Choir Baton

On March 18, Joan made a blog post in response to the emotions she felt surrounding the choir community's various responses to having to "do choir" online amidst Covid-19. That post would quickly go viral and be shared time again by the choir community. Joan's words seemed to stir within our hearts what many of us could not find the words to express. After being so moved by her...

"Launched in November 2014, Flat is an online music sheet edition application. It allows multiple musicians to compose, listen to compositions, and annotate them in real time together, wherever they are in the world, directly from a web browser without additional software. It addresses composers as well as teachers and their students." - Flat.io My favorite piece of technology to integra...

The episode I didn't want to record but literally could not stop feeling the universe impressing upon my heart that I must. It's the ugly truth, inappropriate advances and relationships occur in all aspects of life. For me, it was a text message from a long admired and respected choir professor from my undergraduate university. My hope is that in sharing my story, other people know they...

The world of learning is changing every day thanks to the internet, computers, phones, cloud storage, all the things.  The Choir Baton Teaching Membership is but a small part of that. In 2014 I began dreaming of a place I could learn how to teach choir from an online source. I found various videos, had great books, awesome people around me to ask - but still wanted more, needed more.  The Choir Ba...

Choir Baton host Beth Philemon sits down with Dr. Doug Borwick to discuss the ultimate relationship building with communities.  For more information go to Doug's website, www.artsengaged.com or purchase his books, Building Communities, Not Audiences: The Future of the Arts in the U.S. , and Engage Now! A Guide to Making the Arts Indispensable .   About Dr. Doug Borwick: Doug Borwick is a lead...

Choir Baton Podcast host and founder, Beth Philemon, shares stories of things gone wrong this time of year for her as a choir conductor in church, school, and community settings. Listen to know you're not alone, listen to laugh along, listen to remember that: 1. you will get it done and if you don't, it will be okay 2. someone will upset you or disappoint you, it will be okay 3. somethin...

Tracy Friedlander is a leading classical music podcaster engaging in stories that are “redefining a classical music career.” Tracy would not consider herself a “choir person” though she sang in high school choir. Tracy is a classically trained French horn player who decided several years ago that her dream of playing professionally in a symphony might not actually be her dream anymore.  What does...

If you follow online choir content, chances are you've heard the name Adam Paltrowitz and/ or Choral Clarity. Adam sat down with me to elaborate further on the mantra of Choir Baton: #morepeoplesinging and how it fits directly into his work as at Choral Clarity. If you've ever read Adam's posts or wonder why more people aren't singing after their school choir experiences, this...

Matt Myers, a native of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, is a third-year DMA student in choral conducting at Louisiana State University. He earned his master’s degree in choral conducting from Northern Arizona University and his bachelor’s degree in vocal performance and music education from Luther College. After completing his degree at Luther, he taught grades 6-12 choir at The American International...

sounds like a weird podcast title doesn't it? But this is something that has been on my heart to share with this community because it's been a pervading theme in my life. If you've ever felt like.... you're not a good enough singer your choir isn't / can't be "successful" you don't have enough money to run your program like you want you don't have...

In early 2019 at the American Choral Director's Association the Oakwood Aeolians "broke" ACDA with their memorable performance. Four year Aeolian member, Clee Davis, shares what it was like to be a part of this ensemble that taught him how to win through choral music. The Aeolians are actual winners (yes, there are world wide choir competitions you can win and the Aeolians are forme...

This week I’m joined by Chris Munce, podcast host of @choralosophy. This episode highlights our “why” of podcasting in the realm of choral music and so much more. You’ll learn about Chris’s teaching journey to his current school and more on why I’m passionate about showing up in both choir and business. Chris tricks me on the old economics pizza analogy and I learn that his dad has a great beach h...

High School choir teacher, former cheerleader, mother of 2, CROSSFITTER, and so much more... Stephanie Madsen shares lessons she's learned as a cooperating teacher for student teachers such as Lamar Davis but she also imparts even more with listeners on this week's episode of the ChoirBaton podcast.  Stephanie's journey led her from teaching high school in North Carolina to starting...

