Keep Calm and Choir On

Join conductor and host, Ryan LaBoy, and his Concert Choir students at North Hennepin Community College for a Special Release Episode of Keep Calm and Choir On, as they celebrate and critique Walt Disney Animation Studio’s The Princess and the Frog. Set against a larger semester study of #BlackMusicMatters, students will share their perspective on the music that makes the movie, the significance of crowning Tiana “The First Black Disney Princess,” and the larger cultural implications of Disney’s continued challenge to depict race and representation on the silver screen. The episode concludes with a recording of Concert Choir singing the film’s Oscar-nominated track, “Almost There.”

In this Special Release Episode of Keep Calm and Choir On, join students from North Hennepin Community College Concert Choir as they highlight selections from the Justice Choir Songbook— a growing anthology of songs written to reflect contemporary issues of equity and justice and intended for both the concert stage and the streets. Additionally, students will share their insights about the importance of these songs in this moment in history, and freshman alto Jessica will share her perspectives on the collection as part of her Honors Seminar project. 

8:46 is a musical meditation on current events following the unjust murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, MN. As our country tailspins in the midst of global pandemic and national riots, join Keep Calm and Choir On's host, Ryan LaBoy, in exploring the vast constellation of human emotions, reclaiming the gift of breath and our call to action, and listening to the voices of the ages to gain wisdom and insight about the world we live in today. This fist episode features Sweet Honey in the Rock's Denko. -- Email Ryan at keepcalmandchoiron@gmail.com Like and Follow us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/choironpodcast

Thanks to the success of our first season, we’re back with another six-week installment starting in June to help you cool off and choir on this summer! Keep Calm and Choir On’s Summer Spritzer will feature a series of 30-minute conversations between me and my dear friend and colleague, Natalia Romero Arbeláez, where we share some of our favorite choral music, discuss real world scenarios for preparing and performing each selection, and, finally, pair each piece with a refreshing summer beverage that both directors and students can enjoy! Like and Follow us on Facebook at https://facebook.com/choironpodcast

“I am horrified everytime I hear people use the word ‘virtual’… we are very real people who are interacting on platforms that may be keeping us physically distanced, but we are still socially connected.” This week, closing out Season 1 of Keep Calm and Carry On, Ryan interviews his classmate, friend, and colleague, G. Phillip Shoultz, III. Laugh along with them as they reminisce about their graduate days at the University of Minnesota and talk about creating the soundtracks of our lives, art’s invitation for us to enter a space heart first, and the power of music to lift people up. Phillip candidly shares his experiences as an African American male in classical music, his struggles with mental health, and the transformative experiences he creates as Associate Conductor of VocalEssence. You’re also invited to a deliciously “well-balanced musical meal” in J.S. Bach’s “Singet dem Herrn ein neues Lied” BWV 225 as Ryan & Phillip pay homage to their conducting teacher Kathy Romey. Then, get ready for some “front porch singing” as we highlight Andrea Ramsey’s arrangement of the Low Lilly song “Hope Lingers On” (available through MusicSpoke Marketplace).To learn more about what you heard, use the links below: VocalEssence: https://vocalessenec.orgUniversity of Minnesota School of Music: https://cla.umn.edu/musicNetherlands Bach Society: https://www.bachvereniging.nl/en/allofbachAndrea Ramsey: http://www.andrearamsey.comLow Lily: https://www.lowlily.comMusic Spoke: https://musicspoke.com----------Like and Follow us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/choironpodcast 

“Here’s an opportunity to be with somebody who I don't have to sit here and spend ten minutes explaining why I chose X, Y, and Z moment when I write… I’ll just say it, and then she goes, “Oh, yea totally!” “What helps is that when we are at home and we practice for these things, we often practice them separately… so that then when we do come together on any project… we are able to still enjoy that.”Keep Calm and Choir On does it’s first double interview featuring the dynamic husband and wife duo, Paul and Brittany Rudoi. Listen to them chat with Ryan about their dynamic careers, their dramatically different entry points into choral music, the paradox of being a humble learner and a confident performer, and the power of singing together! This week’s music features two pieces for Tenor-Bass ensemble. Prepare to be moved by the voices of Cantus singing Maura Baush’s “The Turning” and get transported back 1000 years in time as we listen to “Small Litany and Kalophonic Antiphon” from Cappella Romana’s groundbreaking new album “Lost Voices of Hagia Sophia.” Listen now at https://choiron.buzzsprout.com or on your preferred podcast platform. To learn more about what you heard, use the links below: Paul Rudoi: https://www.pauljohnrudoi.comBrittany Rudoi: https://brittanyrudoi.comConsortio: https://consortio.ioMaura Bosch: https://mauraboschmusic.comCappella Romana: https://cappellaromana.orgCantus: https://www.cantussings.orgOratorio Society of Minnesota: https://www.oratorio.org----------Like and Follow us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/choironpodcast

