Cantate (Spring 2008)

Published by the California Chapter of the American Choral Directors Association • Volume 20, Number 3 • Spring 2008

Headliner Sessions Focused Interest Sessions

CLASS AND INTEREST SESSION TOPICS — SEE PAGE 7! Download the brochure and registration form from our web site: www.acdacal.org

Questions? 707-255-8012 or [email protected]

Panel Discussions Conducting/Voice Classes

Watch the mail for your Brochure and Registration Form Pre-Registration Deadline: June 27, 2008

California ACDA Summer Conference

at ECCO (The Episcopal Conference Center, Oakhurst)

FEATURING

Z. Randall Stroope

July 27-30, 2008

2 California ACDA • Spring 2008

Official Publication of the California Chapter

American Choral Directors Association

Editor Douglas Lynn [email protected] c/o 1450 South Melrose Drive, Oceanside CA 92056 760-758-4100 ext 140 Cantate is published three times each year.

Submission Deadlines Fall Issue — August 1 (published September 1) Winter Issue — December 1 (published January 1) Spring Issue — April 1 (published May 1)

Guidelines for Submissions The Editor welcomes the submission of articles, announcements, reports, music and book reviews, job vacancies, and any other item of interest to the California ACDA membership. Articles should reach the Editor no later than the established deadline and should include the following information:

1. Title 2. Author’s name and phone/email address 3. Name of school, church, or organization 4. Author biography (50 words) 5. A good full-face photo

The manuscript should be limited to a maximum of two typewritten pages. Electronic text is preferred and may be emailed to the Editor at the above address. California ACDA reserves the right to edit submissions.

Guidelines for Advertising Charges listed are for camera-ready copy only, submitted electronically by PDF, JPEG, GIF, or TIFF. Cantate is produced in black ink. A check made payable to “California ACDA” must be postmarked by the submission deadline. You will not be billed. Invoices can be prepared upon request. No copy will run without advance payment. If you would like an ad to run in more than one issue, please include full payment at the time of the initial ad. Advertising copy is subject to editorial approval. The Editor reserves the right to head and/or box any advertisement bearing confusing resemblance to editorial content. Advertisement dimensions listed below are examples; rates are charged by actual dimensions. For example, 1/3 page is listed at 2.5”x10” but can be any simple rectangle with total area equal to 25 square inches.

Advertising Rates Size ..................................................... Single Annual 1/6 page (2.5”x5”) ................................... $55 $110 1/4 page (3.75”x5”) ................................. $75 $150 1/3 page (2.5”x10” or 3.33”x7.5”) .......... $95 $190 1/2 page (3.75”x10” or 5”x7.5”) ........... $140 $280 2/3 page (5”x10” or 6.67”x7.5”) ........... $190 $380 Full page (7.5”x10”) ............................. $275 $550

In This Issue… PROGRAMMING ...................................................................................................... 3 UPCOMING EVENTS ................................................................................................ 3 NOTES FROM THE EXECUTIVE SECRETARY ............................................................ 4 WHAT? REGIONAL CONFERENCES?! ...................................................................... 5 CALIFORNIA ACDA SUMMER CONFERENCE AT ECCO ......................................... 7 ALL-STATE HONOR CHOIRS—LOOKING BACK AND LOOKING AHEAD ................. 9 COMMUNICATION: A TWO-WAY STREET ............................................................ 11 2008 ACDA WESTERN DIVISION HONOR CHOIR SINGERS .................................. 12

FROM YOUR REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES OF UTMOST IMPORTANCE ................................................................................ 14 THE IMPORTANCE OF MALE CHOIRS IN THE CHORAL PROGRAM ..................... 16 REFLECTIONS ................................................................................................... 17 NOTES FROM THE NORTH ................................................................................ 19

ACDA ADVOCACY RESOLUTION ....................................................................... 18

VOICES FROM ELSEWHERE IN THE CHORAL WORLD CULTURAL AWAKENINGS ................................................................................ 20 FINDING INSPIRATION: OLD FRIENDS AND CLASSIC WORKS ........................... 22

FROM YOUR REPERTOIRE & STANDARDS CHAIRPERSONS GOOD NEW CHURCH MUSIC FOR GOOD OLD CHURCH CHOIRS ...................... 23 TRAINING CHORISTERS AND OTHER CRITTERS ................................................ 24

CALIFORNIA FESTIVALS AND WORKSHOPS—SUMMER 2008 ............................... 25 BOARD MEMBERS LISTING AND OTHER CONTACT INFORMATION ....................... 27

Advertisers Index Azusa Pacific University ..................................................................................... 10 Black Mountain Preserve Retreat and Conference Center ................................... 15 California State University Fresno ...................................................................... 18 California State University Fullerton ................................................................... 21 California State University Long Beach ................................................. back cover California State University Los Angeles ............................................................... 8 The Choral Project ............................................................................................... 26 College of the Siskiyous – Mt. Shasta Vocal Jazz and Show Choir Clinic .......... 22 San Francisco State University .............................................................................. 4 The School for Music Vocations – Vocal Jazz Camps .......................................... 6

Music makes practically everybody fonder of life than he or she would be without it.

— Kurt Vonnegut

California ACDA • Spring 2008 3

It was a highlight of my year to have my concert choir sing at February’s ACDA Western Division Convention in Anaheim. Many people commented on how pleased they were with the literature we performed. I must admit that I did spend a great deal of time selecting the six songs that we presented for this event. My impetus to focus on song selection was due to some past experience attending these conferences and hearing great choirs that sang extremely well, but didn’t “shine” because of poor programming—music that was homogenous and lacks variety.

I approach the selection of repertoire like a run-through at a good buffet line: not too much spicy food, not all carbs, definitely not all sweets, but a balance of tastes and flavors for the palette. I think that one of the biggest mistakes in programming music for a choir is choosing too many songs that are alike, lacking sufficient variety and balance for different musical tastes.

Things you might consider when selecting repertoire: 1. The tastes and appreciation level of your audience; 2. Varying genres and styles, including an array of

historical eras where possible; 3. Using unique and/or unknown works, exposing

both your singers and the audience to something different;

4. Developing “themed concerts,” like songs with a winter theme, songs by women composers, or music from around the globe that also includes unique instruments;

5. Variety—in tempo, accompaniment choices and styles, etc. When programming for a concert, I almost always

choose my song order by tempo and mood. I think it is best to model this after the Sonata Allegro form. I usually start off with something in a moderate tempo that isn’t too terribly difficult to sing, generally guaranteeing success for the choir and receiving positive response from the audience. Then I increase the complexity of the songs, challenging the choir to increase their performance potential. I then bring in my toughest piece—something slower and meatier, again challenging both the choir and the audience. And finally, I finish with something which is loud, fast, and furious, something almost sure to bring the audience to its feet. Okay—so once in a while I throw them a curve ball with a sentimental tear jerker, but we generally receive similar positive results.

Programming

Upcoming Events July 26-27, 2008

CA ACDA FULL BOARD MEETING

July 27-30, 2008 CA ACDA SUMMER CONFERENCE, ECCO, OAKHURST

Z. Randall Stroope, Headliner

November 20-22, 2008 CA ACDA REGIONAL HONOR CHOIRS LOCATIONS TBA

November 20, 21, or 22, 2008 CA ACDA FALL REGIONAL CONFERENCES SOUTHERN, CENTRAL, AND COASTAL LOCATIONS TBA

March 4-7, 2009 ACDA NATIONAL CONVENTION, OKLAHOMA CITY CELEBRATING ACDA’S 50TH ANNIVERSARY

March 26-28, 2009 CA ACDA ALL-STATE HONOR CHOIR, PASADENA

Dr. Iris Levine, Women’s Choir Conductor Dr. Joe Miller, Mixed Choir Conductor

July 26-29, 2009 CA ACDA SUMMER CONFERENCE, ECCO, OAKHURST

Rodney Eichenberger, Headliner

For our Western Division ACDA performance, I actually created six separate folders with a wide selection of songs in each. I separated the music not only by type, but where in the program it might best appear. My thought was to open with a double-choir piece from the Renaissance/Baroque period. Next, I wanted something obscure, slow and challenging, followed by a song that was foreign, had lots of rhythm, and included percussion. Then, I wanted a piece that was relatively new which most of the audience wouldn’t know. I aimed to follow this with an a cappella, pseudo-pop piece that would be challenging for the choir to help them stretch their abilities. Finally, I wanted to close with a lesser-known, high-energy spiritual, ending with a bang. It was very hard to narrow the pieces down to only one per category, and I initially wanted to choose just my absolute favorite pieces. But in the end, I selected songs that would keep the interest of the choir and the audience, leading to a better, more well-rounded program. Thanks for reading, and I hope that these ideas inspire you in the selection of music for your next concert. ♦

KEN ABRAMS [email protected]

PRESIDENT www.acdacal.org

NEW!!


