At the CSU Fullerton School of Music,
We Believe …
…that people learn and perform best in a safe and positive environment. …in student-centered teaching and learning. …that developing musicianship is key to your future success. …that Everything we do, we do Together. …that the quality of your musical training really matters. …in the power of music to change lives for the better. …that professionalism is a teachable skill. …that great conductors and singers must also be great teachers. …that how you do anything affects how you do everything. …in Reaching Higher to help you achieve your goals. …that Everything relates to Everything. …that together we are stronger. …that you will teach the way that you were taught. …that where you have been is much less important than where you are going.
WHAT we do is important. WHY we do it, is for YOU!
music.fullerton.edu 2 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
IN THIS ISSUE 5 | SO LONG, FAREWELL! from the president’s pen · by jeffrey benson 6 | THE OMNIVERT’S DILEMMA letter from the editor · by eliza rubenstein 7 | CCDA SUMMER CHORAL SUMMIT 8 | THE CSULB ACDA CHORAL SERVICE INITIATIVE college students serving california’s teachers · by emily lasalle 12 | VISION FOR THE FUTURE where we’ve been, where we’re going · by lori marie rios 16 | MY CONDUCTING YEAR the composer’s voice · by dale trumbore 18 | SEEN & HEARD 22 | ALL-STATE HONOR CHOIR WRAP-UP by molly peters
25 | VISION FOR THE FUTURE scholarship fund donors and new vftf awards
26 | NEWS AND NOTES happenings from around the state
28 | TOP FIVE: POP & A CAPPELLA
We’re all hoping and praying that our lives continue to return to normal! Look inside for some inspiration for the months ahead.
by bret peppo
29 | TOP FIVE: MUSIC IN WORSHIP by christy rohayem
30 | TOP FIVE: ETHNIC & MULTICULTURAL by anthony arnold
32 | TOP FIVE: TWO-YEAR COLLEGES by john sorber
33 | TOP FIVE: COMMUNITY & PROFESSIONAL by tammi alderman
34 | CCDA DIRECTORY
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 3
CANTATE Volume 33, Number 3
Official publication of the California Choral Directors Association, an Affiliate of the American Choral Directors Association Eliza Rubenstein, editor
cantate.editor@gmail.com
GUIDELINES FOR SUBMISSIONS We welcome and encourage CCDA members to contribute articles, announcements, music and book reviews, job vacancy listings, photographs, and other items of interest to Cantate! Please send queries and article ideas to You are also welcome to submit completed articles, but please note that not all articles received will be published. cantate.editor@gmail.com.
Deadlines for publication are as follows: August 15 (Fall issue); November 1 (Winter issue); March 1 (Spring issue). The editor reserves the right to edit all submissions.
ADVERTISING IN CANTATE Please visit our website (www.acdacal.org) or e-mail us at cantate.ads@gmail.com for complete information on advertising in Cantate, including rates, deadlines, and graphics specifications. Advertisements are subject to editorial approval.
WHEREAS, the human spirit is elevated to a broader understanding of itself through study and performance in the aesthetic arts, and WHEREAS, serious cutbacks in funding and support have steadily eroded state institutions and their programs throughout our country, BE IT RESOLVED that all citizens of the United States actively voice their affirmative and collective support for necessary funding at the local, state, and national levels of education and government, to ensure the survival of arts programs for this and future generations.
California Choral Directors Association empowers choral musicians to create transformative experiences for California’s diverse communities. CCDA is a 501(c)3 non-profit, tax-exempt corporation and an affiliate of the American Choral Directors Association.
UPCOMING EVENTS CCDA Summer Summit Dates?
On the cover: The Advanced Treble Ensemble of Tesoro High School performs in a virtual ’60s program benefitting Mercy House’s services for the homeless. Image courtesy of Keith Hancock.
4 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
From The president’s pen:
SO LONG, FAREWELL! xactly one year ago, as I was writing my President’s column for Cantate, we E had recently gone into lockdown across the
Jeffrey Benson is Director of Choral Activities at San José State University. The
Washington Post hails his choirs for singing
“with an exquisite blend, subtlety of phrasing, confident musicianship and fully supported tone…that would be the envy of some professional ensembles.”
He is also the Artistic Director of Peninsula Cantare, a community chorus based in
Palo
Alto. He received his Masters degree and his Doctorate in Choral Conducting/Music Education from The Florida State University and his
Bachelors
degree in
Music
Education from New York University.
Leading the Way
country. We had no clue what the next few weeks (and eventually the next full year) would hold for us as choral musicians and people. I stared at a blank document with a sense of hopelessness about the future, and I definitely didn’t know where to begin in a letter to all you wonderful colleagues across California. I turned to my students and asked them what they thought we needed to hear. Their advice was wise and timely: • Art is resilient. • Music is not canceled. • We’ve been given the gift of time. We should slow down and learn from this. • Some of the greatest pieces of art were made during times of turmoil. Let’s create! • Connect with people in any ways you can. • Keep sharing online tools, apps, funny anecdotes and memes, or anything that might be helpful to others. • Listen and expose yourself to new things with all of this extra time. • Just BE. This advice has gotten me through. While I’m thrilled to say farewell to much of the past year, I’m holding on to these gems. I’m hopeful. Our profession is hopeful. We can see the light of that clear blue morning! Soon we will be saying goodbye to 100% virtual instruction. We may be saying goodbye to hybrid rehearsals. Many of us are already vaccinated and have returned to in-person singing. I will be finishing my term as CCDA President and saying goodbye to two years of growth and challenges in this position. My greatest hope for our organization moving forward is the continued work toward diversity, equity, inclusion, and access (DEIA) in choral music throughout the state
that we have begun over the past few years. This spring we proudly announced our new CCDA Choral Equity Scholarship which aids in the musical or communal benefit of a BIPOC and/or underrepresented California choral director. As part of the Vision for the Future Awards, this new scholarship is in line with CCDA’s mission to provide transformative experiences for all of California’s diverse communities. Our DEIA Committee has already done tremendous work and will continue working to serve the needs of all communities in our state. This committee put together a terrific resources page on our website. If you haven’t already, please share far and wide: calcda. org/resources/social-justice/ We want to be an ever-evolving information source, so help us update and add to these resources. We want everyone to feel empowered by our choral community. his important work toward equity is just beginning. We must continue our quest T to decolonize classical music and create an
equitable choral paradigm where all feel safe and welcome. As we have seen from recent hate crimes against BIPOC communities and women, we must speak up and speak out when we see hatred and injustice anywhere. Our profession allows us to do that. Our humanity demands it. As I finish my term as president on June 30, I simply want to say thank you. I’m grateful to the CCDA Board and every single choral director in California. Thank you for the work you are doing to keep your programs alive and for inspiring musicians to effect change in the world. We will not say goodbye to music and the arts in California! Instead and soon, we will all be singing: So long, virtual world So long, zoom So long, teaching in my dining room! Farewell, hatred Farewell, fear Farewell, to this most terrible year!
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 5
letter from the editor:
THE OMNIVERT’S DILEMMA ot to brag, but I was an introvert before it NI can’t was fashionable. help noticing how many people Eliza Rubenstein is the Director of Choral and
Vocal Activities at
Orange Coast College, and the
Artistic
Director of the Orange County Women’s Chorus and the
Long Beach
Chorale & Chamber Orchestra. She holds degrees from
Oberlin College and UC-Irvine, and she is a former animal shelter supervisor and the co-author of a book about dog adoption.
Eliza’s family includes her partner,
Julie
Fischer; four dogs; and a cat named
Wilbur.
