a choral enthusiast looking for something new. The suggestions shared in this article are for all of the above! Beyond captivating the short attention span of our audience, creative transitions can speed up your concert and eliminate down time. Transitions can connect your repertoire selections with a common thread that adds to the thematic nature of the concert. Perhaps the creative transitions limit the number of times the audience applauds. When an audience member applauds, they are thinking about what just happened, when they are asked not to applaud, they are thinking both about what just happened but also what’s happening next. This lack of permission to clap may lead them to think about their emotional reaction to what they just heard and anticipate the applause that they can generously give when appropriate. Creative Transition Suggestions:
Creative Transition Considerations:
Creative Transition Benefits:
If you’d like more ideas about adding creative transitions to your choral program, let’s talk! E-mail me at [email protected].
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