Choralosophy

I rehearse a cappella. From the first day of rehearsal to the final product, no piano. I’ve been saying it for years, and I catch heat for it. So when I read Ross Duffin’s article in the Choral Journal, “Chasing Perfection: Better Harmonic Tuning for Choirs,” I knew I had to get him on the show. He makes the case better than I ever could, and he brings the math to back it up.

Today on the show, I’m joined by Ross W. Duffin, Distinguished University Professor and Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music Emeritus at Case Western Reserve University, and founding artistic director emeritus of Quire Cleveland. Ross has spent decades studying historical tuning and temperament, and he’s the author of How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care).

In this conversation, Ross and I dig into why equal temperament’s big compromise lands right on top of the triads our choirs sing every day — the major third is simply too wide, and we’ve all just gotten used to the “beating.” We talk about the three simple precepts that fix most tuning problems, the common mistakes choir directors make when they chase better intonation, and why teaching singers to match the piano is teaching them the wrong version of every note. Here is my conversation with Ross Duffin.

Whether you rehearse with a piano or without one, this is a conversation that will change the way you listen to your choir. Tune in, and let’s keep the dialogue going!

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Ross W. Duffin is Distinguished University Professor and Fynette H. Kulas Professor of Music Emeritus at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, where he taught for four decades. He is the founding artistic director emeritus of Quire Cleveland, a professional early music choir, and the author of How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You Should Care) and Shakespeare’s Songbook.

Links

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

• Info about singing with me at Carnegie Hall next April  
• The album that I just put out with the University of Southern Maine
• Pattern in the Pandemonium
• My social media on Instagram and TikTok
• The new Phoenix Chorale album coming out soon that features my music (FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT THIS BUT IT’S COOL! lol) (More info here)

If you think back to elementary school, or when your own kids were young, you probably remember them bringing home leveled reading books tailored to their specific vocabulary, phonics stage, and sight words. In a perfect world, our music students would have that exact same individualized path. But as ensemble educators, it’s easy to get caught up in the idea of the choir as a collective project and forget that our primary job is still to teach individual human beings how to read and understand music.

In this episode, I break down the exact diagnostic process I use with every single beginner to find a starting place that isn’t too hard, isn’t too easy, but is just right. We’ll also dig into why real literacy is about independence and error correction rather than robotic, first-time perfection, how customized pacing solves classroom management issues before they start, and how we can better align our teaching with the science of how brains actually learn to read. Stick around!

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

One of the most common things you hear at music education conferences is the phrase: “I just do what works for me.”

It sounds harmless, even pragmatic. But whenever I hear it, a red flag goes up. Because “what works for me” usually means what gets me through the rehearsal, keeps the room orderly, and gets the concert ready in time. It’s an adult-centered answer to a student-centered question. The real question is: Is it working for the kids? And how do we actually know?

In music education, we have a unique blessing: we don’t have state politicians breathing down our necks with standardized testing mandates. That’s a good thing. But the flip side is that without external checks, we can easily confuse great concert performances with actual student learning. In math or science, nobody confuses watching a flashy lab demonstration with real scientific literacy.

Today, I want to challenge how we adopt new pedagogy, why our metric must shift from teacher comfort to student autonomy, and how a “Give Them Tools” philosophy provides the concrete, measurable evidence that our students are actually becoming independent musicians.

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

…but all too often, artists fall into a familiar trap: the moment a piece captures the public imagination or goes viral on social media, we label it “overdone,” roll our eyes, and look for something more obscure. But, for students and amateur singers this could be a missed opportunity, or even create a disconnect.

Today on the show, I’m joined by composer and lyricist Jennifer Lucy Cook to unpack that instinct and explore what it really means to bridge the gap between tradition and modern culture. Jen’s choral music has swept across social media, reaching millions of young singers who discovered pieces like Time not through conference reading sessions, but through viral TikTok trends. At the same time, she works actively in musical theatre, film, and commercial music, bringing a refreshing, boundary-pushing perspective to the choral world.

In this conversation, Jen and I dig into why choir should be treated as a versatile medium rather than a rigid genre, the technical craft behind writing an earworm versus classical counterpoint, and why directors shouldn’t shy away from music that connects deeply with singers. We also talk about vocal versatility—from traditional choral tone to healthy pop belt—and get a preview of her upcoming concert at Carnegie Hall, where she’s bringing Broadway collaborators and unexpected styles directly to the classical stage. Here is my conversation with Jennifer Lucy Cook.

Whether you are a conductor striving for a unified ensemble sound or a singer trying to navigate choral spaces without sacrificing your vocal health, this conversation offers a grounded path through one of the most polarized debates in choral music. Tune in, and let’s keep the dialogue going.

