Choir Fam Podcast
The Choir Fam Podcast is a venue for conversations about the current state of choral music. Hosts Dean Luethi and Matthew Myers seek to bring the worldwide choral community closer together through their discussions with a variety of guests who work with choir in its various forms. The goal of the podcast is to provide listeners with interesting tidbits of knowledge they could use in day-to-day choral rehearsals and to bring light to the ways that issues in the choral field are being observed and addressed.
Ep. 119 - Mentoring the Next Generation of Choral Educators - Jennifer Sengin
“You never know what anybody's potential is. I think about that now as a teacher, that we are expecting 17-, 18-year-olds to know what they want to do for the rest of their lives. It’s so early in your life to make those decisions, and so much can change during those really formative years. I want to help them to be the best version of themselves in the field and achieve the goals that they would like to do.”
Jennifer Sengin is the Raymond R. Neevel/Missouri Professor of Choral Music and Director of Choral...
Ep. 118 - Preserving the Art of Community Music Making - Michael Murphy
“Sometimes my students ask me if I worry about the future of choral music with advanced technology, AI, but I really am not concerned at all. The way that I see it, the act of making music with each other, the need to connect with each other – I don't see that going away anytime soon. To connect through honest, authentic communication that is not a digital platform – people want that. I'm excited for the future of choral music.”
Dr. Michael Murphy is the director of choral activities and a professor in Stephen F. Austin State Universi...
Ep. 117 - Tips for Writing Accessible and Eloquent Choral Music - Dan Forrest
“I think the hardest thing in the world is to write easy music that still is eloquent. A piece relies on strength of idea and not strength of technique or difficulty. That underlying idea is so rich with potential and can be developed in so many beautiful ways within a 3-minute work or a 70-minute work. The pieces I'm the most proud of are the pieces where I've gotten down to the simplest necessary means to say something rich and full and profound.”
Dan Forrest (b. 1978) has been described as having “an undoubted gift for writin...
Ep. 116 - Modeling Vocal Versatility for Singers - Cindy Ellis
“I want students to function in a studio recording session and a live performance, which are very, very different worlds. I want them to be able to do not just jazz, not just classical, not just gospel, but everything so that they can be hired to sing backgrounds for Beyoncé one day and the next day be singing with Andrea Bocelli on tour. I try to give them the most well-rounded experience I can.”
A native of Holguín, Cuba, Cindy Ellis immigrated to the United States in 2005. She earned her Bachelor of Music Degree in Mus...
Ep. 115 - Mental Health Strategies for Choral Ensembles - Sarah Graham
“Students will often refer to voice lessons, to choir rehearsal, as therapy. I felt that there was something to that. I wanted to make the connection between individual therapy and voice lessons and group therapy and the choral rehearsal. What is it about the choral organism that becomes a space that can be therapeutic? I found a lot of commonalities in group and individual counseling and what we do.”
Dr. Sarah J. Graham was just promoted to Professor of Music at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho, where she teaches courses in music, humanities, ethics, and...
Ep. 114 - Creative Problem Solving in the Choral Rehearsal - Sharon Paul
“One of the things we know about the brain is that information that is acquired through problem solving is more likely to be retained. I might start rehearsal by saying 'take out the piece in D major,' 'let's start in the climactic moment of the Brahms,' 'take out the piece where fire is used as a metaphor for passion.' You start with a problem, so you're already engaging neurons. This works at any age."
Sharon J. Paul holds the Robert M. Trotter Chair of Music at the University of Oregon, where she cu...
Ep. 113 - Advancing Composition with Improvisation and Mixed Media - Katerina Gimon
“You never know someone else’s story. You never know what the experience of a concert or hearing a piece is to somebody. You don’t know how that affects them. So much of my music and why I do what I do is to facilitate these moments of connection between choristers, to give autonomy to choristers to feel like co-composers of my music themselves each time they’re performing the work. I always tend to seek out music, texts, stories, ideas that facilitate that.”
Composer, improviser, and vocalist Katerina Gimon's uniquely dynamic, poignant, and eclect...
