<![CDATA[California Choral Directors Association - CASMEC blog]]>Sun, 10 May 2026 15:57:25 -0700Weebly<![CDATA[CLA 2024: 50 future educators in the choral leadership academy]]>Mon, 12 Feb 2024 04:37:56 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/cla-2024-50-future-educators-in-the-choral-leadership-academyPicture
High school, community college, and university music education majors from all across California spent two full days with the incredible 2024 Headliner, Dr. Sharon Paul and other choral mentors learning about the music profession. Thank you to John Sorber, Ryan Clippinger, and Lori Marie Rios for all of your work to bring future choral educators together!
]]><![CDATA[CASMEC 2024: A Great Success in sacramento!]]>Mon, 12 Feb 2024 04:35:38 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/casmec-2024-a-great-success-in-sacramentoPicture
The California All-State Music Education Conference was held in Sacramento February 1-4. CCDA was one of the five collaborating organizations in CASMEC, and presented interest sessions, reading sessions, and choral performances. For the first time ever, CCDA had five all-state choirs which performed at the Sacramento Memorial Auditorium on Saturday, February 3, 2024. Congratulations to the singers and their incredible conductors! Thank you to our All-state coordinators Susie Martone and Angelina Fitzhugh and their enormous team of volunteers for an outstanding experience!
]]><![CDATA[The Power of words: Building Musicianship and Community (session 1) and Choral Placement: Discovering Comfort and Belonging (session 2)]]>Wed, 15 Feb 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/the-power-of-words-building-musicianship-and-community-session-1-and-choral-placement-discovering-comfort-and-belonging-session-2
This collaborative session will explore how our approach to the words on the page can affect the ensemble intonation, tone quality, and expressive musicianship. This session also will investigate how our spoken words in rehearsal can connect with our singers in positive ways and create an inclusive environment that heals rather than harms. Choral Placement is an interactive session that presents the factors to consider when placing voices wtihin each section of the choir, and the procedures that help you and your students discover where each singer can experience vocal comfort and a sense of belonging.

Clinician: ​Dr. Edith Copley
]]><![CDATA[Concert 3: Ayala High School Men's Ensemble and Mater Dei Chamber Singers]]>Sun, 12 Feb 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/concert-3-ayala-high-school-mens-ensemble-and-mater-dei-chamber-singers
Ayala High School serves about 2700 students in the Chino Hills community. Our student population is very diverse and that reflects in our choral program.This advanced ensemble consists of 9-12 grade Tenor/Bass Voices. This ensemble regularly receives “Superior” ratings at SCVA festivals, invitations to festivals hosted by local universities, and “Gold” Ratings at Worldstrides Heritage competitions throughout the United States. At the Worldstrides Heritage festival in New Orleans in 2021, this ensemble received a “Gold” rating. We look forward to community performances like our local shopping mall’s “Tree Lighting Ceremony” around the holidays and performing at retirement homes. The Ayala High School Choral Program is more than a simple choir class at school. Students acquire skills that can be applied to real-world career and social settings. The Mater Dei High School Choral and Vocal Program in Santa Ana, California with serves a vibrant and diverse community from all over Southern California. It is made up of 11 ensembles, comprised of 300 students active in all areas of campus including athletics, the arts, ASB, and more! The choir performs a broad range of music, focusing on a cappella literature and large choral works, and has toured extensively in the United States and Europe. From the Metropolitan Opera stage to Broadway, alumni are continuing the tradition of artistic excellence instilled in students in the Mater Dei Choral and Vocal Music Program. Most importantly, however, the Mater Dei Choirs work to be open and accepting of all, focusing on equity and diversity in order to serve the campus and beyond and enrich the life of each of its singers.  

