choral director march

MARCH 2013$5.00

Choral Director • March 2013 3332 Choral Director • March 2013

TWO-PART“En Roulant Ma Boule”arr. Cristi Cary MillerHal LeonardEasy

Christi Cary Miller has created a lively arrangement of this French Canadian song. Verses can be sung in either English or French (or some combination), allowing the per-former to vary and adapt the piece to one’s unique situation. The piano part is helpful

The French language’s innate lyricism and beauty has inspired

generations of composers. Below, I’ve selected some of my

favorite settings of French texts for choirs. Of course, I could

not include all my favorites and had to omit Debussy’s “Trois Chan-

sons de Charles d’Orléans,” which are well worth the challenge!

While French pronunciation can be intimidating for many of us,

valuable resources exist. John Glenn Paton’s new book Gateway to

French Diction: A Guide for Singers (Alfred Music Publishing, 2012) is

well organized and very easy to use. The book also includes a CD of

phrases and song texts spoken by a native French speaker.

By John C. Hughes

Repertoire Forum: French Texts

Choral Works With French Texts

while still having its own artistic merit. The fast tempo and playful text allow this piece to function well at the beginning or end of a concert. A preview of the score and an audio recording are available.

goo.gl/qEC2U

“J’entends Le Moulin”arr. Emily CrockerHal LeonardEasy

“J’entends Le Moulin” is a famous French Canadian folksong from the Que-bec province. The flowing piano accom-paniment wonderfully portrays the text, “I hear the windmill (tique tique taque).” The infectious melody and simple harmo-nies allow emerging ensembles to mas-ter this piece, even with its French text. Throughout the arrangement, Crocker alternates between English and French, which helps both the singers and audi-ence follow the story. The score is very useful with IPA guides and information about the folksong. An accompaniment

CD is available for purchase. goo.gl/hmdoI

SSA“Au Joli Jeu,” from Two European Mad-rigalsClément Janequin, arr. Jerry Weseley HarrisWaltonMedium-Advanced

Clément Janequin (1472–1587) is a fa-mous composer known primarily for his programmatic chansons. “Au Joli Jeu” is a wonderful example of French Renaissance music and contains both polyphonic and homophonic textures. Lynne Gackle, the editor of the choral series from which this piece comes, has done a wonderful job providing a clean score with helpful in-formation. The work is not without chal-lenges: it is unaccompanied and requires significant independent singing. An audio recording is available.

goo.gl/3Y0Ln

TTB“Viva Tutti”Anonymous 18th century, ed. Ralph HunterLawson-Gould/AlfredMedium

Young men will enjoy the raucous nature of “Viva Tutti.” At 200 bpm, the piece flies by with patter-like text setting and unexpected rhythmic accents. This piece truly requires three independent voice parts, but the intrigue of the piece will inspire the singers to work hard. “Viva Tutti” is the perfect way to feature a special group of tenors and basses in a fun, up-beat piece.

TTBB“Vive l’Amour”arr. Robert BoydColla VoceMedium-Advanced

Composed in 2006 for an Illinois high school honor choir festival, Boyd’s arrangement of this traditional French song has enjoyed many subsequent per-formances. “Vive l’Amour” is a wonder-ful piece for men’s voices and extols the virtue of friendship and camaraderie. To truly showcase a talented and tight-knit group of tenors and basses, program this work. While not overly difficult, this piece is truly for four parts, making it accessible

only to advanced singers. The piano ac-companiment is supportive and adds to the nature of the work. A score preview and an audio recording are available.

goo.gl/fD0VB

THREE-PART“Mes Chants”Victor Hugo, arr. Jerry EstesShawneeMedium-Easy

Jerry Estes adapted Victor Hugo’s timeless text and composed a hauntingly beautiful melody for it. The first and last section has French text, and the middle section has an English text. The descant for select voices allows conductors to fea-ture students. The vocal ranges are appro-priate for developing voices.

goo.gl/f54e6

SAB“Chantez Alleluia!”Dave and Jean PerryHeritage/LorenzMedium

Also available in a two-part setting, this piece by Dave and Jean Perry is well craft-ed for developing voices. The repetitive text of only a few words serves as a good introduction to singing in French. “Chan-tez Alleluia!” has a brisk tempo which is further enlivened by the buoyant piano accompaniment. A score preview and au-dio recording are available.

goo.gl/mu3dASATBOxford Book of French Chansonsed. Frank DobbinsOxfordMedium

The Renaissance was a fertile period

for composition in France. While many chansons are available for purchase sepa-rately, why not purchase a collection of the most popular works from the era? Perfect for high schools with a well-established madrigal choir, a set of these books, while not inexpensive, would serve as a tremen-dous resource and an investment in the program for years to come. Choose from the myriad of wonderful pieces contained in this collection, including: “Tant que viv-rai” by Sermisy, “Bonjour mon cœur” by Lassus, or my favorite, “Revoici venir du printemps” by le Jeune.

“J’entends le Moulin”arr. Donald PatriquinearthsongsMedium-Advanced

While many people might associate “J’entends le Moulin” with a children’s playsong, Patriquin’s arrangement is quite advanced. Using un-pitched speak-ing parts, snapping, clapping, and foot stamps, this arrangement is far from or-dinary. The easily learned melody makes learning the work accessible for choirs; however, the piano part is quite demand-ing – so much so that it is printed sepa-rately. Feature a wonderful accompanist on this fun piece; just make sure to give it to him/her well in advance! This piece is also available in a two-part arrangement. The choral score, piano part, and full score are sold separately.

goo.gl/kFwNx

“Alouette”arr. Robert SundWaltonAdvanced

Arranged by the multi-faceted Swedish

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Daniel Gregerman

Performance: Managing Music Performance Anxiety

Roundtable: Trends in Travel – Tips from the Pros

Repertoire Forum: Choral Works with French Texts

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Choral Director® Volume 10, Number 2, is published six times annually by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781)453-9310, publisher of School Band and Orches-tra, Musical Merchandise Review, Music Parents America and JAZZed. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: $20 one year; $30 two years. Rates outside U.S.A. available upon request. Singles issues $5 each. Resource Guide $15 Standard Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to Choral Director, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham MA 02494. The publish-ers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher.Copyright © 2013 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

ContentsFeatures

Columns

6 From the TrenchesBob Morrison looks at some specific ways in which the music products industry and music education have helped each other over the years.

10 Performance: Music Performance AnxietyCD contributor Wendy Nixon examines the triggers for music performance anxiety, as well as some strategies for helping students cope with this common affliction.

14 Guest Editorial: Oklahoma!Keith Mason takes a thorough look at the renowned American musical in celebration of its 70th anniversary.

20 UpClose: Daniel GregermanIn this recent interview, Daniel Gregerman of the highly acclaimed Niles North High School choral program talks about building a well-rounded program, the development of his vocal jazz ensembles, and the challenges of balancing family and work.

26 Roundtable: Travel Industry professionals share successful ingredients of choral trips, cost-saving ideas, and the latest trends in travel.

30 Tech: Cloud SequencersJohn Kuzmich Jr. highlights free online recording and sequencing programs.

32 Repertoire Forum: French TextsJohn C. Hughes presents a selection of choral works with French texts.

4 Opening Notes

6 Headlines

34 Vocal Tip

35 Classifieds

36 Ad Index

Choral Director • March 2013 1110 Choral Director • March 2013

Julia is experiencing Music Perfor-mance Anxiety (MPA), a condition that has physical and psychological mani-festations that can inhibit a musician’s performance quality and experience. Fortunately, choral conductors are in a position to help singers of all ages un-der their leadership manage their MPA by becoming informed and employing some simple strategies.

Managing the Physical Symptoms of MPA

Frequently occurring physical symp-toms of MPA include being unable to relax, dry mouth, frequent urination,

shaking/trembling, nausea/indigestion, hyperventilation, hot/cold sweats, and light-headedness. There are three strate-gies a conductor can implement to help singers like Julia cope with the physical symptoms of MPA: breathing exercises, gentle physical warm-ups, and pre-per-formance routines.

Deep breathing can help calm the mind, lower the heart rate, and prevent hyperventilation. A simple deep breath-ing exercise conductors can teach sing-ers involves expanding the belly with an inhalation that lasts for four slow beats (60 bpm), then singing a mid-range pitch on an “ah” for four beats and then repeating the exercise a semi-tone lower for five consecutive pitches. The number of beats can then be increased to five, then six slow beats for those same five pitches. This exercise can take about 10 minutes, but it can be adjusted as necessary and is very effective.

Self-led physical activities such as stretching, walking, napping, and doing yoga or progressive muscle relaxation can be helpful. Progressive muscle re-laxation is a technique where different muscle groups from the toes to the head are individually tensed for 5-10 sec-onds then released for 10-20 seconds while the eyes are closed and the mind focuses on the difference between the sensations. A conductor can also incor-

porate physical warm-ups at the start of rehearsals to release unwanted tension, particularly in the jaw, throat, and shoul-ders. Simple moves like gentle neck and shoulder rolls, self-massage of the jaw, and massage circles, where the singers stand in a circle and massage each oth-er’s shoulders, are effective. This can be done along to a recording of an uplift-ing song. Singers also enjoy taking turns leading these exercises. Applying physi-cal strategies can help reduce muscular tension, thereby improving the function of the vocal mechanism, the efficiency of the body in supporting vocal produc-tion, and having a positive effect on a

singers’ visual presentation on stage.Pre-performance routines can help a

singer get in the right mindset to focus on performance. A conductor can help singers develop an awareness of what procedures or rituals would be benefi-cial to them as individuals. For exam-ple, many athletes employ visualization in their pre-performance routines. Like-wise, conductors can lead visualization exercises for their singers, helping them to picture and feel themselves singing with calm focused confidence while breathing deeply. A short, positive, and relevant phrase to repeat in their heads may be helpful. With respect to water, singers should be instructed to hydrate up to an hour prior to performing to help with dry mouth, and in extreme cases, be permitted to bring water on stage. Attire matters; cool clothing can help reduce hot sweats and flat shoes can help singers feel more grounded when shaking or trembling are felt. Sim-ple routines, like going to the bathroom and eating a sufficient amount of easy-to-digest food, are helpful. Remember-ing these necessities is highly beneficial to coping with physical discomforts.

Some singers prefer to have a quiet time prior to performing while some prefer to go over challenging sections of music or affirm each other. Each singer can learn what activity would be most

beneficial for him or herself through experimentation. A pre-performance pep talk by the conductor can include a little humor, affirmation that the sing-ers know what they are doing, and that the conductor has confidence in them. It might also be helpful to include two or three specific directions/reminders (no more!), and a short review of the purpose of music and why we choose to sing (this can be done around the circle with each singer contributing an idea).

Psychological Symptoms of MPA

The psychological symptoms of MPA center on fear. They include the fear of forgetting notes/rhythms, the fear of letting others down, fear of social dis-approval, fear of MPA symptoms nega-tively affecting performance, negative self-talk, feeling terrified, and experi-encing a lack of focus or concentration.

The aspects of fear in the context of MPA can be reduced by conductors planning with intentionality, coaching singers on the practice of mindfulness, and creating opportunities for singers to desensitize to performing. Conduc-tors must plan in advance for sufficient and effective rehearsal time for the per-formance material to become almost au-tomatic, for vocal technique to develop, and potentially for memorization of the material. We’ve all heard the expression: “Practice, practice, practice,” but choris-ters may need some guidance in what that entails. For example, they may not know that they are responsible for self-studying and that practicing for shorter periods consistently over time is more effective than cramming for extended periods at the last minute, as Julia was attempting to do. Conductors need to remember that the implementation of last-minute changes is rarely successful and highly anxiety-inducing. Letting go of the fear of forgetting is imperative so that the mind is free to apply what has been well-rehearsed and the singer can enjoy the aesthetic benefits of perform-ing music.

Cultivating mindfulness, a state of being aware of your thoughts, is a use-ful approach to prevent the negative thoughts or fears surrounding the pros-pect of a performance that can maintain and amplify anxiety. Conductors can

“Yes!” exclaims Julia

to a fellow soprano

following a dress

rehearsal. “I finally got the third

verse words right, just in the nick

of time!” Julia strolls confidently

home, knowing her mother has

planned a healthy dinner and a

quiet night to help her conserve

her energy for tomorrow’s eagerly

anticipated choral concert. Unfor-

tunately, her evening unfolds much

differently than she had hoped.

Julia tucks into bed on the early side of her normal bedtime and settles in for a re-freshing sleep, but she has a difficult time winding down. Her brain spins with lyr-ics and loops challenging melodic snippets endlessly. She rises in the morning feeling as if she’s been rehearsing all night long. Breakfast seems like a good idea until the first bite tastes like sawdust in her dry mouth and the butterflies in her stomach scream, “Not hungry!”