Ep. 112 - Building Cultural Empathy Through International Travel - Emily Ellsworth
“People may live in a place that's very different from us, but they have the same hopes, dreams, fears, and struggles with everyday life that we all do at some level. All the parents want education for their kids. Everyone wants a home, wants good food to eat, loves a good laugh and a good joke, loves to play and be silly together. If you find that out as a young person, you are less likely to quickly judge in a negative way someone who is different from you.”
Nationally recognized as a leader in the field of y...
Ep. 111 - Saying "Yes" to New Opportunities - Jessica Koenig
“A big part of being a musician is believing in yourself and saying ‘yes’ to the little opportunities that come your way. Sometimes we can get down on ourselves. We think, ‘I'm not cut out for that.’ Believe in yourself and what you can do, no matter what the situation... Don't be afraid to say ‘yes,’ to try out for that show or audition for that ensemble. Encourage your students to do the same thing because you never know where those opportunities are going to take you.”
Jessica Koenig loves sharing her passion for music and the relation...
Ep. 110 - Flourishing and Growing Amidst Life's Surprises - Julie Yu
“In science, they're not tied to an outcome. They're open to the possibilities of what is going to result from an experiment. How freeing is that – not to be tied to a specific outcome. I've really tried to adopt that in my own personal life, the idea of just growing, learning, and being open. So many things are out of my control, so I might as well just be ready to go for the ride. I guess what I would tell young people is just equip yourself, make the best informed decision you can, then be at peace with it.”...
Ep. 109 - Growing and Thriving in the First Years of Teaching - Ross Cawthon
“Your first year is not going to be perfect. You're not going to feel like you're having a lot of success a lot of the time because you're figuring out how to work within a school system, how to work with other teachers, with parents, with students that may not be too much younger than you if you start teaching high school. So you do your best, and you do a lot of reflection at the end of every day, at the end of every week, and you just prepare to wake up and then try something different.”
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Ep. 108 - Adapting the Voice for Solo and Ensemble Singing - Alisa Toy
“Going back for a master’s was exhilarating. So many of the things that I had been doing in my studio were corroborated with education. On the flip side, I had a lot of moments where I thought, “I've been doing that wrong. I should change that.” Having had years doing a lot of my own education—I attended conferences and did everything I could to soak up anything available to me—going back to school and having it corroborated and defined was career-changing.”
Award-winning coloratura soprano Alisa Toy has an impressive thirty-year performing and teaching caree...
Ep. 107 - Strengthening Pedagogy Through Choral Literature Study - Chester Alwes
"I think in many ways the pattern is the least important part of conducting. It’s much more about showing what the music should be doing, not beating four. If it were just a matter of keeping time, we could use a flashing red light. That's not what your job is. Your job is to encourage and show the music physically. I believe very strongly that the conducting gesture is nothing more than your vocal process externalized.”
Chester L. Alwes holds degrees in music from Hanover College, Union Theological Seminary School of Sacred Music, and the...
Ep. 106 - Building Bridges Between Singers and the Music - Luke McEndarfer
“You have to create the bridge between the instructor and the student. Talk about your passion about the music, why you're performing it, why the piece is so special, and mix some humor in there. Once that engagement happens, everything you teach is automatically transferred because all the performers want that excellence for themselves, which is different than just telling people what to do. When you can inspire them to really want it, that's when the results become infinitely spectacular.”
Luke McEndarfer is a GRAMMY Award-winning American conductor and one of the most compelling visionaries in t...
Ep. 105 - Advocating for the Study of Music Written by Women - Alan Davis
“I said, ‘I really wish a book existed with more women composers in it’... This book is so important in 2024 with equality and inclusivity being at the forefront of our profession. I think that this is timely, and I think it's a great representation of where we're going in our profession right now especially given the fact that I see a lot more programming to be equal with male composers and women composers.”
Alan Troy Davis is a conductor, music educator, tenor, and voice teacher with extensive experience in both academic and community music settings. He has c...
Ep. 104 - Musical Experiences to Feed the Spirit - Pearl Shangkuan
"I have always been very intentional about my programming. My students sit in front of me, they're 18 to 22 years old, but I would have programmed for their 35-, 40-year-old self, for when the hard times come. What are we singing? What is this choir mama feeding them that eventually, when the hard times come, bubbles up in their spirit to help them get through the harder times?"