She’s passionate about grammar,
Thai food,
photography, and the
St. Louis Cardinals and
St. Louis Blues.
claim that title for themselves these days, and apparently I’m not the only one: Googling “introvert” and “trendy” turns up a library of articles called “When Did It Become Cool to be an Introvert?” and “Why Everyone and Their Mother Is Now Identifying as an Introvert” and “Stop Treating Introversion as a Trend.” Perhaps there are deep-rooted socioogical reasons that so many of us were declaring ourselves as solitary creatures even pre-COVID, or perhaps this is a style preference like cluster chords or Labradoodles; I don’t know. I do know that in a field that’s inherently communal and teamwork-dependent, being fundamentally a loner can be a challenge. Introversion isn’t misanthropy. I love my friends and I enjoy social events; I just have to psych myself up for them beforehand and recuperate a bit afterward, and I’m most comfortable in groups when I’ve got a job to do, whether it’s leading the chorus or photographing the conference. And for the twenty-plus years I’ve been a conductor, I’ve had to rev my engine and overcome its initial sputters before nearly every rehearsal and performance, no matter how much I adore the singers or the music, and no matter how surely I know I’ll enjoy every moment of the process once I walk through the door. And I always do!—which is why I’ve come to think of myself as more omnivert than introvert. Most of the best experiences of my life have come in the company of others. Lots of others. Lots of others making lots of noise, usually. I’d be as incomplete without those occasions as I’d be without the quiet hours I treasure with books and pets and nature.
ut you didn’t open this magazine to read B about my social preferences, so why all the solipsism?
Those of us who tend toward introversion don’t always specialize in sharing our emotions and experiences, and as a consequence, we can forget that we’re not all by ourselves. Recently, I’ve confessed to a handful of friends
6 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
that as much as I miss my choruses and look forward to making live music with them again in the fall, I’m a wee bit ambivalent about giving up the unprecedented amount of solitude I’ve had this year and returning to the psychic exhaustion of being around people all day, every day. As my concern for the world has soared, my individual stress level has abated. That’s a tricky thing to explain, except to those who already understand it intuitively. And it’s a truth that comes with no small amount of guilt (how dare I be melancholy about leaving behind any part of this miserable year for the whole world?), not to mention a great deal of awareness of the various forms of privilege in play. But it’s also an admission that has made more than a few of my choral colleagues say “Oh my gosh, I thought I was the only one who felt that way.” You, of course, may have exactly the opposite experience, by virtue of temperament or circumstance. I have at least as many friends who are actively itching to get back to the conviviality of the choral profession as I have friends who are feeling vaguely wistful about the proposition. And many of us haven’t had much solitude or peace this year at all, thanks to partners working from the next bedroom or children taking classes at the dining table. But if you’re sort of enjoying the time alone: Well, you’re not alone. or introverts and omniverts in an F extroverted career, empathy goes a long way, but I’m also hoping to carry some of
the lessons of these long months into the future, and to be a little kinder to my own personality—as well as those of my more introverted students and singers—when life returns to something more recognizable. My college is eager to offer more online lecture courses, and that’s something I can volunteer to teach. We can replace the occasional community-chorus rehearsal with a guest-speaker presentation on Zoom. I can unapologetically try to carve out more quiet spaces in the polyphony of my musical life. So can you, maybe, if you care to. And you don’t have to do it alone.
California Choral Directors Association
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 7
The CSULB ACDA Choral Service Initiative: College students serving California’s teachers By Emily LaSalle
Photo by Max Kleinen via Unsplash.com
8 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
E
With my fingers crossed underneath my desk, I nding the 2020 school year virtually was presented the idea to my mentors at CSULB, Dr. devastating for my CSULB classmates and me, Jonathan Talberg and Dr. Joshua Palkki. They were as it was for music teachers, musicians, and audiences just as excited as I was—maybe more so. I am grateful around the world. Within a week after the Bob Cole to them both for believing in my vision and giving me Chamber Choir’s performance with Eric Whitacre both the green light and the guidance to turn my idea at the Western Division ACDA Conference, all the into reality. Conservatory’s music-making came to a screeching In the span of about a week, we developed detailed halt. As summer progressed, we were notified that our sign-up forms for interested teachers and students. fall semester would be almost completely online, with The survey for our teachers inquired about the grade no in-person vocal music. Entering my senior year, I level(s) they teach and the location(s) in which they felt lost. teach, and their specific needs, such as music theory, I saw school districts debate how and whether to grading help, assistance with recording software, or reopen, and I thought of the thousands of educators vocal coaching. We affected—especially music asked volunteers about educators—and wondered their interests, their how they must be feeling. experience, and their I talked with friends about unique skill sets, as well how their final year in their as their comfort level Music Education degrees with recording, piano, might have no face-to-face voice lessons, music instruction. I asked myself learning programs, etc. for months: What can I do? We also asked them if How can I help? they preferred to work Luckily, in my summer with a certain grade internship working on a Four of the CSULB choral music education students level. We wanted to congressional campaign, I involved in the Choral Service Initiative (Left to right): make these surveys as was introduced to a concept Anna Crumley ’21, Cassandra Duschane ’21, Hillary Ngo ’21, thorough as possible that helped me answer those and Vickie Nguyen ’21 so that we could make questions: using the strengths the most informed decisions when matching volunteers of our community to combat its challenges. Our with mentor teachers. statewide and national choral community has so many After only a few days of recruiting, we had a strengths, and as a singer, a music major, and a choral lengthy list of teachers and students excited to work office assistant for my University, I was well aware of together. I finalized and distributed paperwork what my colleagues had to offer. outlining the responsibilities and expectations of the So I spearheaded the CSULB ACDA Choral participants. After multiple meetings, emails, and Service Initiative. hours spent pairing Volunteers and Mentor Teachers The idea was simple: connect skilled and passionate based on skills and needs, I introduced each volunteer choral/vocal students from CSULB’s Bob Cole to their Mentor Teacher via tailored, personal e-mails Conservatory with choir teachers who needed help, and launched the CSULB ACDA Choral Service and have them volunteer virtually. I believed that this Initiative. We now have 27 Volunteers working with 27 program would give students an outlet for hands-on Mentor Teachers across the entire state of California. learning, and an opportunity to give back to the larger network of choral educators who have given so much, in a time when they needed it most. I wanted o our delight, the program seems to be greatly to provide our incredible educators, our Mentor beneficial for California music educators and Teachers, another set of hands to help them navigate future teachers alike. CSULB students are involved a year unlike any other, and an opportunity to lift the in myriad activities, including creating part tracks, next generation of musicians and music educators. teaching voice lessons and composition, and grading.
T
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 9
“My experience has been amazing so far! It’s been really grounding to take on a leadership role with students younger than myself who are struggling with balancing online classes, work, and home life during the pandemic, just like I am. I have huge respect for their grit and enthusiasm. This opportunity has helped give me a sense of purpose for getting through this challenging time and focusing on my future professional goals, because it’s really reaffirmed my passion for teaching music and providing a safe place for young people to learn and communicate.”
Within the first few weeks of the program, our students were collectively serving over 70 hours a week in California schools, and during the Fall semester, CSULB volunteers served over 700 hours with their Mentor Teachers across California. Here are some quotes given from our participants about their experience with the program thus far: From our Mentor Teachers: “My volunteer has helped me turn what could have been a mess of a semester with online learning into an educational and joyful experience. My volunteer is a composition major, so we decided very early on that every class she is able to join will work on a semester-long composition project. This is my first time having my students compose, and she has been so knowledgeable and mentoring to my students. I was so surprised at how well all of my students have been doing!” “As an established teacher, this new venture of Virtual Teaching felt as though I was entering my first year of teaching all over again. However, I was blessed to be a part of the [program]. Being paired with one of their fantastic singers allowed for me to have another set of hands to help develop the many resources needed to be successful! The materials that have been created will be used for years to come and have truly added to my repertoire of resources to train up the next generation of singers.” “What is so wonderful about this program is that the student who was assigned to work with me is actually an alum of our school district and one of the elementary schools I teach at! I love that time and effort was taken to place the perfect mentee with me. She has been a great help during this difficult time and has not only helped with the lessons, tech and planning, but she is able to serve her own community while doing so.” From our Student Volunteers: “As an aspiring music educator, this has been a great opportunity to get insight into what it is like to teach in a classroom, even if it is virtual. This program has also given me something to look forward to each day and I am happy we are able to help teachers in need of some extra assistance.”
