Prescriptions for Choral Excellence

Prescriptions for Choral Excellence

Author: Shirlee Emmons

Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA

Published: 2006-01-07

Total Pages: 352

ISBN-13: 0198040237

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In shaping choral tone, directors often wish to improve the sound of their choir, but are challenged to pinpoint underlying problems or to guide singers toward solutions. Now, in Prescriptions for Choral Excellence, skilled vocal pedagogue Shirlee Emmons and leading choral director Constance Chase equip choral directors with the practical tools they need to help singers achieve peak choral performance. Drawing on years of experience, Emmons and Chase help choral directors and singers effectively diagnose and resolve problems. They cover topics ranging from breath management and diction to range and intonation, and much more. Beyond describing vocal difficulties, the book provides concrete instructions on how to apply the concepts in day-to-day rehearsal and performance. The numerous practical exercises and planning aides allow directors to maximize both time and talent to elicit the highest potential from their singers. While grounded in the most up-to-date research in voice science, the discussion of vocal anatomy and function is accessible to readers with no previous knowledge of voice science. Going beyond other vocal and choral guidebooks, the authors also apply the most current theories in leadership principles and group dynamics to choral settings, helping directors translate their natural musicality and charisma into inspiring and motivational leadership. A comprehensive and unique blend of practical expertise, voice science, and leadership psychology, Prescriptions for Choral Excellence is an invaluable guide for all choral directors seeking to create memorable and remarkable performances.


Prescriptions for Choral Excellence

Prescriptions for Choral Excellence

Author: Shirlee Emmons

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2006-02-02

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 019988465X

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In shaping choral tone, directors often wish to improve the sound of their choir, but are challenged to pinpoint underlying problems or to guide singers toward solutions. Now, in Prescriptions for Choral Excellence, skilled vocal pedagogue Shirlee Emmons and leading choral director Constance Chase equip choral directors with the practical tools they need to help singers achieve peak choral performance. Drawing on years of experience, Emmons and Chase help choral directors and singers effectively diagnose and resolve problems. They cover topics ranging from breath management and diction to range and intonation, and much more. Beyond describing vocal difficulties, the book provides concrete instructions on how to apply the concepts in day-to-day rehearsal and performance. The numerous practical exercises and planning aides allow directors to maximize both time and talent to elicit the highest potential from their singers. While grounded in the most up-to-date research in voice science, the discussion of vocal anatomy and function is accessible to readers with no previous knowledge of voice science. Going beyond other vocal and choral guidebooks, the authors also apply the most current theories in leadership principles and group dynamics to choral settings, helping directors translate their natural musicality and charisma into inspiring and motivational leadership. A comprehensive and unique blend of practical expertise, voice science, and leadership psychology, Prescriptions for Choral Excellence is an invaluable guide for all choral directors seeking to create memorable and remarkable performances.


Perspectives on Conducting

Perspectives on Conducting

Author: Róisín Blunnie

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2024-06-27

Total Pages: 248

ISBN-13: 1040045332

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Rooted in research and practice, Perspectives on Conducting presents a multi-faceted exploration of the role of the modern-day conductor. Seeking to bring a more inclusive approach to understanding conducting as a career, this book expands beyond elite pathways to highlight the contributions made by conductors across different areas of musical engagement, including youth projects, community groups, and professional ensembles. Chapters by an international roster of authors address the challenges conductors face in working with a wide range of ensembles, including orchestras and choirs made up of young people, university and conservatory students, adult volunteers, and professional musicians. The contributors draw on their experience and expertise as practising conductors and scholar-practitioners to explore both the core musical responsibilities and the additional administrative and social demands placed on today’s conductors. With topics including pathways to conducting careers, the creative role of the conductor in shaping new music, conducting mixed-ability ensembles, the experiences of women and queer conductors, and more, the perspectives collected here reflect the versatility required of the contemporary conductor, giving students and emerging professionals a forward-thinking view of the conductor’s role.


Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition

Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition

Author: Brenda Smith

Publisher: Plural Publishing

Published: 2013-05-15

Total Pages: 345

ISBN-13: 1597566063

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition, is the ideal text for voice teachers, choral conductors, church musicians, and professional and amateur singers who wish to develop strategies for lifelong singing. It concisely and clearly presents the principles of voice pedagogy from the perspective of both conducting and voice science in a user-friendly fashion, including helpful charts and simple anatomic diagrams. In addition, it offers teaching methods from history and philosophy, medical and voice science, and pedagogical concepts from active musical experts. Special attention is given to the needs of amateur singers and conductors. Topics covered include choral diction, posture and seating, rehearsal practices, and matters of vocal health. For the third edition, the authors have completely revised the text, updating the medical information and expanding the exercises. They have also added three new chapters: A chapter entitled "Singing in the 21st Century" that considers the vocal/choral demands of the choral repertoire being written in this century.A chapter on teaching young boys to sing written by Vic Oakes, the conductor of the Chattanooga Boys Choir.A chapter entitled "The Value of Lifelong Singing." With its updates and additions, Choral Pedagogy, Third Edition, is a valuable resource for students of choral conducting, music education, church music, and choral singing.


