Over the last few weeks I have noticed a storm after the calm in choral music circles. We saw a boil over in Texas when a clinician withdrew from a conference based on a letter from two members that made her feel unwelcome, and a downstream fallout stemming from how the organization handled the issue. We saw a terribly offensive presentation given at a conference in New York that referred to some schools as “Hood” schools and the justified outrage at this affront. Not too long ago, there were arguments about cancelling Jingle Bells, and I am not even mentioning all of the controversies.

As many may know, the mission here at Choralosophy is to HAVE the conversation when others just want to lob social media bombs back and forth. In this episode I do a deep dive on some of the ideas at the root of these disagreements. I do this by telling a story of an online discussion I had about “Colonization and Classical Music.” Because here is the thing: Political footballs have been made of terms like “Critical Race Theory,” and “Intersectionality,” and “Decolonization.” Many, and I would say most, do not use these terms correctly whether they are “for” or “against” the ideas.

It kind of reminds me also of some conversations we had back in 2020 about an infamous essay on Choral Cancel Culture…

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This week, Dr. Anthony Trecek-King joins the Choralosophy conversation by joining me to discuss two related topics. The teaching of musical fundamentals in our classrooms AND how we can have better and more productive conversations about social justice and the inequities in our society.

We range from concrete, in class activities to try with a choir to develop the inner ear, all the way to the core tenets of Anthony’s “Face Your Neighbor” training related to facilitating IN CLASS social justice conversations. We even discuss the annual controversy surrounding “removing sight reading from honor choir and All State auditions. You don’t want to miss this!

“My approach to music education is to teach skills and not just songs. I believe that every singer should not only experience and perform music, but learn the skills to be an independent, thinking musician. My philosophy is to teach them to do more, so that I do less. With these exercises we are essentially training the singer’s brain to be sensitive to pitch—and the voice will follow the brain.”

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Dr. Anthony Trecek-King is a highly acclaimed choral conductor, scholar, pedagogue, and media personality with a career spanning over 20 years. He is an active guest conductor and serves as a Resident Conductor (chorus) with the Handel and Haydn Society. Recognized for his ability to create moving performances that exhibit a surprising range of dynamics and depth of expression, Dr. Trecek-King excels at cultivating vocal and instrumental musicians at all levels. Through his collaborative rehearsal style, he bridges the gap between high art and humanity, captivating audiences while maintaining exceptional sonic quality.

Ensembles under his direction were integral to projects that have won a Pulitzer Prize (Madam White Snake, Zhou Long), received a Grammy (Fantastic Mr. Fox, Boston Modern Orchestra Project), and earned the National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award from Presidential Committee on the Arts (Boston Children’s Chorus). Dr. Trecek-King has worked with a variety of artists and ensembles including Leslie Odom Jr., Melinda Doolittle, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus, The Houston Chamber Choir, Seraphic Fire, Keith Lockhart, John Williams, Gil Rose, Simon Halsey, Yo Yo Ma, and Roomful of Teeth.

He has led performances in world-renowned venues including Boston Symphony Hall, the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., Carnegie Hall in New York City, Royal Albert Hall in London, and the Sydney Opera House. In addition to his conducting work, he is currently the host of the classical radio show “The Silent Canon” which airs on KNVO 90.7.  He can also be seen on-air and online on the Emmy nominated WGBH television series Sing That Thing, and two TEDx Boston talks. He holds a B.M. in Cello Performance from the University of Nebraska at Omaha, an M.M. in Orchestral Conducting from the Florida State University, and a D.M.A. in Choral Conducting from the Boston University. He currently lives in the Boston area with his partner Melanie (of Thinking is Power) and their cat.

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Over the last year, I have seen Dr. Thomas present twice on the importance of ensuring that the African American Spiritual is passed on to the next generations through our choral ensembles and music classrooms. In these presentations he also speaks eloquently about the challenges we face in doing so. We have parents, students and administrators worried about being accused of appropriation. We have directors worried about being criticized for inauthenticity, and governors pushing laws making it a minefield to teach the histories of race and racism in some states.

