Tag: PANDEMIC

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Episode 193: The Aeolian Way with Jeremy Sovoy Jordan

The Oakwood University Aeolians have a long standing and proud tradition. Over the last few years, they shot to international fame. Jeremy Jordan is tasked with keeping the flame alive.

Ever since Jason Ferdinand moved from Oakwood, the choir world started to wonder what was next for the Aeolians. After their 2019 National ACDA performance, they were thrust into the conversations about the “BEST” collegiate choirs in the world. I started to wonder who the next director would be and what kind of pressure might be attached.

Enter Jeremy Sovoy Jordan, an Oakwood Alumn, composer, conductor and mutli-faceted musician who knows, loves and appreciates the history and tradition of this renowned ensemble. In this conversation Jeremy and I discuss what it has been like to take over the group and his dreams for the future. We also discuss ideas about programming in terms of repertoire, as well as philosophies related to creating an ensemble cohesion and culture.

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.

Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!

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Jeremy Sovoy Jordan – A native of Huntsville, AL, Jeremy Sovoy Jordan attended Oakwood University where he studied vocal performance and pedagogy and was a member of the Aeolians, under the direction of Jason Max Ferdinand. In 2017 along with his brother Justin, Jordan was inducted into the North Alabama Boys & Girls Club Hall of Fame. In 2013, he accepted the position of Director of Music and Choral Department at Miami Union Academy (MUA), teaching grades 6th-12th.

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MUA is a historically black private academy that has been in existence since 1917. The high school choir enjoyed much success under the direction of Jordan, being participants in the 2018 Music for All National Choir Festival. They’ve also had the privilege of performing at the historic Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, GA. Under his leadership, the MUA Choral Department initiated an annual social justice concert to raise awareness about the injustices our students see in their communities and the world at large. Jeremy also serves as Conductor and Composer-in-Redsidence for the New Canon Chamber Collective Orchestra whose goal and purpose are to promote new and existing compositions by Black, Indigenous, and People of Color(BIPOC) composers. Jordan is currently the Director of Choral Activities and conductor of the Aeolians of Oakwood University.

Find Justin on Social Media!

RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!

IG – oakwoodaeolians

FB – The Aeolians

TikTok – TheAeoliansofOU

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,
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Episode 191: Rise Up and Sing with Shanan Estreicher

Queens is one of the most diverse places in the world. How can music serve as a “common language” for diverse students?

This week, I am joined by Shanan Estreicher, a middle and elementary music teacher in Queens, New York. Shanan is also a composer, and songwriter who has found a magic formula to reach the students of a Title 1 school with a constantly in flux student population. The formula includes general music, chorus, songwriting and more to bridge cultural, language and prior knowledge gaps.

In this discussion, Mr. Estreicher and I discuss the challenges as well as the life enriching benefits of teaching at-risk students, as well as the mindset he developed as he began his teaching career hoping for that “dream gig” and discovering that he had the power to build the dream in Queens. Many teachers “burn out” in Title 1 schools, but Shanan provides an inspiring story of how a teacher can make a difference in the lives of kids that desperately need a reason to come to school.

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.

Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Clinician/Presenter Requests
Support the Show/Bonus Materials
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@choralosophypodca

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!

Shanan Estreicher is a composer and songwriter living in New York City. He studied music at the Manhattan School of Music and Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College.

He has composed orchestral, choral, and chamber music, art songs, and music for theater, TV, and film. His compositions have been performed at Carnegie Hall, featured on NBC, Lifetime, and Fox, and can be heard on Composer Concordance Records (Naxos). As a songwriter, he released five albums as a solo artist and with the alt-country group The Brown Trousers. Shanan has collaborated extensively with Grammy Award-winning producer Brian Forbes and received grants from New Music USA and Queens Council on the Arts.

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

Recent premieres include “A Concordance of Leaves”, a new cantata for choir and baritone soloist with poetry by Philip Metres (Copper Canyon Publishing) by choral director James John, the Queens College Vocal Ensemble, and baritone soloist Andrew Wannigman, “I Laughed So Hard I Cried” by the Overlook Quartet, “All You Shining Stars” by the Brazos Valley Symphony Orchestra featuring multi-genre trumpeter Itamar Borochov, “Songs of Emily Dickinson” by Sarah Shafer (Metropolitan Opera, San Francisco Opera) and the Chamber Orchestra of New York at Carnegie Hall, and various commissions for Composers Concordance and Access Contemporary Music.

As a founding board member of the Chamber Orchestra of New York, Shanan has helped lead the ensemble to international success and acclaim. He served as Co-Artistic Producer for the orchestra’s Naxos recordings of Respighi’s “The Birds”, Ralph Vaughan Williams’s “The Lark Ascending”, Respighi’s “Ancient Airs and Dances”, and Salvatore Di Vittorio’s Symphonies 3 and 4. Shanan has also designed and launched an educational outreach program called Maestro Juniors for the orchestra which brings live classical music performances to title-one schools in New York City.

One of Shanan’s greatest joys is sharing his passion for music with children. For over seventeen years he has taught music at a public school in Queens, NY. The documentary “Rise Up and Sing—The Movie” chronicles his work with the P.S./I.S. 127 Chorus. He is also the founder and director of the Queens County Choral Festival for elementary and middle school students.

RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!

website

https://www.estreicher.com

Any other relevant links or Social Media pages you would like me to plug for you?

Links to stream or download his new album “A Concordance of Leaves”

https://songwhip.com/queenscollegevocalensemble/shanan-estreicher-a-concordance-of-leaves

Instagram Page

https://www.instagram.com/shanan_estreicher_composer

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.

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Episode 190: Girls Voices Change Too! With Dr. Bridget Sweet

Dr. Bridget Sweet is the first scholar to examine adolescent female voice change through systematic research protocols

This week, we fill in a major gap in programming on the Choralosophy podcast. This is the FIRST episode on the feed diving into research and teaching practice of the female changing voice in adolescence. There will be more to come! But, for this episode I am joined be one of our pre-eminent experts, Dr. Bridget Sweet. “The Larynx is not a vagina.” Bridget advocates that we spend more time teaching kids about the physiology. The kids may giggle when you show a picture of a larynx, but they will get over it.

