An entire category of workshops-in-a-box! Prestigious choral instructors from all walks, universities to professional choirs, have created these DVD and Video sets that allow you to not only read the works of the greats, but see them in action. They oughtta be in pictures – and they are! Whether it’s Basic Conducting Technique, Creating Artistry Through Movement, The Choral Warm-Up, Fine Tuning Your Conducting Skills, Teaching Kids To Sing, Arranging for choral groups, or learning the techniques of some the most senior, well-respected, internationally known & loved ensembles, we’ve got it all for you here in pictures.
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Choral singing is an extension of proper phonation from each individual singer, and this 2 -hour master class on DVD is a gold mine of techniques, concepts and practical exercises to improve singing at every stage of vocal development. Singers and conductors will appreciate master-teacher Linda Spevacek's expertise in harnessing the entire body to achieve a focused tone production. Enjoy Linda's infectious enthusiasm as she introduces and works with a room full of choral directors just like you. Watch Linda put her ideas into practice by leading the assembled group through three octavos (included in the kit) and see firsthand how she incorporates the powerful techniques she has developed and has just shared with you. More than an idea bank for proven vocal techniques, "The Choral Director as Voice Teacher" is a comprehensive and practical approach to achieving choral and musical excellence - an invaluable resource for every choral director.
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In September 2002, an extraordinary musical event took place. Two of the world's top choral directors working with young members of The American Boychoir and the Newark Boys Chorus made music together before an audience of choral musicians from around the world. They were attending the 14th annual National Choral Conference hosted by the American Boychoir. Body, Mind, Spirit, Voice shows how Dr. Anton Armstrong of St. Olaf College in Minnesota and Dr. André Thomas of Florida State University melded a group of young people into an amazing musical instrument. This is also the story of how the arts can inspire and instruct, helping young people learn the values of hard work, responsibility and self-confidence. The documentary, directed by Emmy Award-winning producer Robert E. Frye and edited by Markus Peters, is a lesson for all to witness and behold the joy of the experience.
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This extraordinary DVD is packed with ideas and techniques especially for middle school and junior high choral directors, or for choral music education students. Filmed both during a convention appearance and in a classroom, Dr. Russell Robinson (along with a demonstration choir from Eisenhower Middle School, FL) shows us new and tried-and-true ways to make young and developing singers look and sound better. Learn how to take your singers' energy and put it to great use!.
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It will make you think. It will make you laugh. It may change the way you approach your job as a choral director. The Perfect Blend provides an entertaining, yet practical approach to the voice and to the choir. Over 100 exercises, including photos to explain them, rehearsal and programming tips, vocal health and the aging voice, plus "things they didn't teach you in school." It all adds up to the perfect blend for any choral director. This 2 Hour DVD features the Turtle Creek Chorale and One Achord, of the TCC.
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It will make you think. It will make you laugh. It may change the way you approach your job as a choral director. The Perfect Blend provides an entertaining, yet practical approach to the voice and to the choir. Over 100 exercises, including photos to explain them, rehearsal and programming tips, vocal health and the aging voice, plus "things they didn't teach you in school." It all adds up to the perfect blend for any choral director. This 2 Hour DVD features the Turtle Creek Chorale and One Achord, of the TCC.
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'Jazz Style and Improvisation for Choirs' is an exceptional DVD designed to assist your students in achieving a comfort level witht he performance of jazz stlye and improvisation techniques within your choral program. Your students will learn and sing along with other students and on their own using this interactive DVD. Subjects and tecniques covered include: Chords Within the Blues Stle, Use of Scat Syllables, Improvising on Three Notes, Traing Fours - Listening and Learning, Putting It All Together, and Ballad Style.
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An exceptional DVD showing practical and innovative rehearsal techniques for your choral classroom. Suited for choirs of all levels. There are helpful hints and ideas for every choral director and is geared for maintaining student interest and maximizing their musicianship. This program is a first-class presentation showing actual footage of Dr. Robinson in workshop events as he teaches directors creative rehearsal techniques. You will see him discuss the challenges of today's choral classroom with candor and humor, while addressing the real problems directors face and presenting practical solutions. This is a video designed for the director, not the student, and is instructional in nature. About 45 minutes in length, this piece provides a "workshop in a box," which directors and teachers can watch at home, in seminar situations, or in college methods classes. Finally a practical help for conductors of all levels!