“History is complicated and painful and we’re all tangled in it together, but music-- while it won’t be able to cure injustice-- can serve as part of the healing process.”Join Keep Calm and Choir On’s host Ryan LaBoy this week in a conversation with singer and two-time Fulbright scholar Regina Stroncek as they talk about the incredible influence of summer arts camps, finding freedom in imperfection, delighting in the secret code of language learning, and the power of music to bridge cultural divides. Get ready for a stretchy treat, as you learn about concrete poetry, musical subversion, and dismantling text in Gilberto Mendes’s anti-jingle “Motet in Re Minor: Beba Coca-Cola,” and geek out with Ryan & Gigi about the piece the Boston Globe heralded as “the first indisputably great composition of the 21st century,” Osvaldo Golijov’s “La Pasión según San Marcos” To learn more about what you heard, use the links below: US Fulbright Commission: https://us.fulbrightonline.orgGilberto Mendes: https://musicabrasilis.com/composers/gilberto-mendesOsvaldo Golijov: https://osvaldogolijov.com----------Like and Follow us on Facebook at http://facebook.com/choironpodcast

"We have to be able to channel the spontaneity  that commercial music challenges us to achieve... into our classical music... I would love to hear a classical musician who has as much rhythmic precision as a rapper!" This week on Keep Calm and Choir On, Peruvian-American tenor and voice teacher, Dr. Christopher Sierra, talks with Ryan about classical music elitism and growing up in diversity, the importance of choir when you can't afford lessons, and bridging classical and commercial music pedagogies. Also, get inspired listening to Jonathan Dove's "Seek Him that Maketh the Seven Stars," Frank Ticheli's "There Will Be Rest," and learn about the incredible work of Broadway's Babies and the Shanti Bhavan Children's Project. Listen to this jam packed hour at https://choiron.buzzsprout.com or your favorite podcast platform!To learn more about what you heard, use the links below: Christopher Sierra: www.facebook.com/ChristopherSierraTenor/Broadway's Babies: www.broadwaysbabies.comShanti Bhavan Children's Project: www.shantibhavanchildren.org

"It really drives me crazy when opera singers bash choir or hate on their time in choir when they were younger, and I'm like, "Why?! You're good at this now because of that!"" Tune in to this week's episode to hear Ryan and award-winning dramatic soprano, Felicia Moore, geek out about Westminster Choir College while they talk about the good, bad, and ugly of finding the right voice teacher, truly owning your voice and your body, and hear Ryan crown Felicia the "Lizzo of Opera" while discussing diversity on stage and the need for singers of all shapes and sizes. This installment of Keep Calm and Choir On features Revolution, guillotines, and true stories from Francis Poulenc's "Dialogues des Carmélites" as well as Gustav Mahler's "Resurrection" Symphony (No. 2), and a dramatic reading of the goliath forces it requires from Dennis Shrock's "Choral Repertoire." To learn more about what you heard, use the links below: Felicia Moore: www.feliciamoore.comWestminster Choir College: www.rider.edu/wcc

"And to be completely frank, it's not about my vision! It maybe starts out with that... but then the train comes along and we all get on it!" Listen to Ryan's conversation with his friend and conducting mentor Dr. Deborah Simpkin King as they talk about vocation, choir as democracy in action, creative choral programming, and the power of singing together! To learn more about what you heard, use the links below:Deborah Simpkin King: deborahsking.comSchola Cantorum on Hudson: scholaonhudson.orgProject:Encore: projectencore.orgAndrea Clearfield: andreaclearfield.com

Intro to the series. Get ready!