‘If we see that this is a beneficial thing for our kids, then that’s my burden of responsibility as a parent to make sure that my kids are doing that regardless of the amount of whining or complaining to the contrary.”
In this conversation, Marianne Forman shares her journey as a composer and musician, discussing her early musical experiences, the importance of parental support in music education, and the challenges of balancing family life with a career in composition. She emphasizes the significance of accessibility in music, particularly for young singers, and reflects on her recent contributions to choral music publications. The discussion also touches on the representation of women in music composition and the support systems that help navigate these challenges!
“Nobody regrets that. How many people have you met who studied music briefly and as children and then gave it up and their parents let them give it up. And now what do they say? Every single one of them says, I wish I’d stuck with it.”
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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.
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
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RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
“Everything in my music journey was my own drive… I actually love this.” Shruthi’s story of “falling in love at first sight” will inspire you.
In this edition of the Oxford Series we explore the vibrant fusion of Carnatic and Western classical music through the eyes of a composer who crafts her identity into every note. Shruthi Rajasekar shares her journey of improvisation and cultural expression, and inviting you to experience music as a living, breathing art form. Shruthi was a wonderful conversation partner, and had some very interesting insights to share about her creative process. She even flipped around and asked me questions on occasion!
We also discuss the importance of cultural identity in music in general, the role of “the tonic” in Carnatic music, and the intersections of different musical styles. Shruthi emphasizes the collaborative nature of music-making and the significance of community in choral settings. She also reflects on the influence of literature on her work and the balance between personal and political themes in her music.
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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.
Named a composer “who will enrich your life” by The Guardian, Shruthi Rajasekar, ARNCM (b. 1996) is an Indian-American musician whose work highlights identity, community, and joy.
Shruthi is a 2025 ACF McKnight Composer Fellow with the American Composers Forum, a fellowship given to “outstanding mid-career artists.” She was made an Associate of the Royal Northern College of Music (ARNCM) “in recognition of exceptional contributions made to the music profession” and was awarded a 2023-2025 Jerome Hill Artist Fellowship for “taking creative risks.” Shruthi’s compositions have won numerous honors, including the KHORIKOS ORTUS International Award, the Composers Guild of New Jersey Award, and the Global Women in Music Award from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights & Donne in Musica Adkins Chiti Foundation. BBC Music Magazine named Shruthi a 2020 Rising Star. Performed in North America, Europe, and Asia in venues such as the Royal Albert Hall (London, UK), the Cannes Film Festival (France), the National Centre for Performing Arts (Mumbai, India), and Victoria Hall (Singapore), Shruthi’s music has additionally reached thousands of listeners across the world on BBC Radio 3 & 4, Spotify’s Official Classical Releases, Minnesota Public Radio, 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
Shruthi’s diverse output reflects her diasporic South Asian identity, her dual performance background in Carnatic (South Indian classical) and Western classical musics, and her belief in the importance of communal gathering and civic engagement. Recent projects include Sarojini (a large choral-orchestral and Indian ensemble composition about the Indian Independence Movement) and Whose Names Are Unknown (a choral-instrumental climate action and workers’ rights piece), the multimedia work Parivaar commissioned by the Schubert Club, new vocal pieces for VOCES8, The Gesualdo Six, ORA Singers, Seattle Pro Musica, and Yale University’s Institute of Sacred Music, and large ensemble, chamber, and solo instrumental works such as To ask is to listen, a new cross-genre composition commissioned by Wigmore Hall for Abel Selaocoe & the Hermes Experiment. In addition to working with today’s leading musicians, Shruthi is passionate about composing for early performers and has created multiple educational pieces for ABRSM. Shruthi’s work has been recorded by the BBC Singers, the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain, Maithree, Corvus Consort, Somerville College (University of Oxford), and Queens College (University of Cambridge), among others. In November 2021, her music was performed at the United Nations COP26. Shruthi has been an artist-in-residence at Britten Pears Arts (Snape, UK), Tusen Takk Foundation (Michigan, USA), and the Anderson Center (Minnesota, USA).
An award-winning Carnatic and Western classical vocalist, Shruthi is equally adept in traditional and experimental settings. She has performed at Kampenjazz (Oslo, Norway), Snape Maltings (Aldeburgh, UK), Kommune (Sheffield, UK), Source Song Festival (Minneapolis, USA), and Margazhi Ethnic New Year (Chennai, India), among other venues around the world. Her performance gurus and teachers have been her mother, the internationally renowned musician Vid. Nirmala Rajasekar, and Dr. Rochelle Ellis (Westminster Choir College), Jerry Elsbernd, and Patricia Rozario, OBE (Royal College of Music, UK). She received additional guidance in Carnatic music and musicology from the late vocal exponent Shri B. Seetarama Sarma and veteran scholar Dr. B.M. Sundaram. Honors during her studies include “Best On-Stage Presentation” at the national Carnatic Music Idol USA: Season 3 and first place at the Minnesota-NATS Competition.