Notes from the Executive Secretary

Congratulations to the California choirs who gave stellar performances at the Western Division Convention!

One of our former Vintage High School students attended the convention with me. She is now a music education major in her junior year at Sonoma State. It was a joy to spend quality time with

her and incredibly satisfying to be able to discuss the brilliant performances we heard and workshops we attended. If you haven’t invited one or more of your current or former students to join you at ACDA events, I hope you will consider doing so. I also hope you will extend the invitation to your colleagues.

Upcoming events include our annual Summer Conference at ECCO featuring Z. Randall Stroope in late July. Held just outside Oakhurst on the highway to Yosemite, this year’s conference promises to be one of the most exciting we’ve ever hosted. Dr. Stroope is recognized not only as a well-known composer and arranger but also as a university professor and artistic director of a large children’s chorus, among much more. Watch the mail for the brochure.

Our three new Fall Regional Conferences will be held in November to coincide with the three regional honor choirs. Outstanding workshops led by headliner clinicians and pertinent interest sessions will be held in a location near you!

Try bringing a student, former student, and/or colleague with you when you attend these events this year. The conferences tend to inspire, reinvigorate, and enthuse those who attend. Idea- and information-sharing, brainstorming, problem-solving, networking, socialization, and friend-making…the possibilities are endless. I look forward to seeing you at these events and having the opportunity to meet those you invited to join you!

Mark your calendar, and invite a friend! ♦

JAN LANTERMAN [email protected]

EXECUTIVE SECRETARY www.acdacal.org


Nationally recognized composer and arranger Mark Hayes will headline the Central Conference in Fresno. As of press time, the other conference headliners have not yet been announced.

As a first-time event, your regional representatives (listed on the inside back cover of this issue of Cantate and on our website) will gladly welcome your input and suggestions on ways you think can make the conference a meaningful and worthwhile event for all attendees.

We get to come together once a year at the Summer Conference at ECCO, think of the new regional conferences as an “ecco” of ECCO; closer to home, shorter in length, but a day filled with usable music, techniques, and inspiration to take home just in time for the holiday season and the rest of the school or church year.

We haven’t lost a reading session, we’ve gained a conference! Look for more information soon in a brochure coming your way. ♦

What? Regional Conferences?!

What’s up? No more California ACDA Reading Sessions? That’s right. Due to a number of reasons, the ACDA Executive Board, after considering the responses on the recent membership survey, voted this past fall to cancel the 2008 reading sessions and begin a new activity that, it is hoped, will serve more of the membership in more accessible locations.

Three One-Day Fall Regional Conferences to coincide with the dates and locations of the Southern, Central, and Coastal Regional Honor Choirs this coming November are being planned by the six regional representatives. The conferences will incorporate elements of both the reading sessions and the skills workshops that have been offered for the past several years at various locations throughout the state.

Please consider this article as a “save the date” notice. All three honor choirs are scheduled for the weekend of November 20-22 (the weekend immediately prior to the Thanksgiving Holiday). The conferences will be scheduled for ONE of the days of the honor choir rehearsals and will include reading sessions, interest sessions, and attendance at an open rehearsal of either or both of the two honor choirs. The regional representatives have been given the responsibility and freedom to plan their specific conference to meet the needs of directors in their geographical areas.

TRAVIS ROGERS [email protected]

PRESIDENT-ELECT www.acdacal.org

Singing at the ACDA Western Division Convention in Anaheim

The Los Angeles Children’s Chorus, Anne Tomlinson, director (right)

and

Honor Choir singers from Ragazzi Boys Chorus, Joyce Keil, director (upper right)

Did you see us in Anaheim?



Z. Randall Stroope is one of the most active choral conductors and composers working in the United States today, with recent conducting engagements at the American School in Singapore, Canterbury Cathedral, Salzburger Dom, Salzburg, Washington National Cathedral, Vancouver Symphony, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall. His compositions sell over 200,000 copies a year and are performed regularly by esteemed ensembles throughout the world. Dr. Stroope has conducted/recorded 13 professional compact discs, and recordings of his music are heard frequently on radio and television broadcasts across the United States.

Dr. Stroope studied conducting with Dr. Douglas McEwen at Arizona State University and with Margaret Hillis, Chorus Master of the Chicago Symphony. He is currently the Director of Choral Studies at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey, where he conducts the Concert Choir and directs the undergraduate and graduate choral conducting programs. Dr. Stroope is also the Artistic Director of a summer international choral festival in Somerset, England and another summer music festival in Rome. This year, he will direct his 24th all-state choir. Choral groups under his direction have taken 15 international tours, including China, Russia, Japan, Sweden, and South Africa. Dr. Stroope has also had performing groups on the ACDA and MENC National Conventions and the International Society of Music Education.

Dr. Stroope studied composition with Cecil Effinger and Normand Lockwood, both students of Nadia Boulanger (who was a student of Gabriel Fauré). Stroope has published eighty musical works with Alliance Music Publishers, Colla Voce Music, Heritage Music Press, MorningStar, and Walton Music. He was the ACDA Raymond Brock commissioned composer for 2004, and he has written works for the American Boy Choir, Boseman Symphony, Hilton Head Choral Society, Texas Choral Directors Association, and over forty other groups.

Dr. Stroope was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, received a master’s in Voice Performance from the University of Colorado and received a doctorate in choral conducting from Arizona State University. ♦

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Meet Our Headliner

SESSIONS WITH CHARLENE ARCHIBEQUE

Renaissance Performance Practice The Doctor Is In:

Char’s Quick Fixes for Common Choral Ailments Voice Building: Warm-ups with Gesture

Conducting

OTHER SESSIONS

Music and Ideas for the Changing Voice Heather Gold

Vocal Pedagogy for the Choral Director Katharin Rundus

Best of the New Millennium: Good New Church Songs for Good Old Church Choirs

Doug Albertson and Vern Sanders Vocal Jazz Session

Matt Falker Recruiting and Keeping Boys in Your Choir

Gail Barbour High School Nuts and Bolts

Z. Randall Stroope

HEADLINER

July 27-30, 2008 OAKHURST, CA

Registration watch your mailbox and/or

www.acdacal.org

Watch the mail for your Brochure and Registration Form

Pre-Registration Deadline: June 27, 2008



SHIRLEY NUTE [email protected]

ALL-STATE HONOR CHOIRS www.acdacal.org/honorchoirs.htm

A standing room only audience greeted the 2008 All-State Women’s and Mixed Honor Choirs at their performances in the Sacramento Convention Center Saturday afternoon, March 15, 2008.

The 125 members of the Women’s Honor Choir, under the direction of Jing Ling-Tam, and 167 members of the Mixed Honor Choir, under the direction of Geoffrey Boers, were outstanding not only in performance but also during the entire honor choir three-day activity. The high level of musicianship and music preparation was evident from the very first rehearsal and led to an outstanding concert. The singers were rewarded with standing ovations given them by the enthusiastic audience.

THE 2009 ALL-STATE The 2009 All-State Honor Choirs will take place

on March 26, 27, and 28 in Pasadena. Directing the Women’s Honor Choir will be Dr. Iris Levine, Professor of Music at California State Polytechnic University in Pomona and Artistic Director for Vox Femina Los Angeles. Dr. Joe Miller from the Westminster Choir College (Princeton, NJ) will be directing the Mixed Honor Choir.

Please be sure to read the honor choirs booklet thoroughly when it is published in August. As reported

All-State Honor Choirs—Looking Back and Looking Ahead

by California ACDA President Ken Abrams in the last issue of Cantate, the California ACDA All-State Honor Choirs will no longer be meeting at the same time or venue as the CMEA Conference. This decision was made in order to help reduce the cost to individual singers for their participation in the All-State Honor Choirs. You will read in the new honor choir information booklet that the singers will be paying ACDA only the participation fee for their All-State Honor Choir activity. Costs and venues for meals and lodging will be up to the individual singer(s) and chaperone(s). This means if a singer lives in the area of the honor choir venue, or has a friend or relative living in the area, he or she can commute to the honor choir activities. A list of hotels and motels in the area of the All-State Honor Choir venue will be sent out with the acceptance letter. The 2010 All-State Honor Choir will be meeting in the Coastal Region and the 2011 All-State Honor Choir will be meeting in the Central Region.