How do we see the challenges, and choose to move forward in the face of them? In this episode Dr. Thomas advocates for a performance practice, and linguistically informed approach to the spiritual. One in which, we the teachers, enter the classrooms armed to teach both the how and the why of the spiritual.

“I would never hurt someone’s self esteem with music, because music is my tool to reach them.”

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ANDRÉ J. THOMAS is a Professor Emeritus of Music at Florida State University. He was visiting Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale University from 2020-2022. He also served as a faculty member at the University of Texas, Austin. He is presently an Associate Artist with the London Symphony Orchestra.

Dr. Thomas received his degrees from Friends University (B.A.), Northwestern University (M. M.), and The University of Illinois (D.M.A). He is in demand as a choral adjudicator, clinician, and director of Honor/All-State Choirs throughout North America, Europe, Asia, New Zealand, Australia, and Africa. Dr. Thomas has conducted choirs at the state, division, and national conventions of the Music Educators National Conference (NAFME) and the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA). His international conducting credits are extensive. 

He has led numerous prestigious orchestras and choirs around the world, including the Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in England, the Berlin Radio Choir and the North German Radio Choir in Germany, the Netherlands Radio Choir, the Bulgarian Radio Choir & Orchestra, the Seoul Metropolitan Chorus, Ansan City Choir, Jeju Provincial Seogwipo Chorale in South Korea, the Charlotte Symphony, China’s People’s Liberation Orchestra, the Czech National Symphony Orchestra, and the London Symphony Orchestra.

Thomas is a distinguished composer/arranger with Hinshaw Music Company, Mark Foster Music Company, Fitzsimons Music Company, Lawson Gould, Earthsongs, Choristers Guild, and Heritage Music Company.

Various musical organizations have recognized Thomas with the Living Legend Award, the Distinguished Service Award, the Robert Shaw Award, the NCCO (National Collegiate Choral Organization) Lifetime Achievement Award, and the Southern Region of ACDA Award of Excellence. In January 2019, he was inducted into the Florida Music Educator’s Hall of Fame, and in 2022 he was presented the Samuel Simons Sanford Medal, the most prestigious honor conferred by the Yale School of Music.

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In a world characterized by constant social criticism and a perpetual desire for progress, the often-overlooked emotion of gratitude emerges as a powerful catalyst for personal and societal improvement.

While constructive criticism and a drive for change are essential elements in fostering growth, without a foundation of gratitude for what we DO have, individuals and societies may find themselves trapped in a cycle of discontent. I often see Gratitude conflated with “complacency” or resting on our laurels. I believe that this is a fundamental error in our perception of human nature. It misses the human need to reflect on past successes or W’s as the kids say, as motivation for future efforts of improvement.

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In this episode, In this episode I will be referencing a few resources, provided in the Patreon Google Folder. The “Science of Reading” refers to a large body of interdisciplinary evidence. The past 40 years has yielded tremendous, interdisciplinary insights into the process of learning to read, gathered from developmental psychology, cognitive neuropsychology, developmental linguistics, and educational intervention research. In Music Education, we are behind this body of research as it relates to our discipline. In this short episode, I have taken on the task of adapting MY favorite Science of Reading take away for a music literacy context. “Scarborough’s Reading Rope.”

Consider this episode, the next installment in the “Choralosophy Literacy Suite.”

If the evidence is overwhelming and compelling, why are so many children failing to learn to read? Despite a preponderance of evidence about what constitutes good reading instruction…false theories persist

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Dr. Jeffrey Allen Murdock is internationally known as a conductor and clinician. He currently serves as Director of Choral Activities, Founding Director of the Arkansas Center for Black Music, and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Arkansas. He is the 2016 Connor Endowed Faculty Fellow in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Science, and 2019 Most Outstanding Faculty at the University of Arkansas. He is the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year.

