Don’t you love it when everything about a performance, and it’s preparation is completely perfect?! Well, it must be nice for you… I am pretty sure this does not exist. But, we can pretend with this new epic poem, “The Perfect Choir.”
Top 10 and the Perfect Choir!
In this episode, we reflect on the year 2025 and its most critical conversations. The episode recaps the top 10 episodes of the year, highlighting audience engagement and the evolution of the the Choralosophy name into a multimedia platform. Key themes include the importance of setting expectations in choir, the value of behind-the-scenes insights, philosophical debates in music education, and the challenges faced by educators. The host emphasizes the need for intentional teaching practices and the significance of understanding vocal pedagogy.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Top Choralosophy Episodes of 2025 by Chris Munce
“The Conversation of Record” in music education is happening here. Subscribe for free and never miss out on the discussions. The show is on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, YouTube or ANY podcast player!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook
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
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
“Education’s Race to the Bottom of the Brainstem,” episode 264 generated a lot of discussion. But, none more productive than this one. This week’s guest did it right. She listened, and let me know that more needs to be said on this. “Can I chime in?” Enter, Dr. Clelyn Chapin
Dr. Chapin, a professor at University of Northern Colorado and I discuss the evolving landscape of education, particularly in music education. We explore the challenges teachers face in engaging students, the impact of technology on learning, and the importance of authenticity in teaching. The discussion also delves into the role of risk tolerance in student participation, the significance of meeting students where they are, (what that means, and what it does NOT mean) and the concept of gamification as a tool for enhancing learning experiences. Throughout the conversation, we both emphasize the need for teachers to adapt their methods to better connect with students and foster a positive learning environment. We take the first volley of the conversation from a previous episode and move the ball forward. Be sure to go back and catch that one if you missed it.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
Dr. Clelyn Chapin serves as the Associate Director of Choirs at University of Northern Colorado where she leads choral ensembles and teaches courses in choral music education. As a frequent presenter and clinician, Clelyn focuses on non-hierarchical rehearsal practices and making individual vocal technique accessible and efficient in the choral rehearsal. Her scholarly work centers on creating collaborative rehearsal spaces and amplifying the work of women composers. You can read her contributions in the recently published Choral Literature of Women Composers or listen to her performances with mirabai, a professional treble choir conducted by Sandra Snow, on Spotify.
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
In addition to her work in schools, Clelyn is committed to expanding arts access for the community. In 2024, Clelyn was recognized with the Colorado Business Committee for the Arts (CBCA) Next Wave Leadership Award for her work with the Denver Women’s Chorus that she conducted from 2021-2025. Under her leadership, the chorus expanded from 70 to 180 active singers becoming the largest treble ensemble in the country and partnered with many nonprofits to amplify the voices of organizations that promote mental health, housing access, and care for the environment. She now conducts the Greeley Chorale in its 61st season.
Before joining the faculty at UNC, Clelyn spent 14 years teaching and conducting secondary, collegiate, and community ensembles in Texas, Colorado, and Michigan. During that time, her choirs were invited to perform at state conferences, and she developed a reputation for her engaging and inclusive approach to choral rehearsal. She completed her Doctor of Musical Arts in Choral Conducting at Michigan State University, studying under Dr. David Rayl and Dr. Sandra Snow, and holds a Master of Music Education from the University of Northern Colorado. When she’s not conducting, she enjoys hiking, reading with her cat, and beating her husband at pickleball.
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
The Choral Music Art form, AND the economics of the art form are changing. That makes some people uncomfortable. But, others, like Jocelyn and Tim are driving their fair share of that innovation.
Jocelyn Hagan and Tim Takach, co-owners of Graphite Publishing, discuss their journey in the choral music industry, the evolution of their publishing company, and the challenges and joys of collaborating as spouses. They explore the impact of digital sheet music, the balance between traditional and contemporary music, and the importance of new compositions in education. The duo shares insights into their creative process, particularly in the creation of their new work ‘Rose Ever Blooming,’ and their experiences recording with the renowned ensemble Voces8. Throughout the discussion, they emphasize the significance of innovation in choral music while respecting its rich traditions.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
Sign up for an annual membership and save over $50 by entering Choralosophy at checkout! Save 15% on monthly or annual subscriptions.
Jocelyn Hagen composes music that has been described as “simply magical” (Fanfare Magazine) and “dramatic and deeply moving” (Star Tribune, Minneapolis/St. Paul). She is a pioneer in the field of composition, pushing the expectations of musicians and audiences with large-scale multimedia works, electro-acoustic music, dance, and opera. Her melodic music is rhythmically driven and texturally complex, rich in color and deeply heartfelt. A champion of the female spirit, many of her projects focus on the stories of women. She is a co-founder of Graphite Publishing and the band Nation, singing her heart out every chance she gets.
Inspired by narrative, magical realism, speculative fiction and making better humans through art, the music of Timothy C. Takach is a mainstay in the concert world. Applauded for his melodic lines, text choices and rich, intriguing harmonies, his compositions are performed worldwide. He is a co-founder of Cantus, Graphite Publishing and Nation, and he is a co-creator of the theatrical production All is Calm: the Christmas Truce of 1914. Takach has frequent work as a composer-in-residence, presenter, conductor, clinician and lecturer
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
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
Possibly the most important philosophical divide in music education, and we rarely discuss it outside of echo chambers. A deep dive into the claim that Classical Music is “hegemonic” or dominant.
Ep 265
Some music academics operate as if “classical music” sits at the center of cultural power, imposing itself on everyone else in an oppressive way that snuffs out other ways of making music and acquiring musical knowledge. This idea is ubiquitous in music education scholarship, literature and online discourse. But, when we dig in just a bit to this idea, we find a plethora of shifty definitions of “hegemony” and even of “Classical Music itself.
When you zoom out from the music buildings and campuses many of us inhabit, and look at the musical world people actually live in, the claim of “hegemony” collapses instantly.
What the data actually shows is something far less dramatic and far more important:
Classical music is not dominant. It is fragile. It survives only because institutions choose to preserve it.
That is not cultural hegemony. That is crucial stewardship.
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
www.sightreadingfactory.com is the best literacy tool on the market today. Enter Choralosophy at checkout to get 10% off memberships for you AND your students!
Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook
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
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