At this time, on behalf of the Central Region ACDA membership, I thank Natalie Miller for her two years of service to the Central Region as its Regional Honor Choir Coordinator. Taking over the Central Region Honor Choir Coordinator’s duties will be Liz Hogdon, choral director at St. Mary’s High School. ♦

Presenting an Interest Session at the 2008 ACDA Western Division Conference in Anaheim

Students from The Monson-Sultana School Concert Choir, Mary Pauls, director




MARK ALBERSTEIN [email protected]

WEBMASTER www.acdacal.org

As webmaster of the California ACDA website, I am constantly concerned about “getting the word out” to our members in the most effective and efficient ways. As members of our association become more and more Internet-savvy, the traffic at our website increases, and we gain confidence that the information is flowing through the cyber-pipeline.

Nevertheless, our association still depends on traditional means for communicating with the membership, chief among these being good old “snail mail.” The postal service is useless, however, without accurate mailing labels for our 1,200+ members. We make our mailing labels from the California portion of the ACDA national database that we receive periodically from the national ACDA office.

We now update the website database every three months. This keeps our mailing list fairly accurate, and it makes the MemberSearch feature of the website a very powerful tool for all of us to use in our own communication needs.

Now here is where YOU become a vital part of the communication equation: Each year, when you renew your membership in ACDA, it is imperative that you update all of your personal and professional information. Of course, your home and work addresses, phone numbers, and email addresses are essential, but just as important are the codes you enter under “Choir Type” and “Activity Area.”

Reminder: Check ALL that apply!

Communication: A Two-Way Street

Activity Areas Choir Type 0 N/A b Boys 1 Elementary c Children 2 Junior High/ e Ethnic

Middle School g Girls 3 Senior High h Show 4 Elem./Jr./Sr. j Jazz 5 Student Chapter m Men 6 Two-year College s SATB/Mixed 7 College/University u Multicultural 8 Community w Women 9 Music In Worship p Professional s Supervisor

y Youth & Student Activities

Recently, a communication was mailed out to all high school teachers in one of our California ACDA Regions. A colleague of mine who has been teaching high school choir for the last two years did not receive the mailing. When I checked the current (January 2008) database, I found that he was not listed among high school directors, and he was still listed as a middle school director, a position that he no longer fills!

Enough said. Let’s work together to make our association all that it can be for the benefit of the choral art and for the benefit of all those who fill our choirs. Let’s all do our part to make sure the lines of communication stay wide open! ♦


Singing at the 2008 ACDA Western Division Convention in Anaheim

Honor Choir singers from the Central Coast Children’s Choir, Beth Klemm, director


Kathryn Wingfield

Davis Children’s Chorale, Davis Christopher Gardias, Heather Kerr, Sierra Zellmer

Davis Children’s Chorus, Davis Katherine Gardias, Jasmin Mould

Davis Senior High School, Davis Corryn Deegan, Arielle Deem, Julia Spangler

Divisadero Middle School, Visalia Brianna Englert

Enterprise High School, Redding Alysha D’Amico, Callie Jaques

Expressions Chorale, Ceres Courtney Burroughs

Folsom High School, Folsom Kristen Tansey

Fresno Christian High School, Fresno Katelyn Aydelotte, Taylor Brouwer, Adam Casuga, Luke DeGroot, Richard Garcia, Matthew Nickel, Scott Yantis

Frontier High School, Bakersfield Claudia L. Camacho

Fullerton High School, Fullerton Kirk Deming, Juan Flores, Willie Holmes Jr., Michael Saqr, Aaron Schwartz

Georgiana Bruce Kirby Prep School, Santa Cruz Alex Bignell, Maureen Davis, Carl Dawson, Emily Olsen

Gilroy High School, Gilroy Rebecca Butkivich, Carissa Heath, William Hoshida, Kaitlin Joven, Joanna Strunk

Hanford High School, Hanford Lindy Card, Evan Doyel, Ashley Engbrecht, Alyssa Garcia, Brandi J. Skillman

John Adams Middle School, Santa Monica Shay M. Denison, Ariana Kaback, Kaira La Flam

Jurupa Valley High School, Mira Loma Kevin Lew

La Habra High School, La Habra Jonathan Hughes

Lemoore High School, Lemoore

2008 ACDA Western Division Honor Choir Singers CALIFORNIA ACDA CONGRATULATES THESE 349 CALIFORNIA SINGERS AND THEIR TEACHERS

FOR BEING CHOSEN TO PARTICIPATE IN THE 2008 WESTERN DIVISION HONOR CHOIRS. THEY REPRESENT 88 CALIFORNIA SCHOOLS AND VOICE STUDIOS.

Albany High School, Albany Natalie Buck-Bauer, David Spies, Alex Tarczynski

Alta Sierra Intermediate School, Clovis Madeline Barbour, Jon Barker, Michael Barker, Lauren DiSanto, Avonlea Manibo, Shahen Ohanian

Aptos High School, Aptos Erin Sauve

Aptos Junior High School, Aptos Grace Crandall, Leah Daugherty

Archer School for Girls, Los Angeles Mariah Bess

Arlington High School, Riverside Josue Jurado, Christian Koshay, Ryceejo Nordstrom, Riley Takano, Jacob Wells

Atascadero Fine Arts Academy, Atascadero Lauren Mack, Daniel Salas, Delaney Scott, Grace Stokes

Atascadero High School, Atascadero Julie Babka, Maria Chiara DiGrazia, Marlena Mack, Nathan Parrish, Joanna Wagner

Atascadero Junior High School, Atascadero Denise M. Carigo, Crystal Chapman, Joelle Clay, Maria Cristal Fernandez, Gracelyn Hedrick, Bailey Mason, Ellen Mills

Bakersfield High School, Bakersfield Elizabeth Provencio, Tori Provencio

Bernardo Yorba Middle School, Yorba Linda Kayla Porter

Buchanan High School, Clovis Andre Pena, Jeromy Rivinius, Cody Walton

Canyon High School, Canyon Country Jeff Kodel

Carlsbad High School, Carlsbad Emily Bullard

Castilleja School, Palo Alto Annie Cardinal, Gabriela L. Castro, Emma Dake, Sara Elizabeth Dawes, Christina Jansen, Saloni Kalkat, Maya K. Maniar, Jessica Matthys, Virginia Phelps

Cathedral City High School, Cathedral City

Kevin Kaluakini, Manuel Rodriguez

Central Coast Children’s Choir, San Luis Obispo Rachel Marie Acosta, Jessica Dalley, Erynn Rose Dye, Sarah Frigon, Courtney Lee Jones, Rachel Klemm, Kendra L. Lewis, Dominique Mack, Mary Kathleen MacLane, Quinn Sullivan Ricigliano, Caitlin Ruscki, Hannah Sada

Central Valley High School, Ceres Emily Benefield, Amada Diaz, Travis Ellsworth, Mariangela Garcia, Christian Magdaleno

Century High School, Santa Ana Fernando Ceja, Ly Chheng Choeum, Mauricio Garcia, Miguel Gonzalez

Chaparral Middle School, Moorpark Ashley Baker, Tariah Campbell-Tucker, Sarah Conway, Kelsey Caehlin, Megan Ferrall, Carly Jean Paul, Shannon Smith, Victoria Velasquez, Ellen Veta

Clark Intermediate School, Clovis Monica Singh, James Tice, Ryan Torres, Jordan Vasquez

Clovis High School, Clovis John Knepper, Dylan Lowery, Chelsea Vongehr, Rachel Winiecke

Clovis North Granite Ridge Educational Center, Clovis Cody Cartozian, Sharat Chandra, Eric Huynh, Robby Towne

Coast Union High School, Cambria Heather Druke, Allie Sesser, Corbin Went, Sarah Wright, Alexandra Zaragoza

Crescenta Valley High School, La Crescenta Jessica Beerman, Abby Brown, Doug Bush, Stacy Collyer, James Hales, Sierra Hansen, Anne Elizabeth Hart, Hallie Isquith, Camille Johnson, Annie Lawler, Allison Malmrose, Bridget Ostler, Nick Smith, Tracey Thomas