Panicking and madly flipping through her music binder, Julia erratically jumps from piece to piece, finding that hardly any of it seems familiar. “Only two hours until concert time!” she tensely shrills as she paces the floor, wringing her hands. “What am I going to do? I’m going to let my choir down, look foolish, and my con-ductor will be so angry with me!”

By Wendy Nixon

Performance: Musical Performance Anxiety

Helping Singers Manage Music Performance Anxiety

“When singers feel that the conductor is confident in him or herself and the choir, they will trust that the situation is safe for them to more readily express themselves vocally.”

Choral Director • March 2013 2726 Choral Director • November 2012

Roundtable: Travel

Kurt Hargleroad, EPN TravelPlan ahead. The further out you start the planning process, the more

likely you are to get the transportation and attractions that best meet your needs. Communicate directly with the parents concerning the cost of the trip, payment deadlines, and cancellation policies. Use a travel planner: their knowledge and experience are invaluable, especially if something does not go as planned.

Be realistic with your time and with your budget. Allow time for traffic and weather issues. The more affordable the trip, the greater num-

Trends in in Travel:Tips from the Pros

Traveling with a school choral group is an adventure for

students, and even more so for the director. From the

initial planning phases to hammering down the logistical

details to execution of those plans during the trip itself, directors

have their hands full making sure everything goes smoothly at ev-

ery step along the entire process. There’s also the constant balance

of opportunity versus cost: deciding what elements are essential

and worth paying for, as well as what can be trimmed to adhere

to budgetary restrictions without negatively impacting the overall

experience.

For some perspective on the latest trends in choral travel, Choral Director reached out to a number of travel professionals, who shared their thoughts on the most impor-tant components to a successful travel experience, tips for keeping costs down without skimping on the experience, as well as what they’re seeing as the latest trends in school music ensemble travel.

ber of students can participate. Often the best part of the trip is the group just being together. A pizza party at the hotel can be just as much fun as a sit down dinner in an expensive restaurant.

The number of performers in ensembles is decreasing. We are seeing more small en-semble travel such as a jazz band or cham-ber choir.

Janet Tollund, Accolades International Tours for the Arts

When I speak to en-semble directors about planning a prospective per-formance tour, one of the first questions that comes up is, “How much is this going to cost?” Our com-pany specializes in international tours, so many directors assume our tours won’t come close to matching their budget. Sur-prisingly, this is often not the case. There’s no question that the cost of touring has risen significantly over the last few years, but there are many ways a director can keep costs more reasonable for his/her students, such as traveling during low season. For a European tour, this means late winter/early spring – perfect for spring break tours.

Consider combining with another en-semble or inviting parents/friends to join the group. Every empty seat on a motor

coach adds cost to the tour, so the goal is to travel with a full coach-load.

Many of our loyal clients continue to tour abroad with us, as they know the huge value these tours add to the future of their program. A consistent international tour schedule is a great recruitment tool for the program, no matter what the level. Today’s tours tend to be shorter in length, but the quality of the programming is still intact.

It’s not impossible to plan a tour that fits one’s budget, but it does take careful plan-ning with a tour company that understands the needs of the ensemble.

Rick Dillard, American Classic Tours & Music Festivals

The most important components to a successful travel experience include a thorough and patient con-sultation with the decision maker that matches up the goals and dreams with the practical reality of what the group believes they can achieve. A good dis-cussion with some guidance from a consul-tant with a background in teaching and ex-perience planning trips with student groups is really helpful. The group needs to have someone (assistant to the teacher or volun-teer parent) who is willing to keep financial records and assist in getting payments pro-cessed in a timely fashion – keeping the bur-den off the shoulders of the teacher.

Being willing to consider staying a little outside the metro area of the city (as in Newark when going to Manhattan) is a way to save a considerable amount of money. Using public transportation whenever pos-sible, rather than charter buses, and allow-ing the students to find good food options in a nice and safe mall location can also help the budget.

In our area, I find more schools decid-ing to not travel every year, but when they do, they are making it a bigger trip – some-times even international.

Kyle Naylor, WorldStrides Heritage Performance Programs

The most important component to a success-ful travel experience for music students is the abil-ity to provide both worry-free and cost-effective pro-grams. Our model allows a music director to turn as much of the itinerary planning as they wish over to our destination specialists so that we can chase down the time consum-ing details while they focus on their musical preparation.

Controlling costs will always be the chal-lenge and rightful responsibility of each mu-sic director on tour and can be done without compromising the quality of the experience. Allying themselves with an expert for their desired destination is the best way to control those costs. Experienced professionals have put together hundreds of itinerary plans and have dealt with budget ranges from slim to extravagant and everything in between. They can give good counsel on what to see, where to eat, and so on, providing a won-derful experience packaged within a budget that the music director provides.

The latest trends we’ve noticed among our traveling ensembles is an ever-increas-ing usage of technology. Our festival teams are able to communicate with the music di-rector with real time updates on what may be happening in a given city, both pre-de-parture and during the actual trip. This cer-tainly allows for better planning and has re-sulted in greater safety and security for each of our student travelers. We also digitally record and archive all of our adjudication sessions to make them available immediate-ly after the event. This allows the different ensembles to immediately implement the musical suggestions of our adjudicators to improve the quality of their performance. Social media at our events keeps parents and friends at home updated on festival fun and achievements.

Michael Way, BrightsparkSince there is so much to

experience, knowing your goals and focus of the tour is very important to creat-ing an efficient tour plan that takes full advantage of your time (and wasting less of it in traffic). It is also im-portant to schedule enough time at venues so students can appreciate them and learn more about where they will be performing. It’s a good idea to take into consideration the interest of your group: they will enjoy it more if they know they will be performing at a venue they’ve been particularly excited about.

Realistically estimate the number of travelers in your ensemble. If you have 100, chances are that 10-15 will not go right off the bat. So plan for taking less than 100 percent of your ensemble. Prepare your students for the trip and the costs; don’t just spring the trip on them with a payment schedule. Allow time to present the trip and for the families to plan financially for the tour.

We would always suggest using a travel operator that can offer experience and expertise, to help you make the most

of your investment of time and resources. Communicate with your travel planning partner often to be sure you both have an understanding of the budget as well as the educational goals of the trip. But also plan-ning ahead can help you recruit enough students, or allow for time if you need to fundraise. Too little time may not give the financial options to all students who wish to attend. In many cases it is wise to orga-nize and include a team of parents and stu-dents who can take ownership of helping you insure a trips success. Here are other tips:• Consider driving instead of flying if

time allows.

• Prioritize your venues with your travel coordinator weighing cost vs. options.

• Consider a day of public transpor-tation in venues such as New York instead of needing to rent a coach.

We are seeing a resurgence of the lon-ger trip, and larger numbers of passengers on each trip. The focus of trips has also changed so that the music education curric-ulum portion of the trip is much more ap-parent than it used to be. The performance trips are having to conform to points in the state education curriculums.

Also, performance opportunities that connect to the venue such as Voices on Broadway or the experience at Third Man Records at Jack White’s live recording stu-dio are gaining a lot of interest. At Voices on Broadway, students have the chance to perform with the real Broadway cast. Third Man Records offers “School Choirs & Bands at Third Man: A Vinyl Recording Experience,” a program that exposes the MP3 generation to the world of vinyl, ana-log recording, and the recording industry beyond the performance. These types of ex-clusive programs connect students directly with the artists, making for a truly unique experience.

Veena Vohra, Four Winds ToursFor music groups, the

performance opportunities are what make the differ-ence in a successful trip. Performing at a unique lo-cation with a good audience is what can really make a performance special.

There are many ways to keep the cost down without compromising the value of a student trip. Location can make a differ-ence. Choosing a location like Washington, D.C., where many of the attractions are free but still very worthwhile, can help. Also, staying closer to home helps save on trans-portation costs. Staying at hotels where

10

26

March 2013

Cover photo by Tom C. McGrath, TCMcG Photography, Chicago, Ill. www.tcmcgphotography.com

20 Daniel Gregerman

“It’s not about giving them an experience – It’s about giving them the best experience.

”

TOC.indd 2 3/18/13 2:16 PM

Choral Director • March 2013 3

March 2013 • Volume 10, Number 2

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Opening Notes

Elevating the MessageEverywhere I turn, people are talking about music. While it might be fair to chalk

some of this up to my own bias and the company I keep – I do spend most of my wak-ing time either thinking about music ed-related topics and articles or actively pursuing my own (strictly amateur) music-making endeavors – there’s no question that this mes-sage of the importance of music education is resonating within the public eye. Along those lines, kudos are in order to our many friends over at the Music Education Policy Roundtable, which, even though it is less than a year old, has already had some tre-mendous victories presenting a powerful, unified voice on behalf of music education.

This coalition, comprised of members of Chorus America, ACDA, MTNA, NAfME, Drum Corps Inter-national, the League of American Orchestra, NAMM, the Percussive Arts Society, and a handful of other organizations, is dedicated to advocating for the ad-vancement of music education in schools. The group’s vision, per the NAfME website is: “A music education advocacy and public policy infrastructure of organiza-tions dedicated to ensuring the presence and persever-ance of school music programs operated by certified music educators teaching sequential, standards-based music education to students across the nation.”

Recent successes achieved by the Roundtable and its members include the designation of a new Grammy award to be given annually to a music educator – an-nounced live at the Grammy Awards in February by Justin Timberlake, Ryan Seacrest, and Neil Portnow of the Grammy Foundation (see Headlines: Page 4) – and a strong statement delivered in response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union Address (see Head-

lines: Page 4) with the hopes of influencing policy makers to further support music and the arts in schools. For a more comprehensive listing of advancements made by music industry and advocacy groups on behalf of music education, see this issue’s “From the Trenches” column (Page 6) by Bob Morrison, founder of Quadrant Arts Education Re-search – also the newest member of the Music Education Policy Roundtable.

While the prospect of future funding, support, and recognition is surely welcome by all music and arts educators, this issue of Choral Director is also full of practical and insightful information that teachers can use in their classrooms today. Covering every-thing from tips on dealing with music performance anxiety (see Performance: Page 10) to travel tips from industry professionals (Roundtable: Page 26), a guide to the latest free online recording and sequencing software (Technology: Page 30), and even an in-depth look at Oklahoma!, one of America’s most renowned musicals (Guest Editorial: Page 14), this issue is sure to have a little something for everyone.

And then there’s the insight provided by cover subject Daniel Gregerman, director of the award-winning choral program at Niles North High School in Skokie, Illinois and founding member of the Jazz Education Network. “If I’m not learning every day, I’m not doing justice to the field of education and I’m not doing justice to my students,” says Gregerman. “So I’m constantly striving for ways to do things differently, be cutting edge, and find what the next best thing is.” Hopefully this issue of Choral Director can help achieve that aim…

“This coalition is dedicated to advocating

for the advancement of music education in

schools.”

®

Eliahu SussmanEditor • [email protected]

Perspective.indd 3 3/18/13 2:16 PM


HeadlinesMusic Ed Roundtable Issues Response to State of the Union Address

The Music Education Policy Round-table – an association formed last June that counts among its members NAfME, ACDA, Chorus America, NAMM, Quad-rant Arts Education Research, and a host of other music education advocacy and trade groups – has released a response to President Barack Obama’s recent State of the Union Address. The response is ex-cerpted below:

On the evening of February 12th, 2013, President Obama spoke directly to the nation regarding a variety of sig-nificant domestic policy issues. The Music Education Policy Roundtable is pleased that a portion of the President’s State of the Union address pertained to the impor-tance of addressing education reform in America. We applaud the President’s sup-port for improving both K-12 and higher

education for all citizens. Such ini-tiatives are necessary so as to en-sure our nation’s future prosperity.

The Roundtable would like to express its concern, however, that neither music education, nor

arts education, gener-ally, were included

in the President’s remarks as an element of the solution to equipping stu-dents “for the

demands of a high-tech economy.” The needs of the Twenty-First Century work-force cannot and will not be met through STEM alone. Experts including Richard Florida, Daniel Pink, and Ken Robinson suggest that creative experiences, like those provided for by education in music and the other arts, are essential in prepar-ing students for these new kinds of work.

According to neuroscientists, including Eriko Skoe and Nina Kraus, music educa-tion, specifically, has a demonstrable posi-tive impact on brain development. Class-room music experiences provide students with the opportunity to develop skills to be creative, solve complex problems, and work collaboratively. Additionally, through music, students develop disposi-tions toward hard work, dedication, and perseverance. Music education facilitates the skills imperative for employers and employees in the Twenty-First Century workplace…advocacy.nafme.org

Photo by Chuck Kennedy

Recording Academy and Grammy Foundation Announce New ‘Music Educator Award’

During the recent 55th Annual Gram-my Awards, a trio of stars announced that the Grammy Foundation and The Recording Academy are partnering to present their first-ever Music Educa-tor Award to recognize music educators for their contributions to our musical landscape and their positive influence on their students’ musical experiences. President and CEO of the Recording Academy and Grammy Foundation Neil Portnow was joined by Grammy Foundation honorary board chair Ryan Seacrest and multi-Grammy-winning artist Justin Timberlake.

