This textbook prepares Music Education and Choral Conducting majors to be effective middle school and high school choral music teachers. It fully integrates the choral field experience for hands-on learning and reflection and allows the student to observe and teach the book’s principles. It covers the essentials of vocal development, auditions, literature, rehearsals, classroom management, and practical matters.

In shaping choral tone, directors often wish to improve the sound of their choir, but are challenged to pinpoint underlying problems or to guide singers toward solutions. Now, in Prescriptions for Choral Excellence, skilled vocal pedagogue Shirlee Emmons and leading choral director Constance Chase equip choral directors with the practical tools they need to help singers achieve peak choral performance. Drawing on years of experience, Emmons and Chase help choral directors and singers effectively diagnose and resolve problems. They cover topics ranging from breath management and diction to range and intonation, and much more. Beyond describing vocal difficulties, the book provides concrete instructions on how to apply the concepts in day-to-day rehearsal and performance. The numerous practical exercises and planning aides allow directors to maximize both time and talent to elicit the highest potential from their singers. While grounded in the most up-to-date research in voice science, the discussion of vocal anatomy and function is accessible to readers with no previous knowledge of voice science. Going beyond other vocal and choral guidebooks, the authors also apply the most current theories in leadership principles and group dynamics to choral settings, helping directors translate their natural musicality and charisma into inspiring and motivational leadership. A comprehensive and unique blend of practical expertise, voice science, and leadership psychology, Prescriptions for Choral Excellence is an invaluable guide for all choral directors seeking to create memorable and remarkable performances.

Described as an unusual experience of communication between a composer and a singer, the choral experience is thoroughly explored in this detailed and readable text. Designed specifically for the practicing choral conductor and the student training for a career in choral music, fundamentals of the choral experience such as vocal production, choral diction, and basic musicianship are included to help the singer extend his or her musical experience beyond the immediate rehearsals and performances of the choral ensemble to other realms of music. Special features include: provides numerous illustrations, tables, and examples intended to enrich the learning experience; includes end-of-chapter summaries; examines important components such as the vocal mechanism, posture, diction, and breathing and breath control; offers recommended reading lists for further in-depth study. --From publisher's description.

Now in its second edition, Directing the Choral Music Program is a comprehensive introduction to developing and managing choral music programs for elementary, high school, and adult levels. Broad in scope and practical in orientation, this text is structured around three basic units: theadministrative process, rehearsal and performance planning, and choral techniques.

This book fills a gap in the market by providing energising warm-up activities for community, church and youth choirs. Whereas many publications exist that offer singing and vocal exercises, there are virtually none available offering physical warm-ups, breathing exercises and exercises for articulation. These form an essential starting point for any rehearsal to develop vital skills for healthy voice production. Collected and tried out over 25 years of teaching and conducting practice, this book offers a treasure trove of enjoyable and entertaining warm-ups that will leave your choir alert, wide awake and ready to work with focus and concentration.

Rooted in the experience of a professional choral conductor, this book provides a guide to practical issues facing conductors of choral ensembles at all levels, from youth choruses to university ensembles, church and community choirs, and professional vocal groups. Paired with the discussion of practical challenges is a discussion of over fifty key works from the choral literature, with performance suggestions to aid the choral conductor in directing each piece. Dealing with often-overlooked yet vital considerations such as how to work with composers, recording, concert halls, and choral tours, A Practical Guide to Choral Conducting offers a valuable resource for both emerging choral conductors and students of choral conducting at the undergraduate and graduate levels.

“In this one-of-a-kind celebration of singing with others, I’d call her pitch nearly perfect.”—The Atlantic For Stacy Horn, regardless of what is going on in the world or her life, singing in an amateur choir—the Choral Society of Grace Church in New York—never fails to take her to a place where hope reigns and everything good is possible. She’s not particularly religious, and her voice is not exceptional (so she says), but like the 32.5 million other chorus members throughout this country, singing makes her happy. Horn brings us along as she sings some of the greatest music humanity has ever produced, delves into the dramatic stories of conductors and composers, unearths the fascinating history of group singing, and explores remarkable discoveries from the new science of singing, including all the unexpected health benefits. Imperfect Harmony is the story of one woman who has found joy and strength in the weekly ritual of singing and in the irresistible power of song.