Dr. Murdock has conducted regional and state honor choirs, and headlined conferences in 26 states and 5 countries. With research interests inclusive of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in the Choral Classroom, Music in Urban Schools, and Social Justice in Music Education, he has presented at state, regional and national conferences of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the International Society for Music Education (ISME), and the American Choral Director’s Association, where he serves as president-elect of the Southwestern Division, past-president of Arkansas ACDA, and serves on the national diversity subcommittee. Choirs under Dr. Murdock’s direction have performed at the Arkansas All-State Conference and the Southwestern Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. In addition to being an accomplished conductor of western choral music, Dr. Murdock is also a skilled gospel musician and conductor. He has served on the conducting staff of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., has collaborated with numerous world-renown Gospel recording artists.

Dr. Murdock holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting, both from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Music Education from the University of Memphis.

• Car Thoughts

This week I am excited to bring you a compelling discussion with the esteemed, and often outspoken Dr. Jeffrey Allen Murdock. In this episode we mainly center on three distinct, but not unrelated topics. First, Dr. Murdock shares his passion for Culturally Relevant pedagogy in the choral context as we discuss what it this concept requires, as well as it’s common misunderstandings. We also get to hear the case for the creation of the FIRST Graduate program in Black Sacred Music. Jeff makes the performance practice argument for this area of academic study that I found incredibly convincing. The University of Arkansas’ “Center For Black Music” is now a reality that is the first of its kind.

Beware of folks who claim to be experts in music education who have never taught in a K-12 classroom, or who have only done so for three days…..

Finally, we discuss advice for Choir Directors when navigating the landscape of online “Music Educator Personae.” How do separate the pedagogue from the marketing? How do we know if the person we are hiring to present a session, can justify their claim of expertise? Jeff and Chris discuss this new phenomenon in our field over the last few years. Of course, I felt personally connected to this topic as a person who makes a living from choral pedagogy marketing!

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB!

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Dr. Jeffrey Allen Murdock is internationally known as a conductor and clinician. He currently serves as Director of Choral Activities, Founding Director of the Arkansas Center for Black Music, and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Arkansas. He is the 2016 Connor Endowed Faculty Fellow in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Science, and 2019 Most Outstanding Faculty at the University of Arkansas. He is the 2021 GRAMMY Music Educator of the Year.

Dr. Murdock has conducted regional and state honor choirs, and headlined conferences in 26 states and 5 countries. With research interests inclusive of Culturally Responsive Pedagogy in the Choral Classroom, Music in Urban Schools, and Social Justice in Music Education, he has presented at state, regional and national conferences of the National Association for Music Education (NAfME), the International Society for Music Education (ISME), and the American Choral Director’s Association, where he serves as president-elect of the Southwestern Division, past-president of Arkansas ACDA, and serves on the national diversity subcommittee. Choirs under Dr. Murdock’s direction have performed at the Arkansas All-State Conference and the Southwestern Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association. In addition to being an accomplished conductor of western choral music, Dr. Murdock is also a skilled gospel musician and conductor. He has served on the conducting staff of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., has collaborated with numerous world-renown Gospel recording artists.

Dr. Murdock holds a Bachelor’s degree in Music Education and a Master of Music degree in Choral Conducting, both from the University of Southern Mississippi, and a Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D) in Music Education from the University of Memphis.

• Car Thoughts

Over the years, this Podcast has been a place for many types of conversations, on a variety of topics. But, one of the recurring passions of mine has been the reimagining of the way we teach literacy. Drawing upon the literature known as the “science of reading,” I started noticing that in music education, we have been woefully behind the times. In the Choralosophy Music Literacy Suite, I have collected several resources from the show’s catalogue to attempt to address this. Since, we started I have heard from hundreds of colleagues that are revolutionizing their classroom environments. They are using the piano less, or not at all. Spending less and less time after school making practice tracks, and putting more responsibility on their students.

While this is exciting, the “a cappella rehearsal” concept has not been without it’s detractors. Especially from teachers of younger students. “Sure, this may work with advanced kids, but not my 6th graders.” Or, “that sounds like something that would work great in a privileged suburban high school, but not at my school.” Or, simply, “my kids aren’t ready for this. Maybe I will try it when they are more advanced.” Ultimately, all of these impulses are off the mark. Music is a language, and language acquisition is easier the younger we are! We should be starting the process of audiation and literacy as SOON as possible. We don’t have time to wait.

