Singing or conducting technique - "Vocal Hacks"
Making time to incorporate movement exercises during rehearsal can be a challenge, but a number of conductors are finding that it makes a real difference in the way their groups sing.
The article "Should Choruses Memorize Their Music?" shares memorization techniques that choruses have found helpful. In this followup piece, Gary Holt, artistic director of the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus, expands on how he gets his singers "off book" quickly and efficiently.
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Memorizing music can be daunting, but choruses that require it report that their singers connect better with the conductor, with the music, and ultimately with the audience. The memorization techniques that worked for them can help ease the process.
As wonderful and therapeutic as choral singing can be, the rehearsal process is sometimes stressful for both singers and conductors. Here are a few ideas for creating a hospitable and healthy space that enhances the body, mind, and spirit of all involved.
Singer and composer Melanie DeMore enjoys nothing more than gathering together a group of people and forming a spontaneous choir. “I think that singing in a community allows people to have a certain bigness that they cannot have in a solitary way,” she says. In this Chorus America interview, DeMore talks about the importance of spreading the gift of choral singing far and wide.
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After 23 years of many roles with the Dale Warland Singers, including associate conductor, Jerry Rubino is leading a new "artistically ambitious" choir of seniors called Voices of Experience. Chorus America talked to Rubino about what he calls his "ministry" of music—how he encourages singers to bring their full, expressive selves to singing.
Here are more techniques for both conductors and singers to consider after reading the article "Is It Okay to Ask Questions During Rehearsal" by Kelsey Menehan.
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Justin Montigne, a professional choral singer, voice teacher, and registered yoga teacher, teaches workshops, classes, and private lessons in the Bay Area and around the country. His interest in the free and easy alignment of body and instrument led him to yoga, which helped revolutionize his singing and teaching.
Chorus America's annual survey of the operations of choruses, the Chorus Operations Survey Report includes more than 40 different analyses, from number of board meetings to board giving, from ticket pricing to chorus dues amounts, from accompanist pay practices to marketing efficiency. The 2012 report features data from the 2010-2011 season.
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It's really the staff's job to position the board to do their best work―and most of that boils down to excellent communication and clarity of expectations.
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