In this episode, you’ll learn all about commercial music including a definition, where to find the music, why to program the music, and so much more! Meet composer, arranger, educator and presenter, Garrett Breeze. Together, we talk about the need for commercial music education and how educators with classical backgrounds can incorporate it into their classroom in a way that supports what they're already doing. We also explore the “scariness” of copyrights and ultimately what Mr. Breeze calls the "Canon vs the Career.” 

Learn more about Mr. Breeze and his resources: garrettbreeze.com; Teaching Arranging in the Choral Classroom (FREE course) https://garrettbreeze.com/teaching-arranging-in-the-choral-classroom/; 

Selling Sheet Music Podcast: https://anchor.fm/garrett-breeze. 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/ArMlb5D1FDQ. 

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

You first met first-year teacher, Mr. Kyle Feather, back in Episode 120 when we got a chance to talk to him on the FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL! In this episode, Mr. Feather is back as we chronicle the life of a first-year teacher (after the first concert). This time, we talk about….

Update on his life in the classroom: 

-The First concert October 3rd

-Picking literature for a NV (non-varsity) tenor bass choir and rehearsing new music for the winter concert

General things Mr. Feather has had on his mind:

-Building musical skills vs. retention and long-term investment in the students

-Establishing vertical alignment and supporting our feeder programs

-Establishing a brand new class (vocal jazz group) and how to market the ensemble as a recruiting tool for future students

-Redefining classroom norms and expectations after the first concert. Not fixing, but going from level 1 to level 2

Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/lFcfBj11Jds. 

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

Meet Dr. Tucker Biddlecombe, Director of Choral Activities at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music, where he conducts the Vanderbilt Chorale and Glee Club, and serves as Coordinator of Music Teacher Education. He also serves as Director of the Nashville Symphony Orchestra Chorus. As you’ll hear in this episode, Dr. Biddlecombe is a veteran teacher and a passionate advocate for music education. 

Dr. Biddlecombe shares his story into the choral profession and how, along the way, he has learned the art of authentically enveloping big ideas. In this conversation, we explore the craft of finding the macro idea - the big thing that works - and how we can all watch master teachers, innovators, and epic conductors and learn from them in ways that will benefit our individual teaching style, personality, situation, and ultimately, our music communities. 

Learn more about Dr. Biddlecombe and his choirs: 

https://blair.vanderbilt.edu/bio/tucker-biddlecombe

https://blair.vanderbilt.edu/ensembles/choirs.php 

https://www.facebook.com/vuchoral 

Explore the book referenced in this episode, “Sing Legato” by Kenneth Jennings. 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rerZrEf4dHk. 

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

In this month’s Advocacy & Collaboration Curated Episode, we speak to committee member, Dr. Tim Westerhaus as he talks us through ways to advocate for our profession and for music education. This quick episode covers everything from ideas, events, actions, and all-around motivation you can use for advocacy work in your space - but it also leaves you with confidence that you’re not alone! Listen for ideas, listen for stories, listen for a virtual hug - we’re with you! Here are some ways we can do this work - together! 

Learn more about Dr. Westerhaus (aka: Dr. Dubs): https://www.choralartsnw.org/staff/#Westerhaus

Learn more about the ACDA National Standing Committee for Advocacy & Collaboration, follow @acdaadvocacyandcollaboration on Facebook and Instagram and find more tools and links at ACDA.org/advocacy. 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_IkEUq87rfo. 

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

Vocal pedagogy - the study of the art (and science) of voice teaching - can sound a bit intimidating, but not in this episode! Get your note-taking tools ready - this episode is jammed full of tips, tools, ideas, techniques, and terminology that you can immediately implement with your singers (and use to educate your community and build value). Using these ideas, you will help your singers find their most confident, capable, and technically sound expression of their vocal instrument - and have a lot of fun in the process.

Meet our guest, Vietnamese-American conductor Francis Cathlina, D.M.A. Dr. Cathlina serves as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Memphis. He guides a comprehensive Choral Program of five ensembles through administrative leadership and vision; he leads the doctoral and master’s choral conducting program and mentors undergraduate students, and he conducts the University Singers (flagship SATB choir) and Mazi (SSAA choir). Dr. Cathlina’s work with choral ensembles has garnered national recognition at the university and high school levels. His scholarship surrounding vocal pedagogy has been published in ACDA’s Choral Journal. Dr. Cathlina holds a D.M.A. in choral conducting with a vocal pedagogy cognate from the University of North Texas, an M.M. in choral conducting from Michigan State University, and a B.M.E. from Baylor University. Prior to his doctoral studies, he enjoyed a diverse career as a public school teacher in Texas.