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
Shruthi has been a guest presenter and/or composer-in-residence at the University of South Carolina, Reed College, Ahmedabad University, Westminster Choir College, University of Western Ontario, St. Olaf College, University of Minnesota, and more. Shruthi is an Honorary Music Patron of Hertfordshire Chorus and serves on the board of directors for the international artist center Anderson Center and for new music chamber ensemble Zeitgeist. She completed her Marshall Scholarship in the United Kingdom at SOAS, University of London (M.Mus. Ethnomusicology, Supervisors: Richard Widdess and Richard Williams) and the Royal Northern College of Music (M.Mus. Composition, Teachers: Adam Gorb and Laura Bowler). Shruthi graduated with the Edward T. Cone Prize from Princeton University, where she received composition instruction from Donnacha Dennehy, Barbara White, Andrew Lovett, Dan Trueman, and Juri Seo.
For those of us who have been in the classroom since 2019, we KNOW things of changed. Programs are shrinking and kids are coming to us with lost years of experience and the skills that go with it. So, what do we do about it?
Welcome to the return after almost a whole year of the Oxford Choral Series on the Choralosophy podcast. Special thanks and good luck to Maggie Pate for setting up the series with me, and thanks Jeremy Edelstein for helping us get it back up and running.
In this conversation, Dr. Coleman shares his journey as a passionate choral educator, who has “found his calling from God.” We discuss the impact of COVID on music and general education, the importance of accessible repertoire, and my inspiration for wanting to this episode. His recent session at National ACDA where he presented a spiral bound SOLUTION to many of my repertoire problems. And I know it will be the same for you.
He emphasizes the need for music that empowers students and fosters a sense of community within the choir. Edryn reflects on his teaching philosophy, the challenges faced by students, and the collaborative effort behind the book, “Accessible and Beautiful” which aims to provide resources that enhance the choral experience for all. Central to this need is the marriage of QUALITY repertoire with accessibility. For older students it just be “easy.”
🎧 Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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. Edryn J. Coleman currently teaches choir and piano at Oakland Mills High School in Columbia, MD. He has taught music at all levels: elementary, middle, collegiate and now high school. Each one of those experiences has shaped his personal commitment to music education for every students at every level.
Dr. Coleman is a very active guest conductor, adjudicator, and lecturer. His choirs have performed for both state and national conferences. The most recent honor, being selected as one of the ensembles to present an Insight Session at the 2023 American Choral DirectorsAssociation National Conference. Outside of the classroom, Dr. Coleman has extensive experience in leadership. He is currently the Membership Chair for the Eastern Region of the American Choral Directors Association; and the Immediate-Past President of the Maryland Choral Educators Association.
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
Dr. Coleman holds a BA in Music from Stillman College an MME from Florida State University, and a DMA from the Shenandoah Conservatory of Music at Shenandoah University. He is always eager to share his musical teaching experiences. His classroom teaching motto is “Teachers need students like pencils need erasers. I may be the final point, but I’m not always right.”
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
When I work with emerging composers trying to get noticed, I ask them “What are you trying to be noticed FOR?”- Libby Larsen. Could the social media environment incentivize non-musical answers to this question?
In this episode, I have the pleasure of speaking with the remarkable composer Libby Larsen about her journey into the world of music. We discuss the importance of viewing music education as a language-based approach, where understanding the “language” of music is just as critical as performance. Libby and I also explore the relationship between composition and performance, emphasizing the role of performers in bringing a composer’s work to life and the contemporary challenges that composers face in today’s music industry.
Our conversation extends to the impact of social media on artistic promotion and the pressure on composers to establish a personal brand based on identity categories at the expense of the focus on the music itself. Libby shares valuable insights from her own career, including her notable works for Oxford and some other publishers. We delve into the creation of meaningful art, the challenges of getting noticed in the industry, and the significance of staying true to one’s passion in the face of external pressures.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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
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.
Libby Larsen, born December 24, 1950 in Wilmington, Delaware, is one of America’s most performed living composers.
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
She has created a catalogue of over 500 works spanning virtually every genre from intimate vocal and chamber music to massive orchestral works and over 15 operas. Grammy award-winning and widely recorded, including over 50 CDs of her work, she is constantly sought after for commissions and premieres by major artists, ensembles, and orchestras around the world, and has established a permanent place for her works in the concert repertory.
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As a vigorous, articulate advocate for the music and musicians of our time, in 1973 Larsen co-founded the Minnesota Composers Forum, now the American Composer’s Forum, which has become an invaluable aid for composers in a transitional time for American arts. A former holder of the Papamarkou Chair at John W. Kluge Center of the Library of Congress, Larsen has also held residencies with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Charlotte Symphony, and the Colorado Symphony.
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
Standard music notation that is now used ubiquitously around the world does some things really well. But it also has limitation. Katerina Gimon is a composer who is actively working to dream up new ways to use notation to communicate sound ideas to musicians that expand our written music vocabulary.