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Jennifer Lucy Cook (she/her) is currently writing music and lyrics for a new comedy musical created alongside double-Tony nominee Tye Blue, the writer-director behind Titanique. In April she will headline as composer and conductor at Carnegie Hall on a program devoted to her music to be performed by a 250-person choir. Cook is developing a new pop musical with Grammy-winner Abigail Barlow and an animated musical with Riki Lindhome.

She worked with Alan Menken on his solo show, A Whole New World of Alan Menken which premiered at the London Palladium and has toured around the world. With Hollywood Bowl director/producer Richard Kraft, Jen co-wrote on an original two-person musical Out of Toon, and she contributed songs to the sold-out show Willy’s Candy Spectacular at the Edinburgh Fringe.

Cook’s music has found an audience on TikTok, where songs from her original musical Salem, her choral piece “Time”, and her musical recaps of The Bachelor have garnered millions of views. She is currently the composer-in-residence for the Phoenix Chorale, and is based in Los Angeles.

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

• Info about singing with me at Carnegie Hall next April  
• The album that I just put out with the University of Southern Maine
• Pattern in the Pandemonium
• My social media on Instagram and TikTok
• The new Phoenix Chorale album coming out soon that features my music (FORGOT TO TALK ABOUT THIS BUT IT’S COOL! lol) (More info here)

Why is it that two conductors can give the exact same technical pattern to the same choir, yet pull out two completely different sounds? We spend years studying method books, perfecting rehearsal pacing, and mastering vocal pedagogy—but what happens when our technique begins to eclipse our actual presence on the podium?

Today on the podcast, I’m thrilled to welcome back Dr. James Jordan for his second visit to the show, whose last episode was incredibly helpful and popular with audiences. We dive into his latest book from GIA, The Conductor’s Triangle: Embodied Conducting and Connection. Drawing on over four decades of teaching, the profound influence of his mentor Elaine Brown, and the science behind connection and audiation, James challenges us to move past mechanical conducting habits. We explore what it means to be truly grounded, how listening differs from fixing, and why the most vital instrument in the rehearsal room is simply who you are.

After all, James warns, if your gestures are just mechanical patterns, you’re putting up a shield between your core and your ensemble.

Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!

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

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and FB! YouTube version of this episode.

James Jordan is a Grammy -nominated conductor and seventh conductor of the renowned Westminster Choir. He is Conductor Emeritus at Westminster Choir College. His experience covers over 40 years of teaching, conducting and research. He is the author of more than sixty-five books on conducting and conducting pedagogy, and has over 20 recordings under the GIAChoralWorks , NAXOS and Reference Recordings labels. He is founding director of The Choral Academy of Evoking Sound,

www.thechoralacademy.com, a groundbreaking platform for continuing study for musicians. He is Co-Founder of The Choral Institute at Oxford. He is Co-Director and Tutor for The Addamus Italian Choral Program (Addamus.com) and in 2027 will lead Conducting Institutes in Oxford, Florence and New York.

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

If you have spent any time around this show, you know I believe deeply in getting the piano out of the way and giving students the tools to decode music for themselves. But there is a massive difference between occasionally putting an exercise on a screen and building a systematic, daily routine that leads to true automaticity, AND serves the growth of the group and each individual. In this piece of the session, we dig into the nuts and bolts—from tailoring difficulty and using custom levels for changing adolescent voices, to structuring low-stress grading systems that build daily practice habits rather than test anxiety.

While this excerpt covers some immediately actionable strategies you can take straight into your next rehearsal, it is only a small slice of the full presentation. The complete, uninterrupted webinar replay—including the screen-share walkthrough of my exact backend settings, live whiteboard annotation techniques, and the full audience Q&A—is waiting for you on the paid subscriber feed.

To unlock the full recording and gain access to my complete library of music literacy resources, testing rubrics, and bonus content, head over to Patreon or Substack to upgrade your subscription.

Here on the main show, you are going to get some really good tips and suggestions for how to build progression, assessments and a class culture that thrives on growth. “How do we make reading music not stressful?” By getting good at it and not making it stressful. It’s all in the approach.

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

Let’s just say, the algorithm anointed it with oil and now its cup runneth over with comments. It ignited a massive debate across our social media feeds. Hundreds of comments rolled in—ranging from voice teachers defending full vibrato to singers recalling the sting of being shushed by directors chasing a blend. In this follow-up episode, I dive into the comment threads to unpack the nuance lost in internet absolutism. Moving past rigid dogma, we explore how directors and singers can balance healthy, sustainable vocal technique with the acoustic realities of ensemble singing.

