Episode 128: The Strange Relationship between Choral Music Ed and Vocal Ped with Dr. Sharon Hansen

One of the oddest things about Vocal Music Education as a profession, is how little we are required to learn in our schooling about the voice. Vocal Pedagogy courses are often the purview of voice performance majors, which is very odd considering how many more students will be impacted with vocal instruction by a person with a Music Ed degree. It is also odd considering that in many schools, vocal instruction is a key component of our course descriptions. Despite this seemingly obvious academic connection, a startlingly low number of music educators have taken any Vocal Ped, very little Voice Science is presented at conventions, and myths and misinformation litter the landscape of discussions and instruction about how the voice works. Dr. Sharon Hansen joins me to discuss this issue candidly, as well as a recounting of her battle getting ACDA to include the “On the Voice” column in the Choral Journal. You will be amazed to hear some of the reasons she was given for NOT including Vocal information in a Choral journal. An important episode that no one should miss.

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Dr. Sharon A. Hansen is Professor and Director of Choral Studies, Emerita, at the University of Wisconsin—Milwaukee. Widely known as a conductor and master teacher throughout the United States and in Europe, Hansen has conducted the Romanian National Radio Choir (Bucharest), the Gächinger Kantorei and Bach Collegium-Stuttgart (Germany), the Stockholm (Sweden) Conservatory Chamber Choir, the Moldavian and Oltenian Philharmonic Choirs (Iasì and Craiova, Romania), and the University of Regensburg (Germany) Symphony Orchestra. Ensembles under Hansen’s direction have appeared at state, regional, and national ACDA and NAfME Conferences, and she has served as guest conductor and clinician with all-state, all-regional, and select honor choirs in more than forty states.

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Hansen is the Founder and Music Director Emerita of the Milwaukee Choral Artists, a professional women’s vocal ensemble that left a legacy of some fifty commissioned, premiered, and published new works for treble voices. Hansen authored Helmuth Rilling: Conductor – Teacher, the definitive book on renowned conductor Helmuth Rilling, when she spent sixteen months in Germany singing with Rilling and the Gächinger Chorale. As contributing author for the 2009 book Wisdom, Wit, and Will: Women Choral Conductors on their Art, Hansen’s detailed chapter on the status of collegiate women choral conductors, “Women, Conductors, and the Tenure Process: What’s Up in the Academy?”, was the first such in-depth examination since 1988. She served as a member of the Editorial Board of the American Choral Directors’ Association’s Choral Journal from 1993–2018, where she was Founder and Editor Emerita of the Choral Journal article series “On the Voice,” which she curated for eighteen years. Because of her long-time passion for voice and choral music, she examined the history of voice education in the choral classroom in ACDA’s first 50 years, which is Monograph #18 in ACDA’s monograph series.

Hansen received the Wisconsin Choral Directors Association’s Morris D. Hayes Award, the Milwaukee Civic Music Association’s Excellence in Choral Music Award, and the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra’s highest meritorious honors for outstanding contributions to the choral art. Prior to her twenty years in Wisconsin, Hansen was Professor of Choral Music at the University of Northern Iowa, and a vocal music teacher in the public schools near Omaha, Nebraska. Now calling Arizona her home, she recently served as lead writer on the Hal Leonard–McGraw-Hill choral textbook series Voices in Concert, and as full-time Interim Director of Music and Arts at Pinnacle Presbyterian Church in Scottsdale. Presently, she serves on the Board of Directors for the Arizona Chapter of the American Choral Directors’ Association, and is the Chorus Conductor for the Arizona Musicfest Symphony Orchestra.

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Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com

For More on This Topic

Episode 127: An Alternate Universe with Vaughan Fleischfresser

The Music Department is an alternate universe where pupils are often unrecognizable from who they are outside of it. The shy become confident. The agitated become calm. The lonely become included. The quiet become heard. And the lost become found. Music reveals the real child.

Vaughan Fleischfresser

You probably recognize this colleague just by looking at him due to his MASSIVE quantity of viral music education memes. I kept seeing them in my feed on a daily basis and have shared many myself. What I found intriguing was the talent he seems to have in the ability to distill ideas and present them in away that is both thorough AND concise. Ideas that the world NEEDS to hear about music education and its importance. In this episode, we learn about Vaughan, his professional life as an educator in the UK and Australia, and his approach to music education advocacy. You will NOT want to miss this conversation that is sure to have you excited about the future of music ed.