10 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
“It is so wonderful... Studying choral music with these kids never fails to put a smile on my face and remind me how powerful music education is. This program inspires me to keep going at the end of the week.”
I
f the CSULB ACDA Choral Service Initiative has taught me anything, it is that the love of choral music and music education is still very alive—even from our living rooms. When students see the need around them, and are given an outlet to give back, they jump at the opportunity. I am proud to have helped make a difference this semester, and I cannot wait to see what else our choral community can accomplish together.
Emily LaSalle is a Senior at CSU Long Beach’s Bob Cole Conservatory of Music, where she is studying Music and Political Science as a President’s Scholar. At CSULB, Emily performs with the Bob Cole Chamber Choir and Pacific Standard Time. She is a dedicated volunteer with the Pancreatic Cancer Action Network, and combines her love of music and commitment to cancer advocacy by hosting benefit concerts, supported by local musicians, businesses, and elected officials. Upon graduation in May 2021, Emily will begin a Master of Public Administration degree at the University of Southern California, where she hopes to gain tools to develop meaningful community partnerships.
California Choral Directors Association
LMU Music Welcomes
DR. T.J. HARPER Director of Choral Activities
Loyola Marymount University Choral Music Program Located in Los Angeles, the second largest artistic and entertainment market in the country, the LMU Choral Music Program offers undergraduate degrees in music with concentrations in Choral Conducting, Composition, and Vocal Performance. Scholarships are available. CHORAL ENSEMBLES Consort Singers Concert Choir Treble Voices Sinatra Opera Workshop
cfa.lmu.edu/music
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 11
Vision for the Future
Where we’ve been, where we’re going By Lori Marie Rios
T
Brinegar, “That is what I want to do!” I knew then here is nothing better than being with colleagues, that I wanted to serve on the ACDA board so that I challenging ourselves to be better and learning could help others grow and learn. (Jim Yowell, thank new things. We all have endured a year of learning in you! You were a great president and inspiration!) a totally different way. For me, learning a new platform It would be eleven years before I would be asked to (Canvas) took most of my summer. Like many of us, run as Southern representative, when I was teaching at being prepared or not being prepared to start online in La Cañada Middle/High School. Eight years later I August was a daunting thought. However, we all did was nominated to run for President, and I was honored it. We may not like it, but we accomplished it. For me, and blessed to be elected. I loved every minute and I relying on my colleagues to talk me off the ledge was continue to serve; my work is not done yet. my safety net. Taking classes online to be better for my students was a priority. I did it and ou see, what I figured out (through you did too! many trials and errors) is that I need When I was a first-year teacher, teaching K-8 music at a small people around me who want me to be Catholic school, I decided that I better. Many colleagues that I have met wanted to attend something called through ACDA have become my dearest “ECCO” hosted by California friends and confidants. I also know that ACDA. I badly wanted to go, but if it hadn’t been for some financial help I was genuinely concerned about from a mentor, I would have not been how I was going to come up with able to attend my first ECCO. the money to attend. My dear During my presidency I was friend Desiree LaVertu agreed to challenged by Angel Vázquez-Ramos go, and we drove up to ECCO to start something that would change with my mentor, Don Brinegar. the trajectory of the next few years. I was fortunate: Don helped me Before the end of my term, I presented financially so that I could attend a proposal to the board that we start a my very first ECCO. Upon our fund that would give scholarships to its arrival I was giddy with excitement membership through applications for Lori Marie works her magic at (and those who know me now continuing education. We named it the the 2016 summer conference. know that when I’m giddy it’s a “Vision for the Future Scholarship Fund.” little scary). I knew no one except Our kickoff was spectacular, with over 80 Desiree, Don, and Dr. Ron Kean and Dr. Jo-Michael people giving approximately $13,000 to the fund. A Scheibe, whom I’d met. As I sat in the chapel listening year later we awarded the first Charles Hirt Memorial to Dr. Scheibe, I wanted to know more, meet more Scholarship to Mariia Pechenova, who attended an people, and never stop striving for excellence. I went to orchestral/choral conducting workshop in New York. every plenary session, interest session, social hour, and Over the past four years we have continued to build church service. At the opening of the evening plenary, the VFTF Scholarship, and I started an advisory a man got up and introduced himself as the President committee comprising past presidents of CCDA and of California ACDA. I was mesmerized with his words ACDA to discuss creating more scholarships. This about leadership and service. I turned and said to Don committee is chaired by Ron Kean, Past Western
Y
12 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
Division President, with members at large Shirley Nute, Past California President, Jim Shepherd, Past California President, Angel Vázquez-Ramos, Central Region Representative, and me as CCDA Vision for the Future Chair. In 2019, we awarded scholarships by application to three individuals to attend the 2020 CCDA Summer Conference at ECCO. In the spring of 2020, the Charles Hirt Scholarship was awarded to Carlin Truong. It has been an amazing journey into an area about which I know nothing: development. But I know more than I thought. Building relationships, respecting choices and building something greater than myself….sounds like a choral ensemble! Over these past few years, I have met and thanked so many ACDA members who have helped build the fund: I cannot say thank you enough. However, we have not stopped there. This past summer we began developing two new scholarships, one written by Christopher Peterson and the other by the new subcommittee on diversity chaired by Christy Rohayem. They were both presented to the executive board and approved. These scholarships are the following:
Leading the Way
1. Vision for the Future Creativity Grant: Supporting ideas that focus on “Creating Opportunities Promoting Excellence.” 2. Vision for the Future Equity Scholarship: Intended to encourage BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) choral educators. The Vision for the Future Scholarship Fund currently has six scholarships under its umbrella. As a person who benefited from someone’s giving, I am once again reminded that we are all in need of continuing education. Please join me in building this fund as we look at 2021 and beyond. If you’ll notice in this Cantate, we only have 19 active donors. For those who have given before, please consider giving again, and for those who have not given, consider becoming a contributor. Any dollar amount is welcomed. You can also pledge a monthly donation for the fiscal year. I know that CCDA can work together to encourage all of us to be lifelong learners. You can find the scholarship requirements, explanation and application with deadlines on calcda.org/resources/vision/.
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 13
UNIVERSITY of SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA THORNTON SCHOOL of MUSIC
choral& sacred music
DEGREES OFFERED Choral Music BM, MM, DMA Sacred Music MM, DMA USC’s ACDA Student Chapter was recognized with the Outstanding ACDA Student Chapter Award for 2021 by the American Choral Directors Association.
MUSIC.USC.EDU
14 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
APPLICATION DEADLINE DECEMBER 1, 2021 visit music.usc.edu/choral
@USCTHORNTON
California Choral Directors Association
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 15
the COmposer’s voice:
MY CONDUCTING YEAR Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer and writer whose music has been performed by organizations including the
Los Angeles
Children’s Chorus, Los Angeles Master Chorale, Modesto Symphony, Pacific Chorale, Pasadena Symphony, The Singers, and
VocalEssence.
How to Go On, Choral Arts Initiative’s album of
Trumbore’s
choral works, was a
#4-bestselling Classical album on iTunes the week of its release.
Hear Dale’s music at daletrumbore.com.
