The Lemon Grove in Blossom (settings of poetry by Antonio Machado)

My setting of Antonio Machado's poetry, titled El Limonar Florido (The Lemon Grove in Blossom), was performed twice this year. In the fall John Rommereim led the Grinnell College Singers in a wonderful performance I was able to attend, and just a few weeks ago Diana Saez' great group Cantigas performed it in Washington, D.C. I hope more people will discover this seventeen minute, four movement piece as I feel the poetry is truly beautiful and eloquent, and I am very pleased with my setting which is scored for SATB/solo violin and cello. All the choirs who have sung this piece, plus the audiences, have loved it. The choral parts are average difficulty and here and there present reasonable challenges in various areas of choral singing.


Click this link to go to my webpage for the piece- which includes sound files from a very lovely lyrical performance by Calvin College a few years ago, led by Dr. Joel Navarro.


This was a commission from John Delorey for the WPI Glee Club’s 135th anniversary. After the wonderful premiere performance in Worcester, MA the group sang it on tour in Spain in the cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Toledo. I am told by John that the piece received immediate standing ovations in Spain, something which I was very pleased to hear, as I was concerned if Spanish audiences would like what I had done with the dreamscape texts of their most beloved poet of the early twentieth century.

One of the most fun parts of the piece occurs in the third movement where I try to create the feeling of Machado's interrupted dream. To do so, I wrote in little percussion parts and oddly intrusive things like whistles and the clicks of toy cricket clickers. When I arrived in Worcester close to the premiere I could see that this was great fun to rehearse, but the overall sound was not what I expected -- it was better! It's not too hard to hear straight choral sound in your head, but this big jumble of singing and odd noises was something I couldn't really imagine. Hearing it in real time with the enthusiastic, willing-to-try-new-things young performers was great fun.


Program Notes from the premiere:

The texts for this composition are all early works of the Spanish poet Antonio Machado (1875-1939), and most of them reflect his interest in dreamscapes. They also are quite representative of his style of observation: an object, or especially a series of objects, is simply announced, and then Machado makes or implies an interpretation of their meaning after the fact. Many of these objects are things of simple natural beauty -- a rainbow, a tree, a flock of birds -- yet they seem to also represent some deeper resonance for Machado, often colored by his lifelong melancholy over the death of his wife at an early age. I have used one of his simple observed dreamscape objects, “el limonar florido…” as the title for the whole piece simply because I think it is a wonderful image and because the words have such a beautiful liquid sound.



Insights into Machado by translator Willis Barnstone:

“ Machado sings in all his poems…often in his landscapes, as in a Chinese Taoist painting, the author seems to disappear because scene is all... behind the vision the poet is still there… walking with open eyes filled with memories of poplars by the river, a dry elm waiting for resurrection, and the Espino hill on which he wheels his dying wife. “



Movement I
The music opens with a joyous dance, “the hand in dreaming of being a star sower.” From the point where the poem speaks of “an enormous lyre” the music contracts, by way of polytonal lines in contrary motion leading to unisons, to signify the “few true words.”

Movement II
The “tranquil afternoon” is signified by the repetitive cello line, over which the violin plays a very plaintive, meandering melody. The voices speak wistfully of having “had some joys,” and the cello brings the movement to an end by taking the melody first heard in the violin.

Movement III
The dream world, “the torn cloud, the rainbow,” is introduced by the tambourine and then taken up by the violin and cello, who play at never agreeing on which measures the music’s hemiolas should occupy. But then the dreamer is woken -- noise and distraction (cricket clickers, drums, and mysterious whistles) confound “the magic crystal glass“ of the dream. The poet recaptures some of his beautiful dreamscape, “the lemon grove in blossom, … the sun, water, rainbow,” but the fragments of dream then drift away with the tambourine “like a soap bubble in the wind.”

Movement IV
A “soul light, holy light, beacon” overhead, a man below stumbling on a pilgrimage -- represented in the music by a dirge-like melody in the voices alternating with two string chords with an unsettling dissonance. Who is the man and where is he going? Machado leaves that to the reader to decide. Perhaps it is Machado himself, and he then once again dreams, turning away from the serious dirge to a rather drolly playful conversation with God, initiated musically by the cello.


TEXTS
translations by Willis Barnstone, used by permission

I. Tal vez la mano, en sueño
del sembrador de estrellas,
hizo sonar la música olvidada
como una nota de la lira immense,
y la ola humilde a nuestros labios vino
de unas pocas palabras verdaderas.

Perhaps the hand in dreaming
of being a star sower
made forgotten music echo
like a note from an enormous lyre,
and to our lips a tiny wave
came with a few true words.

II. Tarde tranguila, casi
con placidez de alma,
para ser joven, para haberlo sido
cuando Dios quiso, para
tener algunas alegrías…lejos,
y poder dulcemente recordarlas.

Tranquil afternoon, almost
with placidity of soul,
to be young, to have been so
when God willed it, to
have had some joys…far away,
and be able tenderly to recall them.

III. Desgarrada la nube; el arco iris
brillando ya en el cielo,
y en un fanal de lluvia
y sol el campo envuelto.
Desperte. ¿Quien enturbia
los magicos cristales de mi súeno?
Mi corazón latía
atónito y disperse.
…¡El limonar florido,
el cipresal del huerto,
el prado, verde, el sol, el agua, el iris!...
¡el agua en tus cabellos!...
Y todo en las memoria se perdia
como una pompa de jabón al viento.

The torn cloud, the rainbow
now gleaming in the sky,
and the fields enveloped
in a beacon of rain and sun.
I woke. Who is confounding
the magic crystal glass of my dream?
My heart was beating
aghast and bewildered.
The lemon grove in blossom,
cypresses in the orchard,
the green meadow, the sun, water, rainbow,
the water in your hair!
And all in my memory was lost
like a soap bubble in the wind.

IV. Luz de alma, luz divina,
Faro, antorcha, estrella, sol…
un hombre a tientas camina;
lleva a la espalda un farol.
Amoche soñé que oía
a Dios, gritándome: ¡Alerta!
Luego era Dios quien dormia,
y yo gritaba: ¡Despierta!

Soul light, holy light,
beacon, torch, sun, star.
A man stumbles on a road,
a lantern on his shoulder.
Last night I dreamt I heard
God shouting at me: Take care!
Later, God was sleeping
and I shouted: Awake!

John Adams' Commencement Address at Juilliard

Composer John Adams recently gave a brilliant commencement address to the graduating class of Juilliard. Brilliant in my mind because he asked them to continue challenging themselves over their careers, to reinvent themselves now and then, and to always look for fresh approaches and discoveries.

He also addressed the amount of dedication it takes to achieve in the arts, something I think the general public has no idea about. Does the "average" person on the street have any idea how many hours professional musicians practice? they would be shocked to know! Or consider the thousand of hours they already put into the art by the time they were even old enough for college. Along with those hours comes many an hour of doubt and soul-searching.

Well, now I am almost starting to rewrite Adam's speech... so instead here is the speech itself, via nonesuch records:

http://www.nonesuch.com/journal/john-adams-address-the-juilliard-school-106th-commencement-ceremony-2011-05-23

Ethan Sperry interview- part two

Today we continue the interview of Ethan Sperry, Director of Choral Activities at Portland State University and newly appointed Artistic Director of the Oregon Repertory Singers. Here Ethan talks about his interest in world music and his very active role in bringing it to the U.S. choral world via his series at earthsongs.


