The Chorister, Spring Issue 2016

www.ndacda.com | 1

The Official Publication of the North Dakota Chapter

of the American Choral Directors Association

Issue 15 • Spring 2016

2 | The Chorister • Spring 2016

North Dakota ACDA Leadership

Joshua Bronfman, president

University of North Dakota

Peggy Dahl-Bartunek, president-elect

Mike Weber, past president

North Dakota State University

Sheldon Weltz, treasurer

North Dakota Repertoire and Standards Chairs

Cheryl McIntyre, children’s choirs

James Wolter, junior high choirs

Discovery Middle School

Allyse Hoge, junior high choirs

Valley Middle School

Tom Porter, men’s choirs

University of Mary

Charlette Moe, women’s choirs


Phillip Voeller, senior high choirs

Beulah Middle/High School

Mike Seil, jazz choirs

Legacy High School

Brian Saylor, show choirs

Bismarck High School

Sara Lichtblau, ethnic/multicultural

Fargo South High School

Chris Redfearn, collegiate/university

Valley City State University

Melanie Popejoy, community choirs


Vicky Boechler, music in worship

St. Mary’s High School

Andrew Miller, student activities

Bismarck State College

www.ndacda.com | 3

In This Issue From the Past President 4

From the Editor 6

Articles

Success in Sight Reading 19

Using Renaissance Sacred Music

Christopher Redfearn

Taking Care of the 12

Classroom Teacher’s Voice

Stephanie Beinlich

Thoughts on Music 14

Melanie Popejoy


From the Past President H

i everyone – I’m back!!!! Con-

gratulations to Josh Bronfman

for his new position at Sam

Houston State University in

Huntsville, Texas. I think it’s a bit warmer

there. Following the bylaws of ACDA, if

the president resigns, the position of presi-

dent goes to the vice-president. We’ve

got a great board and our president-

elect, Peggy Dahl-Bartunek is the epito-

me of organization and energy!

This is an exciting time for ACDA and

NDACDA. Our state continues to have a

record membership. We currently have

207 members. I think we can have even

more members as we move into the next

year. Just think if we all invited one more

person to join – it would be amazing!

The are new changes to our national

organization that will be implemented

very soon. The R & S structure has been

modified. Instead of 11 areas of interest,

there will be 7 standing committees: In-

ternational Activities, Research and Publi-

cations, Composition Initiatives, Advoca-

cy and Collaboration, Education and

Communication, Diversity Initiatives, and

Repertoire and Resources. The most im-

mediate change we will see is in the Rep-

ertoire and Resources committee. This

committee provides support, vision and

resources for every major area of choral

work. The 11 areas of this committee

(formerly Repertoire and Standards) will

be represented by four major themes/

positions, Youth, Collegiate, Life Long and

Repertoire Specific. The Youth R&R Area

will include the R&R Chairs for Children

and Community Youth (which will now

c on ta i n Bo y

Choir), Middle

S c h o o l / J u n i o r

High and High

School. The 2

Year College and

C o l l e g e /

University R&R Ar-

eas will be com-

bined and along

with Student Ac-

tivities (formerly

Youth and Student Activities) will come

under the Collegiate Area. Life Long will

include Community Choirs and Music in

Worship. The Repertoire Specific areas of

Men’s Choirs (formerly Male Choirs)

Women’s Choirs, Jazz Choirs, Contempo-

rary/Commercial (formerly Show Choir)

and Ethnic Music will be overseen by the

National R&R Chair who will help these

areas have both a unique identity and

also infuse their specific literature and re-

sources into all the other areas.

Our state board will be working on de-

fining the needs that we will have to

meet the new structure of committees.

The charge from the national office is:

State and Division Boards will be required

to have at least four R&R representatives

(Youth, Collegiate, Life Long, Repertoire

Specific), but beyond these, States and

Divisions will have flexibility in the num-

ber of R&R representatives.

If you have any input about the re-

structuring, please contact your board

representative. http://www.ndacda.

com/#!board/c1t44

http://www.ndacda.com/#!board/c1t44

http://www.ndacda.com/#!board/c1t44

www.ndacda.com | 5

The other piece of news is about the

restructuring of our division conference.

North Central will be joining the Central

Division and having joint conferences.

The site will alternate between Chicago

and Minneapolis. My understanding of

this collaboration is that it is more of a fi-

nancial benefit to both divisions. I will

have more information to share after the

division board meeting.