’ve never been a great conductor. I was Icomposing, perfectly content to stay this way—good at bad at conducting—until a friend
suggested more than once that I should consider taking conducting lessons. “Think of all the possibilities!” he said. “You could lead clinics! You could conduct honor choirs!” Two years ago, I decided to take his advice. At the very least, I figured conducting lessons would make me a better composer. I began studying privately with Dr. Nancy Holland, whom I’d overlapped with during my time at the University of Southern California. As a composer, I aim to be more of a collaborator than a dictator. I want to leave some decisions up to the conductor and performers. But in our lessons, Nancy liked to remind me that whenever composer-me had punted a decision to the conductor—a tempo where the quarter note equaled ca. 80-88, or a fermata of ambiguous length—that choice now boomeranged back to my conductor-self. As I prepared to conduct my own pieces, I watched as music I’d written, music I knew in my bones, rearranged before me. It was like the light around the notes had shifted. Sometimes the logic behind what I’d thought were unconscious choices astonished me; more often, it baffled me. Why did I put one measure in 3/4 when every measure around it was in 6/8? Why did I change meter so often? Who made these illogical decisions?! (Me.) I’ve always respected conductors, of course, but now I had a new appreciation for how even minor elements of the score, rational or not, have to be memorized or near-memorized in order to communicate them to an ensemble. A few months into lessons, a local college was performing my piece “Where Go the Boats”—my first chance to rehearse with actual singers. If half the struggle to conduct well is simply having confidence in yourself, then I was already at a loss when I stepped in front of this choir. I gave what I thought was a decent preparation for their entrance, an upbeat and a
16 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
breath, but when I lowered my hands for their entrance, I was met with dead silence. They looked back at me, waiting for a more confident cue than the timid one I’d given. And so I tried again, this time counting in their entrance out loud (“one and two and three and…”). I knew this was a form of cheating, not really conducting at all, but at least when I counted, the singers came in. Together, we stumbled through the piece. The stumbling was entirely my fault, not theirs. When we reached the final measures, I was mortified by my ineptitude and more than happy to step off the podium. onths later, Nancy and I began learning M another piece, “You Find Yourself Here,” in preparation for a high school choral festival held by Linn-Benton Community College in Albany, Oregon. That piece would be the final work for the festival, combining LBCC’s singers with the high-school singers. Unlike “Where Go the Boats,” I could conduct most of “You Find Yourself Here” in one, with a simple buoyant motion that left me unable to second-guess my decisions or micromanage every entrance. I told LBCC’s Director of Choral Studies, Raymund Ocampo, about my conducting lessons: my lack of experience, yes, but also my interest in conducting this piece in rehearsal. When he enthusiastically agreed to let me practice my new skills, I was surprised by how much I genuinely looked forward to conducting these singers. In our first combined rehearsal, though I lost track of my intentions more than once, the ensemble responded to my gestures; they sounded great. Raymund and I decided I’d conduct the piece in concert, too. In my hotel room after our rehearsals, I practiced constantly, nervously, furiously, but when I walked onstage to conduct “You Find Yourself Here,” I was hardly nervous at all. It seems so obvious now, but I hadn’t realized that—for the first time in my career as a musician—I’d be performing with my back to the audience. I have always thought of
California Choral Directors Association
conducting as a game for extroverts, but here, the singers and I might as well have been back in the rehearsal room. I raised my hands to cue the entrance, and—they sang. They sang, and I felt a kind of buoyant confidence I’ve been searching for my entire life. hen I lost my place, but I kept going, and the singers T kept going, too. They did everything we’d rehearsed; they were wonderful.
I was far from perfect, forgetting cues, swapping 3/4 for 6/8 in a few measures—my old composing decisions back to haunt me again. Still, when the piece was over, I felt an emotion I don’t find often, and one I certainly don’t seek out: It’s kind of fun to be bad at something. It’s freeing to try a new skill without expecting immediate perfection. When I compose, I hold myself to high standards. I expect my music to be good. But that’s not yet an option with conducting, and it might never be. In most lessons, I was simply trying to make it through a piece without screwing up. But in Nancy’s teaching, I could make copious mistakes—which I did!—and still be met by her patient guidance. I had permission to fail and permission to succeed. And on the rare occasions where my hands did express my intentions, it felt similar to when I’m composing
and the music locks into its near-final form: my body flushed with a feeling of complete rightness. Even before the pandemic started, I decided to put conducting lessons on hold. To be honest, I don’t think I’ll ever become a great conductor, or even a good one. I know what it would take to be excellent, and I’d rather leave that—at least for now—to the conductors who feel what I feel when I’m composing: like their entire body is rinsed with joy. But I’ve gotten so much out of conducting lessons. A good conductor, I’ve learned, welcomes you along on a journey: You can trust me to lead, and I’ll trust you to follow. Even if a piece of music is not new to you, a good conductor will show you a new path through it, shifting the light around those notes until they gleam. A good conductor grants you permission to take bold risks, then trusts you to recognize and fix any mistakes you make along the way. And if you fail to come in on an entrance, a good conductor will look you in the eye, raise their hands, and offer you another chance. I’m not taking lessons anymore, but I’m still waving an invisible wand over my life like my own fairygodconductor—trusting my curiosity wherever it leads me next, and trusting myself to follow it.
University of Redlands Bachelor of Arts • Bachelor of Music Master of Music • Artist Diploma New Graduate deGrees Offered IN MM Vocal Chamber Music & MM Pedagogy Music Scholarships & Graduate Assistantships Available Information and Applications www.redlands.edu/music 909-748-8014 music@redlands.edu
ChOral faCulty Joseph Modica, Christopher Gabbitas, Nicholle Andrews VOICe faCulty Melissa Tosh, Marco Schindelmann, Patricia Gee, Cynthia Snyder, Donald Brinegar
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 17
18 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
SEEN & HEARD Clockwise from top left: The Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo Polyphonics rehearse with director Dr. Scott Glysson in the San Luis Obispo Perfoming Arts Center; Pacific Chorale “Academy @Home” students sing their own affirmations to the tune of “This Little Light of Mine” for their first virtual choir (photo by Molly Pontin); and the Fresno City College Women’s Chorus and director Julie Dana presented a special performance to celebrate Women’s History Month (photo by Chris Lang). Turn the page for more, and send your best photos of your choir’s activites—musical or extra-musical—to cantate.editor@gmail.com if you’d like them to be considered for publication in a future issue!
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 19
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California Choral Directors Association
Clockwise from bottom left: Singers in the San Diego Children’s Choir Early Years Program rehearse with director Emma Joleen Schopler (photo by Jake Millgard); the Whittier College Choir, directed by Alexandra Grabarchuk, creates virtual recordings while they wait for in-person choir to resume; Sam Michael, choir president at Concord’s College Park High School (Bruce Rockwell, director), models the “Social distan-sing” choir T-shirt she designed; and an artsy alto from the Pacific Ridge School in Carlsbad (Justine Hansen, director) works on her section’s flag at their annual retreat. Thanks to everyone who contributed photos and screenshots! Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 21
ALL-STATE honor choir WRAP-UP by Molly Peters y esteemed CCDA colleagues, this will be the last M Honor Choir report I will be writing....like, hopefully ever. After six years working on All State Honor Choirs
(two years as junior high chair, then four years as high school chair), it is time for me to pass the torch. It was either that or change my middle name to “honor choir chair.” I chose the former. Many of you already know Susie Martone, the amazing educator who will be taking the wheel from me in July. She went above and beyond as the 2020 Chaperone Coordinator in Fresno, and she brings a fresh perspective to the monumental task that is California All-State. Susie is the choral director at Greene Middle School in Palo Alto. Her amazing sense of humor and ability to tackle problems head-on without fear is exactly what our honor choir students, families, and teachers need! Susie lives with her cats, Cash and June,and enjoys popcorn and bourbon Manhattans (that seems like it could be valuable information down the road). Susie and Angelina Fitzhugh, who has taken over as Junior High Honor Choir Chair, are the literal definition of a dream team, and I cannot wait to see where they take our honor choir program over the next few years! For those of you waiting excitedly for the 2021 All State virtual videos, the engineers are working to assemble
22 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
our performance videos. Our hope is that they will be ready by late April/early May. I cannot say a huge enough thank you to our conductors, Dr. Judy Bowers (Junior High/9th grade), Dr. Amanda Quist (SSAA), Dr. Anthony Trecek-King (SATB), and Tesfa Wondemagegnehu (TTBB) for climbing aboard the Virtual All State crazy train. Each conductor had a California accompanist to assist with rehearsal: Heather Bishop (SSAA), Michael DiGiacinto (TTBB), Emily Hsu (HS SATB), and Amanda Ku (JHS SATB). We had four amazing managers for our Zoom-sembles as well: Angelina Fitzhugh (JHS/9th), Jennifer McGill (SSAA), Kris Ornelas (SATB), and Brianna Mowry (TTBB). In addition to the regular manager duties of attendance and behavior management, these rock stars also helped check that every video submission was done correctly. I am indebted to them. From the bottom of my heart, thank you for trusting me with the California Honor Choir program. I am proud of the improvements we have made and continue to make to best serve our diverse California choral community. And next time we are socially gathered together, come say hi to me. You can do so safely, knowing that you won’t get roped into doing something for All State.