PC: You've become known for your brilliant folk music series at earthsongs. Can you describe how that series came about? And can you talk about your interest both in Haitian music and in Indian music- including Bollywood?

ES: I’ve been interested in Indian music and culture for a long time, then I started working at Miami University and there was an inspirational Indian musician named Srinivas Krishnan. Srini is an engineer from Chennai, India who had come to get his masters in Engineering at Miami in the 1980’s and then stayed in the area to work for Proctor and Gamble. In addition to his scientific skills, he is a phenomenal tabla player, vocalist, and entrepreneur.

When I arrived at Miami in 2000, I heard his Global Rhythms ensemble, which at that time was three flutes, a trombone, a cello, a keyboard, and two percussionists (all Miami students) playing an Indian raga while he accompanied on the tabla. Srini doesn’t read Western music notation, so had taught the students the raga melody by ear. The performance was hair-raising and I was inspired by the idea of performing the music of India on Western instruments. I asked Srini if he had ever involved voices in the ensemble, and he said he had always wanted to, but no one had been interested.

We started planning, and the next Fall the Miami University Collegiate Chorale joined Global Rhythms for four songs: a spiritual, a Romanian piece by Pascanu, a Cirque du Soleil piece, and a Tarana by Ravi Shankar which was my first arrangement of an Indian piece. The arrangement was scored for unison choir and over a dozen instruments. The Collegiate Chorale has performed in the Global Rhythms concert at Miami every Fall since 2001.

The summer after that I got a grant from Miami to travel to Mumbai (Bombay) and Chennai for three weeks to study Indian music. After some study of Indian music theory (mostly Carnatic) and attending a lot of concerts, including many children’s concerts, which really helped me grasp how the theory was put into practice, I decided to try a purely choral arrangement. However, India has no choral tradition and no large ensemble tradition. The music is all improvised and large groups don’t improvise well.

So, I decided to fuse two ideas together. I got my start as an arranger singing a cappella in college. In this style we give all the instrumental parts to the voices and use the voice to try and imitate their sounds. I decided to try this same idea on an Indian raga. I chose the raga Ramkali because it strays so far from Western scales. I decided to improvise on the raga as if I were singing the piece and write down my best ideas. Then I did the same thing for the vocal parts, trying to use syllables that would make them sound like the Indian percussion and drone instruments that usually accompany a singer.

Ramkali was premiered by the Miami University Men’s Glee Club at the 2004 ACDA Central Division Conference and several people, including Paul Rardin (who was at Michigan at the time) asked for manuscript copies after that performance. Paul brought the piece to Ron Jeffers at earthsongs and he asked to publish it and to begin a series in this style which I named Global Rhythms in honor of Srini and my collaboration.

Ron also asked me to produce an SATB version of Ramkali, but I resisted – I really think it’s a male chorus piece and many pieces that are reworked from TTBB to SATB (most notably Franz Biebl’s Ave Maria) suffer from being altered. I suggested that I write another raga in a similar style for SATB chorus and he liked that idea, so I wrote Desh in 2005. I don’t write these pieces quickly, but the series now includes Jai Bhavani (SA - 2007), Dwijavanthi (SATB - 2008), Pallanda (TTBB or SSAA -2009), and Mantra (SATB - 2011).

HAITI

In 2003 I was listening to the Putamayo World Music Hour on NPR and I heard this incredible piece of Haitian music called Peze Café being performed by a choir with drums. I used Putamayo’s website to order the CD and found out that it was a Swedish choir called Amanda that had been singing. The booklet gave me enough information to use google and eventually order the sheet music for the piece from a Swedish website. I also ordered every other piece I could Sten Kallman who had arranged that piece. The sheet music used Western music notation but there were very few performance notes and what notes there were were in Swedish. I got some friends to help translate the notes, and used the CD as a performance guide, and on we went. My students immediately fell in love with his arrangements and a few years later I invited him to come work with us for a week and perform two of his arrangements with us at the 2010 ACDA Central Division Conference in Cincinnati. He also agreed to let me re-publish some of his arrangements as part of my series with earthsongs, this time with much more extensive performance notes that are all in English.

BOLLYWOOD

While I was in India in 2002 I also became infatuated with Bollywood music. And I had some good luck. Friends of Srini’s introduced me to a number of film composers including A. R. Rahman whose music is truly exceptional. From 2002-2006 I produced about a dozen arrangements of Rahman songs for choir and a very large Global Rhythms ensemble. He came to the US in 2006 and performed them with us in Detroit, Dayton, and at the Hollywood Bowl on my 35th birthday which still stands as one of the highlights of my musical life. Rahman also invited me to conduct some of his music at The Filmfare Awards (the Indian Oscars) in 2008 – another highlight.

Over time I was able to produce a few arrangements of his songs for choir and percussion, and Ron agreed to publish these on my series as well. Of these, I am most proud of Zikr. Rahman converted from Hinduism to Islam in his twenties (A. R. stands for Allah Rakha or servant of Allah), and despite having written almost 1000 songs, Zikr is his only statement of faith in music. The media gives a lot of air time to a relatively small group of Muslims who are terrorists, and almost no attention to the millions of Muslims (138 million in India alone) who are not. I hope this song will help some people understand that there’s much more to Islam that Al Qaeda.

Choral Interviews - pt. 5: Ethan Sperry

I'm in Cincinnati working with the Cincinnati Children's Choir this week and having a great time. Their concerts Saturday will include two commission premieres by me, plus two other pieces I wrote recently. Being here reminds me of the last time I was here attending the 2010 ACDA Central Division Conference. One of the greatest performances that week was by Ethan Sperry's choir from Miami University (that's Miami of Ohio, folks). I got to know Ethan a bit during a long conversation with him and Mike Scheibe and I realized I had to know more about this fascinating and hard driving musician. So here, following a short bio, is a two part interview with Ethan:

Ethan Sperry is Director of Choral Activities at Portland State University, where he conducts the world-renowned Chamber Choir and University Choir and leads undergraduate and graduate programs in conducting. Beginning in the Fall of 2011, he will also be the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Oregon Repertory Singers.

Sperry also serves as the National Repertoire and Standards Chair for Male Choruses for the American Choral Directors Association and the Vice-President of the Intercollegiate Men’s Choruses. From 2000-2010, Dr. Sperry was on the faculty at Miami University in Ohio where he conducted the Men’s Glee Club, Collegiate Chorale, and Global Rhythms Ensembles.

A prolific arranger of World Music for choirs, Dr. Sperry is the editor of the Global Rhythms series for earthsongs music, one of the best-selling choral series in the country.



PC: Judging by the joyous interaction I saw between you and your singers that I saw in Cincinnati at the ACDA Central Division Conference in 2010, how hard was it to leave Miami University and start a new position at Portland State this year?

What do you think was the key element in that special relationship you had with your singers at Miami?

ES: It was very hard to leave my job at Miami University, especially because of how close I was to the students in the choirs. We had formed meaningful bonds and shared some truly special experiences.

However, turnover is inevitable in the academic setting. In my ten years at Miami I had watched hundreds of students I was close to graduate and move on. Last year it became my turn. Taking this attitude towards my leaving was actually suggested to me by some of the students, and it helped me adopt the best possible perspective on the situation. And of course we still stay in touch.