In this episode we talk about the issues created by the gap in choral music education about this topic and related research, as well as strategies for teachers to address the changes in girls voices and to normalize the experience in the same way we should for boys. We also discuss the realities that teachers face that cause us to focus more on the voice changes of the boys. It gets more of our attention, so often, the girls needs go unaddressed. Part of this occurs with the overly common practice of voice part labels applied to girls at way too early an age. This episode is helpful, challenging and so important!

Dr. Sweet’s Books:

Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond

Thinking Outside the Voice Box: Adolescent Voice Change in Music Education

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.

Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Clinician/Presenter Requests
Support the Show/Bonus Materials
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Be Sure to Find Choralosophy on TikTok!

@choralosophypodca

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!
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

Bridget Sweet is Associate Professor of Music Education at University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign, Illinois. After completing her Bachelors Degree in Music Education at Western Michigan University, Dr. Sweet enjoyed a successful tenure as a middle school choir teacher for nearly ten years. Her interests in adolescent music education intensified during her Masters and Doctoral programs in Music Education at Michigan State University, which contributed to her research focused on characteristics of effective and exemplary middle-level music teachers. Prior to her work at the University of Illinois, Dr. Sweet was Assistant Professor of Music Education at Bucknell University in Lewisburg, PA. At the University of Illinois, Dr. Sweet teaches secondary music education pedagogy, including choral methods and literature, graduate courses in music education, as well as a course focused on the development of healthy practices for all musicians. She is a Licensed Body Mapping Educator through the Association for Body Mapping Education.

RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!

Dr. Sweet continues to work extensively with adolescent singers as a teacher, clinician, and conductor; she has been invited to conduct middle and high school All-State Choirs and Honors Choirs in many states. Dr. Sweet wrote the books Growing Musicians: Teaching Music in Middle School and Beyond (2016, Oxford University Press) and Thinking Outside the Voice Box: Adolescent Voice Change in Music Education (2020, Oxford University Press). Dr. Sweet’s research interests include middle level choral music education, [assigned at birth] female and male adolescent voice change, musician health and wellness, intersections of LGBTQ+ topics and the music classroom, as well as intersections of motherhood and academia.

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,
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Her research has appeared in publications of Bulletin of the Council for Research in Music Education, Choral Journal, International Journal of Music Education: Research, Journal of Research in Music Education and Update: Applications of Research in Music Education. She has authored chapters within The Oxford Handbook of Qualitative Research in American Music Education (2014) and The Oxford Handbook of Care in Music Education. Dr. Sweet was initiated as a Friend of the Arts to the Sigma Alpha Iota International Music Fraternity (2021). She is a member of the Editorial Committee of the Bulletin of the Council of Research in Music Education, International Journal of Research in Choral Music, Journal of Research in Music Education, and Qualitative Research in Music Education.

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Episode 189: Can We Meet Kids Where They Are Without Lowering Standards? With Jonathan Talberg

Is “Tough Love” outdated? Or is it the tool of caring parents and educators?

Recently, a “Facebook post dialogue” of sorts went viral amongst music educators between Juilliard professor Geoffrey Keezer and James Falzone. Professor Keezer made a relatively short post related to the problems he is seeing in his teaching position related to reliability and accountability for students. It resonated with thousands of people as it got shared and discussed. But, it kind of had a “kids these days” feeling to it, so not everyone responded sympathetically. Enter, James Falzone. He crafted an essay in response encouraging a much more introspective approach to the very real issue that Professor Keezer was speaking to.

That’s where this episode comes in. I was clued in to this discourse when I saw it shared by this week’s guest, Dr. Jonathan Talberg. Jonathan has decades of experience teaching at the post-secondary level, so I asked him to join me to parse out some nuance in this discussion. We wrestle with questions about “tough love” and “holding students accountable.” How do these ideas mesh with this generation of students and their changing needs, values and sensibilities? And maybe most importantly, how do we navigate all of this while NOT lowering our academic standards?

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.

Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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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!
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

Recipient of the President’s Award from the California Music Educators Association honoring “extraordinary accomplishments in music education,” Dr. Jonathan Talberg serves as Director of Choral Activities at the Bob Cole Conservatory, where he is conductor of the international award-winning Bob Cole Conservatory Chamber Choir and the CSULB University Choir. Recent career highlights include leading the Chamber Choir to first place at the Austrian Spittal International Choir Festival and the “Choir of the World” competition in Wales. Additionally, he and the choir have performed with groups as diverse as the Kronos Quartet, the Los Angeles Master Chorale, the Pacific Symphony and the Rolling Stones.

A passionate advocate for choral music education, Dr. Talberg is regularly engaged to conduct honor choirs across the US, including numerous all-state choruses, and National Association for Music Education conference choirs. His choirs from Long Beach State have performed in venues throughout Europe and Asia, including the Sistine Chapel, St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Great Hall of the People in China.

RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!

His professional experience includes appointments as Director of Music at the First Congregational Church of Los Angeles and the Los Angeles Bach Festival. He also served as Conducting Assistant to the Cincinnati Symphony and the Aspen Music Festival and as principal choral conductor at Arrowbear Music Camp in Southern California. A past-president of the California Choral Directors Association, he serves as an editor at Pavane Music Publishing, where a choral series dedicated to outstanding quality, collegiate-level music is published under his name. He taught high school choral music and drama for five years before moving into higher education.

Of the many hats he wears each day, the one he is most proud of is mentor to the next generation of choral musicians. Alumni of the Bob Cole Conservatory Choral Studies program are teaching at elementary, middle and high schools, churches, community colleges and four-year universities throughout the country. Scores of alumni are professional singers—in opera, musical theater, choirs, church music, jazz and pop.

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,
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Bob Cole Conservatory choral studies graduates are currently earning—or have finished—their doctorates at some of the finest institutions in the country, including the University of Michigan, the College-Conservatory of Music at the University of Cincinnati, Indiana University, the University of Kentucky, the University of Iowa, the University of Houston, the University of Southern California and UCLA.

Dr. Talberg received his BM in Choral Conducting from Chapman University, where he received the Outstanding Alumnus in the Arts award in 2014. He earned his MM and DMA in Choral Conducting from the University of Cincinnati’s College-Conservatory of Music and completed a post-doctoral fellowship with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra, Cincinnati Pops, and the May Festival Chorus. His conducting teachers include Roger Wagner, William Hall, Earl Rivers, John Leman and Elmer Thomas.