California Choral Directors Association
FRESNO STATE DISCOVERY. DIVERSITY. DISTINCTION.
Fresno State is located in the heart of the San Joaquin Valley. We provide undergraduate and graduate instruction in music for those planning professional careers as performers, composers, educators, and studio teachers, as well as those preparing for advanced degrees. We focus on broadening students' intellectual horizons, fostering lifelong learning skills, developing the leaders of tomorrow, promoting community involvement, and instilling an appreciation of world cultures. We nurture cultural competence by celebrating the rich diversity of the campus community and welcoming the participation of all.
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FACULTY Director of Choral Activities Dr. Cari Earnhart Choral Music Education Dr. Emily Mason Dr. Tony Mowrer Voice Dr. Maria Briggs Dr. Anthony Radford FACULTY EMERITUS Dr. Anna Hamre Dr. Arthur Huff Dr. Gary Unruh
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Leading the Way
BACHELOR OF ARTS Music Education Music as a Liberal Art Vocal Performance
@FS Choirs
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 23
24 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
Vision for the
Future
Scholarship Fund Donors special care has been given to the preparation of donor acknowledgments. We regret any errors or omissions. please contact us at (657) 217-0767 or exec_admin@calcda.org with corrections. Thank you for your support!
President’s Circle Platinum ($500 and higher) Daniel Afonso * Lori Marie Rios and Bryan D. Walker, in honor of Shirley Nute, Don Brinegar, and Bruce Mayhall President’s Circle Gold ($300 and higher) Dr. Robert Istad and Mr. David Navarro * Buddy James, in honor of Joseph Huszti Duane and Linda Lovaas * Dr. Jonathan Talberg *
President’s Circle Silver ($100-$299) Jeffrey Benson * Mary Hamilton Brandon Harris Albert Mabeza Olga Spriggs Dr. Angel M. Vázquez-Ramos and Jody R. Vázquez *
Sponsor ($50-$99) Kyle Ball Anthony Lien, * in honor of Joseph Huszti, Buddy James, Michael Najar, and Matthew Potterton David Morales Susanna Peeples * Burt and Polly Vasché *
* Founder’s Circle
Supporter (up to $50) Anonymous Zanaida Robles
VISION FOR THE FUTURE ANNOUNCES TWO NEW AWARDS CCDA’s Vision for the Future committee, chaired by Lori Marie Rios, is proud to announce two new awards supported by your generous contributions to our VFTF fund! Vision for the Future Creativity Grant Supporting ideas that focus on “creating opportunities promoting excellence” Vision for the Future Equity Scholarship Intended to support and encourage choral directors who are BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) Thank you to Chris Peterson, Christy Rohayem, and the CCDA Diversity and Equity Committee for developing these new scholarships. Visit calcda.org to learn more about how to apply or how to donate!
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 25
News and notes
from around the state NORTHERN REGION At Sacramento City College, director Daniel Paulson invested in software called Rehearsal Live Share, which allows for a conductor to invite participants to a zoom-like space where choir members can sing and rehearse to pre-recorded accompaniment tracks and recordings, all while being synced up on the directors’ computer. The director can record the cyclical rehearsals on the spot and play them back for the ensemble, and the choir members can even sing along with themselves. Since last August, the choirs at Sacramento City College have been rehearsing weekly on Rehearsal Live Share and even presented four concert projects with the choirs singing at the same time, from their homes, synced on Rehearsal Live Share.
BAY AREA Choral music was active and vibrant in the Bay Area through online programs and presentations during Spring 2021. Highlights included the San Francisco Girls Chorus, led by Valérie Sainte-Agathe, collaborating with the King’s Singers in a virtual rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah.” Sacred & Profane and Rebecca Seeman joined with La Nell Martin and the Oakland Youth Chorus Chamber Singers in a performance called Make Our World Anew: Black Voices Matter. Both of these performances are available for viewing on YouTube. The Bay Area has also gained a new choir during the pandemic. Martin Benvenuto has founded 21V, a select ensemble of soprano and alto
Send news of hirings, retirements, awards, commissions, premieres, collaborations, or projects to your regional representative!
voices of all gender identities, to perform 21st century music of the Americas.
CENTRAL COAST REGION Beth Klemm has been offering virtual voice classes for her students at the Atascadero Fine Arts Academy. The choir programs and all electives at Fine Arts are being offered in the “asynchronous” time slot and have concentrated on vocal development, musicianship and solo work. Students were involved in a virtual choir concert with local schools, adult choirs, and Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and Cuesta Choirs. Recently, her students discovered they can hear each other at the same time and sing in harmony using the Soundtrap program. In addition to the voice classes, Beth produces a weekly 30-minute general music video for the district’s 4th graders. Dr. Daniel Gee, in his first semester at Westmont College teaching the Westmont Choir and Chamber Singers, says that students were grateful to safely come together for rehearsal and performance singing outside under a parking lot tent, masked and distanced. On April 23rd, 2021, they presented their Spring Choral Concert with a performance of Faure’s Requiem featuring unique COVID adjustments and performance spaces. Dr. Scott Glysson at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo has a featured article in the May edition of The Choral Journal, titled “One Trip: The Transformative Power of Cultural Exchange.” This spring the repertoire for Westmont’s Chamber Choir, Women’s Choir, Polyphonics,
26 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
and University Singers concert will have a special focus on positivity and optimism, with a performance planned for June 6th at 8:00p.m. They are looking ahead to spring 2022 for a very special collaboration with Chanticleer and a world premiere by Nico Muhly.
CENTRAL REGION In March, Julie Dana and the Fresno City College choirs gave their annual World Music concert a new twist: they turned it into a week-long event in which they released a virtual performance of a different piece every night. Julie invited choral educators from diverse ethnic backgrounds to teach a piece that represented their culture. Her guests included Dima Abdin, Middle East; Daniel Afonso, Brazil; Pawasut Jodi Piriyapongrat, Thailand; and Angel M. Vázquez-Ramos, Puerto Rico. After the students were divided into small groups, they researched all aspects of the pieces, and were asked to create a virtual presentation that would demonstrate their understanding of the historical context and musical features of the pieces that were studied. In February, Cari Earnhart (Fresno State University), and Julie Dana (Fresno City College) continued their tradition of collaborating and presenting an annual “Walk in Peace: A Celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Black History Month” concert—virtually!
SOUTHERN REGION Teachers in the William S. Hart District in Northern Los Angeles County haven’t let COVID prevent them from giving their students
California Choral Directors Association
authentic and meaningful opportunities. On the first Friday of every month, students from various high schools perform live via Twitch in a series called “First Fridays.” The event is livestreamed, and hundreds tune in from home to watch. Teachers have also offered monthly master classes, with formats ranging from voice lessons to talks on social justice. Guests have included Tesfa Wondemagegnehu, Donald Brinegar, Jeffrey Benson, Lori Marie Rios, and Broadway actress Mandy Gonzalez. A big shout-out to these educators from the Hart District: Sarah Anders, Kelly Caswell, Jeffrey Gilbert, Berean Haddad, Kaitlyn Holt, Mark Judd, Karen Long, Christine Mocha, Brianna Mowry, Molly Peters, and Rebekah West. Alan Garcia, Susanna Peeples, and Ryan Yoder shared their tips and tricks on recruiting and retaining students at the March 25th CCDA mini session, “From Zoom to Room,” hosted by Tina Peterson. A Zoom recording of the session is available on the CCDA website and the CCDA YouTube channel.