But I’ve been lucky I guess – I seem to form this kind of relationship with most of singers I work with. But since I was at Miami for ten years, seven years longer than I have held any other teaching position, the bonds ran much deeper than I was used to, and yes it was very difficult to decide to say goodbye.

And now that I just read the great piece by Weston Noble on your blog, I’m going to use his word, VULNERABILITY to answer your question. I learned from my father (who is also a musician) that great music is great because it captures some essential human feeling or experience and brings it to life. Our goal as musicians is to make a personal connection with that spark in the music and share it with others. You have to be willing to be vulnerable to do this.

As a choral conductor, I spend a great percentage of my rehearsal time on this issue: exploring what the text and music or a piece is trying to say and trying to connect it to our own experiences. I share my thoughts and actively solicit the singers’ thoughts as well. That requires them to be vulnerable too. In my opinion, there is no way NOT to feel close to people once you are that open with them.

PC: Oregon and Washington have such amazing choral programs, all the way from children’s choirs through the university choirs. Now that you have been there for a while, to what do you attribute this to?

ES: The choir directors I’ve met in Oregon and Washington really know each other and like each other. They all want their programs to be the best, but that does NOT translate into them wanting their colleagues to fail. I find this especially surprising at the high school level. Both Oregon and Washington have state championships for choirs – one choir each year is named #1, and I find that their colleagues congratulate the winner and are happy for them. Then they go home and work harder to try and win the next year.

I think this has happened because there are three majors events in Oregon where these choir directors spend significant time together, get to know each other, and really learn from each other and from the best choir directors in the world. One is the Oregon Bach Festival which I think needs no introduction. The second is the Liederkranz Club, a social club of choir directors who go to a beautiful retreat on the Columbia River Gorge each November and invite famous clinicians to come and hang out with them. Everyone you can think of from Robert Shaw to Eric Ericsson have been guests at Liederkranz over the years. The third is Rodney Eichenberger’s Haystack Rock summer conference where choir directors spend a week at Canon Beach sight-reading new releases and working on their conducting.

[PC: I'll add a fourth: Chor Anno, the brainchild of Howard Meharg]

I also want to give some credit to Bruce Browne, my predecessor at Portland State University, who was Director of Choral Activities there from 1978-2006. Bruce tackled the most difficult repertoire possible with the PSU Chamber Choir and was very aggressive in seeking new challenging repertoire for choirs. He was a leader in introducing the music of Tormis, Rautavaara, and a host of other Scandinavian and Baltic composers to the United States. Many of the best high school directors in the Northwest studied with Bruce at PSU and seem to have absorbed a love of this music. It’s crazy to hear so many high schools not only learning but mastering Rautavaara’s Lorca Suite. Taking on this kind of repertoire really raises the bar on what a choir can do.


PC: What do you think are the best ways for an aspiring high school director to get into “authentic” folk music of the world and do it well, so that it respects the music and does it justice? How can they conquer the fear of doing it badly?

ES: One reason I love performing non-Western music is because I don’t find non-Western ideas in the music. I find basic human emotions and experiences that I have, I share, and I understand.

School administrators approach Diversity from the perspective that we need to learn about and highlight human DIFFERENCES. I absolutely hate this approach and think it is exacerbating racial and social problems in our country. When I sing music from another culture I feel how similar I am to people that other people (administrators) keep telling me I’m supposed to be very different from.

So, don’t be afraid of performing World Music, because it’s not as different as you think.

However, there are differences in vocal technique and style from culture to culture (as there are large differences in technique and style in various types of Western music) and we do want to do justice to all the pieces we sing.

The way to learn is by immersion, even just a little bit of immersion in the culture(s) you are interested in.

The best way to get an authentic performance is to travel to the place the music is from, meet some musicians, and hear some concerts. For most of us that’s not possible due to time or money or both. But we have recordings. And we live in America: there are communities from almost any foreign culture you can think of in almost every American city, even the small cities. The number of truly phenomenal Indian musicians I met in Dayton, Ohio was staggering to say nothing of Cincinnati.

And I’ve never been to Haiti, but I perform a lot of Haitian music. I know lots of Haitians who live in the United States, and I know Western musicians who have lived in Haiti for extended periods. I’ve been to concerts in Haitian communities, and I’ve invited Haitian percussionists to accompany my choirs and talk with my singers.


PC: You are one of our up and coming young conductors full of energy and vision. What changes do you envision in the US choral scene over the next ten or twenty years?

ES: I’m seeing, well hearing actually, American choirs making a much wider variety of sounds. I’m not referring to pieces that require expanded vocal techniques, I’m talking about choirs changing their sound to suit the piece they are performing. I think this is at the crux of great choral music-making, and I find it very inspiring. Britain has this amazing choral tradition where they all sing so cleanly and so perfectly and I think we have been trying to emulate that for a long time. In doing so we created some beautiful choirs, but I think we missed a lot of musicianship along the way. American choirs have been much more adventurous in programming, not only in championing modern music but in exploring the music of other cultures. I’m glad our concept of choral sound is becoming as flexible as our choice of repertoire.

PC: Can you tell us about a) the most influential a-ha moment for you as a student, and who the teacher was and/or the situation b) a similar moment when you felt you, now as a teacher, had made an amazing positive impact upon a student's life and view of music?

ES: I had a very powerful experience during my junior year of college while on spring tour with the Harvard Glee Club. We were in Solana Beach, California and were performing at a small church. Not a particularly special concert, not very nice acoustics, not the highlight of our tour. But for some reason, we sang differently that night. For some reason, we blended and tuned so well that I actually felt other people’s voices coming out of my mouth. I even felt myself singing several notes at once. I started looking around, and I could see it one everyone else’s face too, several guys had stopped singing and some were even crying. I don’t think any of us has ever forgotten that concert or that feeling. Before that concert I was pretty sure I was going to be a choir director, but after that concert there was no doubt in my mind.

I still don’t know what causes this phenomenon, but I’ve been able to replicate it. Not on demand, and not on purpose, but it’s happened to me twice more as a singer and in about a dozen concerts I’ve conducted. It’s a very powerful and reassuring feeling to know – even if for just an instant - that you’re not alone in the world.

PC: End of Part One- I will post part two in a few days: Ethan talks in depth about his experiences exploring world music and the development of his music series at earthsongs

Sharing Weston Noble's Speech to ACDA Tucson 2010

I was at the 2010 ACDA Western Division Conference in sunny Tucson in 2010- a very nice break from Chicago winter weather. It was my first time attending a western division conference, as well as my first trip to Tucson, and it was a wonderful experience. The funky and historic Congress Hotel I stayed in was lots of fun. The entire conference was quite a success thanks to organizer Cheryl Anderson and many other folks (you can read what I blogged about it here and here).

Weston Noble gave the keystone address for the conference and it was brilliant. In fact, from the time I heard it I hoped that I could get in contact with him and ask if I could reproduce it here for folks who weren't lucky enough to be in Tucson that day.

Dr. Noble has graciously agreed to my request and what you will read now is his speech in full- I have done no editing whatsoever.

First a short bio, although it is hardly needed:

Now the Johnson Professor Emeritus of Music, Weston Noble had a 57 year tenure as a conductor and teacher at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. He received wide acclaim as conductor of the Nordic choir from 1948 to 2005, the Concert Band from 1948 to 1973, and as a guest conductor for over 900 music festivals across four continents.

Weston Noble holds five honorary doctorate degrees and was also a recipient of the ACDA Robert Shaw Award. In the fall of 2011 he will be Resident Director at Augustana College in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.