Dr. Pearl Shangkuan is a highly sought-after conductor, lecturer and clinician who has led performances and workshops on six continents. She is the National President-elect of the American C...
Ep. 103 - Developing Choral Tone Through Community Building - Joel Tranquilla
“I don't have a sound that I'm trying to make the choir fit into. I'm trying to understand and uncover the palette of sounds that are in front of me and then expand our sense of what we can sound like. This happens through the community building process, because the more we honor each individual and allow them to bring themselves into that rehearsal space, then the fuller and richer we are.”
Dr. Joel Tranquilla (he/him/his) is a conductor and music educator noted for his versatile musicianship and creative programming. Originally from Fredericton, Joel...
Ep. 102 - Breaking Barriers for Women-Identifying Conductors - Coreen Duffy
“Historically, in higher education and in music in general, it was a male-dominated podium expectation. When we step on the podium as women-identifying conductors, we're breaking that image. There's a long way to go, and WiCHEd is working on bringing a supportive community together, helping the next generation figure out how to navigate this complicated web.”
Coreen Duffy is associate professor of conducting and director of choral activities at the University of Colorado Boulder where she conducts the CU Boulder Chamber Singers and oversees the choral program. Her duties at the College of Music include lead...
Ep. 101 - Developing Listening Skills and Fostering Empathy Through Singing - Ethan Sperry
“When people talk about what skills kids are lacking in America these days, two of the skills that come up a lot are the ability to listen to each other and have some empathy for each other. Some people would say it’s not just kids that are lacking those skills; it might be what is really missing from our society. I think choir is the best subject to teach those skills.”
Hailed by The Oregonian for providing “the finest choral concerts in Portland in recent memory,” Ethan Sperry is the Director of Choral Activities at Portlan...
Season 4 Wrap-Up
Thank you for listening to our show this season!!
Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the fourth season:
St. John Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach
St. Matthew Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach
Ave Maria, Franz Biebl
Requiem, Johannes Brahms
“Wie lieblich sind deine Wohnungen” from Requiem, Johannes Brahms
No Time, Susan Brumfield
I Sing Because I’m Happy, Rollo Dilworth
Requiem,Gabriel Fauré
African American Requiem, Damien Geter
Gloucester Service, Herbert Howells
La Guerre, Clément Janequin
Sweet Rivers, Shawn Ki...
Ep. 100 - Strengthening the Bond Between Composers and Choristers - Sarah Quartel
“For me, choral music is all about the people. I write for the choristers. I've gone through that phase in my life where I've written only for myself, where I had a lot of things I needed to express and every note that went on a page was for me. Now I'm in a phase where I want to adore every note that's on the page. I want every note that's on the page to represent me well and to reflect who I am -- somebody who sees herself in partnership with conductors, in partnership with choristers, making music to...
Ep. 99 - Exploring Passion and Expression Through Gospel Music - Trey McLaughlin
“No one cared about my accolades coming in as a freshman. It’s not enough just to be good, because everyone is good. It forced me not to ride on my natural ability and to buckle down to figure out things like theory, music history, and performance practice. It made me realize that being an individual is paramount, and you have to prove why you are different from everyone else. What about your ability to emote a song or interpret a piece is going to set you apart?”
Trey McLaughlin was born in Augusta, GA, where...
Ep. 98 - Growing the Choral Community Through International Collaboration - Ken Steven
“In Indonesia, choral singing has just been really popular recently, maybe around ten years. It has become a lifestyle. Everyone wants to be part of a choir because choir is very interesting - you can go on tour, you can do concerts... What drives the choir most is joining a competition: they will have a goal they want to achieve, an opportunity to go abroad, building connection and building the ecosystem better to support each other.”
Hailing from Medan, composer Ken Steven (b. 1993) is known for his fusion of Indonesian colours and elements with modern tech...
Ep. 97 - Growing Cross-Cultural Appreciation Through Choral Music - Michael Barrett
“As choral conductors, we're first and foremost educators, and we have to realize that we have to come with compassion in everything that we do when we listen to choirs. All too often we sit there thinking, ‘the intonation wasn't so great, or maybe their phrase endings could be better,’ but we don't understand what people are working with. No two choirs are the same. No choir operates in the same context.”