FAR SOUTH REGION Special thanks to Carol Manifold, Executive Director of the Choral Consortium of San Diego, for sharing some of the things choirs in San Diego county are doing! The San Diego Women’s Chorus, under the direction of Kathleen Hansen, performed as an invited ensemble for the 2021 ACDA National Virtual Conference. SDWC performed three songs and took part in a joint virtual-choir video (right) with other GALA choruses. Voices of Our City Choir released their video of “Glory” at the end of February in celebration of Black History Month. The song, by artists Common and John Legend, won an Academy Award as Best Original Song for the movie Selma. Ruthie Millgard (San Diego Children’s Choir and President of the Choral Consortium of San Diego) arranged the vocals for the piece. Last fall, Voices of Our City Choir were recognized for moving to the semifinals of “America’s Got Talent.” The San Diego Jewish Men’s Choir released their third album this past December. Conductor Ruth Weber told the San Diego Reader in February that the pandemic Leading the Way
factored into the decision to finish the recording: “The upside of the pandemic was that we were able to find top-level musicians who were available at reasonable rates to record on our album remotely. We have tracks from musicians from all over the U.S. that we added to our vocal tracks.” On March 21, the San Diego Queer Youth Chorus presented an online, live-streamed concert that included original songs and spoken-word pieces. SDQYC, directed by Lindsey Deaton and accompanied by Gina Seashore, is the first chorus in California for middle- and high-school LGBT and allied performers. SDQYC is supported by the Jason Mraz Foundation, San Diego Pride, and the San Diego Women’s Chorus. The Choral Consortium of San Diego began their “Conversations with Conductors” series in March with guests Emilie Amrein and Matthew Ignacio. Emilie is co-creator of the online resource The Choral Commons and Matthew conducts the Tremble Clefs, a singing group for people living with Parkinson’s and their care partners. April’s session featured Fiona Chatwin and Kathleen Hansen. The Bach Collegium of San Diego (Ruben Valenzuela, director) presented “Bach to Bop,” featuring countertenor and BCSD favorite, Reginald Mobley, performing music ranging from Bach and Purcell to Cole Porter. The performance was part of the streamed Virtual Mainstage concert series. Two of our great Far South children’s choirs have successfully and safely resumed outside rehearsals with masks in person this year. The North Coast Singers (Melissa Keylock, Artistic Director) also simultaneously zooms for singers rehearsing at home. San Diego Children’s Choir (Ruthie Millgard, Artistic Director) is rehearsing at all satellite locations, including local parks and parking garages, reaching over 1,000 students for weekly rehearsals and music classes. Thanks to our Regional Representatives (Andrew Kreckmann, Northern; Buddy James, Bay Area; Angel Vázquez-Ramos, Central; Carolyn Teraoka-Brady, Central Coast; Tina Peterson, Southern; and Arlie Langager, Far South) for collecting and sharing news from their areas! Send your news to your regional representative if you’d like to be included in a future issue. Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 27
Top Five for your Choir:
Pop & A Cappella W
Bret Peppo is Director of and
Choral Activities
Music Department chair at
Diablo
Valley College. He conducts the
Concert
Chorale, Chamber Singers, Masterworks Chorale, and Vocal Jazz Ensembles. Prior to his appointment at
DVC, Peppo was the Director of Choral Activities at AldersonBroaddus College at the
University of South
Alabama and at Illinois State University. He also held the positions as director of the
Old Gold Singers, at the
University of
Iowa. He holds degrees from
Eastern Illinois
University and Illinois
ith my a cappella and show choirs, I rarely do “stock” charts. For this reason, the charts I am listing here are more about the arranger. Most of these selections can’t be purchased through your traditional supplier, so contact the arranger directly. The arrangers below have followed the proper procedures to legally arrange these selections. Please do the same before recording and posting songs online. Tracy Chapman. arr. J. D. Frizzell Fast Car www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwfV0v98N2o www.jdfrizzell.com J.D. is the director of One Voice a cappella ensemble at Briarcrest Academy in Memphis, Tennessee. He has degrees in conducting and composition, and does a beautiful job with this tune. The parts are lush but very singable because of his great part-writing. The lowest note is an E-flat, so most groups can pull it off. The song is in eight parts throughout. Dua Lipa, arr. Daniel Jones Break My Heart www.youtube.com/watch?v=EoF0uSYPHHg www.facebook.com/acaword Daniel Jones is a Bay Area native whom I met many years ago when he attended my a cappella camps while still in high school. Since then, he has completed a composition degree at Berklee School of Music. Recently, he has been writing many of the charts for our groups. His arrangements are quick and inexpensive, they have excellent part writing, and they can be customized to the strengths and weaknesses of your specific ensemble. Most importantly, he can write relatively simple arrangements that sound difficult and are extremely creative.
Benj Pasek, arr. Matt Goldstein This Is Me www.youtube.com/watch?v=a28TrXeWUMg www.facebook.com/mattgoldsteinmusic Years ago, while scouring the internet for arrangements, I came across Matt Goldstein. His arrangements are not rhythmically easy, but they’re well worth the effort. Students and audiences alike love them. Go to his Facebook page to read a little bit more about him and check out some of his arrangements. Although we have performed this song, check out his Bollywood number called “Top of the World” as sung by Nomadic. Lebo M., arr. Rob Dietz He Lives In You www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsUkKuLFTkw www.robdietzmusic.com/ Many of you know Rob Dietz, who lives in Southern California. He has done everything from appearing on Glee to acting as a vocal arranger for The Sing Off. His custom charts, like this song from The Lion King, are amazing, and he has tons of newer arrangements on Sheetmusicplus.com. Rob also writes some great selections for your chamber and concert ensembles. Dolly Parton, arr. Rob Dietz Jolene www.youtube.com/watch?v=1jaJQfvfodA www.robdietzmusic.com/ Here’s another winner by Rob. Everyone likes Dolly Parton’s “Jolene”—young, old, country fans, people who hate country music, etc.! This recording is from Rob’s A Cappella Academy five years ago.
State University and is
ABD from the
University of Iowa in Choral Conducting and
Pedagogy.
28 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
Top Five for your Choir:
MUSIC IN WORSHIP W
Christy Rohayem is the director of choirs at
East Bakersfield
High School, and also conducts the choir at
St. Paul’s Episcopal
Church. She received her bachelor’s degree in music education and vocal performance from
San Jose State
University. Christy serves as the choir chairperson for
Kern
County’s Grand Night For Music festival, and her experiences includes pre-k and kindergarten general music, middle school, high school, and community choirs.
She has a passion for
Middle Eastern
music and is currently working on her masters degree in music education from
San
Jose State University.