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Episode 188: Why Don’t Boys Want to Sing? With Martin Ashley

Professor and researcher Martin Ashley from the UK is back to talk about more recent research related to the boys changing voice from both a biological and empirical view, as well as a qualitative experiential one. We discuss his latest compilation of crucial information, which he has made available for FREE. The eBook is called “Dead Composers and Living Boys.” It is a treasure trove of data, anecdote and advice for teachers of adolescent male singers.

“The word “boy” is more of a social term than a biological or medical one. It is not uncommon in choral work for the words “boy” and “treble” to be used interchangeably, but this is not helpful. A young male who sings a soprano or perhaps alto line could be either a child or an adolescent… Boys, it is often said, do not want to “sound like girls”, but until adolescence, boys’ and girls’ voices are physically the same. Any perceived differences in children’s voices will be learned cultural ones, not biological ones. Adolescence is when voices diverge and the male singing adventure really begins.” -an excerpt from Martin’s book.

In this episode, Martin and I discuss common misunderstandings and mythology around the boys changing voice, and some of the most vital pieces of information all teachers of adolescent boys need to know in order to address the biggest demographic access gap in choral music education. Boys aren’t singing.

Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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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!
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

Professor Martin Ashley PhD is editor-in-chief of ABCD Choral Singing Research, the peer-reviewed research journal of the Association of British Choral Directors, having retired from his position as Head of Research in the Faculty of Education at Edge Hill University in 2013. After working in sound recording for the BBC he trained as a middle school music teacher.  He worked in a variety of school settings teaching both music and his other specialism of environmental science before moving into university work.  Whilst at the University of the West of England in Bristol he designed and led a 3+1 route of degree + PGCE in primary education for teachers wishing to specialise in music and the performing arts. A post-doctoral fellowship awarded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council allowed him to develop a longstanding interest in the impact of boys’ understanding of voice on their musical learning. 

RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!

Since writing the book How High Should Boys Sing? he has published widely on the topic of male singing during early adolescence, collaborating with the late Don Collins of the Cambiata Vocal Institute of America. He has subsequently worked in collaboration with a paediatric specialist and phoniatrician on the timing of puberty and voice change and remains as consultant editor for OUP’s Emerging Voices series of cambiata vocal arrangements. His most recent book was Singing in the Lower Secondary School in the OUP music education series. 

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.

Immediately prior to the Covid-19 pandemic he was working on the consequences of earlier voice change and boys’ musical maturity in mixed gender settings and had published work on historical trends in puberty, Tudor pitch and the sixteenth century mean voice.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 is currently working on studies of boys choirs responding to the covid pandemic around the world, and a UK study of community choirs and shared rehearsal spaces.


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Episode 187: Five Years of Changing and Expanding the Conversation and

In the digital realm where voices meet ideas, there’s a podcast that’s become a community hub for Choral Music: The Choralosophy Podcast started in February 2019. It was just a small gathering of a few hundred colleagues, sharing their love for choral music.

Then, the unexpected happened. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit, episode 33 of the podcast seemed to strike a chord with thousands. Suddenly, it wasn’t just about music anymore – it sparked conversations among over 15,000 people and even caught the eye of the New York Times. That was the turning point. All the while, we have staid true to our mission of provided robust, well researched, and thoroughly presented professional development resources for FREE to educators on demand. Topics like Music Literacy, Vocal Pedagogy, Classroom Management and Grading procedures are regular features on the show.

What makes the Choralosophy Podcast special is its willingness to tackle the tough stuff. The guests and I dive into everything from music education to psychology, diversity, equity, and inclusion, and even broader topics like politics and education systems. As a result, the show has had its fair share of controversy. Generating buzz both positive and negative, but always having an impact on the conversation and expanding the Overton Window in Choral Music. Some think the show is “conservative,” some think it’s “too woke.” Some have called me the “Joe Rogan” of choir podcasts, or a “pusher of dangerous ideologies,” while still others thank me for speaking up for a lot of people who don’t feel safe to speak up themselves.

We’ve hosted some big names, sure, like Eric Whitacre, John Rutter, and Andre Thomas. But what really sets this podcast apart is its diverse range of voices. From educators to thought leaders in various fields, everyone brings something valuable to the table.

Now, five years later, the Choralosophy Podcast isn’t just a podcast – it’s a global community and multi-media platform. Thousands of listeners tune in regularly, not just for the professional resources, but for the conversations that challenge and inspire us all to learn and grow.

In a world where connection is more important than ever, the Choralosophy Podcast wants reminds us that our voices matter – and that together, we can create something truly beautiful. Tune in to this short episode as we look back, AND look forward to the next five years!


Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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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!
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!

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.


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Episode 186: It’s Time for Anti-Racism with Love, with Chloé Valdary

Activist, author Chloé Valdary is a diversity and anti-racism trainer with a refreshingly loving approach. This week, on Valentine’s Day, I am encouraging us to approach our ensembles, our classes, our colleagues and our neighbors with Agape.

In music education, we have a very popular, and important euphemism: “I want my students to see themselves in the music, or in the ensembles I have them watch” based on the finding people who look like them. And this representation does matter! But what I don’t hear enough is, “I want my students to learn to see themselves in everyone, and in ALL of the music we learn.” This introspective approach is echoed in Chloé’s fascinating brand of Anti-Racism.

“I imagine one of the reasons people cling to their hates so stubbornly is because they sense, once hate is gone, they will be forced to deal with pain.”

James Baldwin 

One of the core premises that Chloé likes to communicate is that if you can’t apply the principle James Baldwin describes here to YOURSELF, then it will not have any value in healing the rifts between us. If you see it only as a principle that applies to others, we will never enter important conversations as equals. She trains, teaches and advocates for a type of conversation about diversity in schools, groups and organizations that starts with introspection and search for our common humanity.

Be sure to weigh in on the Choralosophers facebook page, on Substack or any posts related to this episode! Be sure to check out DOJO and get the trainings for individuals!


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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!
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

From Theory of Enchantment: One particular day, in a religious studies class, my professor, an agnostic, shows us a documentary called Jesus Camp. It follows a group of evangelical Christians at their summer camp for kids. The subjects are not portrayed in a positive light.