For this episode, I spoke to TWO middle school choir teachers who have students in grade 6-8 who are having incredible growth and success in a short time encorporating “Choralosophy” Concepts like not playing notes for kids on the piano, and small group testing, and individual literacy assessments for accountability and individual feedback. Tune in as Ian and Jacob describe passionately the ways that they have taken the ideas they have heard here, and adapted them and made them their own. We also get to hear the ways these things have revolutionized their classroom culture and behavior.

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Jacob Garcia is the choir director at Tennyson Middle School in Waco, Texas. He is in his 4th year of teaching and enjoys empowering his students to be independent and creative musicans. Jacob graduated with a Bachelor in Music Education from Stephen F. Austin State University and a Master in Choral Conducting from Texas Tech. While he enjoys teaching he also enjoyes learning mee ways to decolp hos craft and further his knowledge of music education.

Ian Henning is the 6-12 Choir Teacher at Peak to Peak Charter School in Lafayette, Colorado. An Illinois native, Ian graduated from North Central College with a Bachelor of Arts in Voice Performance before moving to Colorado in the summer of 2020. Since then he has been teaching and performing throughout the state in a variety of roles, honing his craft as a musician and mentor. Ian is a dedicated learner who is always striving to improve in his personal and professional pursuits, and hopes one day to become a teacher capable of giving his students the music education they deserve. Ian is a member of the Colorado Chorale, the state’s premier volunteer community choir, and The Storytellers, an a cappella quartet delivering memorable and meaningful performances via musical storytelling in and around the Denver area.

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This week, I have the honor of crossing the pond virtually to discuss the profound yet often overlooked concept of “vocal musicianship.” Joining me is a distinguished guest, David Hill whose passion and advocacy for choral music spans from the professional to the amateur singer. David is the conductor of London’s renowned Bach Choir. We discuss a variety of advocacy topics including the importance of the amateur and youth choir maintaining a high level of quality, as well as disparities in payment faced by singers compared to their instrumental counterparts. For this topic we dissect the recent controversy of the near loss of the BBC Singers.

David also shares his thoughts about reaching out to new audiences and expanding our concept of what “choir building” means. In this episode, we unravel the layers of talent and dedication it takes to be a professional singer. We address the stereotypes and misconceptions that often surround vocal artists, shedding light on the immense skill, discipline, and artistry that define their craft. David’s wide range of choral experiences makes him an excellent guide on this important journey as we try to bring choral music into its next era.

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Renowned for his fine musicianship, David Hill is widely respected as both a choral and orchestral conductor. His talent has been recognised by his appointments as Musical Director of The Bach Choir, Music Director of Leeds Philharmonic Society, Associate Guest conductor of the Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Principal Conductor of Yale Schola Cantorum, and International Chair in Choral Conducting at the Royal Northern College of Music. He was Chief Conductor of the BBC Singers from September 2007 to September 2017 and is a former Music Director of Southern Sinfonia.

Born in Carlisle and educated at Chetham’s School of Music, of which he is now a Governor, he was made a Fellow of the Royal College of Organists at the remarkably young age of 17. Having been Organ Scholar at St John’s College, Cambridge, David Hill returned to hold the post of Director of Music from 2004-2007. His other appointments have included Master of the Music at Winchester Cathedral, Master of the Music at Westminster Cathedral and Artistic Director of the Philharmonia Chorus. He holds an Honorary Doctorate from the University of Southampton for Services to Music, and in March 2018, he was honoured with the prestigious Royal College of Organists medal, in recognition of distinguished achievement in choral conducting and organ playing.

David Hill has a broad-ranging discography covering repertoire from Thomas Tallis to a number of world premiere recordings. As well as achieving prestigious Grammy and Gramophone Awards, many of his discs have been recommended as Critic’s Choices, with his ongoing series of English choral music for Naxos, and discs for Hyperion with the Yale Schola Cantorum receiving particular acclaim.