Katerina first exploded onto the choral scene in 2019 in a burst of flame so to speak. Her piece “Fire” from the song cycle entitled “Elements” was performed by the Vancouver Youth Choir at ACDA that year. I was in the room. The piece, and the performance from the group pinned me to the back of my chair. When it was over, I wasn’t sure how to describe what I had just heard. For the rest of 2019, the piece exploded, being performed by choirs everywhere. And then, a year later, the choir world closed for business during the pandemic.
Katerina joins me in this Oxford Series episode to discuss the very strange trajectory that resulted for the start of her career. Typically, if a composer has a big, high profile success, it is immediately followed up by more opportunities to create. But, in many ways that moment was frozen in time for her. We discuss the fear of being a “one hit wonder,” as well as her path toward a more wholistic fulfilling career as a full time composer with a rich catalogue. The varying soundscapes she creates is remarkable!
We also banter about “Western Music” notation, and how it can and should evolve through innovation, and expanding use of symbol and sound palettes that were not available to musicians with notation in previous generations.
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com.
For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!
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!
Composer, improviser, and vocalist Katerina Gimon‘s uniquely dynamic, poignant, and eclectic compositional style has earned her a reputation as a distinct voice in contemporary Canadian composition and beyond. Her music has been described as “sheer radiance” (Campbell River Mirror), “imbued…with human emotion” (San Diego Story), and capable of taking listeners on a “fascinating journey of textural discovery” (Ludwig Van), earning her several honours including multiple SOCAN Awards (2022, 2021, 2016), nominations for Western Canadian Composer of the Year (2023, 2021), and a Barbara Pentland Award for Outstanding Composition (2022).
In her music, Katerina draws influence from a myriad of places — from the Ukrainian folk music of her heritage to indie rock, as well as from her roots as a songwriter. Her compositions are performed widely across Canada, the United States, and internationally, with notable performances at Carnegie Hall, Berliner Philharmonie, and the Hong Kong Cultural Centre. Recent commissions include new music for the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, Vancouver Youth Choir, National Youth Orchestra of Canada, and re:Naissance Opera. Katerina is the composer-in-residence for Myriad Ensemble and is based in Metro Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada*.
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 composing work, Katerina is also a founding member (vocalist, electronics, co-composer) of dynamic new music and AR/VR collective Chroma Mixed Media
alongside multi-media artists David Storen and Brian Topp. Excited by the ever-evolving landscape of technology in today’s society, Chroma endeavours to explore new avenues and intersections for artistic expression by combining various art forms and new technologies to explore new possibilities and challenge audience expectations.
Katerina holds a Master of Music in Composition from the University of British Columbia (’17) and an Honours Bachelor of Music degree in Composition and Improvisation from Wilfrid Laurier University (’15). When she isn’t making music, Katerina enjoys playing board games, puzzling, adventuring outdoors, and relaxing with her partner and their two cats.
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
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.
In this special Oxford Series episode, I catch Dr. Zanaida Robles for a conversation about her philosophy as a composer, as well as the way all of her musical and personal identities mingle to create a context for her music making. We discuss the compositional process, including the philosophy she holds related to the “end product” for singers. Namely, the importance of the singers exploring their own communities and connections WHILE also exploring the music. We also bounce ideas back and forth related to composers having to be careful about “over refining” a composition, as well as the music world’s attempt to balance goals of equity with the human need for each composer to be valued based on their OWN music and individual expression. You won’t want to miss this conversation!
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Dr. Zanaida Stewart Robles is an award-winning Black American female composer, vocalist, and teacher. She is a fierce advocate for diversity and inclusion in music education and performance. Authentic interpersonal connection and relationship-building are core principles of her teaching and performance methods. Born, raised, and educated in Southern California on the unceeded lands of the Gabrielino-Tongva people, she is in demand as a composer, vocalist, clinician and adjudicator for competitions, festivals, and conferences related to choral and solo vocal music.
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
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.
This week, welcome BACK to the show Dr. Marques Garrett, who last appeared in episode 17, “Beyond Elijah Rock,” where many of us were introduced to the concept of “non-idiomatic” music of Black composers. In this episode, part of the “Oxford Series,” Marques returns to celebrate his latest contribution to the growing canon of music by Black composers from around the world. Just last week, Oxford Press published his Anthology, “The Oxford Book of Choral Music by Black Composers.” Tune in to hear us pick up where that conversation left off by discussing the importance of a term like “non-idiomatic” in teaching people that Black musicians cannot be accurate boxed in to genres like spirituals, jazz and gospel.
In addition to discussing the genesis of this project and its contents, we also have a candid conversation LIVE in my home studio about the state of progress in incorporating music of non-white composers into the expanded canon, the danger of possible overcorrection that comes from our continued struggle with terminology that conflates concepts of race with culture, language and nationality, and the growing and profound legacy in choral music of HBCU alumni and much more. Don’t miss it. Video recommended!