ACDA WESTERN DIVISION SPEECH

TUCSON, ARIZONA


There came a moment in the middle of the song when he/she suddenly felt every heartbeat in the room & after that he/she never forgot he/she was part of something much bigger. – Brian Andreas

Bach – Air for G String 75 years ago

La Boheme 61 years ago

Riceville High School Band rehearsal 75 years ago

In Remembrance by Ames two weeks ago at the University of Tennessee with awesome silence

and my mother asking me if I would like to take piano lessons 82 years ago.

Unforgettable memories with such power we are transported into a world without words – our spirit world! Such moments filled with a transforming power, a power so strong that an electrical impulse causes two cell neurons to join awaken new places in our brain, never to be separated –creating a new pattern of thinking, a new pattern of life set forever.

We experience shades of emotions never felt before. Who we are deepens. Our palate of enrichment enlarges. Life becomes forever richer!

And wonder of wonders we are no longer just recipients, but we are also TEACHERS. Just As our brain patterns have been changed through our years, now we are an ingredient catalyst of for CHANGING LIVES of students through MUSIC on a daily basis!

We all aspire to be the best teachers possible. DVD interview [READ APPENDIX]

Howard Swan rehearsal – Cal State Fullerton. Common ingredient – VULNERABILITY – OPENNESS. [READ APPENDIX]

How do we bring this chief characteristic of good teaching into our rehearsals? First, may I preface this by sharing a very practical personal experience? A year ago I would not have dared to be this vulnerable as I am about to be. Enter a friend named Jabez, an Old Testament personality, who emerges only once in Scripture and briefly at that. He was noted for his expertise in prayer, addressing God with four basic ingredients. It is his second ingredient that is relevant here – that my sphere of influence might be increased today! We are all challenged by pride when success is enjoyed. This temptation is greatly reduced if we experience success in the context of an opportunity to increase our sphere of influence. I pray this daily.

Now, how do we bring vulnerability and openness into our rehearsals?

All of us can recall an exceptional rehearsal/concert. A note of gratitude, flattering to say the least, is received. We want to believe every word, even though these kind words cannot be true on a daily basis. Last summer, I experienced five consecutive rehearsal days and a concert with an alumni choir that will be forever memorable. I savor even yet the joy, the love, and the ensemble maturation. With trepidation, yet with the deep desire that my sphere of influence may be increased, I share this message written by the Alumni Choir accompanist, Joan Mork, a Luther student of the 50’s.

Thank you from the depths of our souls for another memorable Alumni week! Each of us comes with a different story to express through music. You, magically, help us find these stories…even baring our souls in ways we can hardly imagine – and then you affirm these stories and who we are! We all left feeling trusted and loved. The renewed energy and peace is such a gift.

The content of this note brings tears to my eyes even yet. It is truly beautiful. But this begs the question: how did this happen? Until a few years ago, I could not attempt an answer. Maybe I could not see the ‘woods for the trees’. One colleague termed it an unexplainable gift that cannot be dissected. Not satisfied, I wrote Joan and asked HOW her experiences came about. Her answer implied it had to be of the spirit with no soul words to explain it.

Still the question: How did this happen to Joan?

Several days ago I received an amazing email from Dr. Geoffrey Boers, one he had sent to his graduate students. I quote:

These thoughts are in response to a lecture: Neuroscientist Villayanur Ramachandran outlines the fascinating functions of mirror neurons. * Only recently discovered, these neurons allow us to learn complex social behaviors, some of which formed the foundations of human civilization as we know it.

I ran to the dictionary to find a definition of a neuron. I What I found it to be is that a neuron is any of the impulse-conducting cells that constitute the brain. The email went on to write, *Motor neurons tell my hand to pick up a fallen pencil and bring it back to my body. There are newly discovered mirror neurons as well, constituting about 20% of motor neurons. When we see someone else pick up a pencil, we experience it in a “virtual reality kind of way, we feel what it would be like, and in fact some of our nerves even fire. Someone who has lost a limb, for example, can still feel itches scratched and the relief of a massage, merely by observing another being touched--we feel physical sensations and experiences changes in our body as if we were doing the observed activity!!”

Mirror neurons encourage an empathetic response—a response which breaks down the barriers between people.

Dr. Boers: When we are conducting, we want to fire stimulate? mirror neurons so they can imitate and emulate what we as conductors are feeling physically and emotively. In other words, so that our singers can feel what we are experiencing physically and emotionally. Can we develop a set of conducting gestures that assist in firing a mirror neuron through our patterns, physical cues and other suggestions that can fire mirror responses in others?

Curiously, following Dr. Geoffrey Boer's email, Joan Mork shared a conversation with her husband, a member of the alumni choir by convenience, in which she asked how she had been guided to her feelings previously shared. I am very uncomfortable in sharing his response but hopefully expanding my sphere of influence: I am inspired by the way he lives his life. He brings his whole self to the podium. He is consistently honest, he laughs and cries, he hurts and loves, he explains, respects, and forgives, he demands and is humble, he is generous, he hears and listens, and there are moments when I feel like he is my biggest fan!

(Am I like this every day? No way. But daily, I can grow constantly with this goal in mind)

Now I understand. I HAD ACTIVATED MIRROR NEURONS IN JOAN AND CONVERSELY THE CHOIR. TOGETHER THEY HAD EXPERIENCED WHAT I FELT PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY. THE BARRIER BETWEEN THE CHOIR AND ME WAS GONE! MY SOURCE OF ENERGY, MY VULNERABILITY HAD IGNITED THEIR MIRROR NEURONS. AND THEY BEGAN TO IDENTIFY WITH WHAT I FELT PHYSICALLY AND EMOTIONALLY! I WAS FREE TO REHEARSE, TO BE OPEN AND VULNERABLE IN EVERY WAY. I ALLOWED THE CHOIR TO SEE ME NOT ONLY EXTERNALLY, BUT INTERNALLY AS WELL. THIS, IN TURN, ALLOWED THEM INDIVIDUALLY TO FIND THEIR STORY TO EXPRESS THROUGH MUSIC... EVEN BARING THEIR SOULS IN WAYS THEY COULD HARDLY IMAGINE. ‘WOULD THEY ALL LEFT FEELING TRUSTED AND LOVED. THE RENEWED ENERGY AND PEACE WOULD BE SUCH A GIFT.’

Prison Story [READ APPENDIX]

But this begs the question: how had I become that vulnerable to fire those mirror neurons?

Back to Howard Swan. He, in asking his singers if they had shared themselves with someone else, was opening the door to the shadow side of each individual. Any shadow element? Fear or dark side to ourselves that inhibits vulnerability can be an obstruction to the flow of the power of music. It that is becomes the opposite of openness; a challenge to the freedom of inhibits the ability to stimulate mirror neurons. A study conducted several years ago shows the average person thinks negatively NINETY-FIVE PERCENT of the time! NEGATIVISM and JUDGEMENTALISM do not belong in a rehearsal hoping to release mirror neurons! Conversely, vulnerability frees CREATIVITY and enhances FREEDOM, RESPECT, and LOVE. Vulnerability opens us to embrace SENSITIVITY, BEAUTY, and DEPTH as music is encountered!

VULNERABILITY IS A GROWTH PROCESS, DEGREE BY DEGREE. It is a life-long pursuit. No wonder it is the chief characteristic of an outstanding choir director. EVERY AREA of one's life becomes the beneficiary!