Suddenly, a student in our class starts to rail against the Christians in the movie, and I peg my agnostic professor as a person who won’t mind. How wrong I am. It becomes a shouting match between her and the student. My professor vigorously defends the Christians in the documentary, saying we all gravitate toward things that give us a feeling of meaning and significance, belonging, and community. 
Then she says,

She defies the agnostic box I placed her in. The frameworks that I am using to find meaning in the world are no longer sufficient. I am desperate for one that is. Slowly but surely, I realize I am outgrowing
my religion.

I grew up in New Orleans with four sisters. We were an extremely atypical Christian family, and my parents deeply inculcated a strict religious philosophy. We didn’t observe Christian holidays, we observed Jewish holidays. Church was on Saturday instead of Sunday, and Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur were celebrated instead of Christmas and Easter.

RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!

From my mother, a homemaker, I absorbed a deep inquisitiveness about human beings. From my dad, a banker, I gained a reverence for the numinous and the transcendent. But I also came out of childhood dogmatic in certain ways.

I went to a performing arts high school then to the University of New Orleans, where I became an activist.

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,
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The Choralosophy Music Literacy Suite
The Choralosophy Vocal Ped Suite
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Episode 185: Bringing the Wisdom of Hebrew Texts into the Choral Canon with Nicholas Weininger

Nicholas Weininger, software engineer and composer, joins me this week to discuss the power of the Hebrew language in choral settings. Both in terms of its sonority and aspects of diction, but also in the contributions many ancient Hebrew texts can make to our philosophical discourses to this day.

We discuss the difficulties finding choral music with rich Hebrew text, we also analyze a passage from Ecclesiastes that is the basis of a new Cantata that Nicholas composed after the pandemic. The discussion then moves to the coincidence of the new cantata’s birth into the world during a time of surging anti-Semitism and post pandemic searches for accountability and reflection. This was a very thought provoking discussion, and we hope you will join us!

Be sure to weigh in on the Choralosophers facebook page, on Substack or any posts related to this episode!


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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!
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Nicholas Weininger (b. 1978) is a composer, singer, software engineering manager, and leadership coach. Nick’s works have been performed by the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco, Sacred and Profane, Choral Chameleon, Empire City Men’s Chorus, Coro Mundi, West Genesee High School Chorale, and the Germantown Friends School Concert Choir, among others. In March 2023, the Empire City Men’s Chorus premiered Nick’s cantata Hakol Hevel (All is Mere Breath) for TTBB chorus, orchestra, and soloists; the album of the same name, from Navona Records, is available on all major streaming services. Nick’s works are published through Personage Press and ArrangeMe.

Nick has sung with the International Orange Chorale of San Francisco (IOCSF) since 2007. He began composing for IOCSF in 2011 and in 2015-2016 served as IOCSF’s inaugural Composer-in-Residence; the ensemble has performed eleven of his works in all and recorded four on the albums The Unknown Region and Hope in Times of Disquiet. Nick’s 2016 setting of “As kingfishers catch fire”, commissioned by IOCSF, was awarded second prize in the Ithaca College Choral Composition Competition and was a finalist for the 2020 American Prize. Nick’s singing experience also includes stints with the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, Festival Napa Valley Volti Chorale, and Coro Mundi.

In Nick’s non-musical life, he has spent most of his career managing teams of software engineers and mentoring software engineering leaders, notably at Google from 2005 to 2020. He received a PhD in pure mathematics from Rutgers University in 2005. Initially an autodidact composer, Nick took up private composition study with Joseph Stillwell in 2014 and now studies with Vince Peterson. Nick lives in San Francisco with his wife and son.

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.


The Choralosophy Music Literacy Suite
The Choralosophy Vocal Ped Suite
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Episode 168: I Need This Choir with Nathan Connell and the Glacier High School Concert Choir

I am excited to bring back the “Student Perspectives” category on the Podcast this week with the Glacier High School Concert Choir. Beth and I traveled from KC almost to literal Canada to Kalispell, MT to visit Nathan Connell and his Concert Choir for their Fall Retreat.

How can teachers make their space safe for singing? What do our groups mean to kids? Is it possible that we don’t always truly know the impact we have, and the impact our groups have on students? I believe that at times, kids will wait to be invited to say how they really feel. So, I invited them.

For close to 24 hours solid, I worked on group rehearsal techniques and literacy concepts, while Beth gave small group vocal instruction. We also spent time interpreting music, group building and of course, philosophizing about Choral Music. This small portion was recorded to give you a sense of the way young people can process these types of important questions. If you would like to have Choralosophy come to your classroom contact me via this form.

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Learn more about Nathan and the Wolfpack Choir here.

Glacier High School Choirs in Kalispell, Montana, is made up of 5 curricular choirs and 2 extracurricular choirs, including 150 students in 9th-12th grades. Nathan Connell is in his 5th year of serving as the director at GHS. Nathan double majored in percussion performance and vocal education at Morehead State University in Morehead, Kentucky. Nathan serves as the HS Repertoire and Resource chair for the NW ACDA region. He loves connecting kids with current composers and hosts an annual composer festival bringing Montana students together to work with composers like Jake Runestad, Ryan Main, Ethan Sperry, and more. As a percussionist, Nathan performs regularly in the Glacier Symphony percussion section, and has performed and taught with the Blue Knights Drum and Bugle Corps from Denver, Colorado.

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!
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.
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
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
The Choralosophy Vocal Ped Suite
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Episode 157: Civic Renewal Through Ensemble with Chris and Beth Munce

Last week, instead of a typical adult getaway for our anniversary, Beth and I attended the National Conference of Braver Angels. From the Mission Statement:

Americans on opposite sides of the political spectrum don’t only disagree on issues — they increasingly dislike one another. This growing partisan animosity is the crisis of our time and threatens our nation. Braver Angels exists to address this challenge.

Braver Angels Mission

For many who have followed this show over the last 4 and a half years, you might notice that this mission is also the mission of the Choralosophy Podcast. I believe that we in Music Education suffer from this affliction as well as the broader society. In many ways, because of the politically homogenous nature of the Education and Performing Arts communities, we have it WORSE than society at large. We are badly in need of a dose of our own Civic Renewal. To this end, I am proud to say that the Choralosophy Podcast is now a part of the Braver Network of organizations and media outlets willing to stand up for the value of bringing everyone to the table to find common ground. As listeners, YOU can join for FREE as part the Choralosophy community.