Leading the Way
hen you’re pressed for time, resourceful programming is the most enjoyable (and safest) way to double dip. These “sisterhood of the traveling songs” works seamlessly fit any type of choir or venue. Take these pieces from your places of worship to your school or community choirs. The less time you spend on score study, the more time you have to sing and worship. Enjoy! Keith Hampton True Light SATB Earthsongs S-182 This Keith Hampton original hearkens back to This Little Light Of Mine while curating a strong identity of its own. It is written for SATB choir with minimal divisi in the bass line and a soprano/tenor solo in the middle section. The piano part doesn’t mess around. It is a crucial voice and a huge source of energy in this arrangement. I have so many happy memories of singing and conducting this piece, and they never fail to bring me a sense of love and true light when I need it the most. Thomas Campion, set by Richard Slater With Broken Heart and Contrite Sigh Two-part mixed Augsburg Publishing Don’t be fooled by this seemingly simple two-part arrangement. Its chant-like nature is a lesson in freedom and interpretation for the conductor. I’ve played around with treating the beginning of the vocal and piano lines as crusis and anacrusis. The choice is yours to make. Slater’s hauntingly mesmerizing setting is a great performance piece as well as a humbling practice in conducting. Traditional Syriac Hymn, arr. Mark D. Templeton Abun D’bash’maiyo SATB Mark Templeton Choral Music MTN002 “Abun D’bash’maiyo” is a fantastic piece if you’re looking for something more traditional with a foreign language twist. This a cappella
setting of the Lord’s Prayer is stunningly beautiful. The Syriac dialect is a derivative of the old Aramaic language, and this arrangement is a perfect introduction to it. While the text does add a layer of difficulty, the IPA provided is extremely helpful and comprehensive. There is a solo line which can easily be sung by a small group or the collective choir, along with a bit of eight-part divisi. Templeton’s arrangement is a labor of love, but is well worth it in the end. Ysaye M. Barnwell Wanting Memories SATB with solo Musical Source YMB103 Barnwell’s “Wanting Memories” is one of my all-time favorite pieces. While the difficulty lies mostly in the rhythm, the repetitive nature of the lines make it extremely accessible and versatile. It is also a great way to dabble in teaching by rote. There is a melody line that is written almost like a solo above the other parts. I find it most beneficial to split the sopranos and altos into three groups and to place the middle group on the melody line. I have also seen this piece done using a shaker as a replacement for the tenor line. The beautiful and bittersweet text is my favorite piece of this puzzle. This is one of those songs that will stay with you and comfort you forever. Peruvian Folk Song arr. Diana Saez El Rio Two-part Roger Dean Publishing 15/2837R “El Rio” is a traditional Peruvian song, specifically from the Andes region. The Spanish text describes the role of the cantuta flower in the river, which is painted beautifully by the piano line. Saez has written this two-part treble arrangement extremely well for the developing voice. She utilizes unison singing in a way that introduces harmony via descant and canonic material in a very organic way. This arrangement of “El Rio” ends with a sense of longing, just like the flower in the river, “never to return.”
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 29
4/5/2021
IMG_0238.JPG
Top Five for your Choir:
ETHNIC & MULTICULTURAL O Anthony E. Arnold has been teaching instrumental and https://drive.google.com/drive/recent
choral music for years, the last
23
16 at
Joaquin Miller Middle School in San Jose, where he teaches choir and beginning band.
He was recognized by the
California
Music Educators Association in 2009 as Outstanding Choral Music Educator and in
2011 by the Santa
Clara County Office of
Education as the Cupertino Union School District
Teacher of the Year. Mr. Arnold is currently working on completing his
Summer Kodaly
Certificate at Holy Names University in Oakland and is a 1995 cum laude graduate of
Azusa Pacific University in
ne thing I have learned while Sheltering In Place and teaching remotely is how to engage students to sing when I can’t “hear” them during actual class time due to latency issues. Here are five multicultural songs I have found in the past and present that I have used with my students to keep them joyful, willing to participate, and, in this current environment, with their cameras on.
Traditional Chant Mi Subo a la Torre Unison www.bethsnotesplus.com/2020/11/ me-subo-a-la-torre.html I used this song in the beginning of the year to teach all my students rhythms and rests. The particular rhythm I focus on is in measure two, the single eighth rest followed by the single eighth note. This chant is also a great introduction for students to learn Spanish; one of my 8th-grade students who has been taking Spanish for a year in middle school had the honor of recording all the correct pronunciations for all my beginning and advanced students to learn. 1/1
Paul John Rudoi Gamaya SATB with optional percussion Graphite Publishing GP-RO13 Since many of my choral students are of Indian descent, I wanted to find a piece of music that honored their culture and traditions. Mr. Rudoi contacted me out of the clear blue in 2017 and suggested this piece of music for my Advanced Choir. This song was the perfect fit. When I presented the song, my students of Indian descent where “all in” as they took full ownership to teach correct pronunciations as well as provide the choir with the understanding and meaning of the words. A very peaceful, yet moving song that allows for each member of your ensemble to showcase their own individual journey with the words and meaning of the song.
Cristi Cary Miller Solfege Mambo Three-part mixed or two-part with piano and soundtrack Hal Leonard Corporation #00287825 Even though this piece of music is completely in English, the “catch” for my students was the accompaniment track, which allowed a teaching moment to explore the musical style of mambo. In addition to the accompaniment track, if you teach your students to use solfege, learning to sing in natural minor using solfege for the chorus is an easy way for students to learn this song quickly while having fun choreographing moves that can accentuate a virtual or live performance. Veljo Tormis Modal Etudes SSA a cappella Antes Edition-Edition 49 M-2043-0919-1 Seven imaginative three-part works, written in Estonian and translated to English, that explore all modes using C. Subjects of this modal exploration include Spring, Fog, Cold, Snow, Drought, Wind, and Rain. They can be taught as individual songs (I only taught only Spring and Snow) or as one complete choral journey. Just in case you forgot, I learned to memorize the modes using the sentence, “I Don’t Phreeze Le-Mon-Ade Long”! Tracy Wong Wau Bulan SAB and SA Cypress Choral Music CP1608 I first heard this song on YouTube from the amazing young singers of iSing Silicon Valley. From the country of Malaysia, this version by Ms. Wong is an adaptation of a traditional Malaysian Dikir Barat. Traditionally performed seated, with percussion accompaniment, and synchronized choreography, this song is sure to be a great introduction for you and your students to the traditional choral music of Southeast Asia.
Music Education.
30 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
Building Bridges Transforming Lives
Power of Music
Performance Opportunities in 2022
Lisbon Choral Festival
Festival for Women’s & Treble Voices
Jeffrey Benson Michael Hanawalt
Andrea Ramsey Eva Ugalde
Lisbon, Portugal June 4-9, 2022
San Sebastian, Spain June 17-22, 2022
Theater of Music Festival: Shakespeare EnACTed!
A Singing Tour of Irish Pubs & Distilleries
Emily Ellsworth
Brad Pierson
Stratford-upon-Avon, England July 3-9, 2022
Custom Tours
Dublin, Galway & Killarney, Ireland July 5-12, 2022
Ryan Beeken Elaine Hagenberg
Tallinn, Estonia June 28 - July 3, 2022
Remembrance, Hope, Peace Pearl Shangkuan Kim André Arnesen
Berlin & Leipzig, Germany July 8-13, 2022
We will design a tour to match your musical vision.
2344 Perimeter Park Drive, Atlanta, GA 30341
Leading the Way
United in Song
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770.220.2242
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www.perform-international.com
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info@perform-international.com
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 31
Top Five for your Choir:
TWO-YEAR COLLEGES T John Sorber is the Choral and Vocal Professor at College of the
Sequoias in
Visalia, and was recently selected to receive the
California
Music Educators Association 2019 State Choral Educator Award. Throughout his career, he has conducted elementary, middle school, high school, community college, community chorus and church choirs. In addition to his teaching,
Mr. Sorber
has served as a musical theater director,
hroughout my career and life I have always relied on great choral music to speak the truths that I am unable to express. Choral music can show my desire to be connected—to God, my family, the earth, and my ancestors. It also helps my students and me as we struggle to build a more loving and supportive community for “All of Us.” When the pain is too great to bear, or the joy is too great to express, these pieces have spoken for me.
