Young female singers are called "mousy'? Ugh!

Here is a quick post on something that was stewing a bit on Choralnet a few months ago (I wrote some of this then but forgot to post the blog!) and which I was compelled to finally respond to: this was a Choralnet post wherein a male director called his adolescent young women singers "mousy and timid". Great attitude, right? Someone called him on this language immediately, but no one had offered up any significant tools to get his mind straight on this and simply be a more skilled, more understanding choral/vocal instructor- so I finally posted the following to the thread:

I have been reading this thread for awhile, and every time I see the title, the "mousy" name-calling still galls me. Men need to try a lot harder to fathom what it is like to be a female singer at any age (but especially in the adolescent and pre-adolescent years) and be more empathetic. I think I can preach here to my fellow XY dudes since I have successfully directed a professional women's choir for 6 years, directed special summer programs for gifted SSAA singers, composed dozens of works for SA through SSAA choirs, worked directly (again with my composer hat on) with skilled directors of female choirs such as Emily Ellsworth, Janet Galvan, Lynne Gackle, Nancy Menk, and Robyn Lana just to mention a few. Please guys, become more sensitive, and here is what I REALLY want you to do to educate yourself a lot more, and have way more tools for success with your choirs:

Purchase the book "Finding Ophelia's Voice, Opening Ophelia's Heart"  by Lynne Gackle. It is full of brilliant insights into the female adolescent voice and psyche. This is required reading. The other required reading is "Conducting Women's Choirs", edited and compiled by Debra Spurgeon. There are chapters on an amazing breadth of topics by many great contributors (essentially a who's-who of the women's choir movement over the last 25 years- but especially for this subject please read the sections by Sandra Snow and Sandra Peter) which are invaluable resources for anyone who directs women either in an SSAA type ensemble or within an SATB ensemble. The Spurgeon book also contains Lori Hetzel's U of Kentucky choir in a DVD demo of all sorts of important vocal issues, plus vocalise/warmup issues. Buy these two books and sit down with them for a week or two. They are both worth it to anyone in our profession. And let's drop the term "mousy", please!

Lynne Gackle's book, published by Heritage/Lorenz:

http://www.lorenz.com/product.aspx?id=30_2579H

Debra Spurgeon

Deb Spurgeon's book, published by GIA:

http://www.giamusic.com/search_details.cfm?title_id=20615

Paul Carey

www.paulcarey.net

You can see the Choralnet complete thread here:  http://www.choralnet.org/view/442443#442757

Recap of the 2013 ACDA National Conference in Dallas: Friday

Friday at ACDA in Dallas

Friday morning for me began with attending the two year college reading session. The session was well-attended and the music was all quite good; once again, another quality reading session.

Next up I attended Debra Spurgeon's interest session which centered on the release of her new book "Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success" (published by GIA). You can read my review of this book here. Debra was able to gather all but one of her chapter writers for this session. Those attending were Hilary Apfelstadt, Lynne Gackle, Lori Hetzel, Mary Hopper, Iris Levine, Jeannette MacCallum, Janna Montgomery, Joelle Norris, Sandra Peter, Sandra Snow, Phillip Swan, and Shelby Wahl. Nancy Menk was not available as she was on tour with her choir. Debra was kind enough to also acknowledge other contributors to the book who were in attendance such as myself, Joan Szymko, Carol Barnett, and Sharon Paul.

Debra had each chapter author give a thumbnail sketch of their contribution and the session went very well and was highly attended. I especially liked Jeannette McCallum's words about the Venetian ospedali and her negative view toward pieces presented these days for women's choirs made available by composers and publishers which are just poor rewrites of SATB music (this is a pet peeve of mine as well, and I talk about it in the interview Nancy Menk did with me for the book).

After the session ended all the authors and their audience walked over to the GIA booth where they sold and signed the book for those who wanted a copy. I dropped over  an  hour later after and they were still signing books! For those of you who work with women's choirs, you really should buy this wonderful book.

I skipped the 2 PM concert in order to continue doing some off the beaten track activities. I attended a Paul Head/University of Delaware session of "Into the Mind"; these are thirty minute informal sessions with directors performing at the conference (usually with their choir in attendance)  talking about the music they are doing and details of their work. These session also provided some Q and A time as well. Head's session was quite good and the Swiss composer Ivo Antognini was there since Head was doing a piece of his- Ivo proved to be quite a sweet guy. He even stood up and directed the choir for a bit and admitted he had never directed a choir before- it was a cute moment.