A Virginia native, Marques L. A. Garrett is an Assistant Professor of Music in Choral Activities at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in the Glenn Korff School of Music. His responsibilities include conducting the auditioned Chamber Singers and non-auditioned University Chorale (soprano-alto) as well as teaching graduate choral literature. Before earning his PhD in Music Education (Choral Conducting) at Florida State University, he was the Director of Choral Activities at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania. Additionally, he holds an MM from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and a BA from Hampton University.
An active conductor, Dr. Garrett is the artistic director of the Omaha Symphonic Chorus and founding conductor of the Nebraska Festival Singers. He serves as a guest conductor or clinician with school, church, community, and festival/honor choirs throughout the country. In addition to his conducting classes at UNL, he leads conducting workshops at other universities and conferences. His formal conducting studies were with Dr. André J. Thomas, Dr. Carole J. Ott, Dr. Carl G. Harris, Jr., and Mr. Royzell Dillard.
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!
A versatile voice that performs both as a baritone and countertenor, Dr. Garrett has sung with several community, church, and university groups as both a chorister and soloist. He was the baritone soloist for the Germantown Concert Chorus’s performance of Haydn’s Missa in Angustiis. His premiere as a countertenor in Dan Forrest’s Jubilate Deo served as the work’s European premiere in Limerick, Ireland. Additionally, he performed the role of Lil Lud in Bernstein’s White House Cantata with the Tallahassee Community Chorus. Currently, he sings with First-Plymouth Congregational Church, Festival Singers of Florida, and the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers.
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Dr. Garrett is an avid composer of choral and solo-vocal music whose compositions have been performed to acclaim by high school all-state, collegiate, and professional choirs including Seraphic Fire and the Oakwood University Aeolians. His music is available through more than ten publishers. He has been commissioned by organizations such as Harvard University and Westminster Choir College. Among his latest commissions is his largest work to date, Dreamland: Tulsa 1921. This collaborative work with librettist Sandra Seaton for tenor-bass chorus, soloists, and chamber orchestra was commissioned by the Turtle Creek Chorale to tell the story of the Greenwood district of Tulsa, Oklahoma.
As a researcher, his most advantageous topic is the non-idiomatic choral music of Black composers. His lectures at state and regional conferences of the American Choral Directors Association and at other local and national venues afford him the opportunity to showcase this underrepresented area of music. He serves as co-editor of the “Out from the Shadows” Series with Gentry Publications.
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
Dr. Garrett holds membership in the American Choral Directors Association; American Society of Composers, Authors, and Publishers; National Association of Negro Musicians; National Collegiate Choral Organization; and Pi Kappa Lambda. For more information, visit http://www.mlagmusic.com.
In this episode I have a chat with GRAMMY nominated conductor and composer, Benedict Sheehan of the St. Tikhon Monastery Choir. This passionate conversation begins with Benedict’s advocacy for people, like himself, who stutter. As you will hear, it is important that we remember that EVERYONE has something to say. We need only listen. We then discuss the ways the GRAMMY nominations changed his routine, his love of the Orthodox Church music tradition and how it has shaped his sound aesthetic. Finally, we approach the concept of the “composer’s voice,” and the importance of a frame of reference from which to approach the music. Tune in to hear these items and more discussed on the Choralosophy Oxford series!
Two-time GRAMMY® nominee and American Prize-winner Benedict Sheehan has been called “a choral conductor and composer to watch in the 21st century” (ConcertoNet) and “a remarkable musician” (Choral Journal). He is Artistic Director and Founder of the Saint Tikhon Choir and Artefact Ensemble, and Director of Music at St. Tikhon’s Monastery and Seminary in Pennsylvania. His works are published by Oxford University Press and others, and his award-winning choral recordings and performances have received widespread critical acclaim.
Described as “an up-and-coming conductor” (The Oregonian), “a rising star in the choral world” (Catholic Sentinel), and as having “set the bar for Orthodox liturgical music in the English-speaking world” (Orthodox Arts Journal), composer and conductor Benedict Sheehan is Director of Music at St. Tikhon’s Seminary and Monastery in Pennsylvania, Artistic Director of professional vocal ensemble The Saint Tikhon Choir, and CEO and co-founder of the Artefact Institute, a collective of “culture creators.” Working closely with his wife Talia Maria Sheehan, a professional vocalist and visionary music educator, the Sheehans have become two of the most sought-after clinicians in Orthodox sacred music in America. Benedict has appeared frequently as a guest conductor with the professional vocal ensemble Cappella Romana, where his performances of Rachmaninoff’s All-Night Vigil had one reviewer so “emotionally overwhelmed” that she was “attempting to hold back tears” (Oregon ArtsWatch). In 2018 he was instrumental in producing the monumental world premiere of Alexander Kastalsky’s Requiem for Fallen Brothers (1917) at the Washington National Cathedral. The project culminated in a 2020 Naxos recording on which Sheehan served as a Chorus Master and an Executive Producer. Benedict is in high demand as a composer. His works have been performed by the Grammy-nominated Skylark Vocal Ensemble, the Grammy-nominated PaTRAM Institute Singers, Cappella Romana, the William Jewell Choral Scholars, Te Deum, the Pacific Youth Choir, and many others. His new work Gabriel’s Message was recorded and released in 2020 by John Rutter, Bob Chilcott, and The Oxford Choir. Skylark’s recent recording Once Upon A Time (2020) features a “story score” by Benedict which has been called “evocative” (Gramophone), “quite extraordinary” (Limelight), “brilliant” (MetroWest Daily News), and “otherworldly” (Boston Musical Intelligencer). His music is published by Oxford University Press, Artefact Publications, Musica Russica, MusicSpoke, and St. Tikhon’s Monastery Press. Benedict lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and seven daughters.