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Taking James Jordan's choral conducting book Evoking Sound to the next level, this video is a self-tutorial that demonstrates and enhances the basic conducting principles discussed in the book. This insightful presentation includes an overview of fundamental Body Mapping based upon the Alexander Technique as applied to choral conducting, as well as tutorials on breathing and basic conducting patterns. Whether you're studying conducting for the first time or looking for a refresher course, this enlightening video provides invaluable insight into basic conducting technique.
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This DVD provides a rare opportunity to witness two sessions of Carnegie Hall's Robert Shaw Choral Workshop program, featuring rehearsals and portions of performances of Brahm's A German Requiem and Beethoven's Missa solemnis conducted by the legendary Robert Shaw. Follow Maestro Shaw from his initial meeting with the musicians, through the rehearsal prrocess, to the final concert in Carnegie Hall's Isaac Stern Auditorium. Also includedin the DVD are Maestro Shaw's invaluable insights into interpretive and performance challenges raised by these two choral masterpieces. The Preparing A Masterpiece video series on the Robert Shaw workshops at Carnegie Hall provides an in-depth look at Maestro Shaw's preparation for performances of choral masterpieces. These workshops inaugurated the Professional Training Workshops, which continue to this day.
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Parts 3 and 4 of an 8 part series wherein Robert Shaw walks the viewer through his preparatory and performance techniques. The demonstrative masterpieces on this DVD are Requiem by Hector Berlioz, and War Requiem by Benjamin Britten. Featuring guest vocals by American Boychoir, Robert Shaw Festival Chorus and Institute and more!
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Parts 5 and 6 of an 8 part series wherein Robert Shaw walks the viewer through his preparatory and performance techniques. The demonstrative masterpieces on this DVD are When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd: A Requiem "For Those We Love" by Paul Hindesmith, and Requiem, Ave Maria, and Stabat mater by Giuseppe Verdi. Featuring guest vocals by Robert Shaw Festival Chorus and more!
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The final parts of an 8 part series wherein Robert Shaw walks the viewer through his preparatory and performance techniques. The demonstrative masterpieces on this DVD are Elijah by Felix Mendelssohn and The Creation and The Seasons by Joseph Haydn. Guest vocals by Dominique LaBelle, Robert Shaw Festival Chorus and more!
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Experience the insights, the expertise, the inspiration and the fun of the King's Singers in concert at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Hall in Dallas, Texas, in rehearsal, in informal interviews and in workshops. The group uses various high school choirs, in a workshop setting, to demonstrate their philosophy and approach. The King's Singers, wearing casual apparel, gently and humorously coach their charges on important but subtle details of phrasing, dynamics and most importantly, interpretation, as on Bob Chilcott's arrangement of "Shenandoah." The group, in spite of their daunting technical know-how, make the point that fun while singing is the purpose; the obviously warm rapport they have amongst themselves is ample evidence that this is so!
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Darwin Sanders, nationally recognized language and diction specialist, teaches pronunciation for over 35 of the most common Latin texts used in choral singing. Each text is spoken by Sanders and is echoed by an onscreen ensemble. A helpful reference DVD for choral singers and conductors.
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Darwin Sanders, nationally recognized language and diction specialist, teaches pronunciation for over 35 of the most common German text used in choral singing. Each text is spoken by Sanders and is echoed by an onscreen ensemble featuring members of the Milwaukee Children's Choir and Milwaukee Youth Chorale. A helpful reference DVD for choral singers and conductors and includes a booklet containing the English lyrics to over 50 German songs.
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Conductor, teacher, and researcher Dr. Patrick K. Freer explores practical solutions to common problems while focusing on an impromptu ensemble of everyday kids. These three fast-paced DVDs demonstrate familiar challenges and Freer's sensitive, real-time solutions to them. You will see the process unfold as it actually happened and how Dr. Freer incorporates research on adolescent learning into the process of teaching choral music. When working with these young adolescents, Dr. Freer clearly demonstrates how challenges associated with male and female changing voices can be handled successfully. Interviews with the students present valuable perspectives on being an adolescent singer, and a special segment on DVD 3 is designed to be shown to students in classrooms and choirs. The manual contains additional materials, including printed instructions for the exercises demonstrated throughout.