The award is open to current U.S. music teachers from kindergarten through college, in public and private

schools. Anyone can nominate a teacher – students, parents, friends, colleagues, community members, school deans and administrators – and teachers are also able to nominate themselves. Nominated teachers will be notified and invited to

fill out an application. One winner will be selected from 10 finalists each year to be recognized for his or her remarkable impact on students’ lives. The first award will be presented during Grammy Week 2014. The winner will be flown to Los

Angeles to accept the award, attend the Grammy Awards, and receive a $10,000 honorarium. The nine final-ists will receive a $1,000 honorarium.

The honorariums provided to the winners are made possible by a grant from the Ford Motor Company Fund. This new partnership with the Ford Motor Company Fund expands their financial support of Grammy Founda-tion music Education initiatives.www.grammy.org/grammy-foundation

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Headlines.indd 4 3/18/13 2:17 PM


Headlines

Carnegie Hall Receives $10 Million Gift Toward Renovation Project

Carnegie Hall recently announced that a $10 million major gift from Judith and Burton Resnick will provide important support toward its Studio Towers Renova-tion Project, a comprehensive undertaking that will create new inspirational spaces for mu-sic education on the building’s existing upper floors while also fully refurbishing the venue’s backstage areas. The project, scheduled to be completed and opened in 2014, will be trans-formational for Carnegie Hall, creating new fa-cilities designed to make great music accessible to as many people as possible.

The 61,000-square foot Judith B. and Bur-ton P. Resnick Education Wing – newly-named in recognition of this gift and the Resnick fam-ily’s longtime support of Carnegie Hall – will include new ensemble rooms, practice rooms, and teaching studios atop the landmark build-ing as well as a state-of-the-art home for Carn-egie Hall’s Archives.www.carnegiehall.org

Kansas City Chorale Comes up Big at GrammysThe Kansas City Chorale (Charles

Bruffy, conductor) won the 2013 Gram-my Award in the category “Best Choral Performance” for their recording, Life & Breath: Choral Works By René Clausen.

The ensemble had been nominated for two Grammy Awards for the album. Released on Chandos Records, it was the first recording dedicated entirely to the music of René Clausen by a professional choir. One of the most prolific choral composers of his time, René Clausen’s music is known by American choirs across the country.www.kcchorale.org

The College Board Releases New Study on Common Core StandardsThe College Board, in partnership

with the National Coalition for Core Arts Standards (NCCAS), has released a new research report that details the align-ment between the 2010 Common Core State Standards in English Language Arts (ELA) and Math and the National Core Arts Standards currently being written.

The study – titled “The Arts and the Common Core: A Review of Connec-tions Between the Common Core State Standards and the National Core Arts Standards Conceptual Framework” – analyzes parallels between the ELA and Math Standards and the foundations of artistic literacy outlined in the Nation-al Core Arts Standards: A Conceptual Framework for Arts Learning, the NC-CAS document guiding the work of the writing teams.

The Arts and the Common Core report is divided into two parts. Part one is a con-tent-based alignment study that focuses on arts-based examples and references already present in the Common Core ELA stan-dards. Part two investigates areas of over-lap between skills and habits emphasized in the Common Core Standards and those outlined in NCCAS’s Conceptual Frame-work. In part one, the research looks at all four groups of the ELA College and Career Readiness Anchor Standards and their cor-responding grade-level standards, analyz-ing the function of specific references to

the arts in these standards across the disci-plines of dance, media arts, music, theatre, and visual arts. For example, among the 220 Reading standards reviewed, the study found that 50 utilize arts-based content as a tool for strengthening analysis and obser-vation skills.

Part two clarifies the elements of the

Common Core Standards that reference the same broad goals and thinking skills (such as the Conceptual Framework’s Creative Practices of imagining, con-structing, investigating, and reflecting) that are shaping the development of the National Core Arts Standards.advocacy.collegeboard.org

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Headlines.indd 5 3/18/13 3:53 PM


From the Trenches

During the days leading up to the 2013 Grammy Awards

in early February, I found myself involved in a curious

and somewhat frustrating debate on a music education

group on LinkedIn regarding this question: What has the Music

Industry done for music education?

By Bob Morrison

The implications of this statement were clear:

1. The music industry has made boatloads of money as a result of the fruits of music education.

2. They have not done nearly enough to support music education in or schools.

Also implied in this statement is the idea that, “If only the music industry would do more to support music ed-ucation, then the field would be in a much stronger state.” Needless to say this got my dander up… just little bit.

To address item number one, the simple answer is yes, the music in-dustry has made a lot of money from a wide variety of aspects of music. So have the chemical and pharmaceutical companies in science. So have all the architecture firms from math. So have all of the history firms (oh wait, there is no history industry). The point is we live in a capitalistic society. The object of the free enterprise system is to make money. There is nothing wrong with this! The more important question is: Does any of that money ever get reinvest-ed to support the underlying educational structure?

Let’s review some of the facts to see if the music industry has done any-thing to “invest” in music education.

What Have YouDone for ME Lately?

(Music Education)

Trenches.indd 6 3/18/13 2:22 PM


Fact Number One: Music and Arts Education in the United States are des-ignated a core subject in federal law as a direct result of the music industry.

You can quibble all you want about how much money is spent and weather or not the industry has done enough, but this is one fact that cannot be denied. If it were not for the efforts of the music in-dustry at the time (NAMM, The Record-ing Academy, the American Music Con-ference) in partnership with the National Association for Music Education (or as it was affectionately known at the time, MENC) the list of core subjects for fed-eral education policy would be English, Math, Science, History, and Geography. These were the subjects proposed as part of President George Herbert Walker Bush’s America 2000 education pro-gram. Without the spirited offense lead by this coalition of organizations and the grass roots network underneath them, we would have a caste system today of courses that are core and those that are non-core. Music and the arts were des-tined for the latter. The Goals 2000 Edu-cation Act codified the arts as a core sub-ject.

A recent study released by Dr. Ken-neth Elpus documented the impact of music and the arts being designated a “core subject.” The findings are impor-tant:

(Paul) Lehman (1993) argued that the net effect of Goals 2000 would be to “secure a firm position” for music and the arts in the nation’s public schools; the empirical data analyzed here suggest that Lehman’s predic-tion was correct: more schools required more arts coursework of their students in the post-Goals 2000 era than did schools prior to the enactment of the law.

So if the music industry didn’t do any-thing ever again, this single critical act of courage has done more to ensure that students have access to music and arts education then any other. The facts are what they are.

But the industry has done so much more than just this single act of valor.

Fact Number Two: Research on the impact of music on a variety of soci-etal benefits came about in large part because of the music industry.

Love it or hate it there is no deny-ing the impact that research of the role music plays on human development has played a critical role in influencing the debate about music education. Critical funding for the most important research in this area has been spearheaded by the music industry (NAMM, NARAS, Remo, Yamaha, and many others). Mu-sic and Brain Development, Music and Wellness, Music Therapy… the list is extensive and could fill a year’s worth of issues in SBO.

Facts Three through 1256: The Mu-sic Industry is responsible in whole or in part for:• The National Commission of Music

Education• Passage of the Goals 2000 Educate

America Act• TheReport“GrowingUpComplete”• Support of the Development of the

National Standards for Arts Education• TheNationalCoalitionforMusicEd-

ucation• TheNationalMusicEducationSummit• BestCommunities forMusicEduca-

tion• Mr.Holland’sOpusfilmpromotion• MusicoftheHeartfilmpromotion• Shari Lewis’s PBS Series,The Charlie

Horse Music Pizza• Sesame Street embracing music as a

central theme of the show• ElmoonCapitolHill• ElaboratefloatsintheTournamentof

Roses and Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade

• Funding for hundreds of organiza-tions doing important work from Technology in Music Education (TI:ME) through the documentation of the cost of a quality music program

• LittleKidsRock• Lobbying for Music Education in

Congress• Development of State Coalitions for

Music Education• Advocacy tools and resources for

use in local communities

• Documentingtheimplementationofthe National Standards for Arts Edu-cation

• Music Education featured on theGrammy Awards broadcast

• Media campaigns encouraging ar-ticles promoting the positive impact of music education

• TheGrammyHonorJazzBand• GrammyCamp• VH1 Save The Music (responsible

for the restoration of nearly 2,000


www.charmsoffice.com


school programs for almost 2 million students)

• MusicforAll• TheMr.Holland’sOpusFoundation• Music Education featured at theWhiteHouse

• CorporateBattleoftheBands• “BestAdCampaignsFeaturingMu-sic”Awards

• Fighting for Title 1 funding to beused to support music and arts edu-cation

• Advocating formore federal invest-ment in research

• SchoolJamUSAcompetitions• NAfMENationalConferences• Funding that supports every single

state music education association through exhibit fees, booth spaces,andindustrymembership

And this iswhat I came upwithinfiveminutesfrommemorywhileonanairplane over the Midwestern UnitedStates!Andrecentlywehaveseen:

• The SupportMusic Coalition cel-ebrate its 10-year Anniversary astheprimaryadvocacyforceformu-sic education (and all of the arts forthatmatter).Whathasbeenac-complishedbythiseffortishistoricandworthafullreviewinitsownright!

• And last but by no means least,Grammy president Neil Portnow,Ryan Seacrest, and Justin Timber-lakejoinedtogetherontheGrammyAwards taking valuable global air-

time to announce the creation of the special Grammy Award for MusicEducator of the year (see “Head-lines” on page 6). Did they do itbecause theyhad to? Is there somegreatnewprofitopportunitybygiv-ingthisaward?No!Theydid itbe-causetheindustryismadeofpeoplewhohavebeendirectlyimpactedbymusiceducation,have foundawayto turn their passion into a career,andarelookingfornewandinnova-tivewaystogiveback.

So, toanswer theoriginalquestion,what has the music industry done?Plenty!AndIwouldarguethatthemu-sic industryhasdonemoretosupportmusiceducationthananyotherindus-tryhasdonetosupportanyothercoresubjectarea.Period.Where is the “Save The Science

Foundation?”How about “World Lan-guages for All?” Where are the pub-lishing houses out front fighting for lit-eracy?Whereisthefundingtoactuallydocument whether or not more timedevotedtotestingwillleadtoimprovedschools?(AndIwouldargue itdoesn’tsinceyoucan’tfattenapigbyweighingitallthetime.)Noindustrysegmenthasdonemore

and no other industry has come closetothedepthandbreadthofsupportof-fered to a subject area than themusicindustry. Ifyou thinkmusiceducationhasitbadgocheckinwithyourgeogra-phyorworldlanguagepeers.Heckevenamongst the other artistic disciplines,the support for the music education communityisenviedbythemall.

So this is what the music industryhas done (through the investment oftime, energy, people and hundreds ofmillionsofdollars)andcontinuestodo.SonowIaskthisquestion:

What have you done to advocate for music education? Anything?

My guess is that if, collectively, usmusic educators spent as much time proactivelyadvocatingforourprogramsaswedocomplainingaboutourplight,we would be in much better shape.Strong vibrant music education pro-grams,atallgradelevels,havegreated-ucatorsprovidingwonderfulinstructionsupportedbythepromotionandadvo-cacy ofmusic education in the schoolandacrossthecommunity.As I have said in this space many

timesbefore.Musiceducationadvocacyisnotsomethingyouonlyd;itissome-thingthatyouare.Soaskyourself, “Whathave Idone

latelytosupportmusiceducationinmyownschool?”Thengooutanddoone thing rightnowtomakeadifference.If you need some ideas to get you

started, visit supportmusic.com (co-founded and sponsored by the musicindustryassociation,NAMM).Ohandwhileyou’reatit,giveyour

musicretailerahug.Theyhelpedmakealotofthispossible.

Robert B. Morrison is the founder of Quadrant Arts Education Research, an arts education research and intel-ligence organization. In addi-tion to other related pursuits in the field of arts education advocacy, Mr. Morrison has helped create, found, and run Music for All, the VH1 Save The Music Foundation, and, along with Richard Dreyfuss and the late Michael Kaman, the Mr. Holland’s Opus Foundation.

He may be reached directly at [email protected].

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and content,

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on Facebook:

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“Yes!” exclaims Julia

to a fellow soprano

following a dress

rehearsal. “I finally got the third

verse words right, just in the nick

of time!” Julia strolls confidently

home, knowing her mother has

planned a healthy dinner and a

quiet night to help her conserve

her energy for tomorrow’s eagerly

anticipated choral concert. Unfor-

tunately, her evening unfolds much

differently than she had hoped.

