Choir Chat

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. A truly great luminary of the choral world, Morten Lauridsen is known throughout the world for his heartbreakingly beautiful music. In this interview, he gives the background of his most beloved pieces, extols his love of poetic texts, shares his artistic process, and answers listener questions.

Philip Barnes conducts the St. Louis Chamber Chorus, a renowned professional choir. Under his leadership, the ensemble has gained a strong reputation and performed more than 1250 works, including several world premiers. We talk about the importance of space and architecture, new music, and singing unaccompanied pieces. Be sure to check out Philip's amazing work with his choir.

Donald Neuen and I talk all about his distinguished career leading major collegiate choral programs for over 50 years. He talks about selecting repertoire, teaching beautiful singing, working with Robert Shaw, and building trust with choir members. Don's an all-around great guy, and I enjoyed speaking with him.

Many of us remember seeing and hearing Matthew Oltman in Chanticleer. He's recently completed his DMA in Choral Conducting and tells me about his musical journey. We talk about his love of singing, time in the professional music world, and how he brings that approach to his academic choirs. We also talk about the 3-summer master's program he's co-leading at Simpson College.

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Today's guest is Emily Dickens. Emily sang with VOCES8 for several years. We talk about the ensemble's success and life on the road. We also talk about conducting training in the UK, Emily's future plans, and her time singing under Stephen Layton and in the Winchester Cathedral Girls' Choir.

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Dr. Richard Sparks, chair of Conducting & Ensembles at UNT, joins me this week. We discuss Swedish choral music, different tuning systems, early music, and working productively with voice faculty.

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Stephen Caldwell joins me to talk about building a program, raising ensembles' standards, programming, and the University of Arkansas's performance at NCCO (which went smashingly!).

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Omar Crook hosts another music-themed podcast, Living With a Genius (check it out—it's really well done!). Since we're both talkers, we cover a lot of ground. In this VERY candid conversation, we talk about feeling like imposters, politics, teaching and, of course, music.

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Composer Linda Tutas Haugen and I have a wide-ranging conversation that touches on everything from empathy to commissions, Pocahontas to Anne Frank. Linda's a gifted composer and special human being. Check out her music!

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. David Weiller is the DCA at University of Nevada Los Vegas. We recorded this two days after the horrific shooting in Los Vegas. We talk about the healing role of choir, being vulnerable, and what he's learned over this career. Oh, and what Eric Whitacre was like in college!

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. The amazing composer Gregory W. Brown is on the show today. We talk about his latest collaboration with The Crossing and new album. We also talk about how his interests in geology and photography inform his approach to composition. Don't miss this episode and check out his Missa Charles Darwin and other works!

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Today's guest, Andrew Cusworth, is a Welsh musician. We talk about Wales outstanding choral tradition, Andrew's compositions, and our philosophies about the musical-artistic life. Talking with Andrew inspired me to learn more about Welsh music and program his music soon.

If you've ever considered going to grad school for conducting, you don't want to miss this episode. Alan Davis founded gradmusic.org seven years ago and has a tremendous handle on different programs. He does a ton of work every year to stay current. We have a candid conversation about what makes a good graduate program, things for applicants to consider, and the job prospects for people coming out of programs.

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Today's guest is Eric Banks. We have a great conversation about his compositions and work with The Esoterics. We also discuss what defines a choir/chorus and whether choirs are a Western construct.

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. The founder and artistic director of Schola Cantorum on Hudson, Dr. Deborah Simpkin King, joins the podcast today. She talks about her upcoming performance of John Muehleisen's Kipling Passion, approach to choral tone, and emphasis on the human element of singing. She also offers her advice about achieving success in multiple arenas of the choral field.

Choir Chat is a weekly conversation with composers, conductors, and anyone else in the choral world. Today's guest is lyricist Tony Silvestri. We chat about his iconic "Sleep," writing texts to be set to music, and his first composition, which is a setting of a poem by Eric Whitacre.