I see a VERY obvious role for music ensembles to play in this project. The metaphors should be obvious. How many of our choirs, bands, and orchestras bring together people with a true diversity of world views? How intentional are we about creating an environment where ALL of our singers and players are able to bring their WHOLE selves to class or to rehearsal. Ensemble music is one of the biggest sources of opportunity for large numbers of people to gather IN PERSON to unite on a common project. This project of music requires that they set aside their political projects to focus on what they can accomplish TOGETHER.

Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
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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!
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!

The Challenge We Face (From Braver Angels Website)

As we separate into groups that increasingly do not even know, or interact with, people of differing opinions, we lose trust in our institutions, eroding the ability to govern ourselves and lowering the caliber of citizenship. This growing trend coarsens public debate, produces policy gridlock, shrinks our capacity for goodwill, and harms our family and personal relationships. Effective self government depends precisely on what this type of polarization destroys. We believe the American Experiment can survive and thrive for every American who contributes to the effort. Where we go from here is up to us. This is the driving force that fuels our mission.

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.

Past Episodes with Braver Angels Leaders

Episode 110: Creating Laboratories for Friction with Mónica GuzmánMonica Guzman
Micah HeEpisode 93: Togetherness Activists with Micah Hendlerndler
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Episode 157: Civic Renewal Through Ensemble with Chris and Beth Munce

Last week, instead of a typical adult getaway for our anniversary, Beth and I attended the National Conference of Braver Angels. From the Mission Statement:

Americans on opposite sides of the political spectrum don’t only disagree on issues — they increasingly dislike one another. This growing partisan animosity is the crisis of our time and threatens our nation. Braver Angels exists to address this challenge.

Braver Angels Mission

For many who have followed this show over the last 4 and a half years, you might notice that this mission is also the mission of the Choralosophy Podcast. I believe that we in Music Education suffer from this affliction as well as the broader society. In many ways, because of the politically homogenous nature of the Education and Performing Arts communities, we have it WORSE than society at large. We are badly in need of a dose of our own Civic Renewal. To this end, I am proud to say that the Choralosophy Podcast is now a part of the Braver Network of organizations and media outlets willing to stand up for the value of bringing everyone to the table to find common ground. As listeners, YOU can join for FREE as part the Choralosophy community.

I see a VERY obvious role for music ensembles to play in this project. The metaphors should be obvious. How many of our choirs, bands, and orchestras bring together people with a true diversity of world views? How intentional are we about creating an environment where ALL of our singers and players are able to bring their WHOLE selves to class or to rehearsal. Ensemble music is one of the biggest sources of opportunity for large numbers of people to gather IN PERSON to unite on a common project. This project of music requires that they set aside their political projects to focus on what they can accomplish TOGETHER.

Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.
Clinician/Presenter Requests
Support the Show/Bonus Materials
Choralosophy Community Blog
Merch Store!
RyanMain.com is now expanding to a family of composers! Visit endeavormusicpublishing.com and of course, enter Choralosophy at checkout for a 10% discount!
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!

The Challenge We Face (From Braver Angels Website)

As we separate into groups that increasingly do not even know, or interact with, people of differing opinions, we lose trust in our institutions, eroding the ability to govern ourselves and lowering the caliber of citizenship. This growing trend coarsens public debate, produces policy gridlock, shrinks our capacity for goodwill, and harms our family and personal relationships. Effective self government depends precisely on what this type of polarization destroys. We believe the American Experiment can survive and thrive for every American who contributes to the effort. Where we go from here is up to us. This is the driving force that fuels our mission.

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.

Past Episodes with Braver Angels Leaders

Episode 110: Creating Laboratories for Friction with Mónica GuzmánMonica Guzman
Micah HeEpisode 93: Togetherness Activists with Micah Hendlerndler
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Episode 150: Choir After the Pandemic with Emmy Burch and Chris Munce DURING the Pandemic

Now that the pandemic is officially over, I thought it would be a good time to release this audio I captured back in April of 2021. About 30 of us brave Choralosophers gathered in Atlanta back when NO ONE was doing in person conventions to have a mini choral summit. One of those sessions was led by Emmy Burch and myself about the things that spark us to create, and the fears that hold us back from creating them. At the time this conversation occurred, we were all afraid of what was to come. I find this to be a fascinating time capsule to a time a little over two years ago, in which many of us had nothing else to do other than dream.

You will hear thoughts about the gaps we have between our abundance of choral instructors, and the much needed “choral entrepreneur,” that I think is so crucial to the future of our profession. We will also hear from session attendees about their ideas and fears. Tune in!

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Pandemic Coverage on Choralosophy

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Episode 129: Channeling Emotional Contagion with Dr. Gary Seighman

There is an often felt, but rarely quantified sense within ensemble music experiences that something truly MAGICAL is happening that changes us profoundly. However, recent
scientific discoveries (link to sources below) are adding a more concrete validity to that which experienced musicians already intuitively know. Studies that reveal the physiological and psychological processes of cooperative effort, especially musical collaboration. The implications of these ideas are beginning to shape our very definition of “ensemble,” while providing new understandings of the benefits of group musical expression on the individual. Dr. Gary Seighman joins me to make some truly crucial observations about our art form and the human instrument.

“Presently, topics pertaining to musical perception and creativity are highly popular in neuroscience research. A major development in the field was the proposing of a human mirror neuron system. After the discovery in rhesus monkeys of “mirror neurons” that fire during both action and observation of motor behavior, scientists detected a similar working system in the fronto-parietal region of humans.” -From Gary’s related Choral Journal Article

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Gary Seighman is Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Trinity University in San Antonio, TX where he oversees a comprehensive choral program and teaches courses in conducting and music education. Under his direction, Trinity’s choral ensembles have garnered regional and national accolades with invited performances at conferences including TMEA, the College Music Society, the National Collegiate Choral Organization, frequent international touring, and most recently, 3rd place for the 2022 The American Prize Competition as the smallest university in the country among the finalists. Recent professional engagements include Nashville, New York City, Taipei, Vienna, London, and Dublin. Dr. Seighman holds degrees from Westminster Choir College, the University of Oklahoma, and the University of Maryland. His wife, Dr. Jennifer Seighman, is also a choral conductor and they have 2 children, Justin and Gabrielle.