Julia tucks into bed on the early side of her normal bedtime and settles in for a re-freshing sleep, but she has a difficult time winding down. Her brain spins with lyr-ics and loops challenging melodic snippets endlessly. She rises in the morning feeling as if she’s been rehearsing all night long. Breakfast seems like a good idea until the first bite tastes like sawdust in her dry mouth and the butterflies in her stomach scream, “Not hungry!”

Panicking and madly flipping through her music binder, Julia erratically jumps from piece to piece, finding that hardly any of it seems familiar. “Only two hours until concert time!” she tensely shrills as she paces the floor, wringing her hands. “What am I going to do? I’m going to let my choir down, look foolish, and my con-ductor will be so angry with me!”

By Wendy Nixon


Helping Singers Manage Music Performance Anxiety

Performance.indd 10 3/18/13 2:21 PM


Julia is experiencing Music Perfor-mance Anxiety (MPA), a condition that has physical and psychological mani-festations that can inhibit a musician’s performance quality and experience. Fortunately, choral conductors are in a position to help singers of all ages un-der their leadership manage their MPA by becoming informed and employing some simple strategies.

Managing the Physical Symptoms of MPA

Frequently occurring physical symp-toms of MPA include being unable to relax, dry mouth, frequent urination,

shaking/trembling, nausea/indigestion, hyperventilation, hot/cold sweats, and light-headedness. There are three strate-gies a conductor can implement to help singers like Julia cope with the physical symptoms of MPA: breathing exercises, gentle physical warm-ups, and pre-per-formance routines.

Deep breathing can help calm the mind, lower the heart rate, and prevent hyperventilation. A simple deep breath-ing exercise conductors can teach sing-ers involves expanding the belly with an inhalation that lasts for four slow beats (60 bpm), then singing a mid-range pitch on an “ah” for four beats and then repeating the exercise a semi-tone lower for five consecutive pitches. The number of beats can then be increased to five, then six slow beats for those same five pitches. This exercise can take about 10 minutes, but it can be adjusted as necessary and is very effective.

Self-led physical activities such as stretching, walking, napping, and doing yoga or progressive muscle relaxation can be helpful. Progressive muscle re-laxation is a technique where different muscle groups from the toes to the head are individually tensed for 5-10 sec-onds then released for 10-20 seconds while the eyes are closed and the mind focuses on the difference between the sensations. A conductor can also incor-

porate physical warm-ups at the start of rehearsals to release unwanted tension, particularly in the jaw, throat, and shoul-ders. Simple moves like gentle neck and shoulder rolls, self-massage of the jaw, and massage circles, where the singers stand in a circle and massage each oth-er’s shoulders, are effective. This can be done along to a recording of an uplift-ing song. Singers also enjoy taking turns leading these exercises. Applying physi-cal strategies can help reduce muscular tension, thereby improving the function of the vocal mechanism, the efficiency of the body in supporting vocal produc-tion, and having a positive effect on a

singers’ visual presentation on stage.Pre-performance routines can help a

singer get in the right mindset to focus on performance. A conductor can help singers develop an awareness of what procedures or rituals would be benefi-cial to them as individuals. For exam-ple, many athletes employ visualization in their pre-performance routines. Like-wise, conductors can lead visualization exercises for their singers, helping them to picture and feel themselves singing with calm focused confidence while breathing deeply. A short, positive, and relevant phrase to repeat in their heads may be helpful. With respect to water, singers should be instructed to hydrate up to an hour prior to performing to help with dry mouth, and in extreme cases, be permitted to bring water on stage. Attire matters; cool clothing can help reduce hot sweats and flat shoes can help singers feel more grounded when shaking or trembling are felt. Sim-ple routines, like going to the bathroom and eating a sufficient amount of easy-to-digest food, are helpful. Remember-ing these necessities is highly beneficial to coping with physical discomforts.

Some singers prefer to have a quiet time prior to performing while some prefer to go over challenging sections of music or affirm each other. Each singer can learn what activity would be most

beneficial for him or herself through experimentation. A pre-performance pep talk by the conductor can include a little humor, affirmation that the sing-ers know what they are doing, and that the conductor has confidence in them. It might also be helpful to include two or three specific directions/reminders (no more!), and a short review of the purpose of music and why we choose to sing (this can be done around the circle with each singer contributing an idea).

Psychological Symptoms of MPA

The psychological symptoms of MPA center on fear. They include the fear of forgetting notes/rhythms, the fear of letting others down, fear of social dis-approval, fear of MPA symptoms nega-tively affecting performance, negative self-talk, feeling terrified, and experi-encing a lack of focus or concentration.

The aspects of fear in the context of MPA can be reduced by conductors planning with intentionality, coaching singers on the practice of mindfulness, and creating opportunities for singers to desensitize to performing. Conduc-tors must plan in advance for sufficient and effective rehearsal time for the per-formance material to become almost au-tomatic, for vocal technique to develop, and potentially for memorization of the material. We’ve all heard the expression: “Practice, practice, practice,” but choris-ters may need some guidance in what that entails. For example, they may not know that they are responsible for self-studying and that practicing for shorter periods consistently over time is more effective than cramming for extended periods at the last minute, as Julia was attempting to do. Conductors need to remember that the implementation of last-minute changes is rarely successful and highly anxiety-inducing. Letting go of the fear of forgetting is imperative so that the mind is free to apply what has been well-rehearsed and the singer can enjoy the aesthetic benefits of perform-ing music.

Cultivating mindfulness, a state of being aware of your thoughts, is a use-ful approach to prevent the negative thoughts or fears surrounding the pros-pect of a performance that can maintain and amplify anxiety. Conductors can


“When singers feel that the conductor is confident in him or herself and the choir, they will trust that the situation is safe for them to more readily express themselves vocally.”



help singers by coaching them in the mindfulness process. Once negative thoughts about performing have been discussed or written down, negative thinking can be replaced with positive affirmations such as, “People are here to listen because they want us to do well,” or “Singing is joyful for me because…”

Creating opportunities for singers to desensitize somewhat to the perfor-mance experience will help with MPA. Singers can use practice recordings, practice with small groups, and sing for friends and family. Informal presenta-tions could be incorporated into re-hearsals by asking for volunteers to sing solos that haven’t yet been assigned, encouraging volunteer quartets to sing excerpts from the performance material, or getting a small group of singers or a section to face the rest of the choir while all singers are singing. Other ideas for informal performances include inviting friends and family members to attend a rehearsal, performing for another en-semble, doing a flashmob-style presen-tation at a city centre or mall, or offering

to sing at a hospital ward or long-term care facility.

The Importance of TrustTrust is the most important ingredi-

ent in the conductor-chorister relation-ship in order for the musical experi-ence to feel satisfying for all involved. Singers trust in their leader to prepare them well before they will feel com-fortable exposing themselves vocally in front of an audience. Singing can be a vulnerable experience, and the fears that singers have can best be alleviated by being in trusting relationships with themselves, their fellow musicians, and their conductors.

Bryk and Schneider have defined relational trust as having four key com-ponents: personal regard, personal integrity, respect, and competence in core responsibilities (2003). Personal regard is demonstrated when conduc-tors go the extra mile to show they care by being encouraging, supportive, and communicating expectations clearly. Recognizing the singers as individuals

is essential, and can be accomplished as easily as greeting them at the door and personally welcoming each singer by name. Participants want conductors to assess their needs, provide feedback, to be aware of what each singer’s comfort zone is and how far he can be pushed, while simultaneously making sure not to single out one person in front of the group without their consent. The recip-rocal nature of trust necessitates that a conductor in turn trust the singers in the groups they lead. When conductors talk openly about their own experiences with MPA, they let people know that it’s normal and common. In opening up and being vulnerable too, the con-ductor shows the choir that she trusts them, and the mutual nature of trust is nurtured.

Personal integrity is a commitment to walk the talk. Choristers need their conductors to demonstrate, encourage, and instill confidence. Reflect the image you want to see in the choir by mod-eling calm, confident behavior and ap-pearing in control. Express confidence in the choir, and look them in the eye and say, “I believe in you. Enjoy what you are singing and make it come alive.” When singers feel that the conductor is confident in him or herself and the choir, they will trust that the situation is safe for them to more readily express themselves vocally.

Respect is communicated when in-teractions convey good intentions and shared understanding (Reina and Reina, 1999). Good intentions are communi-cated when a leader’s approach is posi-tive: smile, be upbeat, have fun, and make it fun! People learn best when they are enjoying themselves. Conduc-tors cultivate shared understanding by communicating their own enjoyment, acknowledging the choristers’ musical successes, creating a safe environment where everyone can be themselves and take risks, and remembering that what they give out energetically will be mir-rored back to them. Conductors must show respect for the singers under their leadership in order to develop trusting relationships and be part of the choir, not separate.

Competence involves carefully de-signing a learning opportunity. Conduc-tors must be organized, prepared, and

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knowledgeable. With regard to reper-toire, tailor the choice of the material to the ability and taste of the majority of the group, but include some pieces that challenge. Clearly outline choir membership expectations (home study, attendance, and memorization), and learning intentions to help singers plan their own lives to uphold the required commitment.

Singers in choirs need for their con-ductors to be knowledgeable in many realms, such as vocal technique, the language of music, the expression of music, conducting, rehearsal tech-niques, and teaching strategies, to name a few. One participant said, “Teach, don’t just conduct.” Create physical and vocal warm-ups, ask students for sug-gestions, implement theory, technique, memorization strategies, and manage-ment strategies for dealing with MPA into rehearsals. Conductors can con-tinue to develop their knowledge base by pursuing new learning opportunities for themselves.

ConclusionConductors are in a privileged po-

sition to create conditions where sing-ers like Julia can thrive, feel confident about their vocal contributions to a choir, and carry that positivity out into the world. Conductors should be informed about Music Performance Anxiety in order to help singers, their audiences, and themselves experience more fulfilling and enjoyable perfor-mances. MPA is a normal reaction to public presentation of oneself and, at a moderate level, some will argue it can enhance performance; however, when MPA consistently prevents sing-ers from doing their best work, it is recommended that conductors incor-porate three key strategies: physical relaxation and deep breathing, suf-ficient preparation, and the develop-ment of relational trust with the sing-ers in their ensembles.

Wendy Nixon Stothert re-cently completed her Master’s in Educational Leadership at Vancouver Island University, in B.C., Canada, receiving the Gov-ernor General’s Gold Award for academic achievement. She has taught middle school and second-ary music and now embarks on a new adventure in teaching elementary music. Wendy also directs the Just in Time Vocal Jazz Choirs, three adult community ensembles, and has guest conducted. Her research regarding Music Performance Anxiety is informing her constantly evolving teaching practice and her personal performance. Singing with people of all ages to help spread positivity through music is one of her greatest joys. Contact Wendy with feedback or questions: [email protected]

ReferencesBryk, A. & Schneider, B. (2003) Trust in Schools: A Core Resource for School Reform. Educa-tional Leadership, 60(6).

Reina, D.S. & Reina, M.L. (1999). Trust and Betrayal in the Work-place. San Francisco, CA: Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

1-24-2013 3:52 PM janet.flessland / Tommye Blount

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History and BackgroundOklahoma!, originally entitled Away We Go from a square dance call, is based

on the mildly successful folk play Green Grow the Lilacs (1931) by Lynn Riggs. Theresa Helburn of the Theatre Guild believed that the Riggs play would fare bet-ter as a musical so she approached Rodgers with the idea. He reacted positively

Oklahoma!, Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first full-length pro-

fessional collaboration and America’s most popular folk

musical, marks its 70 anniversary on March 31. While new

audiences keep discovering it, old audiences keep returning to it.

This article outlines the history of Oklahoma! and offers activities for

the performing arts curriculum.

By Keith Mason

to the idea of writing the music but his partner and lyricist Lorenz Hart thought the play would fail as a musi-cal. Hart’s attitude prompted Rodgers to approach Oscar Hammerstein to inquire about collaborating with him, thus paving the way for what would become a seventeen-year partnership [see the sidebar “The Works of Rodg-ers and Hammerstein” for details about their 11 collaborations].

Hammerstein was not only a lyricist but also a librettist, an added advan-tage to a budding partnership. Ironical-ly, Hammerstein had tried to convince his regular collaborator Jerome Kern to make a musical out of Green Grow the Lilacs and Kern, like Hart, did not ap-prove of the idea.

In 1943, Rodgers found himself with two partners for two separate ven-tures. Originally, Rodgers was set to do the music, Hart the lyrics, and Ham-merstein the book for Oklahoma! Ulti-mately, Hart rejected the project opting instead to partner with Rodgers to pro-duce a remake of A Connecticut Yankee. Reportedly, this kept Hart working and helped make him not feel excluded while Rodgers worked on Oklahoma! with Hammerstein, a reluctant replace-ment for Hart who originally declined the offer to collaborate with Rodgers. Rodgers and Hammerstein met at Co-lumbia University when they worked on varsity shows there. Hammerstein, who, like Hart, was seven years older

Guest Editorial: Oklahoma!

Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’:70 Years of Oklahoma!

Lee Dixon, Celeste Holm, Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts, Joseph Buloff, and ensemble pose near the surrey in the original 1943 production of Oklahoma!

Photos courtesy of the Rodgers and Hammerstein Organization. Stamps courtesy of United States Postal Service.

Guest Edit.indd 14 3/18/13 2:23 PM


An Oklahoma! ChronologyOn January 26, the Theatre Guild presents Lynn Riggs’ play Green Grow the Lilacs on Broadway, where it runs for 64 perfor-mances. Riggs, a native Oklahoman, uses his childhood memo-ries of the Indian Territory’s transformation into statehood for the historical context within his play.

The original Broadway production of Oklahoma! based on Green Grow the Lilacs opens at the St. James Theatre on March 31, 1943. It runs for five years and is the longest running Broad-way musical until the early 1960s. The national tour of the show broke records for its time.

On December 2, Decca Records releases the original Broadway cast recording of Oklahoma!, marking the first time a musical is recorded complete with all members of the original cast, chorus, and orchestra. Eventually, it wins a gold record and in 1976 is inducted into the NARAS (Grammy Award) Hall of Fame.

On May 2, Oklahoma! receives a special Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

On April 29, Oklahoma! opens at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, London with Harold (later Howard) Keel and Betty Jane Watson running 1,548 performances.

On May 29, Oklahoma! closes on Broadway after 2,212 performanc-es, a Broadway record unsurpassed until My Fair Lady in 1961.

On April 28, the Oklahoma State House of Representatives pass-es House Bill No. 1094, declaring the song “Oklahoma” by Rodg-ers and Hammerstein to be the official song and anthem of the State of Oklahoma. The Senate ratifies the bill on May 6, 1953.

On October 11, the film version of Oklahoma! is released starring Gordon MacRae, Shirley Jones, Charlotte Greenwood, Gloria Graham, Gene Nelson, and Rod Stirling. The film is produced by Rodgers and Hammerstein and directed by Fred Zinnemann. The motion picture was filmed twice; once in Todd-AO widescreen and once in Cinemascope for theatres that could not accommodate the widescreen version.

On March 30, the United States Postal Service issues a stamp commemorating Oklahoma!, the first Broadway musical so honored. The first day ceremony is held in Oklahoma City and the stamp goes on sale that day state-wide. On March 31, the Oklahoma! stamp is issued for national release, marking the fiftieth anniversary of its Broadway debut.

On July 15, a new production of Oklahoma! premieres at the Royal National Theatre, London. It is directed by Trevor Nunn, choreographed by Susan Stroman, and stars Hugh Jackman, Josefina Gabrielle, and Shuler Hensley. A film version of this pro-duction premieres on SKY-TV in 1999 and later wins an Interna-tional Emmy Award.

On February 23, the London production is transferred to the Ger-shwin Theater on Broadway with Patrick Wilson, Andrea Martin, Josefina Gabrielle, and Shuler Hensely.

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than Rodgers, had worked mainly with Otto Harbach and Kern prior to his partnership with Rodgers. His first musical Always You was done with Her-bert Stothart. Five musicals, four of which were major productions in the ‘20s, were written with Harbach: Tickle Me, Wildflower, Rose-Marie, Sunny, and The Desert Song. Hammerstein then wrote both book and lyrics and Kern composed for Show Boat, Sweet Adeline, Music in the Air, and Very Warm for May.

Oklahoma! opened on Broadway on March 31, 1943 at the St. James The-atre, changing musical theatre forever by being hailed as a seamlessly perfect integration of character, story, music, and dance into a cohesive whole. Previ-ous audiences attended musicals sim-ply to enjoy the songs and dances; they attended straight plays for dramatic storylines. Theodore S. Chapin, presi-dent of the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organization, also described Oklaho-ma! in a similar vein: “Oklahoma! was hailed as revolutionary, an odd word, perhaps, to describe a musical play about plain and simple territory folk. But the revolution was simply that all the elements – music, spoken words, sung words, dancing, orchestrations, vocal and dance arrangements, scen-ery, costumes, etc. – were blended into one cohesive artistic whole for the first time… It may have seemed like an in-visible revolution, but once the show opened the musical theatre was never

Joan Roberts and women’s ensemble perform “Many a New Day.”

First Broadway commemorative stamp for Okla-homa! to mark 50th anniversary, released March 30-31, 1993.



the same again.” Easton (1996:207) also observed that “Oklahoma! was the first musical in which the libretto, score, character development, plot de-velopment, decor, stage direction, and choreography all came together: the show worked seamlessly as a whole, without sacrificing the integrity of its parts.”

Oklahoma! is considered by Ethan Mordden, a prominent author and mu-sical theatre historian, to be one of the most popular American musicals. Max Wilk, a playwright, screenwriter and author of several books on the sub-ject believes that Oklahoma! and The Sound of Music are Rodgers and Ham-merstein’s most enduring musicals. Wilk (1993:257) also observed that Oklahoma! is clearly the most popular work in the Rodgers and Hammerstein catalogue. [The sidebar “An Oklahoma! Chronology” provides details about this classic musical.]

Oklahoma! features Curly, a cowboy, who wants to take Laurey, a farm girl, to the box social. She plays hard to get and instead accepts an invitation from farmhand Jud Fry. Another cowboy, Will Parker, is interested in Ado Annie, a local girl, but she falls for any man who pays attention to her. Laurey has a change of heart about Jud, not only leaving him behind but also firing him. She decides to marry Curly when he proposes marriage. The two marry but not without problems: Jud tries to kill Curly but dies in the process. The new-lyweds leave for their honeymoon in the surrey with the fringe on the top that is sung about in one of the show’s most recognizable songs, also a favorite of Hammerstein’s.

The cast members of Oklahoma! were unknowns: Alfred Drake, Joan Roberts, Celeste Holm, and Howard da Silva. When the show opened in New Haven at the Shubert Theatre prior to its Broadway run, critic Walter Winchell declared “no legs, no jokes, no chance.” Mordden (1976) believes this critique to be misleading because the out-of-town audiences liked Okla-homa!, and very few revisions were made before the Broadway opening.

The Oklahoma! score includes “Oh, What A Beautiful Mornin’,” “The Sur-rey With The Fringe On Top,” “Okla-

The Works of Rodgers and HammersteinAfter their success with Oklahoma!, Rodgers and Hammerstein collaborated on ten more projects: they wrote nine stage musicals including Oklahoma!, one television special, and wrote one movie musical. Of their eleven works, five are generally considered to be their “big five”: Oklahoma!, Carousel, South Pacific, The King and I, and The Sound of Music. These five were made into movies between 1955 and 1965. Flower Drum Song was also successful as both a stage production and movie musical.

Oklahoma! (1943)State Fair (1945) (film)Carousel (1945)Allegro (1947)South Pacific (1949)The King and I (1951)Me and Juliet (1953)Pipe Dream (1955)Cinderella (1957) (TV special)Flower Drum Song (1958)The Sound Of Music (1959) Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II.

Alfred Drake as Curly and Joan Roberts as Laurey.



homa,” “I Cain’t Say No,” “Out Of My Dreams,” “Many A New Day,” and “People Will Say We’re in Love.”

Mordden (1993) sums up the inno-vations of Oklahoma!: “Like Show Boat, but better than Show Boat, Oklahoma! told its American grass roots tale in the language of the fruited plain, lighter in tone than Green Grow the Lilacs, with dream ballet, murder, and chorus of farmers and cowmen all playing exact-ly their parts in the story, and no more or less. The seams of musical comedy craftsmanship did not show this time because this one was not a patchwork in the way that nearly all musicals were before.”

In search of a choreographer, Rodg-ers, Hammerstein, and Helburn went to see Rodeo, which Agnes de Mille both performed in and choreographed in 1942. The trio was impressed with de Mille’s work and hired her to cho-reograph Oklahoma! The musical put de Mille on the map because of its rave reviews and the fact that it made dance an integral component of musical the-atre. De Mille went on to choreograph Rodgers and Hammerstein’s Carousel in 1945, and Lerner and Loewe’s Briga-doon in 1947, the latter pair’s first big hit. De Mille also directed and choreo-graphed Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1947 musical Allegro.

Regarding Oklahoma!, de Mille ob-served, “It rolled… from the twitter-ing prelude and “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin;” right through to that joyous reprise of the title song for a finale, the story flowed in one straight line. It never bored. It never tried too hard or traded glitz for glow. It rolled.”

The director, Rouben Mamoulian, and choreographer de Mille brought the show together, although with some altercations. The same produc-tion team produced both Oklahoma! and Carousel. Mordden (1976:188) be-lieves that people did not realize how different Oklahoma! was until later. He observed that “Oklahoma! was a fresh use of a familiar medium, not an off-shoot, nor a new idea, but very solidly constructed and beautifully, sparingly produced.” Louis Untemeyer remem-bered, “When the idea for Oklahoma! was first broached, no one was aware that an American classic was in the

making” (cited in Matthew-Walker 1996:141).

In terms of de Mille’s choreogra-phy, the end of Act I ballet “Laurey Makes Up Her Mind” helps develop the action psychologically. Easton (1996:201) describes the dream ballet as representing a young woman’s re-pressed sexuality and her conflicting longings. The 18-minute ballet was set to medleys from the musical score including “Surrey with the Fringe on Top.” Dream ballets had been used before on Broadway: George Bal-anchine’s in Rodgers and Hart’s On Your Toes, Babes in Arms, and I Mar-ried an Angel, Robert Alton’s in Rodg-ers and Hart’s Pal Joey, and Albertina Rasch’s three in Kurt Weill’s Lady in the Dark. However, with the new stan-dard set by de Mille’s Act I ballet, 46 of 72 Broadway musicals to open within three-and-a-half years of Oklahoma! included ballet; 21 of these featured dream sequences.

In addition to the ballet, de Mille devised other dances such as a two-step for Will and Aunt Eller, ragtime for Will and four cowboys, a waltz for Curly and Gertie, a spritely dance for Laurey and her girlfriends, an up tem-po dance for Ado Annie and Will, and

two square dances for the ensembles. In all, de Mille developed 40 minutes worth of dances for the show, nearly half of which were cut before opening night.

Musical and Performing Arts Activities

Many have argued that the strength of Oklahoma! comes from its songs, most of which are considered stan-dards that are now universally famil-iar. Mordden (1976:189) describes the Oklahoma! music and lyrics as “mar-velous.” He describes Hammerstein’s lyrics as “sunny” and Rodgers’ folk-in-flected tunes as “a cunning craftsman-ship.” He also compares the Oklahoma! score with Rodgers and Hammerstein’s masterpiece Carousel as follows: “There

is a depth of feeling to its ballads that is lacking in Oklahoma!- properly lack-ing, for Oklahoma! is a happy show with a few scary moments while Car-ousel is tragic throughout.”

The following areas can serve as a guide for Oklahoma! lessons within the music and performing arts curriculum:• How are song lyrics in Oklahoma!

used to develop the characters of Curly, Laurey, Aunt Eller, Jud Fry, Ado Annie, and Will Parker?

• Which musical numbers in Okla-homa! feature dancing? What types of dances are found and what song tempos are associated with the various types of dances?

• Consider the use of ballet within well known musical theatre piec-es similar to Oklahoma! Look at these ballets in the movie versions of the following: Oklahoma!, Kiss Me Kate, Carousel, The King and I, Babes in Arms, Flower Drum Song, and Can-Can. Who choreographed the original stage versions of these ballets? And the movie versions? Were any ballets cut for the mov-ie version or added? Watch the dream ballet scene “Laurey Makes Up Her Mind” in the film version, a live performance, or the 1998

London production of Oklahoma! Write about the images you see, interpreting them within the con-text of the story. What song melo-dies are used during the dream ballet?

• Agnes de Mille choreographed Oklahoma! Find out more about her, her famous relative, and other works she did, especially for Rod-gers and Hammerstein.

• Choose one favorite song from the Oklahoma! score and write an interpretation of the lyrics and or-chestration.

• The song “Oklahoma!” has been called the showstopper in Okla-homa! Find out about this song: when was it added to the show and what effect did it have on the

“Many have argued that the strength of Oklahoma! comes from its songs, most of which are considered standards that are now universally familiar.”



show? The title of the musical was changed because of this song.