I think I can speak for our membership

when I wish Josh the best on his new posi-

tion and send him good choir vibes for his

next adventure. And, best wishes to you

all as we finish this school year! See you

in the fall!!!

Mike Weber


NDACDA Past President

http://www.dickinsonstate.edu/music

http://www.popplersmusic.com/


From the Editor I

n my first “Letter from the Editor” this

past fall, I mentioned that in the few

short months I had been in North Da-

kota I had developed a positive im-

pression of the choral community in our

state. I’m happy to report that in the

nearly six months since I wrote that arti-

cle, my impression has not changed, and

has, in fact, grown more positive!

When I got the job at Dickinson State, I

wasn’t quite sure what to expect. My on-

ly prior impression of North Dakota came

from a college friend of mine who assert-

ed that, since she had never met any-

body from North Dakota, it must not ac-

tually exist. As a Minnesota native, I was

at least relatively confident that the state

did actually exist. In fact, I had once

even driven through it on the way to

drop off my sister at college in Idaho! But

beyond that, I didn’t know much. So it

was with a bit of trepidation that I came

for my interview at DSU. I was surprised at

how well I liked the area and the school,

and was quite pleased with how much it

reminded me of my home in the Twin Cit-

ies. After having lived in the desert South-

west for six years, it was soothing to be

back among trees! After I accepted the

job, my wife and I came for a house

hunting trip, and continued to gain a

positive impression of the community, the

University, and the state as a whole. Now

that I’m finishing out my first year, we’re

quite happy to be where we are and,

although we were both concerned

about living in a smaller city like Dickinson

(neither of us had lived in a city of fewer

than 100,000 residents before), we’ve

found that we

can get nearly

anything we want

here (and if not,

there’s always

Amazon), and we

love the surround-

ings.

I have been

impressed with

how much is go-

ing on in the cho-

ral community in our state. I didn’t ex-

pect there to be as many opportunities

for young students to develop their tal-

ents. From regional festivals to honor

choirs to All State, our students don’t lack

for musical opportunities. And the quality

of the performances at these events

doesn’t disappoint! Two weeks ago I

served as adjudicator at the Region 10

vocal festival at Assumption Abbey in

Richardton. Again, I wasn’t sure what to

expect, but was delighted by the high

quality of many of the performances I

heard. You, my colleagues, are doing

good work with your students, and I offer

my congratulations. There are, of course,

areas for improvement, as there always

are and always will be. But it seems to me

that the fundamental quality of the cho-

ral life of our state is very good, and that

all the opportunities that need to be in

place for our young people to develop

their musical abilities are indeed in place.

I hope that this publication can con-

tinue to be an asset to our choral com-

munity. As always, I welcome your feed-

back regarding The Chorister, and hope

www.ndacda.com | 7

you won’t hesitate to let me know how I

can be of assistance either personally or

through this publication.

Best wishes as you finish out the school

year, and as you prepare for another

successful year to come!

Brent Rogers

Dickinson State University

Editor and Designer, The Chorister

How Can The Chorister Better Serve You?

Are there issues you would like to see addressed in a future article?

Some examples might include:

The Boy’s Changing Voice

Re-Arranging Your Arrangements

Working With Instrumentalists

Anything else you think could be useful!

Are there regular features you would like to see included in future is-

sues? Any features that were previously included, but which may

have gone by the wayside?

Please feel free to email me with suggestions as to how this publication

can better meet your needs!

[email protected]


https://www.ndsu.edu/performingarts/music/index.html

www.ndacda.com | 9

Success in Sight Reading Using Renaissance Sacred Music to Teach Basic Concepts

I wrote an article two years ago for

this publication on the basics of in-

cluding sight reading in your choral

rehearsal and the benefits you can

glean from doing so. Not only will your

singers be stronger performers in your

choir, but they will have the skills they

need to be lifelong singers who continue

to enjoy their art once they leave your

school. Teachers who decide to include

regular sight reading in their rehearsal

must then find suitable repertoire to use

in their classroom. I believe that a good

place to start is with Renaissance sacred

music.

There are many fine commercially

available sight-reading books and meth-

ods, many of which I have used and

learned from during my career. However,

you may find that your budget will not

allow you to use these materials. This was

often the case when I was a public

school teacher. Fortunately, modern edi-

tions of Renaissance masses and motets

can downloaded for free from Choral

Domain Public Library (cpdl.org). While

some editions strive to replicate the look

of Renaissance sacred music, many

have been engraved with modern nota-

tion that your students will be able to ac-

cess with little problem.

