The Choir Director Corner Podcast

Continuing our series on end-of-the-year topics, this week I’m talking about recruiting.  Recruiting choir members is always an important part of a choir director’s job, but after going through a pandemic, almost ALL of us are facing rebuilding our programs.  If you haven’t done any recruiting this year, that’s okay--there are still some ways that you can reach those prospective singers before the...

This time of year, one of the things that many choir directors are doing is holding auditions for their ensembles in the fall.  And where there are auditions, there is usually DRAMA . So on today's episode of the podcast, not only do I discuss six tips for reducing the drama surrounding choir auditions, but you can also get your own free copy of the "Auditions Guidance" document tha...

Now that we've moved into April, the podcast is going to turn our focus to end-of-the-year topics.  In today's episode, I share 12 gift ideas for those seniors in your choir that are graduating.  The end of the year seems to fly by, so we need things that won't take a lot of time.  And we aren't made of money, so we need ideas that are relatively inexpensive (or even better, fr...

Have you ever thought while conducting your choir, "If I do more, my conducting will be more expressive and more effective"?  That's often how we as conductors approach our conducting style when in front of our choirs.  But an excellent session from the recent ACDA virtual conference shared a different perspective.  On today's episode of the podcast, I discuss conducting the ch...

It’s one of the craziest times of year--that’s right, “March Madness”!  But why should the sports world have all the fun?  In today’s episode of the podcast, I will show you how to make a March Madness Choir bracket for your singers.  AND, I will tell you how you can get a copy of the bracket that I created, that you can then take it and use with your own choirs. March is great for this activity,...

With Covid positivity rates going down and the vaccine being rolled out, many choir directors have been asking questions about going back to in-person rehearsals.  So in this episode of the podcast, I am sharing my experience with moving back to in-person rehearsals, including the logistics involved, and some suggestions for your future music-making. Looking for some new warm-ups for your choir? ...

In my world, it’s absolutely essential that I teach vocal technique in rehearsal.  Singers have so many demands on their time, it seems that I have fewer and fewer students each year who study voice privately.  For most of my singers, I am the only voice teacher they will ever have . And for choir directors looking to save time, using warm-ups to teach vocal technique can pay off in spades: your s...

So, what’s your choral library look like these days?  Music all over the place?  Stacks piled up, impossible to find anything?  I get it, I’ve been there! But in today’s episode I describe my simple, easy system to organize your choral library once and for all!  Whether you are redesigning your choral library or starting from scratch, this episode is for you. Check out the link to the original pos...

I've been seeing all types of questions lately about finding choir repertoire; directors looking for specific pieces, or repertoire for specific ensembles, or just questions where to look for repertoire. So in today’s episode, I’m discussing nine resources that you might not have heard of to find great choir repertoire.   If you are looking for fresh, engaging repertoire that your singers and...

If you've listened to the podcast at all, you can probably tell--I'm an iOS guy.  I've had an iPhone for several years, I love my MacBook Pro, and I am excitedly waiting for my new iPad Air to arrive.  I really don't know what I would do without these tools at my disposal! And along with that, there are a number of iOS apps on both my iPhone and iPad that I have found invaluabl...

I’ve been noticing a LOT of people that have been REALLY down in the dumps lately.  And the way that things have gone the past several months, you cannot blame anyone for being on the struggle bus right now.  But now that we are finally in 2021, it’s time to turn things around!  I am convinced that we are going to make this an amazing year, and that we just need to get ourselves back on track.  An...

If you are listening to this, congrats--you made it to 2021!  For many people, the start of the new year brings new year’s resolutions.  But did you know that, depending on what study you reference, between 82 and 91 percent of new year’s resolutions are unsuccessful? Well, James Clear, the author of Atomic Habits, has 5 reasons why those resolutions don’t work, and tells us why we should focus no...

Do you struggle with teaching vocal technique to your singers? Or are you looking for resources that you can use while teaching choir virtually? I’ve created a unit on vocal technique for my singers, which can be used for instruction during or outside of rehearsals.  This unit on vocal technique will include video lessons, student reflections via Google Form as well as other assessments, culminati...

I know, I know--you're probably DONE with technology right now!  But I promise--the three (actually, four) tech tools that I discuss in today's episode are SUPER easy to use.  One you can learn in 30 seconds!  And they all have the potential to be game-changers in your choir classroom by increasing student engagement.   Check them out, and see which ones will help you in your choir rehea...

I had a question recently about books that all choir directors should read, so, I put together a Recommended Reading List for choir directors. In today’s episode of the podcast, I narrow it down to five books that every choir director should read.  And at the end of the episode, I will share with you where you can get a copy of the full recommended list, as well as where you can find each of the b...

One of the most challenging aspects of being a choir director is working with middle school voices.  It's challenging for a variety of reasons: not only do you have such a wide variety of voices to work with, those voices are constantly changing.  You then have to help all of your individual singers, and then try to bring them into one cohesive ensemble. Because of all of the different challe...

I know that 2020 has been a VERY challenging year, to say the least!  Which makes it even more important for us to stay positive and take note of the good things in our lives.  So, in this special Thanksgiving episode of the podcast,  I am discussing the six things that I am most thankful for this year. So what are you most thankful for this year?  I would love to hear about it!  Send me an email...

One of my favorite tech tools that I am using with my choirs right now is the digital audio workstation BandLab for Education (edu.bandlab.com).  And in today's episode, I am going to discuss the ten reasons why you should be using BandLab with your choirs, too! If you want to dive deeper into BandLab for Education, I will be doing a live online training inside of our Choir Director Corner Co...

I am always looking for new tools for my "director toolbox".  After attending a conference, I got the idea of asking some of the most well-respected directors in the choir world this question: "What are one or two rehearsal concepts or techniques that you have found to be invaluable in your teaching?" I received some AMAZING responses!  And in today's episode, I am sharing...

A recent post on social media asked the following question: "What's your "why" for being a choir director?"  Considering all of the challenges and obstacles that we are currently facing in our teaching, my guess is that there are a LOT of choir directors asking this same question! In today's episode of the podcast, I discuss the three questions you should be asking yo...

One of the most challenging tasks that a choir director can be faced with is trying to help young male singers through their voice change.  It can be very frustrating, for both the teacher and the singer.  One of the things that often happens is that it becomes difficult for the singer to access the falsetto part of their range.  Today’s episode of the podcast discusses a few strategies and exerci...

One of the questions I get the most in our current environment is this: "HOW are you teaching right now?"  In this episode, I discuss WHAT content I am teaching, and HOW I am teaching--what rehearsals look like, as well as what technology I am using.  All of this while teaching online and in-person students AT THE SAME TIME!  Want to know all about how I'm doing it?  This episode is...

With school shifting to online, teachers had to go scrambling for technology solutions.  One free solution that many teachers turned to was Flipgrid.  Flipgrid is online software that allows teachers to post videos and other assignments, and then students can respond via video.   On the surface, Flipgrid might seem like something that would be better utilized in other subject areas.  But once you...

For many choir directors, technology is a REALLY frustrating topic.  We don’t have a lot of extra time to wade through instruction manuals and tutorials, and we get easily frustrated when we run into roadblocks.  Not to mention money--who has the money to pay for all of this stuff? Due to things out of our control, technology--what to use, and how to use it--has become a top priority in our world....

As choir directors, we often talk to our singers about having them practice at home.  Singing is like any other learned skill--singers must really be committed to practicing consistently, and with purpose, in order to see improvement.   Well, due to the current pandemic, home might now be our singers’ BEST opportunity to sing!  But how many of us growing up were comfortable practicing with our par...