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Receive 10% Discount on your orders at http://www.graphitepublishing.com where you will find the works of Jocelyn Hagen, Eric Barnum, Timothy C. Takach,
Paul Rudoi and MANY more.
Visit stageright.com for top of the line, affordable staging options like risers, acoustical shells and more!
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com

Originally from Australia and now residing in Scotland, Vaughan has a broad range of teaching experience, ranging from Primary through to University level, Instrumental through to Community Music, and everywhere in between. Vaughan studied both Music and Education at the Queensland University of Technology in Brisbane (Australia), where he studied under Dr Ralph Hultgren. This was then followed by a Master of Music Education, majoring in Instrumental and Vocal Education, at VanderCook College of Music in Chicago (USA), where he studied under Dr Charles Menghini and Dr Robert Sinclair. He has worked extensively throughout Australia, Scotland, and North America, in positions such as Teacher of Music, Director of Bands, and Teaching Fellow of Music Education. Vaughan currently teaches music at the Edinburgh Academy in Scotland, having most recently been the Teaching Fellow of Music Education and the University of Edinburgh. In addition to this, he is the Conductor of the Peebles Concert Band and works extensively with Community Music groups throughout Scotland. Away from the classroom and podium, Vaughan is in demand as a clinician, adjudicator, composer, and educational speaker, having spoken at conferences in Scotland, England, South Africa, and Canada.

Episode 126: Expanding our Musical Vocabularies with Christopher Tin

Humans aren’t capable of completely original ideas. Everything is borrowed.

This week, meet international star composer, Christopher Tin. In the choral world, we met Christopher with his blockbuster Baba Yetu, and has not slowed down since. He recently completed a project with Voces8 called “Lost Birds,” and has exciting projects coming up. In this conversation, we discuss the process of creating music for video games, versus concert performance, as well as our ideas of “cultural identity” and the way we blend cultures when music travels around the globe and through time. Christopher has a very cohesive way of describing this and how it formed his own “musical culture.” Tune in and expand your vocabulary!

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Episode 126
Visit stageright.com for top of the line, affordable staging options like risers, acoustical shells and more!
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com

Christopher Tin is a two-time Grammy-winning composer of concert and media music. Time Magazine calls his music ‘rousing’ and ‘anthemic’, while The Guardian calls it ‘joyful’ and ‘an intelligent meeting of melody and theme’. His music has been performed and premiered in many of the world’s most prestigious venues: Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, Hollywood Bowl, the United Nations, and Carnegie Hall, where he had an entire concert devoted to his music. He has also been performed by ensembles diverse as the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, National Symphony Orchestra, Metropole Orkest, and US Air Force Band.

His song “Baba Yetu”, originally written for the video game Civilization IV, is a modern choral standard, and the first piece of music written for a video game ever to win a Grammy Award. His debut album, the multi-lingual song cycle Calling All Dawns, won him a second Grammy in 2011 for Best Classical Crossover Album, and his follow-up release The Drop That Contained the Sea debuted at #1 on Billboard’s classical charts, and premiered to a sold-out audience at Carnegie Hall’s Stern Auditorium. His third album To Shiver the Sky also debuted at #1, and was funded by a record-breaking Kickstarter campaign that raised $221,415, smashing all previous classical music crowdfunding records. His fourth album, The Lost Birds, is a collaboration with acclaimed British vocal ensemble VOCES8, and will be released September 2022 on Decca Classics.

Tin is signed to an exclusive record deal with Universal under their legendary Decca label, published by Concord and Boosey & Hawkes, and is a Yamaha artist. He works out of his own custom-built studio in Santa Monica, CA.

Episode 125: Making the Case for Choir with Tom Metzger

Advocacy Episode!

Our jobs as music educators, sadly, MUST include the ability to persuasively and passionately make the case in our communities that group singing opportunities are crucial. That includes keeping choirs in our churches and in our schools and community organizations. It includes having conversations with local leaders, fundraising and more. But, what makes or breaks those conversations is OUR ability to make that case air tight. Tom Metzger joins me to brainstorm and think through what happens in society when we have LESS people singing, and how we can explain it to people in more effective ways. Tom draws on his perspective as a computer scientist and choral singing enthusiast who works with choral organizations behind the scenes with the “business” side of choir. Tune in for this conversation, and TOOL UP for the Advocacy fight, because it never ends.

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Episode 125
Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com
Visit stageright.com for top of the line, affordable staging options like risers, acoustical shells and more!
Receive 10% Discount on your orders at http://www.graphitepublishing.com where you will find the works of Jocelyn Hagen, Eric Barnum, Timothy C. Takach,
Paul Rudoi and MANY more.