Now, listen to Howard Swan’s words of wisdom following the choir’s response to his question of vulnerability: All of you should have raised your hands when asked if you had shared yourselves with someone else. Recall those moments when you, as a singer, were experiencing those innermost feelings brought forth by the music whether in concert or rehearsal. You were giving your all – totally open. But you had the freedom to do this in that the person on each side of you became your ‘Linus Blanket’! [READ APPENDIX- STORY OF THREE SQUEEZES] He was also saying: "Without vulnerability, you can never truly pursue the beauty of Brahms."

Many of you are aware of the three methods of teaching: cognitive, affective, and kinesthetic. Affective employs a great use of IMAGINATION, imagery as to the intent of the composer. As you ask questions utilizing the student and his/her feelings for this moment of the music, you are enhancing the presence of collective physical and emotional responses. The firing of mirror neurons is greatly enhanced!

I VIVIDLY REMEMBER NOTICING GREAT INSTRUMENTAL AND CHORAL CONDUCTORS BEING NON-TRADITIONAL IN THEIR CONDUCTING PATTERNS. WHY WAS/IS THIS SO? WERE THERE CONDUCTING GESTURES FURTHER ENABLING THE RELEASE OF MIRROR NEURONS, AS OPPOSED TO THE MORE TRADITIONAL BEAT PATTERN?WHAT WAS PARAMOUNT WAS THE POWER OF COMMUNICATION, THE BEAT PATTERN BEING SECONDARY. NEVER NEGATE THE POWER OF THE FACE. YOUR FACE, ESPECIALLY YOUR EYES MUST BE PART OF GESTURE. EYES NEVER LIE!

In conclusion, every person in this room changes lives. At our best, and sometimes at our worst, we connect with our students through activated mirror neurons. Does your life consist in activating mirror neurons both ON and OFF the podium? Is your life one of spreading your sphere of influence?

May your touches, hugs, smiles, and affirmations be a moment of freeing awakening a MIRROR NEURON of a colleague at this convention. I predict the Tucson sky will be flooded illuminated and charged with all the freedom of our mirror neurons!



APPENDIX No. 1
DVD Interview

My interviewer was very perceptive. His questions were very thoughtful, and I found myself anticipating each one. Then, this question: "Weston, what is the chief characteristic of an outstanding choir director?" Somewhat flustered, I poked here and there, but without a definitive answer. He smiled and said: "Weston, are you trying to say VULNERABILITY?" I felt a tingle go from my head to my feet; I knew he was right even though I was not certain why.

APPENDIX No. 2
Howard Swan rehearsal

I was attending a rehearsal of the Cal State Fullerton choir, conducted by the vulnerable Howard Swan. In the middle of the Brahms, he suddenly stopped and paused this question to members of the choir: "How many of you have ever shared yourself with someone else?" From a choir of seventy five members, roughly twenty eight members raised his or her hand. "How many of you have shared yourself twice with someone else?" The number of hands dropped to roughly twelve (I was one of them, but not visually) "How many of you have shared yourself three times? If you have, it is a miracle" (Again, I was one of them, but not visually)
The common ingredient of the two above stories is VULNERABILITY-OPENNESS!

APPENDIX No. 3
Prison Story

In January, I participated in a project called Arts in Prison. This program was started by the vulnerable Robert Shaw, and recently revived by Charles Bruffy, conductor of the Kansas City and Phoenix and Chorales. Two hundred and fifty singers from the Kansas City area volunteered to be members of an ad hoc choir (at the cost of forty five dollars per singer), the purpose of which was to share a program of choral music with members of the nearby prison choir. The prisoners' chorus meets weekly and is conducted by a volunteer.

A three hour rehearsal preceded the joint concert, held in a beautiful concert hall in Kansas City. The prisoners listened enthusiastically to our music from the third balcony under the supervision of the guards. Then, they came to the stage and shared their music with us. They were surprisingly good! Our standing ovation was prolonged and sincere. Tears were evident in both choirs.

In each of our hearts, there was a total absence of any judgmentalism of the prisoner's past life experiences. It was enshrouded by the love of sharing beautiful music with one another.

As a conclusion of the joint concert, the prisoners came to the stage for a photo op. I found myself in their presence with no guards on the stage. I took this opportunity to shake hands and congratulate each and every member of the choir. One prisoner sought me out afterward and said with tears in his eyes, "you can never know the meaning of receiving such a standing ovation when you have been told all of your life you amount to nothing"


APPENDIX No. 4
Story of Three Squeezes

A Nordic member, when giving his devotions prior to a Nordic Choir concert on tour, shared the meaning of his squeezing the hand (s) of the person next to him during a concert. This would occur at a moment of exceptional beauty within a selection or his being moved by the singer(s)' performance next to him. But the greatest three squeezes would simply mean: I love you!

APPENDIX No. 5
Future lecture:

The following is a proposal from Dr. Boers for future collaboration.
This session will focus on the evolutionary nature of conducting pattern and gesture, and will consider changes to technique and process based upon recent research in brain science, particularly our understanding of mirror neurons...... Session leaders Geoffrey Boers and Weston Noble will explore gestures and rehearsal style that will encourage this type of brain action to become a consistent experience in rehearsal and performance, so that transcendent experience becomes a part of our technique, and ultimately, transformational for the choir.

[Indeed this lecture was created and shared as an interest session at ACDA 2011 in Chicago with Drs. Noble and Boers in front of a few hundred attendees- PC]

Coming Monday, May 2nd-- a two part interview with Ethan Sperry, Director of Choral Activities at Portland State University, and newly announced Artistic Director and Conductor of the Oregon Repertory Singers, Oregon’s most distinguished adult chorus. Ethan also is editor of the amazing Global Rhythms series at earthsongs.

St. Mary's College Choir concert directed by Nancy Menk

One of my biggest supporters has always been Dr. Nancy Menk, director of choral organizations at the famous St. Mary's College in South Bend, Indiana. Nancy has commissioned works from me both for her college choir and her mixed choir, the South Bend Chamber Singers. I have always been a great admirer of her musical wisdom, and her amazing dedication to her craft and to the people she leads.

Recently the St. Mary's College Women's Choir went on a tour of China. This wasn't your usual tour- Nancy did the research and work to make it special. They traveled to Nanjing and did collaborative work with the Nanjing University women's choir there. They rehearsed together, presented concerts together, and shared world views with each other. You can read the blog the students wrote about this experience by clicking here. It's fun reading.



Wow- now that's a curtain call glow. Nancy is there holding the big bouquet of flowers


When the tour came to an end they gave a homecoming concert back at St. Mary's. Nancy worried that the choir would be jet lagged but I told her, I'm sure the adrenaline of a performance will see them through.

So Aidan (my fun-loving seven year old) and I took a mini road trip to Indiana. Aidan is all about road trips, even choir concert road trips with Dad, which you can read about (it is hilarious) here. I had two motivations for going- the first was the fact that the choir had taken my piece "Winter Solstice" for SSA/harp or piano, published by Roger Dean, on tour to China with them and they had added a solo dancer to the performance. I was quite intrigued by this presentation idea, and I was really looking forward to getting a chance to see this performance live. The second motivation was the fact that my new arrangement of the school song,"The Bells of St. Marys" (yes, that song, which you may know through the old Bing Crosby movie) would be performed at the end of the concert and I had yet to hear the new arrangement. In regard to this, I was very honored that Nancy entrusted me to write this piece. She wanted a new arrangement with piano, as they already had an a cappella version they had been doing for years. I felt this was a big task-- I needed to get this arrangement just right to do a famous school song honor. So I was looking forward, with crossed fingers, to finally hearing this sung by real people, not just as a Finale file playback.