ConclusionUndoubtedly, Rodgers and Ham-

merstein’s music has left a permanent mark on the music of the twentieth century in general, and on musical the-atre in particular. Oklahoma! changed musical theatre forever by integrating character development with the songs, dance, dialog, and artistic aspects of the show. Rodgers and Hammerstein’s first collaboration can truly enhance the performing arts curriculum. “Okla-homa! OK!”

Keith Mason, Ph.D. teaches World Languages at New Providence High School in New Providence, New Jer-sey. Dr. Mason has received eight Rising Star Awards for Educational Impact from the Paper Mill Playhouse for integrating his school’s musicals into the high school curriculum. He has authored many articles about using musicals in the interdisciplinary curriculum.

Print SourcesEaston, Carol. 1996. No Intermissions: The Life of Agnes de Mille. New York: Little, Brown and Company.

Fordin, Hugh. 1978. Getting to Know Him: A Biography of Oscar Ham-merstein II. New York.

Green, Stanley, ed. 1980. The Rodgers and Hammerstein Fact Book. A Record of Their Work Together and with Other Collaborators. New York: Lynn Farnol.

Mason, Keith. 2002. “Richard Rodgers: The Man and His Music.” Music Educators Journal 88:6 (May 2002):17-25, 60.

Matthew-Walker, Robert. 1998. Broadway to Hollywood: The Musical and the Cinema. London: Sanctuary Publishing.

Mordden, Ethan. 1976. Better Foot Forward: The History of American Mu-sical Theatre. New York: Viking Press.

Mordden, Ethan. 1993. Rodgers & Hammerstein. New York: Abrams.

Secrest, Meryle. 2001. Somewhere for Me: A biography of Richard Rodg-ers. New York: Alfred A. Knopf.

Wilk, Max. 1993. OK! The Story of Oklahoma! New York: Grove Press.

Wilk, Max. 1999. Overture and Finale: Rodgers and Hammerstein and the Creation of Their Two Greatest Hits. New York: Back Stage Books.

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Daniel Gregerman and his renowned jazz vocal ensemble program at Chicago’s Niles North High School

Jazz Voice

By Matt Parish

UpClose.indd 20 3/18/13 2:25 PM

Choral programs are always in a unique position to provide their students with one-of-a-kind life experiences. What other opportunity mixes performances with such levels of discipline, self-expression, and pop culture all at the same time?

Jazz vocal ensembles are a little different. Often leaner and sometimes more flex-ible, they can be tight-knit and incredibly creative outlets for aspiring singers and instrumental musicians. Daniel Gregerman leads one of the nation’s foremost such programs at Niles North High School, located in Skokie, Ill. just north of Chicago. There, he runs three jazz vocal ensembles (on top of five concert choral groups) in an impressive program that has gained national renown as one of the most recog-nized high school jazz groups in the country.By Matt Parish



Since he began at Niles North 23 years ago, Gregerman’s groups have gone on to win six DownBeat awards, including the 2012 Jazz Education Achievement Award. The program’s top group, Take One, won the Ken-nedy Center of Performing Arts Award for Outstanding Fine Arts Education in 2009 and has performed with Di-ane Schuur, the New York Voices, Take Six, and Janis Segal (Manhattan Trans-fer), as well as commissioned work from composers like Jennifer Barnes, Michele Weir, and Kirby Shaw. Mean-while, Gregerman has been a tireless advocate and leader in the greater jazz education community. He was a founder of the Jazz Education Network (where he remains constantly active), and has served as state chairman of Vo-cal Jazz for IMEA, director or the Mid-west Grammy All-Star Jazz Choir for NARAS, Inc., director of the Midwest Young Artists Vocal Jazz Ensemble, and more.

Through his success, Gregerman’s earned the trust of the school admin-istrators, who have allowed him great control over the development of the school’s choral wing. Always thinking ahead, they’ve partnered for a long-

term vision that includes a complex of rehearsal rooms, private lesson and practice studios, and a space for a planned digital production studio that will be able to record from any of the practice spaces (there are also plans for a specific audio engineering track in Niles North’s music program in the future). For Gregerman, it all comes down to making sure the students get the most out of their time in his pro-gram. “It’s not about giving them an experience – it’s about giving them the best experience.”

Choral Director spoke with Gre-german recently about the develop-ment of this stellar vocal program and how it fits within the school’s arts pro-gram in general.

Choral Director: It’s great to speak with you about this incredible pro-gram. What do you feel like the jazz ensembles have to offer the kids that they can’t find anywhere else?

Daniel Gregerman: Free-dom, creativity, improvisation, and friendship. It’s about devel-oping a love for America’s true art form and the confidence to

stand up in front of people and per-form, which translates to confidence in any other areas of their life. That friendship goes to a different level even because we consider it a fam-ily here. They’re getting lifelong skills and friends that they’ll have forever. We do a three-day retreat in the fall for the vocal groups every year. That weekend isn’t just about rehearsing, but it’s about icebreakers, getting to know each other, building an identity for your own ensemble and an identity for the program, teaching kids to let their barriers down and trust. They’re incredible life skills that we’re trying to teach while we’re doing all this other stuff with jazz.

CD: You’ve said before that you fig-ured out a lot about jazz on your own. How did that work for you?

DG: I grew up and went to Wachu-sett Regional High School, in Holden, Mass. During high school, I was lucky enough to attend a summer camp that

Gregerman meets with assistant directors Logan Farris, Leah Fisher, and Kathryn Lachey at an annual retreat (Photo: Dylan Rice)



turned me onto music so much that I just made a decision as a freshman that I was going to be a music teacher. I went to college at Northwestern Uni-versity as a music education major with a choral emphasis. But even there, I didn’t know what I was going to do. So for my electives, I completed all the re-quirements of the instrumental educa-tion degree also. I fell in love with jazz a little bit. It might have been because my dad loved jazz – I remember him always playing big band music around the house. In high school, we had no jazz until my senior year, when they started a jazz band. And that was in the ‘80s, so it wasn’t anything like what it is today. I was a keyboard player who didn’t know anything about jazz. I did the best I could.

I played for a year in one of the Northwestern jazz bands. I wasn’t very good, but I still had this bug about lik-ing it. My junior year, I stated a stu-dent-run jazz band and kind of fronted it and played piano and did gigs. That

same time, my school started a vocal jazz group and it seemed fun.

But I honestly don’t know what made me want to share jazz with the kids. I got a job teaching at McHenry Community High School in Illinois and I was the band director, choir di-rector, and department chair. I started a vocal jazz group there while I was doing everything else, and it started to get a good reputation. My friend, April Arabian-Tini, who at the time was at Northwestern, saw my group and said to me, “You need to check out West-ern Michigan University. They’re doing exactly what you do and it would be a great place to go work on your master’s degree.”

CD: So there you would have been introduced to the Gold Company jazz vocal ensemble.

DG: That was my first time seeing a Gold Company show at WMU and I was amazed at what they did. That trip

sent me home to apply to their mas-ter’s program. I was given two assistant positions – one was as the director of the women’s choir in the concert choir program, and the other was as the graduate assistant to Gold Company. So I was singing in Gold Company and

At a Glance:Niles North High School

9800 North Lawler StreetSkokie, IL 60077On the Web: http://www.niles-hs.k12.il.us/northStudents in Jazz Vocal Program: 55Students in Choir Program: 160Students Enrolled at NNHS: 2,100

Jazz Vocal Ensembles:Take OneSound CheckHarmonic Motion

Staff: Choral Director: Daniel GregermanAssistant Dir. Logan Farris (Sound Check)Assistant Dir. Kathryn Lachey (Harmon-ic Motion)Dir. Barry Grossman (Rhythm Section)

I couldn’t be a good jazz director if I wasn’t a good choral director because those kids are learning good vocal technique in my concert choir program. They have to be grounded somewhere.



also working as Steve Zegree’s assistant. You’ll think I’m insane because, while I was doing that, I also chose to go out and help with the marching band if I could. It just took me a long time to give up the love for all those different kinds of music. But the one thing that was consistent was that jazz bug.

So I did my two years at Western Michigan University and then ended up here at Niles North High School. My first year, I came here strictly as a choral director.

CD: It must have been tougher to gain a footing in jazz education back then.

DG: Back in the day, the jazz program at Northwestern was two bands and that was it. There was nothing back at my high school. So I was just always on my own learning about jazz and picking things up wherever I could. My first for-mal training in jazz was after I started my master’s degree. That’s a thing I preach to people all the time – it’s never too late to learn. You can always dive into jazz and learn – it’s not as hard as people think. I mean to get to advanced level, yes – that’s a little more difficult. But to get started and do basic jazz, anybody can do it.

CD: You’ve had to set up this whole jazz program while at the same time running a very full concert choral program.

DG: I’ve gotten so much PR for my jazz program, because it’s different than most and because of the nature of jazz and pop music, that sometimes people forget I’m a choral director, too. I couldn’t be a good jazz director if I wasn’t a good choral director because those kids are learning good vocal tech-nique in my concert choir program. They have to get grounded some-where. It seems like it’s a different beast altogether, but you’ve got such unique position in being able to supervise ev-eryone’s fundamental techniques. I do everything – the musical with the the-ater director, the five choirs during the day, a piano class, I’m in charge of the sound and audio for the school.

CD: Did it take you awhile to flesh out your idea of what a jazz ensem-ble would be? Did it evolve?

DG: No, I think I’ve known all along what the ensemble would be. The size varies a bit, but I’ve always believed in taking no more than 16 kids so you have four to a part, plus a rhythm sec-tion. Sometimes that changes because I set a level of expectation for the top group and if I don’t have 16 people that reach that level in a given year, I’m not going to take people just to have 16. This year I have 13, which sounds un-lucky but it’s been really good for us.

I also allow each group to evolve every year and take on its own iden-tity. So some groups might be better at Latin music. Some might be better at a capella. Some might have more of an R&B sound. It varies year to year and the challenge is showing the strength of that ensemble and building up the weaknesses. There’s always a joke with the older kids in the group where in the beginning of the year I’ll pass out 10 charts and they’ll tell everyone else, “Don’t worry, there are five of these that we’re not going to do!” And it’s the truth.

CD: Have there been any particular programs getting the jazz ensemble to mesh with the overall choral pro-gram there?

DG: Yeah, there are always chal-lenges, like schedules. My kids are doing a lot of things so I’m compet-ing with sports and our phenomenal theatre program here and which many of my kids are involved with – when

I say phenomenal, I mean our theater department does seven to nine pro-ductions a year. A lot of my kids are in those productions. That’s probably our biggest challenge: finding the time to have a dedicated ensemble. Another huge challenge, honestly, is me per-sonally juggling school and my own family and children. I’m not afraid to talk about them – I have a wonderful wife and I could not do what I do if I didn’t have the support of her. Then I have two children, ages five and eight. So that keeps me really busy outside of school. I’m also the voice of the basket-ball and football teams at the school – I actually coached the football team at freshman, sophomore, and varsity level for the first seven years at the school!

CD: Has school administration been consistently supportive of your pro-gram there?

DG: I have to say that is one thing I’m thankful for. We all scream in pub-lic education about budgets. I want more money – everybody wants more money. But I’ve been blessed over the years to have the support of the ad-ministration and I’ve had their backing for a long time for a lot of my finan-cial needs. I always want more, but we keep getting new equipment, we’re able to bring in guest artists, and it’s not unlike me to commission a piece of music every year. So the kids are get-ting experiences that no one else gets.

Gregerman leads his seniors at Niles North’s 21st Annual Vocal Jazz Night. (Photo: Dylan Rice)



CD: The facilities are an incredible example of that.

DG: I have a very large choir room that is big enough that my regular con-cert choir setup is in the room with an area next to it for the vocal jazz group to rehearse, with another room dedi-cated to sound equipment in our vo-cal jazz groups. Then I also have seven choral practice rooms – four large en-semble rooms and three small practice rooms for private lessons.

One of my large ensemble rooms is dedicated to the rhythm sections, so it has a piano-bass-drums setup so that students can come in any time of the day to come practice as a group or just individually. We set the sound system up and we do a rotation into the main room so that everyone’s rehearsing on the sound system and with the rhythm section whenever they need to. The last part of this whole puzzle, for which we’re waiting for full funding, is a room we’ve built that is ready to operate as a recording studio. The plan is to put a full Pro Tools HD recording system in there. Every practice room will be able to work as an isolation booth to record and work on vocal techniques. I have three students working as sound engi-neers for us right now.

CD: You also have an extensive his-tory of commissioning new pieces for the ensembles.

DG: That goes back about 20 years now. Many of those composers are from Western Michigan, but there are also people I knew before that. You meet one person then you meet anoth-er. I would go to the IAJE conference every year and got ideas. Now JEN has come along and that helps, so we have connections all over the place and con-tinue to build them. I’m always think-ing of my kids first and how I can tap into someone else for them.

CD: Is there a point in your program where you felt like it turned from be-ing just a really great program to one that was consistently recognized on a national level as it is today?