Episode 124: Teaching in a Famous Classroom with Myles Finn

So, what happens when you post a video on the internet from inside your classroom and it goes viral with millions and millions of views?! It’s up to you! This happened Myles Finn and he decided to use his powers for good, creating a TikTok account with approaching SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND followers that shows life inside a high school choir room as well as a treasure trove of great instructional ideas for those of us in the profession. But, perhaps the most valuable thing is the fact that thousands of people outside of our choir bubble are being exposed to our world. This is “advocacy” in the 21st Century in its purest form. Tune in as Myles and I talk about his instructional philosophy, his warm ups, teacher burnout, and how the internet fame has changed the dynamics in his classroom.

Myles is in his fifth year as choral director at Indianola High School, in Indianola, Iowa. He is the director of The Indianola Singers, The Apollo Chorus, and Cantare. He also co-directs Indianola’s Varsity Show Choir, Side One and directs the JV Show Choir, Flip Side. He and his wife are the directors of musicals at Indianola High School.

He is most known for his TikTok videos going Viral at the start of the 2022 school year. Amassing over 120 Million views in total, his videos have seemed to spark a love for choral music, musical theatre, and goofy choir teachers.

Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com

Myles received his Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and his Bachelor’s from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. He directly relates his success within his classroom with his work at Michigan State, his work with Dr. Lee Nelson at Wartburg College, and his passionate high school choir director, Duane Philgreen.

Visit stageright.com for top of the line, affordable staging options like risers, acoustical shells and more!

Myles is a loving father and husband. He and his wife, choreographer and school counselor Haley (Rudd) Finn live in Indianola and they are proud parents to a beautiful son, Rory Lee Allen Finn. They also have three fur children, Nala, Watson, and Arlo. Follow Arlo on Instagram @arlo_seamus.

Receive 10% Discount on your orders at http://www.graphitepublishing.com where you will find the works of Jocelyn Hagen, Eric Barnum, Timothy C. Takach,
Paul Rudoi and MANY more.

Find Mr. Finn on TikTok

Find Mr. Finn on Insta

https://dts.podtrac.com/redirect.mp3/choralosophy.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/11/Ep-124.mp3
Episode 124

Episode 124: Teaching in a Famous Classroom with Myles Finn

So, what happens when you post a video on the internet from inside your classroom and it goes viral with millions and millions of views?! It’s up to you! This happened Myles Finn and he decided to use his powers for good, creating a TikTok account with approaching SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND followers that shows life inside a high school choir room as well as a treasure trove of great instructional ideas for those of us in the profession. But, perhaps the most valuable thing is the fact that thousands of people outside of our choir bubble are being exposed to our world. This is “advocacy” in the 21st Century in its purest form. Tune in as Myles and I talk about his instructional philosophy, his warm ups, teacher burnout, and how the internet fame has changed the dynamics in his classroom.

Myles is in his fifth year as choral director at Indianola High School, in Indianola, Iowa. He is the director of The Indianola Singers, The Apollo Chorus, and Cantare. He also co-directs Indianola’s Varsity Show Choir, Side One and directs the JV Show Choir, Flip Side. He and his wife are the directors of musicals at Indianola High School.

He is most known for his TikTok videos going Viral at the start of the 2022 school year. Amassing over 120 Million views in total, his videos have seemed to spark a love for choral music, musical theatre, and goofy choir teachers.

Enter Choralosophy at Checkout for a 5% discount when you shop for folders, robes and other gear for your choir program! www.mymusicfolders.com and www.mychoirrobes.com

Myles received his Master’s Degree in Choral Conducting from Michigan State University, and his Bachelor’s from Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa. He directly relates his success within his classroom with his work at Michigan State, his work with Dr. Lee Nelson at Wartburg College, and his passionate high school choir director, Duane Philgreen.

Visit stageright.com for top of the line, affordable staging options like risers, acoustical shells and more!

Myles is a loving father and husband. He and his wife, choreographer and school counselor Haley (Rudd) Finn live in Indianola and they are proud parents to a beautiful son, Rory Lee Allen Finn. They also have three fur children, Nala, Watson, and Arlo. Follow Arlo on Instagram @arlo_seamus.

Receive 10% Discount on your orders at http://www.graphitepublishing.com where you will find the works of Jocelyn Hagen, Eric Barnum, Timothy C. Takach,
Paul Rudoi and MANY more.

Find Mr. Finn on TikTok

Find Mr. Finn on Insta

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Episode 124
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