Paul Head

I had also earlier attended two other "Into the Mind" sessions. They were Karen Thomas' excellent session with her women's choir Chroma where Karen talked about their repertoire, including the tone-color requirements of singing Bulgarian folk music and Jerry McCoy's session where he shared all sorts of great details and tips on how to successfully record your choir and choose your repertoire in order to gain a slot on a divisional or national conference concert session.  For those in the audience Jerry's tips were great info. The Into the Mind sessions were new for ACDA- I think they are a keeper.

After Head's session I went and watched Ken Fulton work with young collegiate conducting students. The repertoire they were working on were the openings of the Faure and Durufle Requiems. Fulton was great to watch and the main thing he kept stressing to the young conductors was to not rush these openings, especially not to be in such a gosh darn hurry at cadences, and to keep soft dynamic levels under control. Each conductor did a great job and I believe they left with some new ideas from Fulton.

The 4:30 concert session was excellent. Phillip Brunelle's Vocalessence sang an unusual program of music in Spanish, much of it from the New World. Vocalessence sang this program very well. The same was true of the Houston Chamber Choir directed by Robert Simpson They sang a quite difficult program with great skill and a very broad dynamic range. The focus of their program was Dominic DiOrio's kaleidoscopic "A Dome of Many-Coloured Glass" for SATB and marimba. Those of you looking for a fine choral piece with percussion by a rising young composer should definitely look at this piece (published by G. Schirmer catalog #HL 50498607.

Dominic DiOrio

The absolute highlight to me of this conference (other than the War Requiem) was the performance on this session by the Pacific Lutheran University Choir of the West directed by Richard Nance. Here is their program:

Exultate                                 by Brian Galante
When David Heard                  by Thoma Weelkes
Luxuriosa Res                        by Zdenek Lukas
Sept Chansons                       by Francis Poulenc
(three of these were sung)
Northern Light                        by Eriks Esenvalds
So I'll Sing with my Voice        by Dominick Argento

Galante's Exultate was full of prismatic color and energy. This is a very exciting new piece in manuscript by Brian and I would love to hear it again. The choir sang this excellent concert opener with energy and precision. The Weelkes was a perfect contrast, sombre yet still full of wonderful richness. The chansons by Poulenc are filled with potential tuning landmine issues, yet this choir never faltered as they traversed passages which have tripped up many a good choir. The French diction was perfect. Northern Lights was a premiere with the composer in presence all the way over from Europe. This was an amazing piece and utilized tuned water glasses and hand chimes. The texts were creatively assembled (I am sorry I cannot give accurate details of them as I seem to be missing my concert program) and the piece displayed a creative, individual voice, something we all are hoping to hear from composers. Esenvalds has used choir and handbells for concert music before to great effect- I would just hope that he does this only occasionally and not overuse the idea.

Brian Galante

Eriks Esenvalds (apparently looking up at King Kong?)

The concert ended with a delightful tune by Argento in the style of an Alice Parker spiritual. As this amazingly varied program ended the audience erupted into wild applause- the conducting was masterful yet never got in the way of the choir or the scores, and the singing was perfection in every detail. Dynamics ranged from a hush to a roar, diction was perfect, tone quality changed from piece to piece, and phrasing was always natural and fluid. I think everyone in the audience knew they had just heard a performance of a lifetime by Nance and the choir. I saw Richard later that night and he indeed called it the highlight of his career!

Richard Nance

COMING UP: FRIDAY EVENING CONCERT AND THE NCCO RECEPTION

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Book Review: Conducting Women's Choirs, by Debra Spurgeon

Conducting Women's Choirs: Strategies for Success

Edited and compiled by Debra Spurgeon

 Published by GIA ISBN 978-1-57999-927-8, 340 pp. plus DVD, $43.95

 FROM THE GIA WEBSITE:

Conducting Women's Choirs:Strategies for Success - Book and DVD

Editor : Debra Spurgeon     

© 2012 GIA Publications, Inc.

Chapter Authors: Hilary Apfelstadt • Lynne Gackle • Lori Hetzel • Mary Hopper • Iris Levine • Jeanette MacCallum • Nancy Menk • Janna Montgomery • Joelle Norris • Sandra Peter • Sandra Snow • Debra Spurgeon • Phillip Swan • Shelbie Wahl

Contributors: Elizabeth Alexander • Elizabeth Arnold • Carol Barnett • Abbie Betinis • Derrick Brookins • David Brunner • Paul Carey • Drew Collins • Eleanor Daley • Michael Ehrlich • Stephen Hatfield • Ron Jeffers • Sharon Paul • Rosephanye Powell • Kathleen Rodde • Rebecca Rottsolk • Mark Stamper • Z. Randall Stroope • Joan Szymko • Gwyneth Walker

Conducting Women’s Choirs: Strategies for Success is a pioneering yet practical book and DVD devoted to all aspects of the women’s choir—a groundbreaking contribution and a true collaborative effort from top professionals in the field. For the first time in a book, choral leaders bring together historical, philosophical, psychological, sociological, pedagogical, and real-world considerations to the women’s choir—information missing from most choral methods and conducting texts.