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Rodney Eichenberger skillfully demonstrates the effectiveness of employing singer movement to sensitize the ensemble to more subtle musicality. Working with 14 choirs representing church, school, community, and college, in unrehearsed, spontaneous demonstrations, singers are given some ownership in the rehearsal process as they internalize musical concepts kinetically, aurally, and visually. The video demonstrates how these techniques can be incorporated into more effective conducting gesture in rehearsal and in concert. The impressive results speak for themselves as to the worth of these rehearsal techniques.
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That's Entertainment! is the eighth offering in Alfred's "Choral Movement Series." Join popular Alfred editors, composers, choreographers, and clinicians Sally K. Albrecht and Andy Beck as they take you step-by-step through staging suggestions for 11 Alfred choral titles. The movements are so easy to see and learn, as Sally and Andy are able to demonstrate counterpoint movement simultaneously! Perfect for 2-Part choirs (Part 1 vs. Part 2) as well as for mixed groups ("men vs. women" staging), this DVD is jam-packed with fresh and fun staging ideas for choirs of all ages and sizes.
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ON THE STAGE! is the sixth offering in the "Choral Movement Series." Join popular choral editors, composers, choreographers, and clinicians Sally K. Albrecht and Andy Beck as they take you step by step through staging suggestions for 11 Alfred Choral Desgns titles. The movements are so easy to see and learn, as Sally and Andy are able to demonstrate counterpoint movement simultaneously! Perfect for 2-Part choirs (Part I vs. Part II) as well as for mixed groups ("men vs. women" staging), this DVD is jam-packed with fresh and fun staging ideas for choirs of all ages and sizes.
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FOLLOW ME TO THE TOP! is the seventh offering in the"Choral Movement Series." Join popular choral editors, composers, choreographers, and clinicians Sally K. Albrecht and Andy Beck as they take you step by step through staging suggestions for 11 Alfred Choral Designs titles. The movements are so easy to see and learn, as Sally and Andy are able to demonstrate counterpoint movement simultaneously! Perfect for 2-Part choirs (Part I vs. Part II) as well as for mixed groups ("men vs. women" staging), this DVD is jam-packed with fresh and fun staging ideas for choirs of all ages and sizes.
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Move to America's music with this easy-to-follow DVD performance resource from the Master of Movement... John Jacobson! John takes you step-by-step through fresh new choralography routines for ten of your favorite Americana songs from volume 1 of the popular 'Get America Singing.. Again' series. An informational booklet is included with printed choreography for each song. Enhance your next patriotic performance and get America moving!
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Whether you've just started middle school or are at the end of your high school years, figuring out who you are and how you fit into this world is not easy. After spending decades with young musicians in schools, churches and communities, John Jacobson offers unique insights into what it means to be growing up in a 'choir of citizens' who are all 'singing' a different tune. He shares some of his stories and how he took risks, in order to pursue his dreams. There are many paths to pursue in life. Which path will you choose? You are valuable. We need your song!
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Movement enhances even the simplest of musical settings. It can bring energy to a dynamic show choir number or simple elegance to a beautiful concert piece without your choir ever leaving the risers! John Jacobson's ideas for staging and choreography on choral risers have been compiled in this easy-to-use resource for the beginning or veteran choral director. Covering basic formations, visual effects, and simple gestures that enhance the lyrics, this practical guide will help you incorporate all kinds of staging into your performance. Watch the companion video for the complete visual effect.
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Jerry Blackstone and the University of Michigan Men's Glee Club covers topics such as music-based choral tone including repertoire and the musical challenges inherent therein determining the vocal precedures needed to communicate the composer's intent. Also rehearsal warm ups which utilize different timbres and which present particular challenges for the singing male such as tessitura, register changes and vowel color. Intonation issues are also addressed with a discussion followed by a demonstration of warmups and rehearsal techniques.
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Join Henry Leck and a choir made up of young male singers from the Indianapolis Children's Choir and the Indianapolis Youth Chorale. They explore the historical, physical, emotional, and individual musical perspective of the boy's changing voice as well as how the process affects the choral ensemble as a whole. This video offers choir directors, studio voice teachers and young singers the opportunity to examine the process of vocal maturation and how that process might be approached within the choral ensemble. Includes warmups and vocal exercises, ranges and guidelines for vocal classification, technical data, interviews with several young singers, and several excerpts of solo and choral repertoire in performance.