Gary’s “Choir IQ”
Notes and Sources
YouTube Channel

For more on this topic from Gary, visit Forward Motion

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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
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Episode 119: Yes Middle Schoolers CAN! with Dale Duncan

In this episode I sit down with THE Middle School choir guru, Dale Duncan to talk about sweet spot for success in Middle School vocal music. Middle School Singers are often overlooked and underestimated. What they need is an educator that believes in them, and provides high quality instruction in a school that supports them. We talk about the balance between high expectations, trust building, pitch matching in puberty, motivation of middle schoolers, connection and belonging and how they all serve each other. Dale also shares a bit about what it is like to be retired, his favorite things about teaching Middle School as well as talks through some of its greatest challenges. We ranged a bit into other areas too like pre and post pandemic choral music, and education and some of the changes we have seen, as well as why years 20-30 can be the “prime years” for teachers.

Dale Duncan
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Episode 119
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From Dale’s Website

I have taught middle school students for well over 20 years.  I currently teach over 340 un-auditioned choral students.  I have up to 84 students in one class by myself.  I could never have managed that as a young teacher, but along the way, I have learned several tips and tricks to help me successfully manage this age group of students in a positive learning environment.

I started my career in North Carolina where I taught for 5 years. In the beginning, I struggled enormously with classroom management.  My middle school students totally “ran over me”.  I was unstructured, inconsistent and ineffective.  I was discouraged and felt like a total failure.  I felt alone.  I thought often about quitting teaching and doing something else.  I was armed with a masters degree and absolutely no idea how to teach this age group.

I am not a quitter, so I kept going.  I observed other teachers, and slowly began to figure a couple of things out that helped me hang in there.

I continued my career in New Jersey for the next 6 years.  It was there that I saw an amazingly gifted choral educator who had created the most magnificent middle school choral program I had ever seen.  She graciously allowed me to observe her teaching a few times, and that was when things began to click for me.  I began to realize how to relate to and successfully teach this age group.  That is when my programs began to grow exponentially.

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Car Thoughts: Back to School with No Masks and Normalizing Noise Making

Anxiety from within is normal. The belief that students can’t overcome the anxiety can often come from the teacher’s approach. It is critically important to normalize “singing without fear.”

In this car thoughts conversation, we reflect on starting the first “normal” school year in three years. This is a significant opportunity to return normalcy to our students of all levels. I also offer ideas for teachers to consider when thinking about the first days of school, as well ways to structure the first rehearsal’s priorities. How do we set up the expectations that lead to a successful school year?

Also included are ideas about back to school retreats, the CDC’s relaxation of Covid caution recommendations, and the importance of “normal.”

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Make Singing Sounds with your Mouth Holes!
Car Thoughts

It is important that your first day of school is dominated by singing.

Chris Munce
JD Frizzell
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Episode 109: Doing the Business of Choir with Alex Gartner

Do you think of yourself as a “choir leading business person?” I am going to guess that most of you don’t, and I’m going to suggest that maybe you should. There are aspects of leading any type of choral program that require business acumen in order to excel. This makes many of us bristle as artists because we love to stay wrapped up in the emotional and in the art. But the reality is that we often have to call upon skills that our training programs didn’t prepare us with. They didn’t teach us tax law, or marketing or accounting, but we have to develop these skills or our programs fall apart. So I had a conversation with Alex Gartner about that very thing. Tune in as we discuss the business of doing choir.

Alex Gartner
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Episode 109
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Alex Gartner serves as the Artistic & Executive Director of the Pensacola Children’s Chorus in Pensacola, FL. Under his leadership, the organization has grown to impact nearly 25,000 individuals throughout Northwest Florida, including over 5,000 youth, through innovative programs, performances, and organizational practices. He also serves the American Choral Directors Association as the Children’s and Youth R&R Coordinator for the Southern Region, is an all-state coordinator for the Florida Music Education Association, and previously served on the national arts education council with Americans for the Arts. An active clinician, guest conductor, and composer, his arrangements are available through many reputable publishers. Check out his latest work on social media or at www.AlexGartner.com.

Episode 288: When we are Forced to Choose…

Between process or performance. Between our philosophy and our job. Between what’s best for kids and what our colleagues want How do we navigate the conundrum of a performance based institutional system with the “slower at first” tools based philosophy that we know is best for long term growth? How do we convince an administrator…

by Choralosophy Podcast

Episode 287: Give Them Tools and Let Them Build Part 4 (Rhythm)

Part Four are the rhythm tools: Rap the words, Takadimi, count singing. Each have their roles, and particular problems that they help to solve. In this episode, peek into some rehearsals where students demonstrate their tool selection and application. Beat is felt in the body, constructed in the brain, and CAN be taught. Rhythm is…

by Choralosophy Podcast
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Episode 108: Dropping the Covid Ball with Dr. Nikki Johnson

The Return of Covid Conversations!

Sadly, many of us in education have lived at the epicenter of the Covid Wars. Possibly the biggest political football during the pandemic has been what to do with the kids, and what to do with schools. For those of us in choral music, we lived at that intersection along with a hysteria created at first by our very own professional organizations. This contributed to a perfect storm of lost positions, cut programs, recruiting problems and a laundry list of misplaced apprehensions about singing. Facts that I am still not sure we have all come to terms with. Of course, it is important to remember that in this cross fire were students and community members displaced from life affirming and often life saving educational and humanizing opportunities. While it is always reasonable to weigh new risks against old norms, it is not reasonable to present our preferred policies as if they have no downsides worthy of heavy consideration. In this episode I speak with Pediatrician, and Covid Policy Advocate Dr. Nikki Johnson about the “Harm Reduction” approach to Covid Policy, the political blinders we all wore or still wear, and many errors in reasoning to which this contributed. One of the big errors singers have made is the role masks play in our safety.