Crystal Children’s Choir, Cupertino Serena Chan, Charlene Chen, Katherne Cheng, Vicki Ju, Lucia Wang, Rueiyun Wang, Hillary Yuan

Daniel E. Lewis Middle School, Paso Robles Tanner Berry, Aisha Hernandez, Samantha M. Hopkin, Maxwell Tanner Snide, Nick Weir,


Garrett Gudgel

Lincoln Middle School, Santa Monica Aliza Abarbanel, Meghan Aguilar, Audrey Corsa, Quinn D’Andrea, Francesca C. Ferrara, Grace Gordon, Alba I. Kane, Isadora Lim, Demitrie Alexzander Martinez, April Lynn McCollough, Jackie Murray, Zacharie Schaefer

Loretto High School, Sacramento Sophia Barrett, Caitlyn Kilpatrick

Los Robles Children’s Choir, Newbury Park Elaine Abarta, Arielle Komie, Samantha Lux, Makayla Mathias, Megan McDonald, Savannah Pletcher, Jaqui Ramos

Lynbrook High School, San Jose Anna Sadovnikova, Elijah Sickel, Alexander Snow, Anna Tchetchetkine

Manhattan Beach High School, Manhattan Beach Rachel Azafrani, Brigitte E. Clark, Adam Gerber, Maddie Luhrs

Mark Twain Junior High School, Modesto Heriberto Cardenas, Daniella Cervante, Jordan Hardy, Jaron J. Ingram, Jacqueline Macedonio, Marlena Morales, Renata Navarro, Fernando Phongmaly, Andrew V. Solis, Danny Vargas

Marsh Junior High School, Chico Haley Chamberlain, Jordyn Dollarhide, Tonia Mubaraka

Martin Luther King High School, Riverside Tanner Wilson

Menlo School, Atherton Maki Nakazato

Menlo-Atherton High School, Atherton Ashby Cogan

Mira Costa High School, Manhattan Beach Jesse Crum, Janie Dusenberry, Justin K. Filbrich, Caroline Olsen, Duncan Spore

Monache High School, Porterville Keane Ellis, Sydney Laux, Allen Dave Marron, Joel D. Mayorga, Alexander Phaphol, Aaron Rodriguez, Devin Leann Short, Tiffany Tapia, Alejandra Tejeda

Montgomery High School, Santa Rosa Amanda Knudtzon

2008 ACDA Western Division Honor Choir Singers CHILDREN’S CHOIR — JULIA J. WHITE, CONDUCTOR

JUNIOR HIGH CHOIR — JUDY HERRINGTON, CONDUCTOR HIGH SCHOOL CHOIR — DR. JOE MILLER, CONDUCTOR

Niguel Hills Middle School, Laguna Niguel Tiare La Marche, Kathia Garcia Perez

Oak Ridge High School, El Dorado Hills Michaela Nasello, Sabrina Pedrosa, Elizabeth Randolph, Anna Wagner, Matt Wicox

O. W. Holmes Junior High School, Davis Will Delacorte, Forrest Durell, Lindsay Manville, Chris Mellon

Orange High School, Orange José Cota, Paul E. Kelly III, Matthew Short

Our Lady Queen of Angels Church Choir, Newport Beach Monica Beld, Molly Brown, Andrew Carlyle Cameron, Elizabeth Anne Cameron, Matthew Chamberlain, Nathan Chisholm, Katie Clarey, Elias Deeb, Edward Deeb, Megan Farley, Katie Groke, Maggie Hsiang, Trevor Jue, Kristina Junkins, Ellen Labbe, Megan Lefebvre, Tory Moyzis, Vanessa Skaggs, Allie Ursini

Palm Desert High School, Palm Desert Matthew Borders, Caitlyn Lennon, Amy Phillips

Peter Johansen High School, Modesto Holly Olsson, Andrew Shiovitz

Pinewood School, Los Altos Hills Jennifer Ball, Samantha Cardenas, Sweta Ghosh

Ponderosa High School, Cameron Park Douglas Orofino, Matthew Provencal

Ragazzi Boys Chorus, San Mateo Scott Andrews, Derek James Daniels, Rick Jones, Jordan King, Derek Lee, Mark Peng, Tyler Polen, Patrick Ross, Patrick Shanahan, Carsten Stann, Griffin Young

Reyburn Intermediate School, Clovis Sean Shiner

Riverside Poly High School, Riverside Benjamin Cardullo, Adam Gallagher, Erin Wiltchik

Roosevelt Middle School, Oceanside Delaney Manning, Nina Preston, Lindsay Romney, Amanda Wright

Royal High School, Simi Valley Nadine Kawai, Rebekah Kniseley, Yuna Kwon, Kayla Pardee, Sara Pulsipher, Alyssa Rossi, Taylor Severns, Lauren Timm, J. D. Tolson

Sage Hill School, Newport Coast Nassim Alisobhani, Vikram Iyer

Salinas High School, Salinas Samantha Harrison, Summer Brooke Rayle-Striler

San Fernando Valley Youth Chorus, Canoga Park Mady Rasey

San Gabriel Elementary School, Atascadero Hannah Livengood

Santa Monica High School, Santa Monica Brooke Ellis, Matteo Fonda-Bonardi

Saratoga High School, Saratoga Joanne Chen, Peter Chou, Sacha Maniar, Katie Stevens

Shasta High School, Redding Brad Jackman, Amber Spencer, Hayden Spencer, Katelyn Woods, Cameron Woolfstead

St. John Fisher Elementary School, Rancho Palos Verde Sarah Levins

Templeton High School, Templeton Nicholas Anthony, Elaina Jardini

Templeton Middle School, Templeton Amanda Baxley, Joseph Brown, Michaell Cholico, Jessa Culver, Sabrina Dunn, Steven G. Moody, Greg Moxley, Emily Thurston, Taylor Tobin, Lauren Van Blargen, Suzanne Wells, Jonah Yamagata, Tyrus Yamagata

Thomas Downey High School, Modesto Amanda Schemmel

Travis Ranch Middle School, Yorba Linda Nicole Santoni

United Church Choirs, Cloverdale Savannah Leigh Crowe, Shannon Lish, Irene Matlock, Jesse Timm, Fred Westenberg

VCMC Children’s Concert Choir, Ventura Alexa Constantine

Virginia Eleroth-Saxon, Sacramento Tyler L. Fagan

Vista Murrieta High School, Murrieta Caitlin Compton, John Harding, Jennfer Strasheim


For those of us involved in the choral art, choral music has become a multitude of deep-rooted thoughts, feelings, expressions, and emotions. We love choral music; we love creating it, rehearsing it, performing it, listening to it, enjoying it. Choral music stimulates our brains, fills our hearts, and feeds our souls. There are many items of importance that bring us to the finished ingestible product we all know and love; some are musical, some are not. I estimate we could come up with “The Fifty Most Important Elements for a Healthy, Vibrant Choral Program.” Here are five elements I consider to be of utmost importance.

ORGANIZATION Allow me to ask a few questions. Is your rehearsal

space clean, orderly, welcoming, and prepared for every rehearsal, or do your singers climb over disorganized chairs to get into a room full of lunch trash with outdated or blank bulletin boards? Do you hand your singers a seating chart with their first and last names on it, or do you yell over the confusion telling them the approximate region of their voice part? Do you write your prepared rehearsal list on the board so students can pull the appropriate music, or do you come to rehearsal, deciding what to rehearse by the seat of your pants? Do you do adequate score study, or do you sight-read/conduct as the students are sight-reading? I have found much greater, effective music-making occurs when I am prepared and organized. Organization produces a greater sense of self-respect and causes the singers to feel a greater sense of being respected, which leads us to a second point of utmost importance.

RESPECT Few things build greater rapport between singers

and director than when singers feel respected by the director. We must respect their musicianship, their instrument, their talent, and their skill. We must respect their relationships, their schedules, their jobs, and their commitments beyond choir. We must respect their ideas, their opinions, and their endeavors. We must respect our singers by respecting the music and respecting ourselves.