Susan Labarr (b. 1981) I Should Be Glad SATB divisi a cappella Walton Music WW1572 This beautiful and accessible unaccompanied piece is based on poetry by Sara Teasdale. It is a startling reminder of the joy we experience as musicians even in our most difficult times. My choir was one week away from performing this magnificent music when COVID shut everything down. This text is the perfect reminder of why we continue to fight. Traditional South African, arr. Michael Barrett Ndikhokhele Bawo SATB divisi, optional solos, percussion Santa Barbara Music Publishing SBMP1318 “Ndikhokhele Bawo” is a beautiful and accessible South African song based on Psalm 23 that is attainable by any size choir. The Xhosa language is very singable, and the students will learn it quickly. There are great little solo opportunities and the song uses a call and response style. Everyone will love it!
create something that is elegant and emotional. My students and I spent a great deal of time remembering and discussing our own loved ones. I count this as one of the most cherished performances in my career. It is truly special. Craig Hella Johnson (b. 1962) All of Us (from Considering Matthew Shepard) SATB divisi with SSA solos, piano, and optional instrumental accompaniment Hal Leonard 00217196 I think that you likely already know this, but I had to choose this piece. Our choirs are the safe and encouraging place in our students’ lives and we need to use our music to delve deep into supporting every person in our lives. This music is a great opportunity for deep conversations and healing. Did I mention the stunning trio and that it is a blast to sing? Study the entire work! Michael Hennagin (1936-1993) Sunrise SATB divisi and piano Walton Music WW1646 This music is glorious and quite singable, and there is great depth to the poetry, which was adapted from Walt Whitman. Hennagin did a masterful job creating the feeling of the wide-open space and simplicity of joy. My Chamber Singers performed this piece and I dedicated it to my daughter as she was preparing to move away for college. This is music that is worthy of your most cherished memories. I love it and I think you will also.
choral adjudicator and clinician, honor choir manager at local and national levels, teacher mentor, tenor soloist, and private voice
Ēriks Ešenvalds (b. 1977) Only In Sleep SSAATTBB a cappella with soprano solo Musica Baltica MB1265 This is a sparklingly beautiful piece of music if you have a spectacular soprano soloist. Tight and soaring harmonic language combine to
teacher.
32 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
California Choral Directors Association
Top Five for your Choir:
COMMUNITY & PROFESSIONAL
T Tammi Alderman is director of
Choral/
Vocal Music at San Marino High School. She also teaches at CSU Fullerton’s School of Music, where she is a university supervisor for choral music education students.
Ms. Alderman
is head of the choral program at
Arrowbear
Summer Music Camp and is on the faculty the
Choral Advantage Camp through the
Pacific Chorale and CSU Fullerton. Tammi is also the assistant conductor of the
Long
Beach Camerata Singers.
his year marks no special anniversary of the birth or death of poet, social activist, novelist, playwright and columnist James Mercer Langston Hughes (1902-1967). His poetry, however, seems more connected than ever to our current social and emotional needs. Below are my favorite choral settings of Hughes’ poetry. If these are not suited to your ensemble, a quick search will reveal a wide variety of other well-written choral settings.
Rollo Dilworth The Dream Keeper SATB with piano, acoustic bass, congas (other voicings also available) Hal Leonard Publishing The persistent rhythm of Dilworth’s setting of “The Dream Keeper” (from Trilogy of Dreams) brings mystery and drive to the text. Congas and bass add depth to the power of the speaker and protector of the poem: “Bring me all of your dreams... / That I may wrap them / In a blue cloud-cloth / Away from the too-rough fingers / Of the world.” Margaret Bonds The Ballad of the Brown King SATB with piano, harp (orchestra optional), solo soprano, tenor, baritone Jubilate Music Group A close friend of composer Margaret Bonds, Hughes wrote her a new text specifically for this nine-movement cantata. Ballad focuses on one of the Three Kings from the story of the birth of Jesus. Hughes chose the African king, Balthazar, as a way to “reinforce the image of African participation in the Nativity story.”
itself is very short, but sends a strong message of what happens when dreams die. Dr. Thomas’ setting is accessible with short a cappella sections. Joel Thompson America Will Be! SATB divisi, a cappella Galaxy Music Joel Thompson is best known for his large work The Seven Last Words of the Unarmed. Commissioned by Freedom High School in Orlando, Florida, “America Will Be” was a collaboration between Joel and the choir members to “capture the essence of the choir’s ethnic diversity and artistic unity.” The text combines the words of Langston Hughes, Emma Lazarus, and the students of Freedom High School. Rosephanye Powell I Dream a World SATB with piano Gentry Publications “In this song, the composer depicts musically Mr. Hughes’s juxtaposition of the world that is and the world that could be. The world of which Langston Hughes dreams is characterized by joy, peace and freedom; yet, the one in which he lives is full of the ‘wretchedness’ of racial prejudice and avarice” (notes by Rosephanye Powell). Composed to commemorate the centenary of Hughes’ death, this work takes us on a journey through joy, darkness and passion.
Andre Thomas Hold Fast to Dreams SATB with piano Hinshaw Music “Hold Fast to Dreams” is one of the more commonly set poems of Hughes. The poem
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 33
CCDA BOARD Directory EXECUTIVE BOARD President Jeffrey Benson (408) 924-4645 jeffrey.s.benson@gmail.com President-Elect Chris Peterson (657) 278-3537 cpeterson@fullerton.edu Vice President Robert Istad (562) 822-5952 robert.istad@gmail.com
REPERTOIRE & RESOURCES
REGIONAL REPRESENTATIVES Bay Area Buddy James (510) 885-3128 buddy.james@ csueastbay.edu Central Angel Vázquez-Ramos (714) 305-1087 vazquezramosa@gmail.com
Development & VFTF Lori Marie Rios (818) 679-7463 lmrdiva1@gmail.com
Central Coast Carolyn Teraoka-Brady (805) 689-1780 cteraokabrady3@gmail.com
Treasurer Jenny Bent (707) 664-3925 bentje@sonoma.edu
Far South Arlie Langager (858) 774-0412 alangager@miracosta.edu
Membership Polly Vasché (209) 526-9692 pollyvasche@pacbell.net
Northern Andrew Kreckmann (973) 903-0466 a.kreckmann@csus.edu
Executive Administrator Kathleen Preston 921 N. Harbor Blvd., #412 La Habra, CA 90631-3103 (657) 217-0767 exec_admin@acdacal.org
Southern Tina Peterson (562) 453-9681 tgpeterson@me.com
EVENT CHAIRS Summer Conference at ECCO Jeffe Huls jhuls@smmusd.org CLA Coordinator John Sorber (559) 303-9961 johnso@cos.edu All-State Honor Choirs Molly Peters (213) 880-7597 mepeters79@gmail.com
CCDA State Conference at CASMEC Kristina Nakagawa (408) 205-6050 artistic@ resoundingachord.org
Children’s & Community Youth La Nell Martin (510) 350-6639 lanellmartin7@gmail.com
Ethnic & Multicultural Perspectives Anthony Arnold (408) 799-5867 arnold_anthony@cusdk8.org
Junior High & Middle School Angelina Fitzhugh (650) 387-6730 afitzhugh@pausd.org
LGBTQ Perspectives Josh Palkki (202) 679-3350 josh.palkki@csulb.edu
Senior High School Stacey Kikkawa (310) 551-5100 skikkawa@fjuhsd.org Two-Year College John Sorber (559) 303-9961 johnso@cos.edu College & University Corie Brown (541) 743-6335 corie.brown@sjsu.edu Student Activities Susie Martone (415) 735-0910 susie.martone@gmail.com Choral Composition David Montoya (626) 419-8031 davypavy@aol.com
Music in Worship Christy Rohayem (510) 908-3047 crohayem@gmail.com Pop & A Cappella Bret Peppo (925) 808-9689 bpeppo@dvc.edu SSAA Choirs Lauren Diez (714) 904-1035 laurendiez415@gmail.com TTBB Choirs Currently vacant Vocal Jazz Michelle Hawkins (650) 738-7134 hawkinsm@smccd.edu
Community & Professional Choirs Tammi Alderman (626) 299-7020 x3615 tammialderman@gmail.com
COMMUNICATIONS Cantate Editor Eliza Rubenstein erubenstein@occ.cccd.edu cantate.editor@ gmail.com
34 • Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021
Webmaster & Graphic Design Anthony M. Lien (530) 204-8512 amlien@lienhome.net
Social Media Coordinator Jason Pano (408) 768-0733 jasonpano@yahoo.com
California Choral Directors Association
Leading the Way
Cantate • Vol. 33, No. 3 • Spring 2021 • 35
California Choral Directors Association 921 N. Harbor Blvd., #412 La Habra, CA 90631-3103
