With the new year comes a veritable blizzard of information from our leadership in the Eastern Division. This month we have two engaging guest mini-columns from Mark Boyle (Men's Choir R&S) and Jason Bishop (Youth & Student R&S)--be sure to check them both out. In addition, our Leadership Links are chock-full of interesting and informative web-content.
Also, even though we just changed over the calendar, it's not too early to be thinking of our own Division Conference, coming to Boston in February 2016! Details can be found below on how to apply to perform or present at the conference.
Finally, we're exactly one month out from our National Conference in Salt Lake City. Look below for information on registration, as well as an invitation to join your friends and colleagues at the Eastern Division reception Thursday of the conference. Hope to see you there!
As always, we're listening, and we're here to serve.
ACDA Eastern Division President
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"Why do you sing in a choir?"
Recently I had the privilege of conducting the Mucho Macho Choral Festival--designed to get 6th through 9th grade young men excited about choral singing--and I decided to take some time to have these choristers share why that sang in choir. It was eye opening that these young singers felt so free to share such personal insight with a group of strangers.
I then did the same thing with a group of 150 middle schoolers in the Wisconsin Middle Level All State Choir--a fine SATB ensemble made up of 7th and 8th grade singers. They each shared from their heart, and I decided to write a blog post about the experience.
One young musician, Scedra, had many of us crying with her answer to the question 'Why do you sing in choir?" Beyond the music, it's our job to create a safe space for our musicians. Singing is such a personal art form; if you don't feel safe, you won't offer music filed with emotion, passion, and honesty.
Men's Choir R&S Chair
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Teaching Rhythmic Literacy in Rehearsal
Like many choral conductors I'm sure, I begin nearly every new semester by making some change to my bag of rehearsal tricks. Whether it's a small tweak or a major overhaul, exploring fresh new methods for addressing the same challenges keeps our rehearsals dynamic and deepens our understanding of our craft.
This semester, if you find yourself seeking a different method for teaching rhythmic literacy or strengthening rhythmic accuracy, I might suggest you check out Takadimi.net, which provides multiple resources for employing the rhythmic literacy system known as Takadimi in your classes and rehearsals. Developed by Richard Hoffman, William Pelto, and John W. White in 1996, Takadimi is a beat-oriented language for teaching rhythmic literacy that fuses some of the best attributes of more familiar rhythmic systems (such as Kodály or Gordon) into a self-contained methodology. One of Takadimi's key features is that it eliminates the possibility of duplicating syllabic patterns for distinctly different rhythms, thereby allowing singers to associate common rhythmic figures with combinations of syllables that are unique to those rhythms.
 At Takadimi.net, you can read the article unveiling the system in the Journal of Music Theory Pedagogy, as well as access different teaching tools, read teacher testimonials, download a concise and very useful handout for summarizing the system, and more. I give credit to Carol Krueger, a well known musical literacy guru in our field, for inspiring me to learn more about this system. I began using it in my own rehearsals about a year ago at every level, and it has yielded tremendous results.
I look forward to seeing many choral friends at the national conference in Salt Lake City next month. In the midst of enjoying inspirational concerts and informative sessions, be sure to go watch the conducting competition, make an appointment with one of the 40+ conductors offering Face-to-Face sessions, and attend the Youth & Student Activities Roundtable on Saturday morning. See you in Utah!
R&S Chair for Youth & Student Activities
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Leadership Links
- Joy shares this video with all her music education students at their first meeting: Music as a Language - Victor Wooten. While a jazz bassist, Mr. Wooten's message about music (the language of music, and how we think about teaching that language) is fresh and inspirational for all musicians
- Alice would like to remind the community college directors in the Eastern Division that we have a Facebook page--2-Year College Choir Directors--dedicated to sharing repertoire ideas and to discussing issues that are pertinent to working with community college choirs.
- Sheryl shares that Behind the mic is passionate about jazz/pop harmony. The site features video interviews from the innovators of vocal groups... including Bobby McFerrin, The Manhattan Transfer, The Real Group, Rare Silk, The Hi-Los, Uptown Vocal Jazz Quartet, Groove For Thought, and other artists from around the world that you may not have heard.
- Sheryl also reminds you to be sure to catch the great Jazz concerts at ACDA National, especially The Real Group on Wednesday night (both tracks!)
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See You in Salt Lake
The Biennial ACDA National Conference in Salt Lake City is exactly one month away, February 25-28, 2015. The conference schedule is packed with sessions and performances that will spark your choral imagination and leave you refreshed for the new year. Registration is still open.
And don't forget to stop by the Eastern Division Reception! Here are the details:
- Thursday evening, February 26th, 2015
- 10 p.m. to Midnight
- Room 150 G of the Salt Palace Convention Center.
Everyone is invited--there will be free food, an open bar, and many friends, old and new, waiting to say hello.
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Boston 2016: "Pushing Boundaries"
Speaking of conferences...it's not too early to start planning to join your Eastern Division colleagues in Boston, MA, February 10-13, 2016. Our theme for the conference is "Pushing Boundaries," and the committee is knee-deep in their planning for what is already sure to be an eye-opening three days of renewal and unbound inspiration. Of course, the centerpiece of any ACDA conference is YOU, our members! Applications for performing ensembles and interest session presenters for the 2016 Eastern Division Conference in Boston, MA, are due this spring. Here are the timelines:
We look forward to hearing from all creative, boundary-pushing leaders, conductors, and teachers throughout the Northeast!
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A Call for Donations to the Kegerreis Scholarship Fund
Richard Kegerreis (1928-2002) contributed enormously to ACDA through his service as editor of the Eastern Division's Troubadour, as national coordinator of newsletter editors, and as editor of New York's state newsletter Choral Cues. To honor these contributions, as well as his life as a dedicated choral conductor and mentor, the Board of the Eastern Division in 2002 established the Kegerreis ACDA Eastern Division Conference Scholarships.
Your donation to the fund is the gift of a transformative experience for our future conductors. Donate today by clicking here.
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