Dr. Michael Joseph Barrett is the conductor of the University of Pretoria (Tuks) Camerata and a senior lecturer in Choral Conducting in the Departme...
Ep. 96 - Building the Culture of Choral Music in Your Community - David Fryling
Dr. David Fryling is director of choral activities at Hofstra University, where he conducts both the select Hofstra Chorale and Hofstra Chamber Choir and teaches beginning and advanced studies in choral conducting, as well as graduate-level studies in choral conducting and choral literature. In addition, he is an adjunct professor for the Hofstra School of Education, and has served as music director and conductor of the Hofstra Opera Theater. In fall 2014 David was inducted into the Long Island Music Hall of Fame as the “Educator of Note” in recognition of his years of leadership in the Long Isla...
Ep. 95 - Improvisation and Community from the Folk-Acoustic Tradition - Lissa Schneckenburger
“A lot of what I end up teaching with regards to all of music, but certainly improvisation, has to do with becoming comfortable. You can do all kinds of different technical exercises, improvisation exercises, conceptual brain project exercises, all of which serve to help the musician become comfortable and fluid with their musical expression so that they feel free enough to act on a musical impulse or a musical gesture, to respond freely to the moment.”
The first year of the pandemic was a deeply creative time for Vermont based fiddle composer and song-writer Lissa Sc...
Ep. 94 - Encouraging Musical Ownership for Middle School Singers - Karla McClain
“That's my job: to take the foundation of what they have – love of singing and basic vocal technique – and then just refine it, to challenge them to start being more musical artists themselves. I personally do a lot of giving the kids choices: ‘If it's not in the music, how do we want to sing this? What are your thoughts?’ We listen, we reflect. I really want them to have ownership of what we're doing.”
Karla McClain (she/her) is a National Board Certified Teacher in Early Adolescent/Young Adulthood Music in her 24th year of teaching...
Ep. 93 - Cultivating Confidence for Elementary Singers - Bethany Main
“My goal is that no child will leave my classroom thinking they can't sing. If I have a coworker say, ‘I can't sing,’ I'm like, ‘no, no. First, give me 15 minutes and a piano and I will show you that you can. Second, you can't say that because if you say that, then the kids think it's okay to say that.’ I'm really fighting all day to prove to them that yes, they can sing, and it's cool, so do it. That foundational skill is just confidence and belief in their instrument.”
Bethany Main is a graduate o...
Ep. 92 - Developing Independent Musicianship in Choral and Instrumental Ensembles - Will Gunn
“I wanted to get kids to work more collaboratively. We say we’re a collaborative group, but the conductor is behind the piano teaching the choir parts rather than saying, ‘here's the part I want you to learn. Go learn it. Here are the expectations and come back and self-assess yourself.’ So, I designed performance tasks. I'll work on it as a group first, so they have some capacity for it. Then I'll have them break into sectionals and go reinforce it.”
William Gunn is the director of music at Plymouth Regional High School where he conducts the Concert Ba...
Ep. 91 - Building Artistic Versatility Through Contemporary A Cappella - J.D. Frizzell
“At the end of that first year, I did a pops concert. I developed the formula that I use now, which is to make it sound a lot like the actual songs. You give a lot of soloists opportunities to sing solos, especially in the verses which are harder because of the syncopation. We had a band that we hired: some horns, a rhythm section. The kids loved it, and we had 750 people come watch it.”
J.D. Frizzell is the Director of Fine Arts and Director of Vocal Music at Briarcrest Christian School in Memp...
Ep. 90 - Reinvigorating Historic Music with Modern Creativity - Robert Hollingworth
“Uniformity is a two-edged sword, isn't it? Within a choir you need uniformity or you're not going to get a good blend, but within that uniformity, I want as much individuality as possible. I do a lot of 16th-Century music, early 17th-Century music, which has very, very high, passionate stakes. The individual has to come through. That's what makes it interesting.”
Robert Hollingworth was a chorister at Hereford Cathedral, set up his first solo-voice ensemble at the age of 16 and read music at New College, Oxford, followed by a year at the Guildhall School of Musi...