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Dalcroze Eurhythmics is a unique approach to the study of music. Based on rhythm as the primary factor that bridges what we hear with what we do, Eurhythmics can be used in the choral setting to develop rhythmic independence in the singers, inner hearing, and the nuances in music. Through Dalcroze Eurhrythmics, singers can enjoy the benefits of purposeful expressive movement to enhance choral rehearsals and performances. This 1-hour DVD provides detailed approaches to the use of Eurhythmics within the classroom or rehearsal setting and offers a guide to building choral artistry through movement.
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For the first time two of America’s most respected conductors—instrumental and choral—enter into a collaboration, using cutting-edge technology to illustrate their teaching principles for learning the basics of conducting technique. Through insightful masterclass dialogue, unique multi-angle video demonstrations, and state-of-the-art motion capture animation, conductors will be able to study the gesture of both renowned conductors. Revolutionary graphics show the skeletal movement of each conductor in real-time to give conductors an in-depth and accurate picture of body mechanics and architecture. This DVD is a complete tutorial for basic conducting technique as taught and demonstrated by two of America’s master teachers and conductors.
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For over fifty years, Weston Noble has lectured on his principles of choral blend that can be achieved through a process of matching voices to create beautiful, almost seamless choral sound. On this DVD, Weston Noble presents through lecture and demonstraton the principles he has used with the Luther College Nordic Choir. Thousands have benefited from this lecture over the years. Now for the first time, Weston Noble’s lecture has been recorded for choral conductors to study and analyze so they can apply these principles to their choral ensemble, regardless of experience. By using the principles presented, not only will the sound of the choirs improve, but conductors will also realize an immediate improvement in intonation and rhythmic clarity in their ensembles. In addition to the principles Weston Noble has used to achieve optimum standing of his singers, he discusses the following important issues: - beginnings and history of his experimentation with standing arrangements - Robert Shaw’s use of this system (rather than “quartet standing”) for creating vertical sound columns in the choir -mimimizing vibrato in choirs using effective standing procedures - improving the singers’ ability to hear each other - use of “altos in front” choral arrangement to vastly improve intonation - use of the “flip-flop” to achieve different choral colors.
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In this fun one hour and fifteen minute video, Dr. Timothy Mount, working with his choir, demonstrates and talks about clear beats, well-defined conducting patterns, preparatory beats, cut-offs and the many challenges of fermatas. Dr. Mount offers numerous tips and warns about a few bad habits to avoid. The video includes a detailed booklet/manual with all exercises noted. The Choral Journal called the video "A superb contribution to the profession" and strongly recommended the title.
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Conducting work begins not with movement, but with the study of music. Before conducting students can pick up a baton and lead with confidence, they must know where they are going. Allan McMurray, a recognized authority on conducting pedagogy and wind repertoire, takes students through his innovative and music-centered approach to conducting technique. Each of the thirteen sections focuses on a specific movement that embodies an understanding of performance practices, style, music history, form, etc. McMurray expertly guides viewers through the basics of the preparatory ictus and eye contact to the more advanced concepts of use of space and "looking like the music." This DVD is the perfect resource for anyone learning to conduct or as a refresher course for directors at the middle school, high school, or college/university levels. The running time is 1 hr. 40 minutes. Allan McMurray is Chairman of the Conducting Faculty and Director of Bands at the University of Colorado, Boulder. He studied conducting with H. Robert Reynolds at the University of Wisconsin and went on to complete post-graduate work at the Advanced Institute of the Arts in Montreux, Switzerland.
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The purpose of the video is to demonstrate ways to communicate musical intent non-verbally. The naturally human propensity to use body movement to emphasize ideas and to send clear and specific messages, with or without speech, is explored and clearly demonstrated, and conducting instruction on the video emphasizes the entire body as the vehicle of communication. The tape includes some of the most common "mixed" or "blurred" messages that conductors can unintentionally send, immediately followed by motions consistent with intent.
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Sir John Eliot Gardiner is one of the most versatile and exciting conductors of our time. Acknowleged as a key figure in the revival of early music, his concert performances and recordings are unmistakable for their zest and technical mastery. This fascinating film of Bach's Cantata No. 63 rehearsal at London's Abbey Road Studios is intercut with comments from the singers and an interview with Gardiner, giving a deeper appreciation of this festive work lavishly celebrating Christ's birth.