So Aidan and I got to St. Mary's in plenty of time and we settled into our seats in the beautiful Loretto Chapel. Nancy and the singers entered and were greeted by very enthusiastic applause- it was obvious that the folks of St. Mary's were proud of them and glad to welcome them back.

The concert wound through some very nice repertoire by mostly living composers, including a very interesting Missa Brevis by Anna Cederberg, a Lux Aeterna by Michelle Roueche, and pieces by Ola Gjeillo and David Brunner. The Cederberg seemed to be the most interesting-- I sensed a nicely original "voice" and I would like to delve into this piece some more.

Then, after three very fresh and delightful Chinese folk songs the choir arrived at Winter Solstice. I settled into my seat just feeling very happy and curious about what would happen. The solo dancer, Jinqui Guan, a St. Mary's senior who is from China and will attend grad school at Harvard in the fall, took her place. The music started and the dancing was so beautiful and natural. Everything she did fit the poetry and my music so magically, that I found myself paying so much attention to the dancing that I was almost ignoring the music. But when I did refocus on the singing what I noticed was the most amazing phrase arc/line- Nancy and the choir had sung this piece enough times that they knew exactly how to nuance every phrase to its maximum expressiveness. I was just so happy to hear a piece of mine sung so artistically and in such a manner as to reflect, through beautiful phrasing, the beauty of the Southwest U.S. nature/winter solstice texts. I was moved deeply by the performance and even Aidan seemed really drawn in (you can't expect a seven year old to totally get all these things of course- he is pretty artistic but he's also about Pokemon and Yu-gi-o card games too).

The concert then finished up and I just had to thank everyone involved. I told Nancy that I thought it was the best St. Marys College Choir concert I had ever heard. I profusely thanked Miss Guan (it turns out she has training in traditional Chines dance, as well a ballet and modern), and also their amazing new pianist Allison Secaur. Allison rocked the entire night- whether it was subtlely nuanced music like Winter Solstice or great gobs of notes like in Stephen Paulus' "I cannot Dance, O Lord", which was also on the program. I hope Nancy can keep Allison in this position for a long time, she is one of the finest choral accompanists I have ever heard.

The singers were all happy-- I know they were tired but it was obvious that they were so proud of what they had accomplished in their travels to China and proud of their homecoming concert at St. Mary's. I was also really pleased that the dean and the president of the school were there wearing proud smiles and came and chatted with me. It's so wonderful to see their support of what Nancy has been doing at St. Mary's for the last twenty-six years. And I as well am proud to call Nancy a good friend and very proud of how she has shaped so many of the lives of her students. She has also been a true leader in the advance of women's choral music in the US over the last twenty-five years. She's been there from the start when this movement to elevate women's choral music to a high level of artistry began. And, as a composer, I truly appreciate how she and others like her have encouraged gifted composers to set quality poetry for this voicing.

Here is a video an audience member posted to youtube of the Winter Solstice performance- yes, I know a gentleman's head is partly in the frame! I believe the college will have an official video out soon.



Thanks for reading,

Paul

PS The "Bells of St. Mary's" arrangement was sung beautifully as well. Aaron Copland let me borrow a few very American harmonic ideas (think "Our Town") that help express emotions of love, fellowship and reminiscence. I am very happy with what I wrote for them- something that hopefully will touch the hearts of singers and alums.

Nice video to my arr. of the folk song Loosin Yelav

In 2008 I was the guest conductor for the District One Pennsylvania High School Honors Choir. This is basically the top "area" of Pennsylvania as it encompasses the high-achieving schools of suburban Pittsburgh.

When you appear as a guest conductor/composer people want you to conduct some of your own music. The piece I chose of my own was my arrangement of the Armenian folk song Loosin Yelav, published by Santa Barbara, which was originally commissioned as an SA/piano piece by Mary Alice Stollak for the Michigan State University Children's Choir. In Pittsburgh we did the SATB version, which also includes a solo violin part, which was played by a high school student.

The rehearsals and the concert were a blast. The kids were really great and were very dedicated to the work, and the organizers provided us with an amazing pianist named James Burns. I was also blessed with a lot of support from host director Lorraine Milovac, who teaches at Upper St. Clair High School and also the University of Pittsburgh. FYI, the piece we had the most fun with was Rene Clausen's Jabberwocky, which to me is a perfect HS honors choir piece. It is so full of imagination AND has so many challenges for an aspiring high school choir- challenges in regard to tone color, storytelling & expression, tuning, rhythm, placement of consonants, you name it, the piece has so many avenues for artistically based teaching moments.

The dads of one of the singers has created two videos to accompany the recording the organizers made. One of them is Jabberwocky (which I might post later- you can find it on Youtube) and Loosin Yelav.

Loosin Yelav (The Moon ha Risen...) is a folk song praising the rising rosy moon. It moves back and forth from a contemplative tone to more dance like moods. It was set famously by Luciano Berio back in the 1960's for soprano solo and it was that Berio setting that Mary Alice Stollak used to sing as a concert soloist. After many years, she thought I might be the composer best suited to setting this for choir. In retrospect I am glad she asked for this piece- I would never have thought of setting an Armenian folk song!

Anyway, here is the video created by "BWCDAD".



I'm not sure the translation on the screen is the greatest (I think we did a very nice job on that for the Santa Barbara publication of the piece), but I do believe that the images of Armenia are fantastic- what amazingly unique images of a people and a country!

So thanks "BWCDAD" for creating this video!

Btw, I just discovered a youtube performance of the SA/piano version by the Indianapolis Children
s Choir- veyr nice singing and interpretation!

Choral Interviews- part 4: Mary Alice Stollak

Mary Alice Stollak is a double Grammy Award winner ("Best Choral Performance" and "Best Classical Album") for preparing the Michigan State University Children's Choir for the acclaimed Naxos recording of William Bolcom’s "Songs of Innocence and of Experience". She is also a recipient of the Maynard Klein Award for lifetime achievement given by ACDA-Michigan.

While residing as founding artistic director, over thirty new treble choir works were commissioned and premiered by the Michigan State University Children's Choir under Stollak’s leadership. Santa Barbara Music Publishing Company publishes the Mary Alice Stollak Choral Series, a set of treble choral publications that presents works by national and international composers in a variety of musical styles.

Stollak has appeared as festival guest conductor and workshop presenter in twenty-two states as well as Argentina, Canada, Germany, and Italy. Stollak served as the choral director for the National High School Music Institute (NHSMI) at Northwestern University for twenty years and for the Haslett (MI) Middle and High Schools for ten years. She also served as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Michigan-Flint. Her choirs have performed at numerous ACDA conventions at the state, division and national levels.


PC: In watching you conduct I have always admired your sense of phrasing and use of rubato. How did this beautiful sense of phrasing come to you? Was it the influence of a teacher, or years of experience, a combination?

MAS: Before I try to describe how or why I do things in the manner you just described, I would like to share the following quotes. First, from Rabbi David Wolpe's "The Power of Presence":

“What we learn from a great teacher cannot be put into a book, because it is in a look, an inflection, a quirk of personality or a tossed off comment. The greatest human lessons are found in the power of presence.”