DG: I can’t say that there was. I think that the kids have always strived to be bet-

ter. I started the group 22 years ago and, every year, I push the kids to be as good as they can and raise the bar a little every year. So it snowballed and got better and better. As the reputation was building after about five years, I was a little tired of turning kids away because so many of them wanted to be a part of it. As an educa-tor I had a problem with limiting kids like that. After

some talks with administration, we started a second group, which gave more oppor-tunity and also raised the expectations on the first group. Now you had two groups within the same high school – even though the more advanced kids were in the top group, the second group was still competing to be as good as them. On top of that, it allowed kids to get experience. I started a third ensemble 10 years later. All of that has kind of led to the maintenance of the excellence of our program because I’ve created my own training ground. A lot of people don’t have that luxury. They have their one vocal jazz ensemble at the high school, kids try out for that, and that’s it. They have no other opportunity. I’ve got 60 kids in my program training for the next level.

I’ve got assistant directors working on all of these ensembles, so I’ve always structured the vocal jazz rehearsals so that all groups rehearse at the same time.

Therefore, I have the freedom to admin-istrate the whole program and drop in on anyone’s rehearsal to see how things are going and mentor the students and, if I need to, the teachers. Each vocal jazz group also has its own rhythm section. They rehearse Tuesday nights and then, on Thursday night, they are on call as we need them for our rehearsal.

CD: That’s a lot of work!

DG: I can’t complain. We’ve won DownBeat awards here, we’ve per-formed at all the major conferences over the years like MENC and ACDA and IAJE and IMEA, and you probably know I’m one of the founding mem-bers of JEN, which I’m very involved with. In the end, I have a passion in my heart and soul for jazz and love shar-ing it and talking about it and helping to further the education and expansion of jazz.

Gregerman directs a concert choir at Niles North. (Photo: Jim Luning).



Roundtable: Travel

Kurt Hargleroad, Festivals of MusicPlan ahead. The further out you start the planning process, the more

likely you are to get the transportation and attractions that best meet your needs. Communicate directly with the parents concerning the cost of the trip, payment deadlines, and cancellation policies. Use a travel planner: their knowledge and experience are invaluable, especially if something does not go as planned.

Be realistic with your time and with your budget. Allow time for traffic and weather issues. The more affordable the trip, the greater num-

Trends in in Travel:Tips from the Pros

Traveling with a school choral group is an adventure for

students, and even more so for the director. From the

initial planning phases to hammering down the logistical

details to execution of those plans during the trip itself, directors

have their hands full making sure everything goes smoothly at ev-

ery step along the entire process. There’s also the constant balance

of opportunity versus cost: deciding what elements are essential

and worth paying for, as well as what can be trimmed to adhere

to budgetary restrictions without negatively impacting the overall

experience.

For some perspective on the latest trends in choral travel, Choral Director reached out to a number of travel professionals, who shared their thoughts on the most impor-tant components to a successful travel experience, tips for keeping costs down without skimping on the experience, as well as what they’re seeing as the latest trends in school music ensemble travel.

ber of students can participate. Often the best part of the trip is the group just being together. A pizza party at the hotel can be just as much fun as a sit down dinner in an expensive restaurant.

The number of performers in ensembles is decreasing. We are seeing more small en-semble travel such as a jazz band or cham-ber choir.

Janet Tollund, Accolades International Tours for the Arts

When I speak to en-semble directors about planning a prospective per-formance tour, one of the first questions that comes up is, “How much is this going to cost?” Our com-pany specializes in international tours, so many directors assume our tours won’t come close to matching their budget. Sur-prisingly, this is often not the case. There’s no question that the cost of touring has risen significantly over the last few years, but there are many ways a director can keep costs more reasonable for his/her students, such as traveling during low season. For a European tour, this means late winter/early spring – perfect for spring break tours.

Consider combining with another en-semble or inviting parents/friends to join the group. Every empty seat on a motor


coach adds cost to the tour, so the goal is to travel with a full coach-load.

Many of our loyal clients continue to tour abroad with us, as they know the huge value these tours add to the future of their program. A consistent international tour schedule is a great recruitment tool for the program, no matter what the level. Today’s tours tend to be shorter in length, but the quality of the programming is still intact.

It’s not impossible to plan a tour that fits one’s budget, but it does take careful plan-ning with a tour company that understands the needs of the ensemble.

Rick Dillard, American Classic Tours & Music Festivals

The most important components to a successful travel experience include a thorough and patient con-sultation with the decision maker that matches up the goals and dreams with the practical reality of what the group believes they can achieve. A good dis-cussion with some guidance from a consul-tant with a background in teaching and ex-perience planning trips with student groups is really helpful. The group needs to have someone (assistant to the teacher or volun-teer parent) who is willing to keep financial records and assist in getting payments pro-cessed in a timely fashion – keeping the bur-den off the shoulders of the teacher.

Being willing to consider staying a little outside the metro area of the city (as in Newark when going to Manhattan) is a way to save a considerable amount of money. Using public transportation whenever pos-sible, rather than charter buses, and allow-ing the students to find good food options in a nice and safe mall location can also help the budget.

In our area, I find more schools decid-ing to not travel every year, but when they do, they are making it a bigger trip – some-times even international.

Kyle Naylor, WorldStrides Heritage Performance Programs

The most important component to a success-ful travel experience for music students is the abil-ity to provide both worry-free and cost-effective pro-grams. Our model allows a music director to turn as much of the itinerary planning as they wish over to our destination specialists so that we can chase down the time consum-ing details while they focus on their musical preparation.

Controlling costs will always be the chal-lenge and rightful responsibility of each mu-sic director on tour and can be done without compromising the quality of the experience. Allying themselves with an expert for their desired destination is the best way to control those costs. Experienced professionals have put together hundreds of itinerary plans and have dealt with budget ranges from slim to extravagant and everything in between. They can give good counsel on what to see, where to eat, and so on, providing a won-derful experience packaged within a budget that the music director provides.

The latest trends we’ve noticed among our traveling ensembles is an ever-increas-ing usage of technology. Our festival teams are able to communicate with the music di-rector with real time updates on what may be happening in a given city, both pre-de-parture and during the actual trip. This cer-tainly allows for better planning and has re-sulted in greater safety and security for each of our student travelers. We also digitally record and archive all of our adjudication sessions to make them available immediate-ly after the event. This allows the different ensembles to immediately implement the musical suggestions of our adjudicators to improve the quality of their performance. Social media at our events keeps parents and friends at home updated on festival fun and achievements.

Michael Way, BrightsparkSince there is so much

to experience, knowing your goals and focus of the tour is very important to creating an efficient tour plan that takes full advantage of your time (and wasting less of it in traffic). It is also important to schedule enough time at venues so students can ap-preciate them and learn more about where they will be performing. It’s a good idea to take into consideration the interest of your group: they will enjoy it more if they know they will be performing at a venue they’ve been particularly excited about.

Realistically estimate the number of travelers in your ensemble. If you have 100, chances are that 10-15 will not go right off the bat. So plan for taking less than 100 percent of your ensemble. Pre-pare your students for the trip and the costs; don’t just spring the trip on them with a payment schedule. Allow time to present the trip and for the families to plan financially for the tour.

We would always suggest using a travel operator that can offer experience and ex-pertise, to help you make the most of your

investment of time and resources. Commu-nicate with your travel planning partner of-ten to be sure you both have an understand-ing of the budget as well as the educational goals of the trip. But also planning ahead can help you recruit enough students, or allow for time if you need to fundraise. Too little time may not give the financial options to all students who wish to attend. In many cases it is wise to organize and include a team of parents and students who can take owner-ship of helping you insure a trips success. Here are other tips:• Consider driving instead of flying if

time allows.

• Prioritize your venues with your travel coordinator weighing cost vs. options.

• Consider a day of public transpor-tation in venues such as New York instead of needing to rent a coach.

We are seeing a resurgence of the lon-ger trip, and larger numbers of passengers on each trip. The focus of trips has also changed so that the music education curric-ulum portion of the trip is much more ap-parent than it used to be. The performance trips are having to conform to points in the state education curriculums.

Also, performance opportunities that connect to the venue such as Voices on Broadway or the experience at Third Man Records at Jack White’s live recording stu-dio are gaining a lot of interest. At Voices on Broadway, students have the chance to perform with the real Broadway cast. Third Man Records offers “School Choirs & Bands at Third Man: A Vinyl Recording Experience,” a program that exposes the MP3 generation to the world of vinyl, ana-log recording, and the recording industry beyond the performance. These types of ex-clusive programs connect students directly with the artists, making for a truly unique experience.

Veena Vohra, Four Winds ToursFor music groups, the

performance opportunities are what make the differ-ence in a successful trip. Performing at a unique lo-cation with a good audience is what can really make a performance special.

There are many ways to keep the cost down without compromising the value of a student trip. Location can make a differ-ence. Choosing a location like Washington, D.C., where many of the attractions are free but still very worthwhile, can help. Also, staying closer to home helps save on trans-portation costs. Staying at hotels where breakfast is included is a good idea.

Roundtable.indd 27 3/18/13 2:28 PM


We’ve heard from a lot of our school groups that some of the best times the kids have take place right at the hotel. So staying in for pool time or a game night with their piers at the hotel is a good substitute for an expensive evening activity, and it can help to save on costs.

We are finding that a lot of our perfor-mance groups are trending more toward performances with clinics for their en-sembles instead of expensive competitions. Economic concerns are also leading toward shorter trips and fewer participants then trips we have had in the past.

Cathy Skinner, Cultural Tour Consultants

Organization is very important. Direc-tors should try to designate a tour director to handle the travel details, so the di-rector can concentrate on the musical aspect of the tour. Try to start planning as far in advance as pos-sible to be sure the concert venues and other tour components will be available to your choir.

To keep cost down, maximize the cost of shared tour components, such as the tour-ing coaches, by increasing the number of participants. Listen to ideas and be flexible.

We find that choir groups are more in-terested in spending more time at destina-tions, town and cities to absorb the culture and learn more, rather than traveling long distances on extended tours in Europe.

Jane Larson, Witte Travel & Tours

If this is the first time the music director is plan-ning a tour (and especially an international tour), it is important that he or she does some research and asks for references from colleagues so proposals are requested from companies that specialize in performance tours. Once the music direc-tor has selected a tour operator, collabora-tion and communication between the mu-sic director and tour operator is probably the most important key to success. From the very first planning, there needs to be a discussion of the performance and educa-

tional goals-as well as planning a tour that matches the group’s budget.

Probably the easiest way to keep costs down is to plan on having a nearly full mo-tor coach and the minimum number of com-plimentary trips required. If your ensemble is not large enough to fill a motor coach, you may want to consider combining with another group or opening your tour up to supporters. We also recommend having a shorter, all-inclusive experience instead of a longer tour that might include too many op-tions or extras that the students have to pay for on their own. For international travel, often a big cost savings is to travel during spring break instead of summer.

I have found that more groups are choos-ing to cover less ground so that they can have a deeper immersion into the culture. For student groups, performance and educa-tional goals are often equally important. For example in addition to giving concerts and visiting the main sites, a performing group might also want to have an exchange concert with a local choir at the destination or have workshop with a local conductor or com-poser. There is also more interest in learning about the music history and composers from the destination they are visiting.

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Technology: Cloud Sequencing Tools

Sequencing harnesses the elements of sound. Music sequencers

are device or application software that can record or edit mu-

sic by manipulating note information. Of all the fundamental

areas of music technology, sequencing software is the easiest solution

for students who have a minimum of music theory training to use to

create music. Ken Johnson, in an article published in Music & Com-

puters magazine way back in 1993, first alerted me to 10 basic ways

to use a MIDI sequencer in the classroom:

by John Kuzmich, Jr.

Sequencing Magicin the

Since then, this list has expanded courtesy of two new innovations in the tech world: a plethora of free sequencers and the cloud.

The CloudCloud and online technology represents an exciting environment for enhanced

productivity and collaboration because it is improving daily and constantly rolling out new features. Google for example, has a number of apps including sequencers that can automatically synchronize data from one computer to the cloud so data files are never out-of-date, regardless of which computer you are working on. Ap-

Clouds!

• Accompany ensembles• Teach composition

at all levels• Teach arranging concepts at

all levels• Create presentation tools• Teach rhythmic concepts

• Teach transcription skills• Produce class- and

school-wide projects• Promote music programs• Use as interactive rehearsal

tools• Create original compositions

ple’s iWork productivity suite is great for automatically syncing your work to the cloud. Microsoft’s SkyDrive offers a free Office web apps based on their Ex-cel, OneNote, PowerPoint, and Word. You can store and access music, docu-ments, movies and TV shows, photos, and personal videos for free.