Areas of focus include:

• working with beginning, high school, collegiate, and community women’s choirs
• improving the sound of women’s choirs
• suggested repertoire for women’s choirs
• composing for women’s choirs
• building community within the ensemble
• warm-ups and rehearsal strategies
• building excellence in women’s choirs

Sections also focus on mentoring, auditions, seating arrangements, historical women’s repertoire, healthy vocal development, gender issues, history, status of the women’s choir, and much more. This book features research, practical insights, and round-table discussions. The included DVD demonstrates choral techniques and teaching ideas with two women’s choirs: Aurora, from Luther College, conducted by Sandra Peter; and The University of Kentucky Women’s Choir, conducted by Lori Hetzel.

Conducting Women’s Choirs is, quite simply, essential for anyone who is involved in the women’s choir movement and the culmination of decades of experience and wisdom by leaders in the profession.

Debra Spurgeon is Associate Professor of Choral Music at the University of Mississippi (Oxford) where she conducts the Ole Miss Women’s Glee Club and teaches choral music education and conducting courses. She has served the American Choral Directors Association as Women’s Choir Repertoire and Standards National Chair (2007-2010) and as president of the Oklahoma Choral Directors Association. Her publications have been featured in the Choral Journal, Journal of Singing, Journal of Music Teacher Education, and Teaching Music

Debra Spurgeon

Debra Spurgeon has edited and compiled an amazing resource for directors of high school age and beyond women's choirs. Beginning with an historical overview of women's choirs and covering every conceivable topic, this book is a must-read for anyone in the field of women's choir music or about to enter into that world. The list of chapter authors is a who's who of the leaders in the field over the last twenty-five years, a period of growth which has been truly astounding. As women continue to outnumber men in college enrollment and also show more interest at most ages in singing choral music, the current explosion of new ideas about women and singing, new research on the female voice, and new music specifically written for women's voices by skilled composers will continue. Spurgeon's book not only tells the story of women choirs through history and tells us where we are now, both musically and philosophically, but also lays the groundwork for the next twenty-five years.

Within the various chapters each reader will find a number of subjects which interest them. Interested in the Venetian ospedali? Jeanette MacCallum's chapter on the subject, twenty-seven pages filled with concise information, will guide you through the history of that amazing period. Hoping to find a philosophy based upon the uniqueness of the women's choir and the shared experiences within them? Look to a brilliant chapter by Sandra Snow titled “We Sing Ourselves, an Essay about Teaching and Learning with Women”.

In a must-read chapter, Debra Spurgeon interviews Lynne Gackle, currently the leading authority on the changing adolescent female voice and author of the book which explores this and much more in the recent publication by Heritage Music Press, “Finding Ophelia's Voice, Opening Ophelia's Heart”. This chapter is full of great information and practical advice. Lynne, as always, graciously shares her deep knowledge on this subject.

Other valuable resources include the chapters “Mentoring the Women's Choir through Voicing, Labeling, and Seating” by Sandra Peter and “Warm-ups for the Women Choir” by Lori Hetzel. The information in these two chapters is also the focus of the DVD, with Peter's Aurora Ensemble from Luther College and Hetzel's University of Kentucky Women's Choir as demo groups.

I was honored to be interviewed for the chapter by Nancy Menk, entitled “Writing for Women's Voices: A Conversation with Composers”. Nancy drew up some very good questions and sent them to a number of composers who have written quality music for the genre, and she then compiled our answers to the various questions. This chapter makes for a good read; we agreed on a number of things, yet there were some areas where there were quite different answers by some of the composers. For me, this was great fun to read (and compare my thoughts with the others) when I received the book. The composers whose ideas are shared in this chapter are Elizabeth Alexander, Carol Barnett, Abbie Betinis, David Brunner, Paul Carey, Drew Collins, Eleanor Daley, Stephen Hatfield, Ron Jeffers, Rosephayne Powell, Z. Randall Stroope, Joan Szymko, and Gwyneth Walker.

In summation, Debra Spurgeon has created an amazing resource- at 340 pages there is so much within these pages to explore that it is truly amazing. I would imagine this book took hundreds of hours to create, but I think it was well worth it and I congratulate Debra on her achievement. She will present an interest session on topics from this book at the March 2013 ACDA National Conference in Dallas, with a panel of people who were chapter authors. If you are attending the Dallas ACDA Conference, don't miss this session.