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.
One of the most challenging aspects of being a teacher of singing is dealing with the male changing voice. Not only are we undereducated on the physiology of the issue, we are often inconsiderate of the psychology as well. In this conversation, I have called in a true expert to help us parse this out. Professor Martin Ashley is the editor-in-chief of the research journal of the Association of British Choral Directors, and has done EXTENSIVE peer reviewed work on not only the male changing voice during puberty and at all stages, but also the issue of the struggle to keep boys singing. Join us as we discuss an overview of the body and mind of the adolescent male singer, the issues that face choir directors in teaching during the change and much more.
Martin Ashley is currently editor-in-chief of the research journal of the Association of British Choral Directors, having retired as Head of Education Research at Edge Hill University in 2013. Trained as a middle school music teacher, he worked in a variety of school settings before moving to the University of the West of England, gaining a post-doctoral fellowship for musical learning and boys’ understanding of voice. An AHRC funded collaboration with the National Youth Choirs of Great Britain and University of York resulted in significant outputs on “cambiata” and the adolescent male voice. He has published widely on singing during early adolescence, working with a paediatric specialist on the timing of puberty and voice change. He has published work on historical trends in puberty, Tudor pitch and the sixteenth century mean voice. His most recently published book was Singing in the Lower Secondary School for OUP and his forthcoming book is Dead Composers and Living Boys. In response to the covid pandemic, he assembled a small team of virologists and public health professionals to produce a rapid response review for ABCD and a smartphone app to monitor risk mitigation in choral singing, for which he received the Sir Charles Grove prize for outstanding contribution to the musical life of the country.
In the next edition of the Oxford Series, I am excited to bring you a new voice in their catalog, Brittney E. Boykin. I had an open and refreshing conversation with her about her journey through the choral world as a conductor, teacher and then composer. Navigating life in the choral world as a Black Woman, cultural sharing vs. appropriation, the sea-change that was 2020, work-life balance and more. “When I think of diversity within the classical music world, there is diversity within sound, within ensembles, within colors.” – BE Boykin
B.E. (Brittney Elizabeth) Boykin is a native of Alexandria, Virginia and comes from a musical family. At the age of 7, she began piano lessons and continued her studies through high school under the tutelage of Mrs. Alma Sanford. Mrs. Sanford guided her through various competitions, such as the NAACP’s ACT-SO competition where she garnered 1st place for 3 consecutive years in the local competition, as well as being awarded The Washington Post “Music and Dance Award” in the spring of 2007.”
Boykin then pursued her classical piano studies at Spelman College under the leadership of Dr. Rachel Chung. After graduating Spelman College in 2011 with a B.A. in Music, Boykin continued her studies at Westminster Choir College of Rider University in Princeton, New Jersey. During her time at Westminster, she was awarded the R and R Young Composition Prize just a few months shy of graduating with her M.M. in Sacred Music with a concentration in choral studies in May, 2013.
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
Boykin’s choral piece, “We Sing as One,” was commissioned to celebrate Spelman College’s 133rd Anniversary of its founding at the 2014 Founders Day Convocation. She has also been featured as the conductor/composer-in-residence for the 2017 Harry T. Burleigh Commemorative Spiritual Festival at Tennessee State University. Boykin has been commissioned and collaborated with several organizations, including a number of ACDA divisions, the Minnesota Opera and the Kennedy Center. She obtained her PhD from Georgia State University with an emphasis in Music Education and is currently an Assistant Professor of Music at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
It can be so tempting for ensemble music directors to fall into a kind of tunnel vision where all roads lead to the “top group” or most advanced ensemble. After all, they are often the ones able to showcase the “culmination” of what our program can do. But this must not be done at the…
As much as we would love it to not be the case, Americans still see Black Musicians and make certain assumptions. Black Choir? It must be gospel? Black Band? It must be high steppers and baton twirlers. The issue is not these proud musical traditions. The issue is the box that stereotypes put people in.…
When I scroll around the internet, I see more and more examples of great choir rehearsals going on around the world. It’s an exciting time to be a member of this profession! But, it also gives me a sense of how hard we all are working to get sound out of kids. Do we need…
Dig into the mind of Gabriel Jackson, one of my FAVORITE composers. His ability to mix the modern with the ancient really makes my “Spidey Sense” tingle! We discuss his music, and journey to composition, as well his feelings about Orchestral musicians seeming to live in a different strata from us lowly Choral musicians. Spoiler alert, we are both annoyed by this…We also touch on what the pandemic was like for him as composer, and the age old themes in music and poetry that retain their resonance today, and possibly in a new way.