Learn more about Dr. Cathlina: https://www.franciscathlina.com/biography and https://www.franciscathlina.com/  

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/-lK1APcvLoE 

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

How do we think "outside the box" with choral programming? How (and why) should we use this "outside of the box" thinking to bring singers and communities together? In this episode, you’ll hear from Dr. Alissa Mercurio Rowe. Dr. Rowe is an active choral conductor, voice teacher, and soloist. She currently serves as Associate Professor and Director of Choral Studies at Louisiana State University. Previously she served twenty years as Director of Choral Activities at Southeastern Louisiana University. Along with Dr. Rowe’s story into the choir world, in this conversation, we explore steps for thinking “outside of the box” related to programming in order to engage, inspire, innovate, and bring humanity together. Get ready for the power of music! 

Learn more about Dr. Rowe: https://www.alissamercuriorowe.com/ 

Listen to Dr. Rowe’s French Aria Album: https://music.apple.com/us/artist/alissa-mercurio-rowe/1017007558 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/_F5eP3w8EnQ. 

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

In this episode, we learn all about the musical journey of Dr. William Powell, a Charles W. Barkley Endowed Professor and Director of Choral Activities at Auburn University. In this role, he teaches choral-related courses, and conducts the Chamber Choir, Men's Chorus, Concert Choir, and co-conducts the Gospel Choir with his wife, Dr. Rosephanye Powell. As we walk through his journey to choir, we explore the power of building culture, setting high expectations, and yet giving grace. Then, at the end, Dr. Powell, who’s edit’s his own choral series (“The William Powell Choral Series” released by Gentry Publications) and has many choral arrangements published by Fred Bock Music, Hal Leonard, and Oxford University Press, we talk about overcoming fear in programming and defining concert spirituals versus gospel. 

Learn more about Dr. Powell: https://cla.auburn.edu/music/faculty-staff/william-powell/. 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/q65uPoGkrk8.    

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

Dr. Burch started a 501(c)(3) and in this episode, you get all the details AND her special curated speech presented at this year's inaugural RISE Outreach Fundraiser and Season Kick-off Party at Starland Yard in Savannah, GA. This episode is meant to motivate, inspire, and engage you to step into your most authentic year yet - because when it's the hosts' birthday - everyone get's a present!

Learn more about Dr. Burch: EmilyBurch.org 

Learn more about RISE and RISE Outreach: RISEchorales.com and RISEchorales.com/RISE-outreach 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/vWzbkR2BaYY.   

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

Meet one of the newest members of the ACDA National Standing Committee for Advocacy & Collaboration, Dr. Riikka Pietiläinen-Caffrey. In this episode you’ll hear her unique story into the choral world and then details about her interests related to A&C. Specifically, Dr. Pietiläinen-Caffrey talks about Community College music education, equity, accessibility, and diversity in choirs and music programs while also leaving you with a quick 4-step plan for developing your own collaborations or “choral experiments.”

Learn more about Dr. Pietiläinen-Caffrey: Rkpcmusic.com. 

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/wkJsIXgrqAM.

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff

We always love a little collaboration, so when Matt Walker, host of the “Choir Director Corner” Podcast reached out to do an interview and use it as a cross-over, we ran with it! Matt has tons of fantastic resources over on his website and his episodes range in helpful tips and tools you can use right now to insightful interviews. In this episode, Matt interviews “Music (ed) Matters” host, Dr. Emily Williams Burch - they talk about all the directions choir can take you and how they both ended up where they are right now. 

Catch more of the “Choir Director Corner” Podcast and learn more about Matt over at https://choirdirectorcorner.com/.

Watch this episode on YouTube: https://youtu.be/rf4MBR2mojs. 

Order your copy of Dr. Burch’s book, “The Business of Choir”: https://www.giamusic.com/store/resource/the-business-of-choir-book-g10713. 

Join us over at Patreon.com/MusicEdMatters for monthly meet-ups, monthly bonus episodes, special content and more!

Support the companies that make The Music (ed) Matters Podcast possible: 

—Kaleidoscope Adventures - find your adventure today, kaleidoscopeadventures.com/.  Including the June 2023 Festival and PD Weekend in Myrtle Beach with Alex & Emmy and their choirs!

— The Kinnison Choral Company - check out their quality resources - or get your tracks made today - at KinnisonChoralCo.com. 

**Show music originally written by Mr. Todd Monsell

**Show photography provided by Dr. Dan Biggerstaff