There is a wide spectrum of music

available for use. A good starting point

for any choir would be the music of Pale-

strina. His melodic lines are nice combi-

nation of step-wise motion and leaps

that are often no larger than a fifth. Inter-

vals of the third and fourth are prevalent,

as well as the oc-

tave. One will en-

counter acciden-

tals in the music

of Palestrina, with

some pieces em-

ploying only a

raised fourth

scale degree.

Other pieces are

more melodically

adventuresome.

Should your choir become proficient with

the melodic lines of Palestrina, you could

introduce them to composers who use

accidentals more frequently, such as Las-

sus and Byrd.

Renaissance sacred music forces your

singers to count while they sing. As the

music is usually not homophonic, singers

must become independent in order to

sing their part in the polyphony. Sight

reading this music in two, three, or four

parts accelerates this process. The

rhythms are not overly complex, and

some rhythmic motives are repeated

enough that singers become accus-

tomed to them quickly. The complexity

comes when singers are forced to read

and internalize the music while other

parts are doing the same with conflicting

rhythms. Should this become too much of

a burden, using homophonic Renais-

sance works, such as English madrigals,

could serve as a bridge to polyphonic

reading.

Some directors are hesitant to include

sight reading in their programs, as they


have precious little time in rehearsal and

are under pressure to have music ready

for concerts. This can be especially true

in class B schools, where teachers only

see their choirs two or three times a

week. However, a perk of using public

domain Renaissance music as sight read-

ing material is that, unlike most commer-

cially available sight reading methods,

these pieces are already performance

material. Directors can employ many

strategies to use a piece both as sight

reading and as performance material.

One can break a mass movement or

motet into several different sight reading

examples, such as having the choir sing

each part as a unison exercise in their

own octave. Directors can pair voices

together to sight read two parts, such as

the sopranos and tenors singing the So-

prano part and the altos and basses sing-

ing the Bass part. If planned properly, the

sight reading exercises could be

stretched over weeks, but then the entire

piece has been read through by multiple

parts. It can then be rehearsed as a per-

formable work and presented at your

concert.

Directors can contribute to the suc-

cess of their students by observing a few

details during the sight reading portion of

their rehearsals. First, directors should re-

frain from using supporting instruments

during the exercise, whether that be pi-

ano or the director’s own voice. Students

will use their ears instead of their eyes

and internal hearing if an instrument is

sounding during the sight reading. Next,

insist that students execute notes precise-

ly on the beat. Students that sing behind

the beat are likely listening for their note

before singing it. That is not sight reading,

that is a survival strategy. Insisting for “on

the beat” singing requires your students

to commit to the note in their head,

whether it is right or wrong. That commit-

ment is the foundation of musical inde-

pendence. Lastly, you can help prepare

them for intervals they will encounter in

the sight reading with specific exercises

in warm-ups. Will their sight reading exer-

cise have a series of thirds? Include an

exercise that practices thirds in warm-

ups, then refer back to it during the sight

reading exercise. The same is true for oth-

er melodic or rhythmic challenges.

There are many benefits for your stu-

dents by incorporating these strategies

into your choral classroom. First, students

are introduced to the music of the great

Renaissance masters. This is music that

can be sung by the smallest group at so-

lo contest or the biggest choir at large

group festival. They learn to sing inde-

pendently of others around them. Learn-

ing to sight read now means that your

rehearsals in the future will have less

“note pounding” and more musicianship.

Plus, the sight reading used for All-State

Choir auditions looks much like this music,

both melodically and rhythmically. As the

sight reading portion of these auditions is

a large percentage of the overall score,

you can help your students succeed in

their quest to make the All-State or other

honor choirs. Thank you for your efforts as

choral musicians in our state, and best of

luck for the remainder of the school year.

Christopher Redfearn

Valley City State University

Collegiate/University R&S Chair

www.ndacda.com | 11

http://www.umary.edu/orff


Taking Care of the Classroom Teacher’s Voice

M ost of us are familiar with

the hazards associated with

working as a professional

voice user: vocal strain, dys-

phonia, chronic laryngitis, and the dread-

ed vocal nodules, among many other

disorders. The occupational risks of

speaking all day, often over the voices

(and instruments) of dozens, perhaps

hundreds, of students are often bypassed

by a stronger priority of communication

and effective teaching. Unfortunately,

misusing the voice in an effort to improve

immediate effectiveness will likely lead to

more inconvenient and uncomfortable

issues later on.