CLIMATE What is the climate of your rehearsals? Would you

say it is friendly, serious, productive, entertaining, energetic, approachable, organized, or fun? Or

sometimes do you find rehearsals to be mean spirited, angry, disrespectful, apathetic, boring, disorganized, slow, or tedious? While teaching high school I was sitting alone in my office after a rehearsal realizing how angry I was. I quickly discovered that this was a common frame of mind for me following rehearsals. I was miserable. I had fallen into a trap of using anger to accomplish the rehearsal goals. Students are not required to be in choir. They can quit anytime. If the climate of the rehearsal is miserable, why should they ever return? I immediately began to be acutely aware of the climate of each rehearsal. How do my singers feel upon entering the room? What do they experience during the course of the rehearsal? How do they feel as they are leaving? I began to proactively affect the climate with a positive nature—genuine, warm greetings; authentic joy and enthusiasm expressed toward the music, the singers, and the job they were doing; and a closing recap at the end of each rehearsal calling attention to the positive aspects and achievements of the day. This not only proved to be a program builder, but I found I accomplished much more while having loads more fun.

COMMUNITY Early on in my career I realized that to build a

strong choral program there were two priorities of equal importance: excellent music-making and relationship-building. As I developed community in the choir, they sang better, behaved better, had a stronger level of commitment, and actually became a powerful source of recruitment. To ensure time for community to be built, I decided to schedule a minimum of one major event per month throughout the school year. Each event was designed to build relationships and develop a sense of family while participating in the process of excellent music-making. After each event I noticed a change in the sound the choir was making. I realized that singers who know and like each other sing differently than those who do not. Freedom, acceptance, safety, and belonging all became part of the climate as deep, meaningful relationships were formed.

THE LAW OF MAGNETISM Recruitment remains to be one of the greatest

challenges for any choral organization. We all want as

(Continued on page 15)

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES

Of Utmost Importance JOHN TEBAY

[email protected]

SOUTHERN www.acdacal.org/south.htm



Of Utmost Importance

many singers as we can gather. I have heard directors complain about the quality of singer they have. The problem child is usually described as one who sings poorly, with little or no musicianship skills, or one who is difficult to get along with, having a negative disposition. What type of human beings do we want to attract to our choirs? In The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John C. Maxwell you will find “The Law of Magnetism.” Mr. Maxwell writes, “Effective leaders are always on the lookout for good people.” “The Law of Magnetism” states, “Who you are is who you attract.” If you want good singers, you must be a good singer and a good singing teacher. If you want to work with kind, enthusiastic, responsible, organized, committed

(Continued from page 14) people, you must possess those attributes. A choir can only go as far as the director can take them. We must become the type of person we want to attract to our programs, then, by example, show our singers how to excel still more.

All of us signed up because we wanted to make beautiful music. I have learned that there are many non-musical elements we must embrace, none of which require anything less than hard work. I have also learned that this hard work enriches my life and deepens the meaning. It becomes part of the core of who I am.

The man who wants a garden fair, Or small or very big, With flowers growing here and there, Must bend his back and dig.

The things are mighty few on earth That wishes can attain. Whate’er we want of any worth We’ve got to work to gain.

It matters not what goal you seek Its secret here reposes: You’ve got to dig from week to week To get Results or Roses.

—Edgar Guest ♦

www.acdacal.org



I am one of the lucky teachers who have the opportunity to teach both middle school and high school vocal music. I teach in a small school district called Templeton Unified. Before teaching choral music in Templeton, I taught elementary general music there and had a very successful elementary choir. However, when my students went on to the middle school, there was no opportunity for them to continue singing. I decided to teach choir at our middle school. That became fairly successful and the program grew. When the eighth graders graduated to the high school, there was no opportunity for them to continue singing… So here I am, twenty years later. Unfortunately, I no longer teach elementary music, but Templeton Unified does have a choral music program at the middle school and high school, and I thoroughly love my “job.”

I learned early on that the success of recruiting and keeping boys in the program was to offer them a safe, fun, and rewarding environment for them to discover their voices. Having a “just boys” class makes them feel very special. They know that I would do anything, even give up my prep period, in order to continue offering a choir class just for the guys. The middle school class is called the Young Men’s Vocal Ensemble. I rarely have enough boys in the class to consider them a “choir,” although my numbers are slowly growing. We test voices at least twice a year. They love to do this! Each student has their voice range charted on a piece of staff paper that includes both treble and bass clefs. They take pride in experiencing how their voices have expanded, sometimes in both directions! I try to praise them constantly. Food is a motivator. We have lots of parties, but they earn every one of them.

My high school guys enjoy the camaraderie that develops within a group of guys. They love singing barbershop, doo-wop tunes, and novelty numbers that allow them to show off a bit. On the other hand, they also love to sing beautiful ballads and slow folk song arrangements. It takes lots of time to find the right mix of repertoire that keeps them interested and enthused. Following is a list of repertoire I have done successfully with either high school or middle school male groups over the years. These have become my personal favorites. If any of you have other pieces to add to this list, I would welcome your suggestions. ♦

The Importance of Male Choirs in the Choral Program

MIDDLE SCHOOL/ JUNIOR HIGH • “Songs for Tenor-Bass Chorus” (TB/TTB)

arr. Emily Crocker – HL47123077 • “Contest Songs for Tenor Bass Choir” (TB a cap.)

arr. Patti DeWitt – HL08551391 • “Rosalee” (TTB)

by Dave and Jean Perry – HL42318041 • “Loch Lomond” (TTB)

arr. Greg Gilpin – Shawnee Press #C 0290 • “Star of the County Down” (TTB)

arr. Douglas Wagner – #SVM05045 • “Zion hört die Wächter singen” (TB)

Buxtehude/Emily Crocker – HL08596713 • “Oh! Susanna” (TB)

arr. Ken Berg – HL08744431 • “Reuben Ranzo” (TB)

arr. Vijay Singh – #BL-171 • “She’s Like the Swallow” (TB)

arr. Laura Farnell – AMP 0509 • “Sing Me a Song of a Lad That Is Gone” (TTB)

by Sherri Porterfield – SV9008 • “Tenting Tonight” (TB)

arr. Earlene Rentz – AMP 0625 • “This Train” (TB)

arr. Donald Moore – BL 140 • “A Trilogy of Knighthood” (TTB)

by Julie Gardner Bray – 15/1315H • “At the Foot of Yonder Mountain” (TB)

arr. Earlene Rentz – OCT9604 • “Boatmen Stomp” (3-part)

by Michael Gray – HL50322200 • “Jamaica, Farewell!” (TB)

arr. Bradley Nelson – Kjos 5570 • “Yakety Yak” (TB)

arr. Roger Emerson – 40326253 • “The Birth of Doo-Wop” (TTB)

arr. Alan Billingsley – HL08201628 • “Go Down, Moses” (TTB)

arr. Judy Arthur – BL 292

HIGH SCHOOL • “O Mistress Mine” (TTB)

by Neil Ginsberg – SBMP 446


JO ANNE STODDARD [email protected]

CENTRAL COAST www.acdacal.org/coastal.htm


www.acdacal.org The California ACDA Website

Hundreds of Resources

Event Dates ● Registration Forms

The Importance of Male Choirs in the Choral Program

• “There Is a Lady Sweet and Kind” (TBB) by Patti Drennan – AMP 0604

• “Mister Cellophane” (with Razzle Dazzle) arr. Steve Zegree – HL08621317

• “Let All Men Sing” (TTBB) by Keith Christopher – HL08703182

• “Marching to Pretoria” (TTBB) arr. Ruth Abbott – HL50305380

• “Loch Lomond” (TTBB) arr. Jonathan Quick – CP1046

• “The Best of Doo-Wop” (TTBB) arr. Ed Lojeski – HL08212956

• “Two Patriotic Songs for Male Voices” (TTBB) by David Dickau – P1199

• “Codfish Shanty” (TB) arr. Vijay Singh – BL331

• “Colorado Trail” (TTB) arr. Donald Moore – BL162

(Continued from page 16)


Reflections

• “Two Folk-Songs for Male Voices” (TTBB) arr. John Rutter

• “Fergus an’ Molly (TTBB) by Vijay Singh – OCT9605

• “Finnan Haddie (TTBB) by Vijay Singh – OCT9607

• “If You’ve Only Got a Moustache” (TB) arr. Leonard Van Camp – BR2011

• “The Mermaid” (TTBB) arr. Michael Levi – SV9504

• “Streets of Laredo” (TBB) by Merrilee Webb – SBMP 77

In the late 1700s, the Spanish colonized what was called Alta California. In 1846, the California Republic was formed. California formally became the 31st state in 1850. In 1970, California became two states—at least, that’s what was decreed by the ACDA organizers, and for almost 25 years there was both a Northern California and a Southern California ACDA. The members then thought it over and decided to be one state after all.