What happens when you're a student teaching mentor/ cooperating teacher and you yourself never student taught? This is high school choral director Peter Haley's situation at East Gaston High School where he uses his experience to shape the student teaching time of his students in a way he never had because his journey to public music education came after time as a full time church music...

You've followed along with Nyi Nyi and Lamar as they entered student teaching, now hear about their experience. Both guys share valuable insights into their time in middle and high school classroooms, including ways in which they grew musically and as humans. Choir Baton Host: Beth Philemon @bethphilemon | www.bethphilemon.com Visit Choir Baton Online: @choirbaton | www.choirbaton.com Choir B...

If you follow ChoirBaton founder, Beth Philemon, on social media you know she has recently announced she's leaving her full time high school choral music teaching position to pursue a full time MBA (Master of Business Administration) degree this fall.   What does this mean for ChoirBaton and what led Beth to this path? Find out the scoop by listening to this week's episode of the ChoirBa...

Natalia Romero and I connected two years ago on a Facebook post I made asking if anyone was interested in being a part of a social media project that would take place on Instagram. She was the first, and only, person to respond. We began following each other on IG and several months later when I launched ChoirBaton on IG, she was one of the first baton holders! When I envisioned ChoirBaton and the...

Drew Fifield (he/him) shares his journey to singing with the New York City Gay Men's Chorus as the choir looks to remember and honor the events of Stonewall. The choir will premiere their Quiet No More co-commission with the Gay Men's Chorus of Los Angeles at Carnegie Hall on September 24 in conjunction with other LGBTQ+ choruses from around the United States. When Drew is not promoting...

Anne Mileski is a leading elementary music educator, podcaster, lover of all things purposeful, sequential, and joyful. Her story will make you consider what your elementary music experience was like as a child and how teaching or learning in the elementary music classroom can be so different today. Anne didn't intend to be a music educator, she was pursuing her master's in trumpet perfo...

Summer of 2018 I stumbled upon @whathappensinchoir on Instagram through a hashtag search of #choirdirectors. Unbeknownst to me, Kate (@whathappensinchoir) had just started this account and was not only chronicalling her choir teaching experiences but was also preparing her middle school choir for their fall performance at the Virgina State Music Educator's Conference. We bonded through this s...

This week’s episode is an interview with Matt Bishop, music teacher at the Dunecrest American School in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates. A year ago Matt was an early twenties suburban middle school choir teacher, having only ever lived in North Carolina and did not even own a passport. What led him to pursue such a drastic change and why? What hurdles did he jump personally and professionally to...

Dr. Shreyas Patel’s story of life and music is unlike any you’ve heard before. How do you balance a love for family with a love for making music? How you honor the sacrifices your parents have made for you while discovering who you are and who you want to be? Shreyas’ journey winds through the hallowed halls of England’s cathedrals, the path of immigration, a passion for music making instilled in...

This two part interview features amazing insight into the life and work of musician and yoga teacher, Mark Moliterno. In this episode Mark continues elaborating on this sense of self and sound. Why is singing not a acalming activity for so many people? We often focus on teaching inhalation, but are we intentional about the how and why of teaching exhalation? The voice is an energetic instrument an...

This two part interview features amazing insight into the life and work of musician and yoga teacher, Mark Moliterno. In this episode Mark provides his personal journey to music and to yoga. Mark outlines tenets of yoga and how its correlation to our singing.  Mark Moliterno (MM, E-RYT500, C-IAYT, YACEP, POLY®, FOUNDER OF YOGAVOICE®) is an award-winning professional singer, voice teacher, yoga tea...

Choir on social media is awesome. But, we would be ignorant to ignore how unhealthy consumption of choirs on Facebook and Instagram can affect us. This episode discusses mindsets and thought processes that could derail you from participating in the online collaboration social media offers.   Host, Beth Philemon, shares personal insights, moments of doubt and insecurity about showing up online, enc...