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In this first volume of Donald Neuen's extraordinary series of video-based classes on conducting, this veteran choral conductor and teacher approaches conducting as a high art, to be mastered as any musical instrument. The baton itself is addressed as an instrument, with detailed commentary on different ways of holding it and using it most effectively to communicate with your ensemble. He also discusses when not to use a baton, and how to use your body language to maximum effect. If you take your conducting seriously and want to "sit at the feet of the master," this is what you've been looking for. Furthermore, the high quality of the audio and video production of these products is equal to their superb content!
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In this first volume of Donald Neuen's extraordinary series of video-based classes on conducting, this veteran choral conductor and teacher approaches conducting as a high art, to be mastered as any musical instrument. The baton itself is addressed as an instrument, with detailed commentary on different ways of holding it and using it most effectively to communicate with your ensemble. He also discusses when not to use a baton, and how to use your body language to maximum effect. If you take your conducting seriously and want to "sit at the feet of the master," this is what you've been looking for. Furthermore, the high quality of the audio and video production of these products is equal to their superb content!
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In the first DVD in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series,' Donald Neuen discusses sound and tone quality as well as vitality. In order to teach and lead a choir successfully you must know what to teach, how to teach it, and how to inspire people to learn what you have to offer. Here, Donald Neuen gives you the necessary foundation upon which your future teaching will rest.
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Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Bsses all have different needs and problems that must be carefully addressed. Volume two in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series' addresses these issues. This DVD helps you to understand the break in the female voice, nurture young tenors, correct vibrato problems and much more.
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In the third DVD in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series,' Donald Neuen starts a discussion of language and sound. he then continues with a series of concepts and exercises that will help your choir master the essential components of singing. You learn how to help your singers become partners in the pursuit of the highest standards of artistic excellence, the standards for which the greatest performing artists strive.
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While instrumentalists and singers must be solid technicians with an understanding of the methods required for their respective instruments, and both should have an understanding of theory, form, musicology and so forth, it is the singer who needs to be a dreamtic actor because of the use of words. In the fourth DVD in the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series,' you will learn how to teach your choir to deliver text with clear diction, meaning and color.
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The focus is on bringing the rhythm of your music to life. Volume five of the 'Choral Techniques and Methods Series' will teach you and your choir how to find and mark instances of forward motion in your scores. You will learn how rhythmic interest and the textual emphasis taught in video four go hand in hand. Adiitionally you will learn how rhythmic interest and forward motion are common threads in all great performances. Your singers will find all of the shows in this series to be clarifying and insightful. By learning the valuable information peresented in them, the members of your chorus will share a common vocabulary.
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Paul Salamunovich, Grammy-nominated Conductor Emeritus of the Los Angeles Master Chorale, discusses why his concepts of tone, style and musicianship are rooted in chant. In addition to sharing his expertise in interviews, the Maestro reheares Durufle and Lauridson with university singers. This DVD allows the viewer to experience his artistry from a choir member's perspective. For many years, Paul Salamunovich has been creating just about the lovliest choral singing this side of heaven. This DVD provides a look behind the scenes from which we can learn what drives his quest for choral excellence and how he achieves it. At the heart of his Vision of choral music lies the rich repertory of gregorgian chant which he first learned as a boy soprano, providing a true and solid foundation for good singing in a whole range of styles. A Salamunovich is always honest and true to the composer, but beyond that, transformed by the the light of the spirit and the warmth of inner beauty which Paul has the rare ability to reveal. Paul is an unforgettable man, musician, conductor, and teacher who enriches every life he touches. This very Welcome DVD will help to ensure that his legacy endures.
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For sixty years Weston Noble has been touching hearts, nurturing minds and changing the lives of musicians. By providing insight into what has sustained this legendary conductor as his legacy has grown, this DVD is a strong offering for the improvement of conductor preparation and the enlightenment of practicing conductors and singers. Marvel at the vitality that springs forth from this man, at age 82, as he motivates, educates and unifies a diverse group of volunteer singers. Whether interacting with the choir or speaking candidly during interviews, Weston Noble reveals his faith, vision, humor and joyful optimism. |