It has been my privilege to be involved with ACDA in one way or another for many years, and each year [well, almost] has been a delight. The first Western Division convention I attended was in 1972 at the Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. The convention program was all of eight pages long. Charles Hirt was national president at the time, and Jane Hardester was the division president. Good times. Our organization,

still quite small, had not long before moved to have conventions separate from MENC.

Next year will be the 50th anniversary of ACDA’s beginnings, and will be appropriately celebrated at the national convention in Oklahoma City. Bright flags and banners will wave, and dedicatory speeches will be made. However, no celebrative exercise will be equal to the enormously positive changes in the choral landscape over the past fifty years, largely due to the influence, scholarship, advocacy, and mentoring of this organization. In fact, The ACDA organizational model has been copied in various countries over these many years.

By our individual or organizational efforts, we must remember the generations of choral singers who are yet to come. They will need all the loving care and training that we can muster. ♦

BILL HATCHER [email protected]

FAR SOUTH www.acdacal.org/farsouth.htm

• “Vive la Compagnie” (TBB) arr. Dave and Jean Perry – C 0301

• “Bashana Haba’ah” (TTBB) arr. John Leavitt – HL08740577

• “Ose Shalom” (TTB) arr. John Leavitt – HL08703355

• “Duke of Earl” (TBB) arr. Ed Lojeski – HL08212985

• “Earth Angel” (TBB) arr. Roger Emerson – HL40305190

• “Kiss the Girl” (TTBB) arr. Kirby Shaw – HL08200367


ACDA Advocacy Resolution Whereas, the human spirit is elevated to a broader understanding of itself

through study and performance in the aesthetic arts, and

Whereas, serious cutbacks in funding and support have steadily eroded state institutions and their programs throughout our country,

Be it resolved that all citizens of the United States actively voice their affirmative and collective support

for necessary funding at the local, state, and national levels of education and government, to ensure the survival of arts programs.

ACDA members are encouraged to print the ACDA Advocacy Resolution in all programs.



Notes from the North

It’s hard to believe it is spring, when everyone’s thoughts run like crazy from one festival to a spring trip to graduation to vacation! I hope you were able to attend the convention in Anaheim. It was one of the best choral gatherings, with so many of our California choirs. Congratulations to all of them.

This was the first time I have been face to face with the workings of putting a convention together. It is amazing how much goes into making it seem so easy. I don’t think we realize how much goes on in order for us to just do our job. Being on the board has been amazing. I have learned so much!

There are so many problems facing music teachers all over the state. In some cases, accounts have been frozen with no money available for the rest of the year,

teachers have been given pink slips, classes are being cut, making for a very scary future. Hopefully, you have taken advantage of the block bond money and made purchases to boost your programs. For more information about monies from the state and the bond issues, go to California Alliance for Arts Education and click onto Artsedmail or block grants. I forward this link to the administrators so they know and we know what is happening with the bond issues.

Don’t forget our Summer Conference with Z. Randall Stroope. Our choir attended the Napa Valley Festival with Dr. Stroope. It was easy to see he will be a great clinician. ♦

SUZIE PETERSON [email protected]

NORTHERN www.acdacal.org/north.htm

At the 2008 ACDA Western Division Convention in Anaheim

The South Bay Children’s Choir, Diane Simons, director (top)

Honor Choir singers from Gilroy High School, Phil Robb, director (right)

and

Honor Choir Worker Bees (far right)



VOICES FROM ELSEWHERE IN THE CHORAL WORLD

Cultural Awakenings MARTHA COVENTRY GRABER

Global economy, immigration, foreign affairs are words and concepts that have long been present in our world and minds to some degree. However, as goods, people, and ideas circulate the globe more rapidly than ever before, these words take on new meaning in the fabric of personal experience. As choral musicians, we are aware of our responsibilities. They are overwhelming. We know we have the capacity for opening doors, awakening awareness, defusing suspicion and discomfort with the unfamiliar, and highlighting the beauty of the new and strange with the powerful combination of music, poetry, and singing. As your colleague in this adventure I would like to simply open a forum for thought and talk about the complexities of culture; first in ourselves, then in our work, our lives and our world. This is not intended to be an all-encompassing global examination, but a starting point—who we are, where we are, what we have, what to do with it all.

Let us begin with an introspective unearthing of self-culture. Every one of us is imbued with culture—habits, education, gender, food, home, income, pace, beliefs, ideas—that frame our teaching in completely unconscious ways. Acknowledging and making peace with our own complex cultural DNA is a first step in understanding the makeup of our constituents—our choirs and classes, their peers and parents, our audiences, our administrations, our colleagues, and our communities outside our doors. And as we consider our differences, we must pay attention to how we are each managing within and without, grandly and subtly, in response to our changing world and environment.

With self-awareness and acceptance as a starting point, we have the first tools to handle the conflicts and problems of cultural and personal clashing. Several examples: 1. Four years ago, I began teaching my women’s

choir an arrangement of “Who Will Be a Witness.” It was all the rage that year, and I thought I had found an accessible and exciting version. After reading through the first and second verses, a girl’s hand shot up. She told me she wouldn’t sing that song because it glorified war and, worse, suggested ethnic cleansing. She was right; it did, and we as a nation had embarked on a war that I was having difficulty with.

2. A college director had a student challenge her about an old English text that extolled the virtuous beauty of white skin.

3. Many times students have told me that they don’t read music—not as a confession, but as a challenge—“that’s not my kind of music.”

4. A director had a student challenge her choice of religious, specifically sacred, Christian anthems in a public school setting. Most often, these challenges come to us without

warning and the first response is to panic and defend. Again, we have to start with ourselves—admit mistakes when they occur and forgive ourselves, whether it is inexperience, unawareness, or a lack of knowledge, materials, or skills, etc. Then (after really, really forgiving ourselves) identify core strengths and starting points. As choral musicians we have a wealth of strengths based on our life choices, training, and habits within a life of vocal music. Music is and always has been powerfully transformative, quite literally an instrument of growth and change throughout life. We have an established faith in this. We instinctively accept the possibility of change and evolution. I believe this is one of the greatest unifying strengths of musicians. We are completely capable of extending this belief in transformation into hard conversations of race, inclusion and exclusion, religious differences, opportunity and barriers, wealth and poverty, to name but a few of the challenges that our changing world brings to our workplace.

As we work from this inside-out platform, then bravely charge into conflicts and problems, we don’t have to feel like we are arming for battle. On the contrary, it can be a journey of discovery and absolute joy. In my own life I have experienced changes and even “loss” of beliefs I had grown up with—comfortable, structured life habits that I feared losing or having taken from me. To my surprise, I discovered a release from unnecessary boundaries, an opening—a widening of my own possibilities and others’—that has also brought me a sense of peace. Being open to change allows us to cultivate the talent to see, hear, feel, and understand more. Inquisitiveness is the greatest tool. We need to learn to ask more questions and really listen to answers, cultivating the habit of finding differences intriguing instead of challenging. When we do that, differences lose their toxicity and become informative, transformative. We are better equipped to make value judgments with much less



Cultural Awakenings

conflict, focused on practicality, function, and bridge-building.

As choral musicians, our tool kit is our music. We are so lucky to live in an age of access; not just to the music itself, but to recordings, teaching ideas, new skills, and different ways to use music beyond the concert hall and the church sanctuary. Music gives us the opportunity to examine the complexity of our identities and the world around us, and it is one we should embrace, sometimes at the expense of precious rehearsal time.

As I look back on what I have written, I see the common three-point presentation—separate, tidy considerations. In truth, it is much messier than that. It is a pulsing, bundle of constant give and take—again, something we understand so well. It is akin to “breath-play” when we sing—always hovering, taking, giving, ready to give more or less on demand, energizing, supporting, generating, fueling... awakening.

RESOURCES TO GET THE THOUGHTS FLOWING: • Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett,

www.speakingoffaith.publicradio.org • Glenn E. Singleton and Curtis Linton,

Courageous Conversations about Race, Corwin Press, 2006.

• Pema Chödrön. Start Where You Are: A Guide to Compassionate Living, Shambhala Publications, Inc., 2001.

• Peter Menzel and Charles C. Mann, Material World: A Global Family Portrait, Sierra Club Books, 1994. ♦

(Continued from page 20)

Martha Coventry Graber, ACDA Minnesota’s Repertoire & Standards Chairperson for

Ethnic and Multicultural Perspectives, teaches at Saint Paul Central High School.