In this episode, we discuss:

Whether you are a conductor striving for a unified ensemble sound or a singer trying to navigate choral spaces without sacrificing your vocal health, this conversation offers a grounded path through one of the most polarized debates in choral music. Tune in, and let’s keep the dialogue going.

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

I’m joined today by Dr. Francis Cathlina, Director of Choral Activities at the University of Memphis. Francis brings a fascinating perspective to the podium as a former violist turned collegiate choral conductor. In this episode, we sit down to unpack what it really means to “right-size” competition for your specific school and community. He shares how an international conducting trip to the Philippines completely changed her mind about competition as a tool for program advocacy, and we take an honest look at how social media is impacting the culture of guest clinicians and honor choirs.

Later in the hour, we dive into vocal pedagogy and choral tone—exploring how spoken language and regional linguistics should inform resonance, and why efficient, healthy vocalism has to come first, regardless of the style you’re singing.

Whether you love competition, avoid it entirely, or find yourself somewhere in the middle, this conversation is packed with pedagogical wisdom and honest reflections on our field. Stick around—you’re going to get a lot out of this conversation with Dr. Francis Cathlina.

Tune in now on YouTube or your favorite podcast app!

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

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

Francis Cathlina, D.M.A. (he/him) is a Vietnamese-American conductor and educator. His concerts invite audiences into a world where choral artistry becomes a powerful storytelling medium.

Dr. Cathlina serves as the Director of Choral Activities at the University of Memphis, where he guides the Choral Area, leads the MM/DMA Choral Conducting program, and conducts the University Singers. His creative work was recognized with the 2025 Dean’s Award for Creative Achievementand 2026 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Engaged Scholarship.

A Yamaha “40 Under 40” educator, Dr. Cathlina maintains an active international profile. In 2025, he served as the Choral Conducting Faculty for Brazil’s FIMUS Festival and worked in the Philippines as part of ACDA’s International Conductors Exchange Program. His work consistently bridges pedagogy with cultural exchange.

Cathlina’s teaching develops masterful technicians, expressive communicators, and thoughtful citizens. Under his direction, the UofM University Singers have been invited to perform for national conferences. His students lead prominent programs—as university Director of Choral Activities and symphony chorus directors. Upcoming engagements include All-State choirs in New Jersey, Arkansas, and Kentucky, presentations in Macau, and residencies in London and Sweden. Among these, conducting honor choirs remains his most cherished creative work.

An authority on vocal pedagogy, Dr. Cathlina’s research focuses on choral tone and conducting gesture. He has presented over 85 sessions worldwide. He is published in international journals. Recent highlights include headlining the Alabama and Ohio choral conferences and co-leading Conducting Masterclasses in Greece with the University of Macedonia (Thessaloniki) and Ionian University (Corfu).

Dr. Cathlina earned a DMA in Conducting with a Vocal Pedagogy cognate from the University of North Texas, an MM from Michigan State University, and a BME from Baylor University. Before his doctorate, he taught in Texas public schools.

In concert, Cathlina wears an áo dài, traditional Vietnamese formalwear. As one of the few Vietnamese conductors in the field, he proudly dons it as a tribute to his heritage.

Beyond the podium, he is a pickleball athlete, coach, and ambassador. He lives in Memphis, Tennessee, with his husband Kyle and their dog, Coco.

https://www.instagram.com/francis.cathlina

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

What was my controversial crime? I dared to argue that boys are an underserved—and in many educational and arts contexts, marginalized—group in our programs. And even worse, I suggested that their plummeting participation might actually be, at least IN PART, our fault as educators.

When you bring up the boy crisis in choir or education in general, the knee-jerk reaction from arts spaces is usually to point outward. It is sports culture. It is general societal pressure. Look, complex problems do not have single causes or simple solutions. But what we desperately avoid talking about is the climate inside our own house.

This episode takes the meatiest bits out of an EXPERT interview with Dr. Brendan Kwiatkawski related to the psychological research about boys, their relationships to their emotions and identity, and why age 13-15 is SO crucial for them…and for our choirs.

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos

This short episode will simply summarize the First Days and Give Them Tools series, so that you have a clear and concise guide to the materials and can easily find what you need when it’s time to build that syllabus, and sing the first notes!

Find the WHOLE series here.

We will also summarize a recent Choralosophy Community essay that asks the question, “Does Music Education Need it’s Own Science of Reading Moment?”

Tune in, and have your thinking stimulated and challenged. Then, weigh in yourself with your related ideas and experiences on Facebook in the Choralosophers group or over on choralosophy.substack.com

Also, don’t forget to grab a reading rope for your classroom wall from the shop! Music Reading Rope

For future rehearsal clips, find me on TikTok, Insta and Facebook

Choralosophy Podcast (@choralosophy) • Instagram photos and videos