Hill has appeared with the BBC Symphony and BBC Philharmonic orchestras, London Philharmonic, London Symphony Orchestra, City of London Sinfonia, English Chamber Orchestra, Royal Northern Sinfonia, the BBC National Orchestra of Wales, the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, the Orchestra and Chorus of Welsh National Opera, the Orchestra and Chorus of Opera North, Ulster Orchestra, Hallé Orchestra, RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra, Orchestre Philharmonique de Strasbourg, Réal Filharmonia de Galicia, Sydney Symphony Orchestra, the Minnesota Orchestra, the Omaha Symphony, and Portland Baroque Orchestras as well as the Netherlands Radio Choir, the National Youth Choir of Australia, and RIAS Chamber Choir, Berlin.

His commitment to new music has led to him premiering works from leading composers including Judith Bingham, Carl Rütti, Francis Pott, Bob Chilcott, Gabriel Jackson, James Macmillan, Philip Moore, Naji Hakim, Sir John Tavener, Philip Wilby and Jonathan Dove. Recent highlights include the world premiere of Gabriel Jackson’s The World Imagined with the Philharmonia at Three Choirs Festival.

In January 2019 David Hill was awarded an MBE for services to music.

• Car Thoughts

This week, I connect with yet another instrumental music educator! Don’t worry, I will be fine… It was a great pleasure to speak with Dr. Angela Ammerman about many music education topics including some “controversial truths” that I found on her Instagram account, “The Music Teachers Guide.” We discussed the idea that the best music teacher doesn’t necessarily need to be the best musician. Often times, we should be trying to facilitate our students’ skill surpassing our own. We also discussed the contradiction in arts education communities that on hand presents itself as liberal and supporting of freedom of expression, while on the other displaying a culture of conformity and intolerance toward diverse ideas and viewpoints. Angela shares her experience as tenure track professor who left Academia to be a “stay at home mom,” as well as a clinician, consultant and host of the #MusicEdLove Podcast. Tune in and as always, chime in with your thoughts on Facebook, Patreon or Substack.

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Recognized by Fairfax County Public Schools as a Top Teacher in 2017 and the Virginia House of Delegates in 2016 for her dedication to instilling a life-long passion for music in all of her students, Angela Ammerman diligently works to now pass along these teaching and mentorship qualities to her own Music Education students.  In 2016, Dr. Ammerman was named the Virginia Orchestra Director of the Year, a finalist for the Fairfax County Public Schools’ Teacher of the Year and Washington Post Teacher of the Year. Dr. Ammerman recently completed a chapter for the book: Rehearsing the Middle School Orchestra edited by Sandy Goldie and is hard at work on a workbook for breaking language barriers in the music classroom. 

Ammerman is a passionate and dedicated music education professor and music educator, and is published in the String Research Journal, the American String Teachers Journal and Teaching Music. Dr. Ammerman is in high demand as a guest conductor, speaker, and clinician for sessions and workshops at local, state, national, and international conferences and in-services. Currently living in Virginia with her husband and newborn son, Dr. Ammerman works at George Mason University where she supervises student teachers, teaches Lab Orchestra and Aural Skills. Ammerman is known for an emphasis on play-based learning, humor, a unique style, and for the creation of the first ever Future Music Educators Camp as well as her Music Education Podcast: #MusicEdLove.

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Well, now I have! And so can you. In this conversation, I welcome Kelsey Burkett to discuss the magical, mystical world in which she teaches choir. I was floored to hear about the way her district structures their choral program! We also discuss personal identity, and our thoughts about the ways we can move our inclusion conversations in education forward to a place of greater empathy, understanding and progress. We also discussed the ways in which racial bias can manifest in school systems and much more. Kelsey is very open about her own “identity crisis” as a biracial woman and how that identity has evolved over time. I believe it is this very identity journey that equips Kelsey to approach this issue with compassion for others. Tune in for this conversation with a colleague I think we should all get to know.

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