Reprinted with permission from the Winter 2008 issue of Star of the North, the ACDA Minnesota

newsletter, Kari Douma, editor.


While wracking my brain for a topic for this newsletter, a chance visit with an old friend and colleague inspired me. This friend is Howard Rizner. Through an unfortunate accident, I had the opportunity to visit with Howard who broke his hip with the help of a very enthusiastic dog while visiting his son.

I was fortunate enough to sing with Howard’s Hillsdale Arts Chorale for seven years and learned first hand why this man was a legend, a taskmaster, and above all a passionate master musician. Howard taught at Hillsdale High School for over thirty years. After his tenure and that of one other director, I taught at this school for three years. His students had incredible sight-reading and musical ability. I remember hearing about the time Mr. Rizner decided that his Concert Choir was proficient enough with solfeggio to learn the entire Jesu, Meine Freude of J.S. Bach. I looked through the scores in the music library, and indeed all of the solfeggio was written in. The incredible tradition at Hillsdale was built by Howard starting his students in the sixth grade and ending with incredible high school choirs which sang Bach, Mozart, Schubert, Orff, Bernstein, and others. When students talked to him about singing popular music, he told them that English classes taught Shakespeare, not comic books. He would only teach them the very finest music available.

Visiting Howard spurred memories of singing masterpieces of choral music including, Orff’s Carmina Burana, Bach’s B Minor Mass and Jesu, Meine Freude, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors, Schubert’s Mass in G, Randall Thompson’s Testament of Freedom, and Handel’s Messiah. It is important to note that Hillsdale is a small community (the county’s population is about 8,000) with a college and some factories. This community supported the arts at Hillsdale High School and Hillsdale Arts Chorale program with great enthusiasm. I know there are other music oases like this through our division that people boast about with great civic pride.

Howard continues to inspire me with his industry and strong belief that if you give people great music, they will come and want more. With the idea of, “If he can do it, I can do it,” I was inspired to teach Fauré’s Requiem, Rutter’s Gloria, Bernstein’s Chichester Psalms, and Orff’s Carmina Burana (with a sanitized translation!) with my high school choirs. Students still ask me when we will be singing these works again, especially when every other commercial, movie trailer, and sporting event uses “O Fortuna” to build dramatic effect. I also have found myself looking at more classic choral literature for my high school students. I know that many of my students will never have the opportunity again to sing “The Last Words of David” by Randall Thompson, or Wilhousky’s arrangement of the “Battle Hymn of the Republic.” As a result, I have been looking through my music library and discovering pieces that I need to be teaching like Billings’ “When Jesus Wept,” J.S. Bach’s Singet dem Herrn, the William Dawson spirituals, vocal jazz arrangements of “April in Paris” and “Michelle,” and some music I need to recycle like “Marry an Ugly Woman,” “Granny Grunts,” and some incredibly politically incorrect pieces from the Al Jolson era!

So what is the most valuable lesson I have learned from Howard Rizner? We need to foster and train singers for a lifetime of singing. Teach them good musicianship and discipline, and give them a wide variety of great music. I am so pleased when former students come back and tell me that they are singing in their college/university choirs, as well as community and church choirs. That is when I know that I have been successful. ♦

Finding Inspiration: Old Friends and Classic Works

MARY E. EVERS

VOICES FROM ELSEWHERE IN THE CHORAL WORLD

Mary E. Evers, President of ACDA Indiana, teaches at Greenfield Central High School. Reprinted with permission from the Winter 2008 issue of Resound,

the ACDA Central Division newsletter, William G. Niederer, editor.


REPERTOIRE & STANDARDS

Repertoire & Standards? The fourteen national Repertoire & Standards

(R&S) Committees provide support, vision, and resources for every major area of choral work in ACDA.

R&S Chairpersons, appointed at the national, division, and state levels, serve members who share similar interests, by providing resources that promote excellence in the performance of choral music: • Leadership • Information • Networking • Excellence among colleagues • Professional growth • Choral music in the lives of people

These are the people you should call if you have questions about your particular area of music. (See the inside back cover or www.acdacal.org.) ♦

Good New Church Music for Good Old Church Choirs

One of the main reasons I joined the California ACDA Board last summer was to help encourage for all of us some serious conversations about—and ultimately championing of—good new church music. So for the upcoming summer, my friend Vern Sanders and I have designed and will present an interest session at the California ACDA Summer Conference that does not feature familiar songs—no “old chestnuts” this year. We instead propose to bring to your attention very doable and first-rate SATB sacred works written by such consistently good composers as Craig Courtney, Joseph Martin, Mark Hayes, Howard Helvey, Joel Raney, and Byron J. Smith, among others.

During the session we’ll plan to sight-read through 20-24 specially selected pieces of reasonably achievable and good-quality church music. These are not pieces for under one-hour rehearsals with 8-10 singers, nor conversely festival songs for choirs with paid section leaders, nor “praise choruses” to be accompanied by bands. The octavos in our session will be just really good and newly composed general anthems that an above-average music director in a mainline Protestant or Catholic church with a good choir could use at any given time during worship. Our selections will feature mostly new melodies, but some will also be impressive new arrangements. All of the works will have been created within the past 7-8 years, written for piano or organ; and none of the tunes will be based on seasonal texts.

For quite awhile it seems, at least the past 10 years, I’ve been keenly interested in this subject (i.e., finding good church music), since there’s so much run-of-the-mill stuff out there. Partly as a result of this research, the newest recording of the Santa Rosa First United Methodist Church Chancel Choir celebrates some of my favorite findings, as well as a certain milestone event; the CD is entitled: “Best of the New Millennium: A Tenth Anniversary Edition.” Generally, our group’s CD projects are mainly just fun PR projects for our choir’s outreach activities, which currently are focused on the Summer 2008 Tour to the upper Baltic countries. The concert repertoire for this trip also illustrates the overall theme, “Best of the New Millennium: The Old in the New.”

My colleague in these conference sessions, Vern Sanders, makes a living out of, among other things, reviewing new music. Vern has served in some form of church music and worship leadership for 40 years in

a variety of denominations both in the United States and in Canada. He is currently Director of Worship at First Presbyterian Church, Grover Beach, California. Vern is also the publisher of Creator magazine, a “multi-denominational music and worship ministry publication [that] does not espouse denominational or other agendas.” This terrific 30 year-old journal has for over 20 years given its readers an annual compendium of current top-sellers, which Vern simply calls “The Honored 10.”

We hope our song choices for the 2008 Summer Conference interest sessions will prove useful and, more importantly, give a positive overview of what’s really good out there for us church musicians—too many of whom haven’t the time, energy, or inclination to spend in staying up to date on church choir songs. So we’re hoping to help in that effort, as well as to send folks out talking about the good packet they just received. ♦

DOUG ALBERTSON [email protected]

MUSIC IN WORSHIP www.acdacal.org/worship.htm


Training Choristers and Other Critters

In my quest to deal with my new donkeys, I viewed a video on training equines. In the movie the trainer moved back and forth in the corral, causing the skittish young horse to shy from one side to the other. This went on for a very long time. While I thought this whole exercise was most unproductive, the trainer suddenly pronounced success! “See,” he said, “I showed this untrained horse that I can make him go in any direction I want.”

It reminded me of one of the basics of conducting: singers have instincts that conductors can exploit for artistic purposes. Sometimes we forget how much power gestures really have. Their efficient use can have profound effects in our ensembles. For example, have your choir sing a passage while you conduct it at waist level with palm down. Have your singers repeat the passage while you conduct it palm up at mouth level. If you don’t notice a difference, say, “Hmmm…can we try that again?” After a couple times, all choirs

will differentiate between the two effects. Try the same thing with a single vowel (like “ah”). Have your choir sing one note on that vowel while your palm is down. Flip your palm up and see the difference. Alternate between the two gestures and you will get astonishing differences.

In his explanation of this phenomenon, Henry Leck speaks of developing a code, a secret language, with his choir. He rehearses those gestures consistently with his ensemble, pulling various “moves” out of his conducting tool kit to achieve certain timbres with his group. I suspect the range of available sounds created by different gestures is only limited by our imagination.

