Blog Archives

The Power of words: Building Musicianship and Community (session 1) and Choral Placement: Discovering Comfort and Belonging (session 2)

2/15/2023

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

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Concert 3: Ayala High School Men's Ensemble and Mater Dei Chamber Singers

2/12/2023

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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

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Inspiring Improvisation: Embracing Chance in the Choral Rehearsal

2/10/2023

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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

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Concert 2: San Juan Hills HS Chamber Singers

2/8/2023

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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

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A Voice For A Lifetime

2/6/2023

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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

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Showing, Not Telling: The Effectiveness of Non-Verbal Communication in Choral Conducting

2/3/2023

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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

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Music Learning Theory-Informed Choral Practice

2/1/2023

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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

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CASMEC 2023

The Power of words: Building Musicianship and Community (session 1) and Choral Placement: Discovering Comfort and Belonging (session 2)

Concert 3: Ayala High School Men's Ensemble and Mater Dei Chamber Singers

Inspiring Improvisation: Embracing Chance in the Choral Rehearsal

Concert 2: San Juan Hills HS Chamber Singers

A Voice For A Lifetime

Showing, Not Telling: The Effectiveness of Non-Verbal Communication in Choral Conducting

Music Learning Theory-Informed Choral Practice

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