You can’t write really difficult music and then complain that nobody performs it.
Gabriel Jackson
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Episode 99: Gabriel Jackson
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You need to create music that reflects you. Start with who you are. I tend to tell students not to filter out aspects of their lives from their music. If you start with who you are, then you are the only one who can come up with the best solutions.
Trevor Weston
Trevor Weston
Trevor Weston is a singer, organist, composer and professor of composition and African American Music History at Drew University. We discussed how music, culture and society intersect, as well as the importance of making distinctions between race and culture in the context of music. Often times, our musical experiences, our backgrounds, and our education creates our culture. We share more of that that we realize with more people than we realize. One of Trevor’s learned life lessons involves recognizing the power music has to connect to our common humanity and experiences. Don’t miss this insightful and uplifting episode.
Trevor Weston’s music has been called a “gently syncopated marriage of intellect and feeling.” (Detroit Free Press) Weston’s honors include the George Ladd Prix de Paris from the University of California, Berkeley, the Arts and Letters Award in Music and a Goddard Lieberson Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and residencies from the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, the MacDowell Colony and a residency with Castle of our Skins at the Longy School of Music. Weston co-authored with Olly Wilson, chapter 5 in the Cambridge Companion to Duke Ellington, “Duke Ellington as a Cultural Icon” published by Cambridge University Press. Weston’s work, Juba for Strings won the Sonori/New Orleans Chamber Orchestra Composition Competition. Trevor Weston won the first Emerging Black Composers Project sponsored by the San Francisco Conservatory of Music and the San Francisco Symphony.
YouTube version
A list of ensembles performing Trevor Weston’s compositions include Roomful of Teeth, The Boston Children’s Chorus, St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue Choir, The Starling Chamber Orchestra, Mallarme Chamber Players, The Providence Singers, Chicago Sinfonietta, Seraphic Fire, The Tufts Chamber Chorus, Ensemble Pi, The Amernet String Quartet, The UC Berkeley Chamber Chorus, The Washington Chorus, Trilogy: An Opera Company, and The Manhattan Choral Ensemble. In addition to his creative work, Weston completed the re-orchestration of Florence Price’s Piano Concerto for the Center for Black Music Research in 2010.
For this Oxford Press conversation, I was able to speak to composer Alan Bullard about his life, career and approach to choral music. We talked about what it was like to study with Herbert Howells, the need for music for flexible voicings, the contrasting economy of sheet music sales in the US and UK, as well as his approach to “compositional imposter syndrome.” I especially enjoyed his advice to younger composers. It’s ok to promote yourselves! It’s not bragging! It’s how the business works. So, sit back, relax and get to know Alan Bullard.
Alan Bullard
Episode 89
Alan Bullard was born in 1947, grew up in London, and studied with Herbert Howells and Antony Hopkins at the Royal College of Music, and with Arnold Whittall at Nottingham University.He has been writing music all his life, and frequently undertakes commissions for choral societies, church choirs, orchestral societies and many other ensembles. His choral music, both sacred and secular, has been performed in a wide range of venues in the UK, the USA, and elsewhere.
Many of his choral works are published by Oxford University Press, and he is the editor of, and contributor to, The Oxford Book of Flexible Anthems, The Oxford Book of Flexible Carols, the Oxford Book of Easy Flexible Anthems, and the Oxford Book of Flexible Choral Songs. His works are recorded on CD by such ensembles as Selwyn College Choir, Kings College Choir, The Sixteen, and are regularly broadcast in the UK and the US.As well as music for a wide range of ensembles and soloists, he has also written much educational music, including the Joining the Dots sight-reading series, the Scale Explorer series (both ABRSM) and, jointly with his wife Janet, the Pianoworks series (OUP).He holds an ARCM from the Royal College of Music, a BMus from London University, an MA from Nottingham University and a DU (Honorary Doctorate) from Essex University, and he lives in East Anglia.
The next installment of the Oxford Series is THE John Rutter. We have all grown up knowing the name and legacy that John represents. In this conversation, my goal was to give you a peak behind the curtain revealing the human side of the legend. We discussed the value of choral music to the world, his growth and maturation as a composer, and what keeps his fire lit after all these years. John Rutter could stop composing today and his legacy would be established. What keeps him going? Tune in and find out! A bonus later in the episode is a man after my heart where John brings up the toxic nature of online discourse, and role choral music can play in healing.