As to the training program that my donkeys and I have established…consistency has paid off. Their systematic braying has trained me to feed them on a schedule they find entirely satisfactory. ♦

REPERTOIRE & STANDARDS

ANNA HAMRE [email protected]

COLLEGE & UNIVERSITY CHOIRS www.acdacal.org/college.htm

Singing at the 2008 ACDA Western Division Convention in Anaheim

The Mission Viejo High School Chamber Singers, John Elg, director



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8 JUNE 15 – 21 SFEMS BAROQUE MUSIC AND DANCE WORKSHOP: THE WORLD OF CHARLES BURNEY AND THE MUSICAL LIFE OF 18TH-CENTURY EUROPE

Sonoma State University, City of Rohnert Park Contact: San Francisco Early Music Society Phebe Craig at 510-684-5177 or [email protected] or Kathleen Kraft at [email protected] Website: www.sfems.org

JUNE 22 – 28 SFEMS MEDIEVAL RENAISSANCE WORKSHOP: THE ELEMENTS: EARTH, WATER, WIND, AND FIRE

Sonoma State University, City of Rohnert Park Contact: San Francisco Early Music Society Hanneke van Proosdij at 510-236-9808 or [email protected] Website: www.sfems.org

JUNE 22 – 29 MT. SHASTA VOCAL JAZZ AND SHOW CHOIR CLINIC 2008

College of the Siskiyous, City of Weed Contact: Andrew J. Shelden at [email protected] Registration opens April 21, 2008

JUNE 23 – 27 SUMMER SYMPOSIUM IN CHORAL MUSIC

Azusa Pacific University School of Music Clinicians: Donald Neuen, MM, Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral Activities, UCLA; Charlene Archibeque, DMA, Professor Emeritus, San Jose State University Contact: Donna Bearman at [email protected] Website: www.apu.edu/music Details: Dr. Archibeque will be teaching classes in conducting, chamber choir literature and repertoire, and choral methods. Mr. Neuen will demonstrate effective rehearsal and performance techniques. The cost for this week-long symposium is $200.

JULY 13 – 17 CONGREGATIONAL SONG AND THE ARTS: GIFTS FOR WORSHIP AND MINISTRY

The Hymn Society in the United States and Canada 2008 Annual Conference City of Berkeley Clinicians: Sandra Soderlund, organist; Thomas Troeger, Sally Ann Morris, Don Saliers, Carla de Sola, lecturers Contact: [email protected] or www.thehymnsociety.org Details: Sectional workshops, free hymn festivals, morning and night prayers

JULY 14 J.W. PEPPER SCHOOL CHORAL SUPER SESSION

City of Norwalk Clinicians: Sally K. Albrecht, Greg Gilpin, and Mary Lynn Lightfoot Details: events page at www.jwpepper.com

JULY 17 – 19 NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF CHURCH MUSICIANS

First Presbyterian Church of Orange City of Orange Clinician: Hal H. Hopson Details: events page at www.jwpepper.com

JULY 27 – 28 CALIFORNIA ACDA SUMMER CONFERENCE

Episcopal Conference Center at Oakhurst (ECCO) City of Oakhurst Headliner: Z. Randall Stroope Registration: www.acdacal.org

JULY 28 – AUGUST 1 VOCAL JAZZ CAMP

Maria Carrillo High School, City of Santa Rosa Clinicians: Jeremy Fox and Jason Smith from Southwest Community College, with vocal jazz group “First Take” Contact: Gail Bowers at www.VocalJazzCamp.com

AUGUST 4 – 6 JOY OF SINGING AND JOHN JACOBSON WORKSHOP

City of Norwalk Details: events page at www.jwpepper.com

AUGUST 5 – 8 2008 TREBLE CHOIR CONDUCTORS SYMPOSIUM

Los Angeles Children’s Chorus (LACC) City of Pasadena Clinicians: LACC Artistic Director, Anne Tomlinson, and Guest Clinician, Janeal Krehbiel; with Mandy Brigham, Amy Brehm, Charlotte Smurthwaite, Gail Homan and Twyla Meyer Contact: Rachel Fine, Executive Director, 626-793-4231, [email protected] Website: www.lachildrenschorus.org Details: Please register by July 15, 2008. Advanced conductors interested in TRACK III should submit a video of their conducting of no less than 15 minutes. Total cost, including $50 registration, is $425.



President Ken Abrams 41 Picardy Court Walnut Creek CA 94597 925-939-7562 home 925-552-3041 office [email protected] [email protected]

President-Elect Travis Rogers 112 Moss Lane Napa CA 94558 707-256-3488 home 707-253-3705 office [email protected] [email protected]

Vice President Julie Dana 610 East Pine Avenue Fresno CA 93728 559-233-3887 559-442-4600 x8465 [email protected]

Executive Secretary California ACDA Office Jan Lanterman 2348 Clay Street Napa CA 94559 707-255-4662 home 707-255-8012 ACDA office [email protected]

REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES Bay Area Daniel Hughes 6023 Joaquin Murieta Ave Apt A Newark CA 94560 415-596-6594 [email protected]

Central Heather Bishop 10283 North Sterling Lane Fresno CA 93720 559-434-6136 home 559-327-2042 office [email protected]

Central Coast Jo Anne Stoddard 2295 Alice Place Paso Robles CA 93446 805-237-8042 home 805-434-5845 office [email protected] [email protected]

Far South William Hatcher 3095 Colley Lane Escondido CA 92025 760-747-1471 [email protected]

Northern Suzie Peterson 513 Walnut Court Fairfield CA 94534 707-864-1916 [email protected] [email protected]

Southern John Tebay 543 Loyola Drive Placentia CA 92870 714-996-9991 home 714-992-7303 office [email protected]

Middle School & Junior High School Choirs Linda Lovaas 707 South Emerald Avenue Modesto CA 95351 209-522-6115 [email protected]

Music in Worship Doug Albertson 2380 Murdock Drive Santa Rosa CA 95404 707-544-3002 home 707-545-3863 office [email protected]

Show Choirs Tony Atienza 1748 Bristol Court Bonita CA 91902 619-788-7167 [email protected]

Senior High School Choirs Tammi Alderman 2630 Huntington Drive Unit F Duarte CA 91010 970-988-5193 home 818-249-5871 x3105 office [email protected]

Two-Year College Choirs Jeff Seaward 20800 Avenue 352 Woodlake CA 93286 559-564-6149 home 559-730-3871 [email protected]

Women’s Choirs Karen Garrett 4130 Strandberg Street Corona CA 92881 951-272-3432 home 951-739-5600 x2109 office [email protected] [email protected]

Youth & Student Activities Dr. Jonathan Talberg CSULB - Music 1250 Bellflower Blvd Long Beach CA 90840 562-985-5112 [email protected]

Boys’ Choirs OPEN

Children’s Choirs Beth Klemm 1008 Acorn Drive Arroyo Grande CA 93420 805-481-1189 home 805-460-2500 office [email protected]

College & University Choirs Anna Hamre 34279 Old Mill Road Auberry CA 93602 559-855-8747 home 559-278-2539 office [email protected]

Community Choirs Elena Sharkova 845 Calero Avenue San Jose CA 95123 408-363-1992 home 408-230-2232 office [email protected] esharkova@

symphonysiliconvalley.org

Ethnic & Multicultural Perspectives OPEN

Jazz Choirs John Hamilton 825 North Alfred Street Apt 2 Los Angeles CA 90069 323-445-7183 home 310-836-1602 office [email protected]

Male Choirs Lori Marie Rios 2850 Montrose Avenue #22 La Crescenta CA 91214 818-248-2803 home 818-952-4205 office [email protected]

EXECUTIVE BOARD

REPERTOIRE & STANDARDS CHAIRPERSONS

CMEA Liaison Mary Purdy 23705 Sarda Road Valencia CA 91355 661-254-3410 home 661-252-6110 x445 office [email protected]

All-State Honor Choir Chair Shirley Nute 937 Cornell Drive Burbank CA 91504 818-845-2683 [email protected]

Summer Conference Chair Jo Anne Stoddard 2295 Alice Place Paso Robles CA 93446 805-237-8042 home 805-434-5845 office [email protected] [email protected]

EVENTS CHAIRS

COMMUNICATIONS

Newsletter Editor (Cantate) Douglas Lynn 1450 South Melrose Drive Oceanside CA 92056 760-758-4100 x140 [email protected]

Website Coordinator Mark Alberstein 332 East Ashland Avenue Visalia CA 93277 559-623-1149 [email protected]

California Chapter American Choral Directors Association c/o Douglas Lynn, Editor 1450 South Melrose Drive Oceanside, CA 92056

PRSRT STD AUTO

US Postage Paid Riverside, CA Permit 1645

Documents

Cantate (Spring 2008)