And from the book, “Choke” by Sian Beilock:

"As we get better at performing a skill, our conscious memory for how we do it gets worse and worse." - University of Chicago sports and motor learning expert."

In other words, I’m not sure why, as a performer or conductor, the beauty of line is almost everything to me as a musician, nor is it easy for me to describe what I do…I just seem to do it. There are a few possible experiences, however, that have made a difference in how I interpret music, some of which may be found in your question about my life before the MSUCC.

Choral music, for me, was an extension of performing art song. I gave bi-yearly recitals at MSU between the late 60’s until the mid-80’s and spent countless hours searching for literature by listening to the best recordings of singers that I greatly respected. I specifically listened to art song recordings…Renata Tebaldi, Victoria De Los Angelus, Janet Baker, Elly Ameling, Joan Morris, and Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, to name a few. I LOVED how these singers treated phrases, how each could hang on a word for just the perfect length of time to give it meaning, how they gave the impression that what occurred between the notes was as important as the notes themselves. (Some day listen to Lieberson singing the Bach Cantata BWV 82, “Ich Habe Genung”…it’s breathtaking.) It is that communication between singer and listener…that belief that each phrase has power and that it touches the hearts of the singer as well as the listener. This became my mantra in each and every rehearsal. We used every analogy possible to be sure that what we did had meaning and that the text and the line was not done-in by being notey.

In Howard Swan’s book “Conscience of the Profession” there is a wonderful chapter about the need to talk about beauty throughout each of our rehearsals. I was teaching at Haslett High School at the time. What an eye opener for me! Because of this, the concept of beauty was foremost in everything that we did, including the warm-up. Too often, warm-ups are perfunctory. I strove to make each warm-up simple. While warming-up, I remind my singers that they are young artists…they would beam when I’d tell them that…and even within the warm-up their goal is to produce an artistically pleasing sound. This gets them to concentrate more and to see the warm-up as something less tedious that prepares them for the beautiful (not just accurate) tone that is needed to help in interpreting the music.

PC: We mostly know you from your amazing work leading the MSU Children’s Choir, yet you taught many years before that outside the children's choir realm. Can you tell us more about those years of your career?

MAS: After graduating from Indiana University, I was mostly a solo performer, singing a lot of oratorio and symphony works for mezzo-soprano and orchesta. My first love, however, was the art song. After our three children were all in school, I taught at Haslett Middle School & High School, (which then had only 450 kids in the high school) and built that program from a half-time position to a full time choral program. In my ten years there, we sang for two Central Division ACDA Conventions. From there, I taught at the University of Michigan-Flint where I was Associate Professor of Music. While there, I instituted the annual Black History Month concerts as part of the university’s outreach mission, as well as focusing on 20th century choral music, and performing music by women composers. For about 20 years, I spent five weeks each summer as the choral conductor for the National High School Music Institute at Northwestern University. It’s been a great ride!

PC: What motivated you to found the MSU Children’s choir? Can you tell us about its early stages?

MAS: I will always be thankful to Jim Forger, Dean of the MSU College of Music for asking me to direct a children’s choir in the newly formed MSU Community Music School. I had no idea at that time, that young children were capable of creating such artistry! We started in 1993 with a very small choir of about 22 children who were in the early elementary grades. Each semester, the number of children joining the choir grew and with each performance, their parents and others in the community became increasingly and amazingly supportive of this organization. Fast forward to 1998—five years from our founding, our 70 voice choir sang in performance at the ACDA Central Division Convention. I guess that even when it was just a neophyte group, I tried to instill in our singers a love of excellence for its own sake, that they love making music for its aesthetic experience, their ability to touch others through beauty, and even the simple joy of doing it right. I always searched for quality literature, and let me just say what a pleasure it has been to perform music by composers such as you, that write with such sensitivity…it made the children’s experience so much more meaningful! Back to the support of the children’s parents…in my 16 years with the choir, we commissioned 30 works, one of which was “Angels Voices” by John Burge, a five movement work for choir and full orchestra that later went on to win the Association of Canadian Choral Conductors’ 2006 Outstanding New Choral Composition. This was all made possible by the support of our choir families!

PC: The choir appeared at the Sixth World Symposium on Choral Music as the Official Representative of the United States. Can you tell us about that experience both from your viewpoint and also what the kids in the choir experienced?

MAS: This was the turning point in the choir’s history up until that time, and needless to say, we were all excited to sing in such a wonderful venue and experience such a warm and exuberant audience! However, there was one experience that touched our singers and that allowed all of us to take home an unexpected memory that the singers still mention, when I meet with them—and who are all now adults. We were chosen to sing the premiere of the Moses Hogan piece, “Music Down in My Soul.” The day before the performance, we were given the opportunity to work with Moses Hogan on his piece. He engaged the singers with great fervor, with empathy, with passion and with humor. His focus was mainly on the text and how to make it more meaningful within the gospel tradition. What a stirring experience for all of us! This was August of 2002. You can’t imagine the visceral reaction of our children when only 6 months later, after learning about it, I ended a rehearsal by telling the children of Moses Hogan’s untimely death in February of 2003 at the age of 45. We extended our rehearsal time, and with tears in all of our eyes, especially in the slow, lilting section of this piece, we began singing. With many hugs at the end, we celebrated our wonderful experience with him that we were blessed to have been given.

PC: At your farewell concert leading the MSU Children's Choir, among other works you performed Robert Jager's "I dream of peace,"music about the civil wars in the Yugoslavian/Bosnian area in the 1990s as seen through the eyes of children. Can you tell us more about this piece and what about it that resonates within you?

MAS: The first time I conducted this piece was for the 1999 ACDA National Convention in Chicago, at an interest session on commissioning new works for children’s choirs. In our frequent discussions about the meaning of the texts, there is always an “ah-hah” moment when individual choir members connect with the emotional imagery that was before them. The text of this work is compelling, and at an all-day rehearsal that we had that fall, I asked children to volunteer to read out loud one page of the book, published by UNICEF and to comment on the drawings, with discussion with the rest of the choir members. This brought the children closer to those that wrote the poetry and enriched their understanding of the texts. We premiered the three pieces of the “Terezin Lieder” by Marjan Helms, with texts from “I Never Saw Another Butterfly.” Ten years later we premiered her “Voices of a Vanished World”, which is a two-hour work which explores the emotional and spiritual implications of the Holocaust, particularly as witnessed through the eyes of children. This two hour work draws on the melodic contours and instrumental colors of Yiddish folk music, as well as Jewish liturgical chant. And how does one prepare a children’s choir for the horrifying nature of “911”? Yet, we performed the John Adams, “On the Transmigration of Souls” with Mr. Adams conducting the Detroit Symphony.

So…in this case, it’s really about the gravitas of the subject, about the words and the feelings that they evoke. Bill Payne says it more eloquently than I can…he’s a rock-n’-roll musician-lyricist, who has two Grammy nominations and has worked with many entertainers from Garth Brooks and Bonnie Raitt to Taj Mahal.

"The weight of words and their importance are in abundant evidence in poetry, creating a music in the way the words fall upon our ears (the cadence), and painting images in our mind supplemented from experiences drawn from our lives. Our understanding of poetry often reveals itself much later; we are simply drawn into the flow of words, attaching meaning where we can. The intimate act between writer and reader is the bestowed gift of shared response.”