Speaking over students is often done

with poor vocal technique, meaning with

a lack of breath support and connection

to the tone, at a louder dynamic than is

comfortable, at a pitch unnatural to the

speaker, and/or with damaging affects

to the tone (like vocal fry or breathiness).

Most classroom educators have felt vo-

cal fatigue at some point or another;

speaking without healthy vocal tech-

nique is sure to introduce vocal fatigue

more and more often, and with longer-

lasting effects.

Speaking in such a way, or experienc-

ing vocal fatigue on a regular basis, is

likely to lead to a disordered voice. In ad-

dition to the above ailments, issues like

polyps, laryngopharyngeal reflux, paresis,

and hyperkinesis are commonly found

among professional voice users, though it

is important to note that these issues are

not necessarily caused by excessive

voice use. However, the combination of

e n v i ronm en ta l

and mechanical

factors does en-

courage the pro-

fessional voice

user to take extra

care of their vo-

cal health and

hygiene in order

to ensure a long

and uninterrupt-

ed career.

Symptoms of a voice disorder often

cross paths with common symptoms of a

cold or flu, so it is important for the speak-

er to pay careful attention to their vocal

health on a weekly, if not daily, basis. Any

time one feels fatigued or notices any of

the following symptoms, reviewing any

possible causes can help quickly diag-

nose the problem (overuse? misuse? al-

lergies? diet choices? illness?). Any symp-

toms that persist over a week should be

reported to a doctor, especially an Ear,

Nose and Throat physician that specializ-

es in singers, because while the cause

may have simply been a cold, use of the

voice over such symptoms can lead to

more lasting damage. Having a persis-

tent cough can lead to vocal polyps or

nodules, for example.

Symptoms to watch out for:

hoarseness,

breathiness

weakness

strain

pain

www.ndacda.com | 13

muscle tightness in the throat

general ache in the vocal muscles

or throat

discomfort

excessive dryness

pharyngeal swelling

missing pitches in the scale

Fortunately, we know that many of

these symptoms and their associated dis-

orders are easily preventable or treata-

ble. Firstly, maintaining overall physical

health can help to prevent illnesses

which may later cause vocal damage, in

addition to shortening recuperation time.

Staying vigilant to avoid dehydration is

also key, especially for professional voice

users. The typical recommendation for

water intake per day is at least 1.5 liters

(or 50 ounces), making adjustments to

accommodate for intense cardio exer-

cise, illness, and other environmental fac-

tors. As caffeine and alcohol are dehy-

drating, I typically recommend supple-

menting a can of soda, cup of coffee, or

glass of wine with an additional glass of

water. Obviously limiting these dehydrat-

ing liquids is best, but often unreasona-

ble. Behavioral choices can also help

maintain vocal health. Requiring voice

rest (from both singing and speaking,

while completely avoiding whispering)

between periods of high-intensity use is

extremely important and can help pre-

vent fatigue. Some classroom instructors

favor the use of amplification, while oth-

ers simply maintain a classroom manage-

ment policy of not speaking until the

room is silent and attentive. Obviously,

when the voice is used, it is imperative

that any professional voice user make

healthy technique choices: using proper

breath support even when not singing,

avoiding the now-ubiquitous habit of vo-

cal fry, and speaking at a comfortable

pitch for his/her specific voice range.

While “speak higher!” is a commonly

used fix for disordered voices, it is actually

quite often mis-prescribed. The following

list advises the approximate healthy

speaking pitches for the various voice

classes (as recommended by Dr. Ingo Tit-

ze, director of the National Center for

Voice and Speech):

bass: G2

baritone: B2

tenor: E3

contralto: F3

mezzo-soprano: G3

soprano: B3

While these pitches may seem lower than

one might expect (especially for wom-

en), it is emphasized that both pitch and

proper phonation are key factors in

healthy speaking.

Ultimately, classroom music teachers

are most effective when they are healthy

and providing a good vocal model to

young singers. Remembering the basics

of vocal health and hygiene, taking the

time to frequently rest, and insisting on

taking the steps to care of oneself is the

best way to prevent long-term damage

to your instrument!