John Rutter studied music at Clare College, Cambridge and first came to notice as a composer and arranger of Christmas carols and other choral pieces during those early years; today his compositions, including such concert-length works as Requiem, Magnificat, Mass of the Children, The Gift of Life, and Visions are performed around the world.
John edits the Oxford Choral Classics series, and, with Sir David Willcocks, co-edited four volumes of Carols for Choirs. In 1983 he formed his own choir The Cambridge Singers, with whom he has made numerous recordings on the Collegium Records label, and he appears regularly in several countries as a guest conductor and choral ambassador.
John holds a Lambeth Doctorate in Music, and was awarded a CBE for services to music in 2007.
Cecilia McDowall has long been one of my favorite Choral composers. If I were to boil down my reasons for this it would come to her masterful ability to transport both audience and performer through space and time with her writing. In this conversation, I was able to understand a bit more about how her approach and it all became more clear. She immerses herself in a story with each work. Be a fly on the wall as we discuss her writing process, her thoughts on balancing composition, teaching and motherhood throughout her life, interactions between composer and conductor, as well as an exploration of the vulnerability one must face to sing and to compose.
More About Cecilia McDowall
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Born in London, 1951, Cecilia McDowall has won many awards, been short-listed eight times for the British Composer Awards and in 2014 won the Choral category of the British Composer Awards for her haunting work, Night Flight, which celebrates the pioneering flight of the American aviatrix, Harriet Quimby, across the English Channel. McDowall’s distinctive style speaks directly to listeners, instrumentalists and singers alike. Her most characteristic works fuse fluent melodic lines with occasional dissonant harmonies and rhythmic exuberance. Her music has been commissioned and performed by leading choirs, including the BBC Singers, The Sixteen, Oxford and Cambridge choirs, Kansas City Chorale, ensembles, and at festivals worldwide.
Recent commissions include When time is broke (Three Shakespeare Songs) for the BBC Singers and Adoro te devote for Westminster Cathedral Choir, London. Three Latin Motets were recorded by the renowned American choir, Phoenix Chorale, conductor, Charles Bruffy; this Chandos recording, Spotless Rose, won a Grammy award and was nominated for Best Classical Album. The National Children’s Choir of Great Britain commissioned a work focusing on ‘children in conflict’, called Everyday Wonders: The Girl from Aleppo. This cantata is based on the real-life escape of Nujeen Mustafa (who is wheelchair-bound) and her sister from war-torn Aleppo; it tells of their harrowing journey across 3,500 miles, through seven countries, eventually arriving in Germany with relief and great gratitude.
Episode 71 on YouTube!
In May, 2019, Wimbledon Choral Society and the Philharmonia Orchestra premiered McDowall’s large-scale choral work, the Da Vinci Requiem, to coincide with the 500th anniversary of Leonardo’s death. The work received its first performance on 7 May in the Royal Festival Hall, London. McDowall’s works are regularly broadcast on BBC Radio and readily available on CD.
In 2013 Cecilia McDowall received an Honorary Doctorate from Portsmouth University and in 2017 McDowall was selected for an Honorary Fellow award by the Royal School of Church Music. In 2019 she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from West London University. In 2021 the Choir of Trinity College, Cambridge, will release a CD of her choral music on the Hyperion label. In 2020 McDowall was presented with the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for ‘outstanding music collection’ for a ‘consistently excellent body of work’. This was a ‘Gift’ from The Ivors Academy (formerly the British Composers’ Academy).
I had the joy and privilege of chatting with Oxford Choral Composer, Sarah Quartel. We centered our conversation around the ideas of collaborative music making, and choral music specifically, and their ability to build community, increase well being, flourishing and growth. We ranged also to “how the sausage is made” in the Choral Publishing industry, the reality of online school for kids and more. Also, be sure to stick around and find out if I was able to convince Sarah to join a choir again soon. 🙂
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!
Canadian composer and educator Sarah Quartel is known for her fresh and exciting approach to choral music. Deeply inspired by the life-changing relationships that can occur while making choral music, Sarah writes in a way that connects singer to singer, ensemble to conductor, and performer to audience. Her works are performed by choirs across the world, and she has been commissioned by groups including the American Choral Directors Association, the National Children’s Chorus of the United States of America, and New Dublin Voices. Since 2018 she has been exclusively published by Oxford University Press, and she continues to work as a clinician and conductor at music education and choral events at home and abroad.
An installment of the Oxford Series on the Choralosophy Podcast
In choral music, in a different way than in other types of music making, WE ARE the instrument. This creates a unique vulnerability within choral music. If my saxophone is flat, I can fix the ligature, and EXTERNALIZE the problem. With singers, we must still fix technical things, but we can’t escape INTERNALIZING the problem. In a profound way, the same reason many are attracted to singing, is the reason many are also afraid of it. There is power in conquering that fear.