Free Sequencing ToolsFree cloud audio recording and

editing applications allow directors and students to create musical com-positions online. Aviary Myna is a free web-based audio editor/loop much like GarageBand and can be more ap-proachable than GarageBand and its highly visual interface. Aviary Myna is a flash-based multi-track editor that can record vocals, accompani-ments, remix music tracks and audio clips, apply sound effects, and more. Myna comes with a library of riffs from Quantum Tracks that can be used non-commercially, and a few sound effects from other sources. The limits of this app are that you can only lay down ten tracks and have to keep the total play-ing time under five minutes. Its editing tools are impressive, allowing users to trim, loop, stretch, and reverse audio

Technology.indd 30 3/18/13 2:30 PM


clips, while using width-editable loop points and interactive time stretch ca-pabilities. You can easily add fade-ins, fade-outs, pan from left to right, and modify gain over time, again, with edit-able control points. Plus, you can add non-destructive effects to your audio clips, like Pitch Change, Reverb, Delay, and Parametric EQ. Go ahead and im-port your own audio files or search one of their provided libraries. Mix it down and export directly to your desktop or publish back to your account. And this tools allows users to share and collabo-rate with other users.

JamStudio.com is another web-based sequencer for music mixing and songwriting, similar to Acid, Acid Pro, Garageband, and Sony Acid. It is an Adobe Flash-based website that allows users to create music with an amazing GUI interface for very intui-tive use. JamStudio.com allows users to mix different instruments (guitars, drums, bass, etc.) with simple clicks to create music. Created music tracks can be saved as MP3s or saved online on the site. You can also embed your song, and the entire mixer, into your webpage, where it can then be remixed by visitors to your page. It is available for only a $4.95 month per user, and there are a limited number of grants for schools making this application totally free. Simply click on the grant icon inside the “In The Classroom” icon and apply. For a host of YouTube vid-eos demonstrating this app, go to bit.ly/YfbMlV, where you will find many videos representing different levels of composition.

UJAM is a free on-line music-mak-ing application that allows anyone to create professional sounding songs eas-ily and quickly. UJAM is cloud-based, and there is no software to download. The site is organized into three sec-tions: “composition,” “select a musical style,” and “share it with others.” You can add customized soundtracks to videos, greeting cards, and slide shows within minutes. Or, this music soft-ware can create customized multi-track playbacks faster than ever before.

Soundation is a powerful free on-line audio and voice recorder. This sequencing tool can be used directly from a web browser without any sign

ups or registration. However, you will be required to sign up if you have made a recording and want to save it in the cloud. This free application has the functionalities of a recording studio. In can record tracks and add effects to those recordings. This easy-to-use freeware contains some features that even advanced users may find useful, including an intuitive interface with

easily recognizable tabs and buttons. You can also edit settings in the ap-plication before starting your record-ings and alter the buffer size and add plugins to the app for easy recording. Record directly from the microphone input on your computer into a high-lighted channel in the freeware studio and enjoy.

More Powerful, Free Sequencing Options

The one disadvantage of the more powerful sequencing apps is that they often need to be downloaded, in-stalled, and configured on each com-puter; cloud sequencers, on the other hand, do not need to be installed and configured on each workstation, mak-ing them the simpler choice when dealing with many students and their home computers. Nevertheless, if power and more advanced features are what you’re looking for, here are some choices to consider.

Audacity is one of the leading play-ers in this market. It is free, open source software for recording and edit-ing sounds. It allows you to record live audio, convert tapes and record into digital recordings or CDs, and edit Ogg Vorbis, MP3, WAV or AIFF sound files. Audacity lets you cut, copy, splice or mix sounds together. Built-in effects can remove static, hiss, hum, or other background noises. The features in the new version 2.0 are better than ever.

Power Sound Editor Free is a visual audio editing and recording software solution, which supports many ad-vanced and powerful operations with

audio data. You can use Power Sound Editor Free to record music, voice, or other audio files, edit it, mix it with other audio or musical parts, add ef-fects like reverb, chorus, and echo, burn it to a CD, and post it on the web or e-mail it.

mp3DirectCut is a fast and exten-sive audio editor and recorder for com-pressed mp3 files. No need to decom-

press your files for audio editing when you cut, copy, paste or change the vol-ume. Using cue sheets, pause detection or auto cue let’s you can easily divide long files. The built in recorder creates mp3 files on the fly from your audio input.

Music Editor Free (MEF) is a multi-award winning music editor software tool for recording and editing audio re-cordings. When editing audio files you can cut, copy and paste parts of record-ings and add effects like echo, amplifi-cation and noise reduction.

Closing CommentsCloud technology has re-invigorat-

ed sequencing apps and their hybrid web and mobile versions. Ableton has already taken a step forward in the area of collaboration by offering a function that allows users to share tracks and control who accesses them via an on-line interface. As ever, improving tech-nology is the driver: better connectiv-ity via standard broadband and mobile connections makes it all possible.

Dr. John Kuzmich Jr. is a veteran music educator, jazz educator and music technolo-gist with more than 41 years of public school teaching expe-rience. He is a TI:ME-certified training instructor and has a Ph.D. in comprehensive musicianship. As a freelance au-thor, Dr. Kuzmich has more than 400 articles and five text books published. As a clinician, Dr. Kuzmich frequently participates in workshops throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, and South America.

For more information, visit www.kuzmich.com.

“Cloud technology has re-invigorated sequencing apps and their hybrid web

and mobile versions.”

Technology.indd 31 3/18/13 2:30 PM


TWO-PART“En Roulant Ma Boule”arr. Cristi Cary MillerHal LeonardEasy

Christi Cary Miller has created a lively arrangement of this French Canadian song. Verses can be sung in either English or French (or some combination), allowing the per-former to vary and adapt the piece to one’s unique situation. The piano part is helpful while still having its own artistic merit. The fast tempo and playful text allow this piece

The French language’s innate lyricism and beauty has inspired

generations of composers. Below, I’ve selected some of my

favorite settings of French texts for choirs. Of course, I could

not include all my favorites and had to omit Debussy’s “Trois Chan-

sons de Charles d’Orléans,” which are well worth the challenge!

While French pronunciation can be intimidating for many of us,

valuable resources exist. John Glenn Paton’s new book Gateway to

French Diction: A Guide for Singers (Alfred Music Publishing, 2012) is

well organized and very easy to use. The book also includes a CD of

phrases and song texts spoken by a native French speaker.

By John C. Hughes

Repertoire Forum: French Texts

Choral Works With French Texts

to function well at the beginning or end of a concert. A preview of the score and an audio recording are available.

goo.gl/qEC2U

“J’entends Le Moulin”arr. Emily CrockerHal LeonardEasy

“J’entends Le Moulin” is a famous French Canadian folksong from the Que-bec province. The flowing piano accom-paniment wonderfully portrays the text, “I hear the windmill (tique tique taque).” The infectious melody and simple harmo-nies allow emerging ensembles to mas-ter this piece, even with its French text. Throughout the arrangement, Crocker alternates between English and French, which helps both the singers and audi-ence follow the story. The score is very useful with IPA guides and information about the folksong. An accompaniment CD is available for purchase.

goo.gl/hmdoI

Rep Forum.indd 32 3/18/13 2:31 PM


SSA“Au Joli Jeu,” from Two European Mad-rigalsClément Janequin, arr. Jerry Weseley HarrisWaltonMedium-Advanced

Clément Janequin (1472–1587) is a fa-mous composer known primarily for his programmatic chansons. “Au Joli Jeu” is a wonderful example of French Renaissance music and contains both polyphonic and homophonic textures. Lynne Gackle, the editor of the choral series from which this piece comes, has done a wonderful job providing a clean score with helpful in-formation. The work is not without chal-lenges: it is unaccompanied and requires significant independent singing. An audio recording is available.

goo.gl/3Y0Ln

TTB“Viva Tutti”Anonymous 18th century, ed. Ralph HunterLawson-Gould/AlfredMedium

Young men will enjoy the raucous na-ture of “Viva Tutti.” At 200 bpm, the piece flies by with patter-like text setting and un-expected rhythmic accents. This piece truly requires three independent voice parts, but the intrigue of the piece will inspire the singers to work hard. “Viva Tutti” is the per-fect way to feature a special group of tenors and basses in a fun, upbeat piece.

TTBB“Vive l’Amour”arr. Robert BoydColla VoceMedium-Advanced

Composed in 2006 for an Illinois high school honor choir festival, Boyd’s arrangement of this traditional French song has enjoyed many subsequent per-formances. “Vive l’Amour” is a wonder-ful piece for men’s voices and extols the virtue of friendship and camaraderie. To truly showcase a talented and tight-knit group of tenors and basses, program this work. While not overly difficult, this piece is truly for four parts, making it accessible only to advanced singers. The piano ac-companiment is supportive and adds to the nature of the work. A score preview and an audio recording are available.

goo.gl/fD0VB

THREE-PART“Mes Chants”Victor Hugo, arr. Jerry EstesShawneeMedium-Easy

Jerry Estes adapted Victor Hugo’s timeless text and composed a hauntingly beautiful melody for it. The first and last section has French text, and the middle section has an English text. The descant for select voices allows conductors to fea-ture students. The vocal ranges are appro-priate for developing voices.

goo.gl/f54e6

SAB“Chantez Alleluia!”Dave and Jean PerryHeritage/LorenzMedium

Also available in a two-part setting, this piece by Dave and Jean Perry is well craft-ed for developing voices. The repetitive text of only a few words serves as a good introduction to singing in French. “Chan-tez Alleluia!” has a brisk tempo which is further enlivened by the buoyant piano accompaniment. A score preview and au-dio recording are available.

goo.gl/mu3dA

SATBOxford Book of French Chansonsed. Frank DobbinsOxfordMedium

The Renaissance was a fertile period for composition in France. While many chansons are available for purchase sepa-rately, why not purchase a collection of the most popular works from the era? Perfect for high schools with a well-established

madrigal choir, a set of these books, while not inexpensive, would serve as a tremen-dous resource and an investment in the program for years to come. Choose from the myriad of wonderful pieces contained in this collection, including: “Tant que viv-rai” by Sermisy, “Bonjour mon cœur” by Lassus, or my favorite, “Revoici venir du printemps” by le Jeune.

“J’entends le Moulin”arr. Donald PatriquinearthsongsMedium-Advanced

While many people might associate “J’entends le Moulin” with a children’s playsong, Patriquin’s arrangement is quite advanced. Using un-pitched speak-ing parts, snapping, clapping, and foot stamps, this arrangement is far from or-dinary. The easily learned melody makes learning the work accessible for choirs; however, the piano part is quite demand-ing – so much so that it is printed sepa-rately. Feature a wonderful accompanist on this fun piece; just make sure to give it to him/her well in advance! This piece is also available in a two-part arrangement. The choral score, piano part, and full score are sold separately.

goo.gl/kFwNx

John C. Hughes is a versatile cho-ral musician and pedagogue, drawing from experience as a K-12 teacher, collegiate conductor, and church mu-sician. Presently, Hughes is pursuing the D.M.A. in Choral Conducting and Pedagogy at The University of Iowa, as well as serving as music director at The Congregational United Church of Christ of Iowa City. Please contact him directly at his website: www.johnchughes.com.

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Survey: Summer Camps & Workshops

The Impact

5%9%

Most

Some

None

Few

20%

66%

Helpful, but not substantial42%

We see major benefits18%Not muchimpact at all

40%

Yes19%

81%No

Yes82%

18%No

MostSome 20%Few 66%None 9%

18% 42% 40%

Exposure to new repertoire

Camaraderie of being around other people who share my interestsRejuvenation!

New teaching techniques

New vocal techniques

New conducting/directing techniquesOther

20%

18%

18%

17%

13%

11%

3%

24 Choral Director • January 2013

Ah, the brisk and invigorating chill of winter – what better time to turn our thoughts to what summer has to offer? This recent Choral Director survey asked readers to weigh in on the latest trends in summer camps and workshops for

both students and educators.

What proportion of your students attends summer vocal music camps and workshops?

of Camps and Workshops

Unfortunately, 75 percent of responding readers indicate that “few” or “none” of their students attend vocal music camps and workshops. Meanwhile, 82 percent of educators in this poll attend camps and workshops for their own profes-sional and musical development, where they gain exposure to new repertoire, camaraderie among like-minded people, and are able to learn new teaching techniques, among other po-tential benefits. Even though only 18 percent of readers see major impact from camps and workshops translated into their school pro-grams, few would deny the potential for growth and inspira-tion that many of these offerings provide. And yet, economic factors appear to be taking a toll, with a number of respon-dents pointing noting that a lack of funding is one of the pri-mary reasons more students don’t attend. Read on for the latest trends in these potentially stimulat-ing, rejuvenating, eye-opening – and fun – summertime learn-ing opportunities.

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