Stephanie Beinlich


Lecturer in Voice


Thoughts on Music Last fall, I received an invitation to pre-

sent a TOM (Thoughts On Music) Talk at

the North Central American Choral Di-

rectors Association Conference in Sioux

Falls, South Dakota in February. The

theme for the conference was Servant

Leadership, with a focus on the book

Servant Leadership by Ramona M. Wis.

Here are the thoughts I shared.

M y teaching and choral di-

recting career that began

over 35 years ago has tak-

en me through all levels, K-

12 and college, to 5 different states, and

includes church and community choir

work as well. At the University of North

Dakota, I have the privilege of preparing

college students to become choir direc-

tors. On the last day of my Choral Meth-

ods Class last semester, I realized that my

wish for these future teachers could be

simplified in one easy statement... “I

hope you teach your singers as much as

they will teach you!” Looking back, I rec-

ognize that the greatest lessons I have

learned came from the singers with

whom I have had the honor to serve and

make music. These lessons started me on

my journey from being “teacher” to

“servant-leader.”

For example, a young 5th grade chor-

ister ran 3 miles to get to his chorus

concert, because no one at home

wanted to stop what they were doing

to drive him. He taught me how sing-

ers will do anything if they trust you to

help them succeed, and offer them

opportunities

to be a part of

something ex-

traordinary.

There was a

s e x t e t o f

“mean girls” in

middle school

whose goal

was to sabo-

tage every

opportunity I

took to rebuild the declining choral

program. Their fear of relinquishing

control was their motivation. They

taught me how insecure girls are at

that age, and challenged me to em-

power them to use their influence to

make positive change in the ensem-

ble, and in their own lives.

I remember the high school choir who

rebelled against my rigorous quest for

choral excellence, because they

were afraid of failure and embarrass-

ment. They taught me that all of us

want to feel success, and that fear

and self-doubt can manifest itself into

the ugliest of behaviors.

In his book titled ”Pathways,” Joseph

Alsobrook mentions the five gifts all stu-

dents (and I would add all people) want.

They are the gift of love or acceptance;

the gift of attention; the gift of accom-

plishment; the gift of boundaries; and the

gift of fun. He proposes that students will:

get up at ridiculous hours to attend

rehearsals

www.ndacda.com | 15

show up for every performance

listen to your every word as if Tos-

canini himself were speaking

conduct themselves in a manner

pleasing to you

genuinely try to accommodate all

of your requests

practice their music

…but only if they are getting what they

want most in return! These five gifts.

I heard someone say that people only

hear what is relevant to their survival.

When I rewind the tape in my mind of

some of my more difficult rehearsals and

classroom situations, I realize that as I was

“teaching,” my singers were communi-

cating loud and clear that what they

needed was relevance; relevance to me

or to the music.

Leadership-first is a philosophy based

on acquiring power. The words “power”

and “control” are usually considered syn-

onyms in a teacher’s vocabulary, and

used as the basis for determining whether

someone is successful. The servant lead-

ership philosophy is about focusing on

the needs of those we serve, empower-

ing them to do great things. When I

adopted a servant philosophy in my

teaching, I encountered less conflict,

more success, and a lot of joy. Odd as it

may sound, I also became a better lead-

er.

Sometimes, we can lose sight of the

fact that we are in a people business.

The loss of clarity comes with the de-

mands of performing, when our egos feel

threatened, or when the music becomes

the priority. Jim Collins, the author of

“Good to Great,” said, “What do … peo-

ple want more than anything else? To be

part of a winning team. When …people

see a simple plan developed from under-

standing – not bravado – they will say:

Count me in.”

Have you been struggling in your re-

hearsals recently? What lessons are your

singers trying to teach you? Are they say-

ing: “Count me in!” or “Make it rele-

vant?” Are their actions and reactions

telling you what they need?

What I know for sure is that servant

leadership is a great fit for me. I know

that I am more the teacher I have want-

ed to be. I know that my life is richer for it.

I know that I look forward to the chal-

lenges ahead, because with challenge

comes wisdom and strength. And finally, I

know that as I continue this teaching ca-

reer, my greatest lessons are yet to be

learned, and taught by the most unlikeli-

est teachers…my singers!

Melanie Popejoy


Community Choirs R&S Chair


Documents

The Chorister, Spring Issue 2016