Conductors: ​Robert Davis and Joni Gould Reed
]]><![CDATA[Inspiring Improvisation: Embracing Chance in the Choral Rehearsal]]>Fri, 10 Feb 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/inspiring-improvisation-embracing-chance-in-the-choral-rehearsal
Incorporating improvisation into a choral rehearsal in meaningful and effective ways can often be an intimidating and frustrating process. In this clinic session, participants will experience a wide variety of improvisatory and aleatoric activities appropriate for middle- and upper-level choral ensembles. The clinician will share games, rhythmic activities, movement activities, and melodic improvisation ideas that will enliven your choral rehearsals, while strengthening individual musicianship and encouraging esprit de corps.

Clinician: Matthew Hanne
]]><![CDATA[Concert 2: San Juan Hills HS Chamber Singers]]>Wed, 08 Feb 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/concert-2-san-juan-hills-hs-chamber-singers
The Chamber Singers are the top auditioned choral ensemble at San Juan Hills High School with 50 singers. San Juan Hills High School opened in 2007 and is the newest high school in the Capistrano Unified School District. The San Juan Hills Choral/Vocal Arts Department has approximately 150 students enrolled across 4 choirs and regularly collaborates with the instrumental music and theatre arts programs on campus. The Choral/Vocal Arts Department features our Vocal Conservatory program which provides scholarship after-school lessons for students who are preparing for careers in music.

​Clinician: Michael Ushino
]]><![CDATA[A Voice For A Lifetime]]>Mon, 06 Feb 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/a-voice-for-a-lifetime
Music rooms often have a lot of expensive and unique classroom instruments in them but none are more precious or important than your voice. How is your voice holding up over time? Teaching can be hard on the vocal mechanism and over time, functionality can decrease as stressors cause strain. This session will help refresh voices, offering exercises that reinforce life-giving vocal pedagogy so that teachers can de-stress and strengthen technique and regain vocal health. Learn voice building vocal exercises that have direct applicability for use in the classroom and have fun in the process!

​Clinician: Dr. Alyson Moore
]]><![CDATA[Showing, Not Telling: The Effectiveness of Non-Verbal Communication in Choral Conducting]]>Fri, 03 Feb 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/showing-not-telling-the-effectiveness-of-non-verbal-communication-in-choral-conducting
Come and join in an interactive session exploring the effective role that non-verbal communication has in a choral rehearsal. The clinician will demonstrate and discuss ways that we can create exciting musical moments with our singers, exclusively through gesture. As choral conductors, we share varied levels of experience and our singers represent a wide range of abilities and musical knowledge. How can we effectively show the most inexperienced singers our musical vision of a piece, when they don't know all of the formal terminology written on the page? Together, the clinician and participants will engage in exercises and active conversation as they explore the world of non-verbal communication in choral singing and the tools one can use to achieve some wonderfully musical moments with any group of singers.

​Clinician: Dr. Joni Prado
]]><![CDATA[Music Learning Theory-Informed Choral Practice]]>Wed, 01 Feb 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/music-learning-theory-informed-choral-practice
Music Learning Theory (MLT), developed through the research of Dr. Edwin Gordon, is a powerful tool in improving our students’ audiation skills. In this interactive session, the presenter will demonstrate some basic tenets and how they can play out in the choral classroom. Come and learn how your students can become “sound musicians” using time-tested and research-based strategies!

​Clinician: Dr. Josh Palkki
]]><![CDATA[Singing Is Listening: Engaging Mind and Ear in the Choral Rehearsal - Polly Vasche]]>Sun, 29 Jan 2023 17:00:00 GMThttps://www.calcda.org/casmec-blog/singing-is-listening-engaging-mind-and-ear-in-the-choral-rehearsal-polly-vasche
Those attending this clinic will participate in a variety of rehearsal techniques which increase mental and auditory focus in the singer. The ideas and exercises are drawn from many workshops such as this one, as well as from observing honor choir rehearsals which have provided valuable insights from outstanding choral conductors. The emphasis will be on ear training through accessible and effective means. Content will be available in hard copy and/or online. I look forward to seeing you at CASMEC '23!

Clinician: ​Polly Vasche
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