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Dr. Nikki Johnson

We also discuss the difference between a high quality signers mask designed to STAY ON while you sing… (Like the new Resonance 95 from MyMusicFolders.com Don’t forget to use your promo code!) and just wearing any old mask for any amount of time, flopping your jaw around willy nilly. Finally, we do a bit of prognosticating about ways to process in a more healthy way in the next wave.

A look back to this audience’s appeal to ACDA about Covid Messaging signed by over 250 colleagues.

Episode 108

A rational approach to Covid policy for our schools and institutions is forward looking, measured and responsive to the most recent information and community health outcomes.

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

Materials Referenced in the Episode

NYT Article Mentioned RE Mask effectiveness vs. Mask POLICY

The US was an outlier on School Closures

Early in the Pandemic, Europe Was Much Quicker to Get Kids Back to School

Urgency of Normal Toolkit

Episode 285: Teach Choir Like Band. And Band Like Choir with Matthew Arau

What can vocal and instrumental music education learn from each other? At what point does specialization become uneccessary siloing of what should be a “music ‘education” profession? Matthew Arau is the guest. Yes… ANOTHER band teacher… Back in January, I accidentally attended Matthew’s session at the recent Missouri Music Educator conference. You read that right.…

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Episode 284: Is the Ensemble Model Outdated? With Kevin Droe

I’ve said for a long time that music education is at a crossroads—but depending on who you ask, we’re either evolving… or we’re missing the point entirely. Are traditional school music programs—band, choir, orchestra—reaching enough students? And if not, why? There’s a growing narrative in music education right now that what we’ve been doing for…

by Choralosophy Podcast
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Episode 99: The World Imagined with Gabriel Jackson

Part of the Oxford Series on the Choralosophy Podcast

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Gabriel Jackson-Photo credit: Reinis Hofmanis

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
Choralosophy presented by Ludus. Visit Ludus.com/choralosophy for the cutting edge in fine arts ticketing and marketing solutions.

If you are in the US, check out Gabriel’s upcoming musical exploits! The US Premiere of The World Imagined! Concert in Elgin, Illinois. Find Gabriel’s catalog on his site!

Upcoming events involving Gabriel’s compositions. https://www.variantsix.com/new-suns

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Episode 99: Gabriel Jackson
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YOUR 10 Favorite Episodes of 2021

John Rutter, JD Frizell, Odell Ziegler, a Newsweek writer and an Epidemiologist walk into a bar…

What do all of these people have in common? They, along with several others, have made the Choralosophy TOP 10 of 2021. The episodes and post that created the most buzz this year are listed, linked and reviewed below!

John Rutter, on the Oxford Series, comfortably nailed down the top episode of the year. Shared hundreds of times as thousands tuned in to the choral legend’s wise words and delightful optimism and wisdom.

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The rest of the episodes are listed in no particular order, partly because it was difficult to distinguish them, other than the seemed to drum up more interest than a typical episode. One of the many things I love about the Choralosophy audience, is that the diversity of topics on the list doesn’t surprise me at all. Podcast listeners tend to be voracious consumers of thought provoking and wide ranging conversations.

Top 10 2021 in Review!

Top 10 episodes covered music literacy, the educational/choral community’s bungled response to Covid, crafting a conductor’s credo, political polarization, authentic communication in performance, and the nation’s racial divide.

Click the image below to find the episode!

Other highlights from 2021 included the show cracking half a MILLION downloads and streams as well as inching into the top 1.5% of all global podcasts. Thanks for listening, and keep the conversation going!

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YOUR 10 Favorite Episodes of 2021

John Rutter, JD Frizell, Odell Ziegler, a Newsweek writer and an Epidemiologist walk into a bar…

What do all of these people have in common? They, along with several others, have made the Choralosophy TOP 10 of 2021. The episodes and post that created the most buzz this year are listed, linked and reviewed below!

John Rutter, on the Oxford Series, comfortably nailed down the top episode of the year. Shared hundreds of times as thousands tuned in to the choral legend’s wise words and delightful optimism and wisdom.

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The rest of the episodes are listed in no particular order, partly because it was difficult to distinguish them, other than the seemed to drum up more interest than a typical episode. One of the many things I love about the Choralosophy audience, is that the diversity of topics on the list doesn’t surprise me at all. Podcast listeners tend to be voracious consumers of thought provoking and wide ranging conversations.

Top 10 2021 in Review!

Top 10 episodes covered music literacy, the educational/choral community’s bungled response to Covid, crafting a conductor’s credo, political polarization, authentic communication in performance, and the nation’s racial divide.

Click the image below to find the episode!

Other highlights from 2021 included the show cracking half a MILLION downloads and streams as well as inching into the top 1.5% of all global podcasts. Thanks for listening, and keep the conversation going!

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Performance is Virtuous, Unmasked Concerts and Teacher Burnout

Perform! And be proud of it!

Audiences NEED us this Holiday season. Our singers need to perform. Children need to see smiles. We inject so much joy into the world when we perform. In this short episode I discuss a few topics briefly that I felt the need to get off my chest. Including the critical nature of performance, of choral music as an art form, as well as the value of seeing faces. We have had good reason over the last couple of years to rationalize these things down the scale of importance, but it’s time to reevaluate that.

Car Thoughts!

I also talk about my thoughts related to teacher burnout that are a bit outside of the mainstream discourse. “Moral Injury” is a relatively new term that I believe applies to many teachers over the last year. Tune in to join the conversation.

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Perform! And be proud of it!
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By the way, I am back at it with a full concert season, and it feels great! I’m even giving performances with mostly unmasked choirs! I am excited about this, and am looking forward to the connections we will make as a result.

Introducing the Resonance 95!

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The Resonance-95 mask is made of three layers, and includes a middle layer of non-woven polypropylene filtration fabric through out the mask. The Resonance-95 mask filters aerosols down to 0.2 microns with a 98-99% efficiency, and meets or exceeds the new ASTM F3502-21 standards for Barrier Face Coverings. It also meets the Respirator N95 Precertification Tests for NIOSH  which we will continue to pursue as we have to submit samples from several production lots before final certification is assigned. We have had this mask tested at Nelson Labs in Utah and provide the test results in these images. 