Camerata

Camerata

Author: Arthur Wenk

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2014-07-08

Total Pages: 181

ISBN-13: 1442235586

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Camerata: A Guide to Organizing and Directing Small Choruses distinguishes itself from all other works on choral conducting by starting at the very beginning—the conception and purpose of an ensemble—and continuing through all other aspects of rehearsing and organizing a chorus to performance and reception. Wenk offers basic information on getting started, recruiting singers, planning programs, rehearsing music, publicizing concerts, sharing responsibilities, financing the operation, knowing the law, and finally getting better. He also offers detailed suggestions for creating an executive group to manage the choir as well ideas for repertoire and programming. In addition to a step-by-step guide, Camerata provides a wealth of supplementary material including a prospectus, a statement of goals and means, programs, organizational documents, a singer’s guide, documents for organizing a folksong competition, a list of websites for publishers and choral federations, and an annotated bibliography of works on choral conducting. Wenk also includes more than twenty original Christmas carols and carol arrangements for performance by your small chorus. This work will be a valuable resource for anyone interested in starting a new choral organization or improving an existing ensemble. Although the book focuses on chamber choirs, Wenk’s practical suggestions, based on more than forty years of experience as a choral conductor, can be easily applied to any choral organization.


Becoming a Choral Music Teacher

Becoming a Choral Music Teacher

Author: Patrice Madura Ward-Steinman

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2010-04-26

Total Pages: 314

ISBN-13: 1135241449

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This textbook prepares Music Education and Choral Conducting majors to be effective middle school and high school choral music teachers. It fully integrates the choral field experience for hands-on learning and reflection and allows the student to observe and teach the book’s principles. It covers the essentials of vocal development, auditions, literature, rehearsals, classroom management, and practical matters.


Choral Music

Choral Music

Author: James Michael Floyd

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2019-05-23

Total Pages: 600

ISBN-13: 0429012632

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Choral Music: A Research and Information Guide, Third Edition, offers a comprehensive guide to the literature on choral music in the Western tradition. Clearly annotated bibliographic entries guide readers to resources on key topics within choral music, individual choral composers, regional and sacred choral traditions, choral techniques, choral music education, genre studies, and more, providing an essential reference for researchers and practitioners. Covering monographs, bibliographies, selected dissertations, reference works, journals, electronic databases, and websites, this research guide makes it easy to locate relevant sources. Comprehensive indices of authors, titles, and subjects keep the volume user-friendly. The new edition has been brought up to date with entries encompassing the latest scholarship, and updated references and annotations throughout, capturing the continued growth of literature on choral music since the publication of the second edition.


The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy

The Oxford Handbook of Choral Pedagogy

Author: Frank Abrahams

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Published: 2017

Total Pages: 569

ISBN-13: 0199373361

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Where, in the digitizing world, is the field of choral pedagogy moving? Editors Frank Abrahams and Paul D. Head, both experienced choral conductors and teachers, offer here a comprehensive handbook of newly-commissioned chapters that provide key scholarly-critical perspectives on teaching and learning in the field of choral music, written by academic scholars and researchers in tandem with active choral conductors.


A Spectrum of Voices

A Spectrum of Voices

Author: Elizabeth L. Blades

Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield

Published: 2017-12-15

Total Pages: 289

ISBN-13: 1538107015

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Since the publication of the first edition of A Spectrum of Voices there have been significant advances in voice studies. Prominent members of the new generation of voice teachers join their voices with now-canonized teachings. Asking questions about technology, pedagogy, and stylistic changes within the field, Elizabeth L. Blades brings the wisdom from the past and present to voice students at all levels. A Spectrum of Voices draws from the brilliance and combined experience of an elite group of exemplary voice teachers, presenting interviews from more than twenty-five notable teachers, six of them new to this second edition. Voice teachers offer valuable insight into their teaching philosophies, the types of auxiliary training they recommend to their students, and how they structure their lessons. This second edition also addresses significant technological advances of the past twenty years, especially the impact on vocal performance and pedagogy. A quick-and-handy reference for the studio teacher, this book also serves as a text for vocal pedagogy courses and as an essential supplement for physiology and vocal mechanics, teachers and students of singing, music educators, and musical theater performers.