In this open conversation, renowned composer, arranger and long time King’s Singer Bob Chilcott and I discuss performance anxiety, the unique properties of choral music, his transitions between performer and conductor, and much more. This conversation is a must listen!
As a composer, conductor, and singer, Bob Chilcott has enjoyed a lifelong association with choral music, first as a chorister and choral scholar in the choir of King’s College, Cambridge, and for 12 years as a member of the King’s Singers. He became a full-time composer in 1997, and has produced a large catalogue of music for all types of choirs which is published by Oxford University Press. His most often performed pieces include Can you hear me?, A Little Jazz Mass, Requiem, and the St John Passion.
Bob has conducted choirs in more than 30 countries worldwide and has worked with many thousands of amateur singers across the UK in a continuing series of Singing Days. For seven years he was conductor of the Chorus of The Royal College of Music in London and since 2002 he has been Principal Guest Conductor of the BBC Singers. In 2017 Bob was awarded an Honorary Fellowship by The Royal School of Church Music and in 2019 takes up the role of Principal Conductor Birmingham University Singers.
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!
His music has been widely recorded by leading British choirs and groups including The King’s Singers, King’s College, Cambridge, Wells Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, The Sixteen, Tenebrae, The BBC Singers, The Bach Choir, Commotio, and Ora. In 2016 he enjoyed a collaboration with the celebrated singer Katie Melua on the album In Winter. In 2017 two new discs were released by Commotio and Choralis – All Good Things on Naxos, and In Winter’s Arms on Signum, his first recording collaboration with an American choir. Newer recording projects are with the BBC Singers, Houston Chamber Choir, and Wroclaw Philharmonic Choir.
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Part of the Oxford Series on the Choralosophy Podcast
Join us in this thought provoking and jovial conversation in which Will and I discuss a comparison of the US and UK music education paradigms, his approach to the creative process, and the possible pitfalls of training “sight reading machines.” While this can result in singers with world class ability, it can also result in performances that, at times can lack humanity. We also discuss the influences on his music made by his eclectic listening tastes growing up. How do we stay connected to the humanity in the music making?
English composer Will Todd is well known for his beautiful and exciting music. His work encompasses choral works large and small, opera, musical theatre and orchestral pieces, as well as jazz compositions and chamber works.
His anthem, The Call of Wisdom, was performed at the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee celebrations with a TV audience of 45 million people. His breakthrough work, Mass in Blue (originally titled Jazz Mass), has been performed hundreds of times all over the world. His arrangement of Amazing Grace was performed at President Obama’s Inauguration Day prayer service in 2013 and as part of the BBC’s Nelson Mandela Thanksgiving Service.
He has collaborated with award winning choirs The Sixteen and Tenebrae, as well as with the Welsh National Opera, Opera North, Opera Holland Park, BBC Singers, BBC Concert Orchestra, The Halle Orchestra, the English Chamber Orchestra, The Bach Choir, St Martin’s Voices.
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!
His discography includes best selling choral discs Lux Et Veritas and The Call of Wisdom, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Mass in Blue, Ode to a Nightingale, Passion Music and Jazz Missa Brevis all on the Signum Classic label. His clarinet concerto recorded by the BBC Concert Orchestra and Emma Johnson was released in 2016His music is regularly broadcast on Classic FM, as well as on BBC Radio 3.
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Will Todd’s music is valued for its melodic intensity and harmonic skill, often incorporating jazz colours, and his choral music is much in demand from amateur as well as professional performers.
Recent commissions include an oratorio for The Bach Choir written with former Children’s Laureate Michael Rosen and operas for Welsh National Opera and Opera North.
Reena Esmail is currently the composer in residence for the LA Master Chorale and the composer of TaReKiTa published by Oxford University Press. Reena works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, to bring communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces and holds degrees from Juilliard and Yale. In this engaging discussion, I had the opportunity not only to help you get to know Reena, but also to get her perspective on many critical issues facing the classical music community. We discussed:
The beauty of working with organizations that truly value relationships
Reena’s criteria for accepting commissions
Indians/South Asians representation in Western classical music
The distinction between the organizational level conversations about representation and the interpersonal
Working with both Western and Indian classical music styles
How it’s exhausting when there’s always a qualifier in front of your name
And much more! This was a VERY fun conversation! So be sure to tune in!
Reena Esmail works between the worlds of Indian and Western classical music, to bring communities together through the creation of equitable musical spaces. Esmail holds degrees from The Juilliard School and the Yale School of Music. A resident of Los Angeles, Esmail is the 20-23 Swan Family Artist in Residence with Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the 20-21 Composer in Residence with Seattle Symphony. She currently serves as Co-Chair of the Board of New Music USA, and Co-Founder and Artistic Director of Shastra, a non-profit organization that promotes cross-cultural music connecting musical traditions of India and the West.
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