In addition to filtration efficiency, mask “fit” is very important for protection. Our mask holds snugly to the face, extends under the chin, and seals completely across the cheeks and nose with a bead of silicone beneath the extended malleable wire. This helps with fogging glasses, but also “proves” the seal helps contain exhaled aerosol particles (which carry viral particles if the person is infected or asymptomatically carrying the disease). The Resonance-95 mask is hand-washable and hang-to-dry.

Youtube version

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Episode 80: Finding Connection Again with Nicola Dedmon

At some point, we have to come back to choir, (or quit) and the Covid risk will not be zero. So, it is now unavoidable that we will have to become comfortable engaging with humans in close proximity because they NEED us. Choir is essential. Nicola Dedmon recently wrote a great article in the ACDA Western Division’s Tactus magazine over the summer that I recently found, and found very moving. So, here she is to tell her Covid story as well as discuss with me the choir world’s Covid Conversation.

How can we come back from the polarization, the finger pointing, and the political myopia and become leaders of diverse groups again?

One side thinks the other is pro-death and the other thinks the opposing side are authoritarian hypochondriacs trying to take over the world.

Nicola Dedmon
Nicola Dedmon
Episode 80
Nicola’s Tactus Article

Professor Nicola Bertoni Dedmon is currently on faculty at Fullerton College as a Choral/Vocal Professor, where she coordinates the Choral Area and conducts the Concert Choir and Chamber Singers, in addition to teaching private voice. She currently serves on the board of ACDA Western Division as an R&R Coordinator. Professor Dedmon is a graduate of James Madison University (BM) and Westminster Choir College (MM).

How To Fix Our Broken Relationship with COVID Math co-authored by Dr. Höeg from Episode 49 and 75

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Episode 75: The Delta Variables with Dr. Tracy Hoeg (Part 1)

CDC published epidemiologist returns to the show to discuss the science of schools in the shifting sands of Delta.

Since appearing on the show in November on Episode 49, Dr. Høeg has been very busy both researching and making public commentary about the issues surrounding Covid, kids and schools. Since her first Choralosophy appearance, she was a senior author on a study about in school transmission published by the CDC and subsequently referenced in their “Back to School Guidelines.” In addition, she has written articles in the Atlantic and the New York Times among others.

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Dr. Tracy Høeg

In this episode, the Dr. and I discuss the data on Delta variant and it’s effect on kids, whether or not masking in schools is as obvious as we present it here in the US, and how other countries are approaching it, her advice on putting singing safety in a broader context beyond the “Aerosol Study” we all know and love. Dr. Høeg has been very generous with her time in the tradition of the other Covid Conversations on this show wandering beyond even the data to the philosophy that governs the “harm reduction” philosophy. You don’t want to miss this one.

Episode 75 Part 1

Data Representations Discussed in Episode.

* To calculate Infection Fatality rate, divide deaths by total infections.
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Episode 33: Risk Assessment for Group Activities with Dr. Amesh Adalja of Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security

Dr. Adalja is a Senior Scholar at the Johns Hopkins University Center for Health Security. His work is focused on emerging infectious disease, pandemic preparedness, and biosecurity.

I am honored to be able to publish this in a time in which all of the education field is reeling with the possibility that school might be unrecognizable in the fall. From state educational organizations publishing recommendations that look very scary, to “The Webinar” that blew up facebook.

I publish this NOT because this episode provides a solution, (because there is no easy solution) but simply to begin a dialogue on how to assess our own risks. In our current world, this is a skill everyone will need in order to do their work. We cannot farm risk assessment out completely to politicians or to our bosses.

My goal is to help us be self and singer advocates. The parents of many of our student singers who own restaurants are doing this right now. We are next.

Episode 33
Episode 33

Many of these decisions will not be made by us, but we need our voices at the table armed with solid information. Follow Dr. Adalja on Twitter @AmeshAA

Dr. Adalja has served on US government panels tasked with developing guidelines for the treatment of plague, botulism, and anthrax in mass casualty settings and the system of care for infectious disease emergencies, and as an external advisor to the New York City Health and Hospital Emergency Management Highly Infectious Disease training program, as well as on a FEMA working group on nuclear disaster recovery. He is currently a member of the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s (IDSA) Precision Medicine working group and is one of their media spokespersons; he previously served on their public health and diagnostics committees. Dr. Adalja is a member of the American College of Emergency Physicians Pennsylvania Chapter’s EMS & Terrorism and Disaster Preparedness Committee as well as the Allegheny County Medical Reserve Corps. He was formerly a member of the National Quality Forum’s Infectious Disease Standing Committee and the US Department of Health and Human Services’ National Disaster Medical System, with which he was deployed to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake; he was also selected for their mobile acute care strike team. Dr. Adalja’s expertise is frequently sought by international and national media.

Dr. Adalja is an Associate Editor of the journal Health Security. He was a coeditor of the volume Global Catastrophic Biological Risks, a contributing author for the Handbook of Bioterrorism and Disaster Medicine, the Emergency Medicine CorePendium, Clinical Microbiology Made Ridiculously Simple, UpToDate’s section on biological terrorism, and a NATO volume on bioterrorism. He has also published in such journals as the New England Journal of Medicine, the Journal of Infectious Diseases, Clinical Infectious Diseases, Emerging Infectious Diseases, and the Annals of Emergency Medicine.

Dr. Adalja is a Fellow of the Infectious Diseases Society of America, the American College of Physicians, and the American College of Emergency Physicians. He is a member of various medical societies, including the American Medical Association, the HIV Medicine Association, and the Society of Critical Care Medicine. He is a board-certified physician in internal medicine, emergency medicine, infectious diseases, and critical care medicine.

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Dr. Adalja completed 2 fellowships at the University of Pittsburgh—one in infectious diseases, for which he served as chief fellow, and one in critical care medicine. He completed a combined residency in internal medicine and emergency medicine at Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, where he served as chief resident and as a member of the infection control committee. He was a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine from 2010 through 2017 and is currently an adjunct assistant professor there.

He is a graduate of the American University of the Caribbean School of Medicine, and he obtained a bachelor of science degree in industrial management from Carnegie Mellon University.

Dr. Adalja is a native of Butler, Pennsylvania, and actively practices infectious disease, critical care, and emergency medicine in the Pittsburgh metropolitan area, where he also serves on the City of Pittsburgh’s HIV Commission and on the advisory group of AIDS Free Pittsburgh.