PC: You and the choir were blessed to have a very skilled, very sensitive pianist in Judy Kabodian. Can you tell us what Judy brought to the group both in rehearsal and performance?

MAS: Some of us are lucky enough to have very attentive and supportive guardian angels. The nuns who taught me for twelve years in Milwaukee Catholic schools always made us keenly aware of this fact. So for you to use the word “blessed” is exactly right. Judy was not only our pianist, she was a collaborator…it was ALWAYS chamber music when we worked TOGETHER. Judy brought grace to every rehearsal and performance. Judy brought love, and devotion that was a model for the children, and for me. I’ve had the privilege of working with more than several great musicians in my life. None, however, brought to the musical banquet such great personal pleasure. She helped to make the music more harmonious, our musical experiences richer, and the laughter we shared before, during, and after almost every rehearsal and performance brought great joy to my life. I was blessed…very blessed!

PC: Can you tell us about the experience which led to you winning two Grammy Awards?

MAS: We loved working with William Bolcom and Leonard Slatkin, the University of Michigan forces and observing the fabulous solo musicians on the performance and recording of the Bolcom “Songs of Innocence and of Experience.” What a terrific experience for our children, on many levels. There was an unintended experience that bears mentioning. In a thank you letter that I wrote to William Bolcom I mentioned that we were performing a piece by Imant Raminsh that uses a Shoshone Indian text in which a loved one is described as…“ my heart’s friend.” I went on to say that…”at one point in the rehearsal a few of our choristers observed you and Ms. Morris holding hands. They mentioned that to me during our next rehearsal and I explained that you were married to Joan Morris. They let out a collective sigh. You shared with them your wonderful music, and you also, through your example, showed that even with your busy professional lives, you exemplified the text of this Raminsh piece. These are important lessons for our children.” Mr. Bolcom wrote me that he was very touched by the children’s observation and their response, and we went on to do another performance with Bolcom and Morris about the history of culinary songs!!!!

PC: You've been retired a couple of years now from the MSU Children's Choir as well as retired from the many summers in which you led the Northwestern University Summer Institute choir (a select high school mixed choir)-- what are you doing to keep busy? And are you doing any guest conducting?

MAS: I have been spending many hours, almost every day when the Michigan weather permits, in our front gardens. I’ll be preparing our home and garden for a charity garden tour this summer…always a performance, huh? I am constantly knitting and trying out new recipes for cookies, cakes, and comfort food for my beloved husband, Gary. He attended not only almost every performance but almost every rehearsal of the children’s choir wherever we performed. I wish all conductors are blessed to have not only a supportive partner but one who loves the learning process and the music as much as we do.

I’m also eagerly looking forward to conducting the children’s honor choir for the 50th Anniversary of Minnesota ACDA. I LOVE conducting in Minnesota!!!! I’m also doing some work for the Michigan Chapter of Chorister’s Guild, and with a Federation of Music Clubs Festival Choir.

I am eagerly looking forward to the release, on the Naxos label, of “Songs for Lada” by Alla Borsova which should be out by this summer. Slatkin is conducting the DSO on that CD. That performance was my “swan song,” and what a marvelous work it was!!! It called back to my Eastern European roots and I can’t wait to hear it. Oy, oy, oy…how did we ever learn 40 solid minutes of Belorussian and four parts? I guess I’ll find out!

From Paul Caldwell: Letting teens know "It Gets Better"

Composer/conductor Paul Caldwell (of Caldwell & Ivory fame) pointed me to his recent video contribution to the "It Gets Better" website. If you don't know about "It Gets Better" here is info from the website directly-- they tell the story way better than I can...

About the It Gets Better Project

Growing up isn’t easy. Many young people face daily tormenting and bullying, leading them to feel like they have nowhere to turn. This is especially true for LGBT kids and teens, who often hide their sexuality for fear of bullying. Without other openly gay adults and mentors in their lives, they can't imagine what their future may hold. In many instances, gay and lesbian adolescents are taunted — even tortured — simply for being themselves.

Justin Aaberg. Billy Lucas. Cody Barker. Asher Brown. Seth Walsh. Raymond Chase. Tyler Clementi. They were tragic examples of youth who could not believe that it does actually get better.

While many of these teens couldn’t see a positive future for themselves, we can. The It Gets Better Project was created to show young LGBT people the levels of happiness, potential, and positivity their lives will reach – if they can just get through their teen years. The It Gets Better Project wants to remind teenagers in the LGBT community that they are not alone — and it WILL get better.

What is the It Gets Better Project?

In September 2010, syndicated columnist and author Dan Savage created a YouTube video with his partner Terry to inspire hope for young people facing harassment. In response to a number of students taking their own lives after being bullied in school, they wanted to create a personal way for supporters everywhere to tell LGBT youth that, yes, it does indeed get better.

Two months later, the It Gets Better Project (TM) has turned into a worldwide movement, inspiring over 10,000 user-created videos viewed over 35 million times. To date, the project has received submissions from celebrities, organizations, activists, politicians and media personalities, including President Barack Obama, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Adam Lambert, Anne Hathaway, Colin Farrell, Matthew Morrison of "Glee", Joe Jonas, Joel Madden, Ke$ha, Sarah Silverman, Tim Gunn, Ellen DeGeneres, Suze Orman, the staffs of The Gap, Google, Facebook, Pixar, the Broadway community, and many more. For us, every video changes a life. It doesn’t matter who makes it.

Here is the e-mail which Paul has sent to me and a whole bunch of other folks:


Dear Friends,

As many of you know, Sean Ivory and I have spent our entire careers using music to tell stories that really matter to us, stories of Holocaust victims, South Africans, Rwandans and many others.

But this year, a series of suicides among gay teens made me realize it's time to tell the story that is my own. I work with kids. I must do everything I can to ensure that no kid who sings with me - or who sings music that I compose - feels so isolated and alone that he/she thinks suicide is the only option.

Toward that end, I posted a video on the It Gets Better website late last week. Depending on site traffic at any given time, the website can function oddly. If it gives you trouble, there's an alternate portal, a You Tube channel where the folks at It Gets Better have added their favorite videos. Mine was posted there over the weekend.


Posted below is Paul's contribution which is so compelling it its beauty and because of Paul's willingness to allow himself to be vulnerable. Bravo, Paul.

Please tell other people about this project. You might really be able to help a young person in need.




Caldwell goes on to say: It does get better. Please spread that word in every way you can. Post it and forward it - far and wide. Let's make sure that no kid who sings in any chorus walks away from that experience thinking that suicide is a reasonable option.

Thanks again for all you do to make our world a more beautiful place.

Anúna founder Michael McGlynn's blog about ACDA 2011

One of the highlights for me at the 2011 ACDA National Conference was getting to meet Michael McGlynn, the founder and artistic director of the Irish choir Anúna. I talked about this in this blog entry.

Michael has a brilliant mind and a delightful personality and was especially interested in discussing the shifts in composer/publisher dynamics in the US choral field. I'm going to discuss this in detail soon. There was some very active discussion among many of the leading composers present at the conference in regard to their desire to stop being dependent on traditional publishers. Michael stressed a number of times that we U.S. composers need to keep this enthusiasm for growing independence going, and not let it falter.

Here is Michael's wonderfully written blog on his experience visiting ACDA. Read some of his other entries- there is some very interesting reading here.