The name “Jo Michael Scheibe” has been known to many in the world of choral music for decades for more than just the sound of his choirs. The Jo-Michael Scheibe Choral Series is one of the richest and most thorough curations of the art form available.

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Choosing repertoire can often be a “needle in a haystack” type of process. But Dr. Scheibe has it down to a science. His series began in the 1990s, and many of us in the profession, including myself, may have known his name from the cover of a TON of octavos before we knew his phenomenal work with his choirs. He sets the premise bluntly: “Well, number one, I think I look at my choir. I need to know what my choir is composed of so that I don’t frustrate them. If I don’t have low C’s … Rachmaninoff is not going to work.”

From there, we get practical about process.We dig into musical literacy and materials that actually fit the ensemble. Finally, we talk pacing and philosophy—why sometimes themes can be good, but also can be limiting, and how tricky it can be to create a philosophical hierarchy of programming that balances the needs of your singers with other needs like diversity of time, culture, sound etc as well as with the ever present need to please our colleagues.

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Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!

Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope

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Find the Series Here:

Walton Music: 

Santa Barbara Music Press: 

Colla Voce: 

Pavane: 

Hal Leonard: 

Jo-Michael Scheibe

Jo-Michael Scheibe chaired the Department of Choral and Sacred Music at the USC Thornton School of Music from 2008 to 2020 and continued to teach and conduct as a full-time professor in the department until the end of December 2022, and awarded the title Professor Emeritus of Choral Music. Scheibe served as National President of the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) (2011-2013), Western Division President (1991-1993), and National Repertoire and Standards Chairperson for Community Colleges (1980-1989). He served as a member of the board of the International Federation for Choral Music (2020-2023). 

Ensembles under his leadership sang at seven national ACDA conventions, two national conventions of the National Association for Music Education (formerly MENC), the National Conference of the National Collegiate Choral Organization, and the World Choral Symposium in South Korea. He remains professionally active as a conductor and teacher. 

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Scheibe collaborated with Luciano Pavarotti, José Carreras, the Rolling Stones, Sir Elton John, the Eagles, and Kenny Loggins and has prepared choruses for Helmuth Rilling, Sir Colin Davis, Michael Tilson Thomas, James Judd, Carl St. Clair, Jeffrey Kahane, and Jamie Martin. Recordings of his ensembles are available on the Albany, Cane, Centaur, NAXOS, Arsis, and ANS labels. 

Music publishers Walton, Colla Voce, Hal Leonard, Santa Barbara Music, and Pavane distribute the Jo-Michael Scheibe Choral Series internationally. Scheibe was the editor and co-authored Teaching Music Through Performance – Choir Volume 4 and Teaching Music Through Performance – Choir Volume 5.

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In April of 2023, Scheibe was named one of the fourteen US Fulbright Scholars in Ireland for 2023-2024. His hom