Ep. 89 - Creating Choral Camaraderie on a Global Level - T. J. Harper
“The folks who I think are really doing incredible work around the world, not just for one festival or for one tour, but for decades, are the folks who are trying to literally make the world a better place through choral music. How many opportunities can we provide for them so they can feel like they're part of that bigger family to help legitimize the hard work and the experiences that they're having in their corner of the world?”
T. J. HARPER is Associate Professor of Music and Specialist in Choral Music Performance, Choral Pedagogy, Cond...
Ep. 88 - Prioritizing Representation in Choral Music - Matthew Chi Lee
“I haven’t moved exclusively to doing multicultural music in our classroom, but I have done a lot of music that has a positive message that they can relate to. If this song has nothing to do with them, no matter how much I love it, no matter how epic or famous this is, the students will have a hard time connecting to it. I’m not saying that everything needs to be in English or be immediately accessible or understandable, but I do think there needs to be something in there that connects to their lives.”
Matthe...
Ep. 87 - Sharing Stories to Stir the Soul - Tim Seelig
“From my first ACDA in 1991 to ACDA now: complete reversal. People are not afraid to perform something that moves the soul, and in 1991 nobody did it. Now people are digging in and not being afraid. I applaud all of my fellow choral conductors for being fearless and not being afraid to tell the stories that mean something.”
Tim Seelig is a conductor, singer, speaker and educator. He continues a busy schedule of appearances across the U.S. He conducted LGBTQ+ choruses for 35 years and is Conductor Laureate of the San Francisco Gay Men’s Chorus and Co...
Ep. 86 - Honoring Diversity Through Historical Research - Elizabeth Schauer
“I have fallen deeply in love with looking at a piece, seeing what it is, and realizing that there are no real absolutes in music. There are no rules. You have to look at each piece of music for what it is and consider it in its historical and cultural context and then find out enough about the composer. It feels like a journey, a rabbit hole that go down.”
Dr. Elizabeth Schauer serves as Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at the University of Arizona, where she is in her twentieth year of t...
Ep. 85 - Choral Music and Personal Growth - Jonathan Talberg
“I grew up thinking that we should sound like the music we're singing. There was never one right way for me. There are those great choral traditions where they sing everything a certain way. I never wanted to be that way. We can do seven different pieces in seven entirely different styles. You would think, 'is that the same choir?' That's something that my choirs take seriously.”
Recipient of the President’s Award from the California Music Educators Association honoring "extraordinary accomplishments in music education," Dr. Jonathan Talberg serves as Director of Choral Activities at the...
Ep. 84 - Building Choral Skills from the Adjudication Table - Brett Epperson
“I’ve really enjoyed getting into classrooms to affirm my colleagues. I seek whenever I do a visit to say something that is both positive and true. I could just be positive, but if it’s not truthful, students can sense that. I’ve really enjoyed getting to bop in, see great teaching in action, and affirm my colleagues in front of their students.”
Dr. Brett D. Epperson is Director of Choral Activities and Assistant Professor of Music at Hastings College. He directs the Hastings College Choir and teaches courses in conducting, vocal pedagogy, diction and studio voice. Bre...
Ep. 83 - Building Choral Excellence to Serve Communities - Joshua Cheney
"Choral programs don't exist in a vacuum. They exist in a place, and they exist in a place that serves a people. That people group is always bigger than choir. The first thing that you've gotta do is answer the question, 'how are my people, how is my place going to be served by choral music?' and then build that. You've gotta build that one step at a time."
Joshua Cheney, a native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, is the Assistant Professor of Music and Director of Choral Activities at Gardner-Webb University in Boiling Springs, North Carolina...
Ep. 82 - Inspiring and Motivating Adolescent Tenors and Basses - Vincent Oakes
“Octave displacement is a really big thing with adolescent singers. Make a game out of it - I’ll have them match me, match me up an octave, match me down an octave - versus scolding when you’re in the middle of rep and someone is singing too low and you just point and say ‘that’s too low.’ That’s a little ambiguous for the average 13-year-old. To give them the strength to identify it themselves is practicing the skill we want to see played out in the repertoire.”
Since 2006, Mr. Oakes has served as Director of Chor...
Ep. 81 - Expanding Access to Choral Participation - Marcela Molina
“I started to see the possibilities of what a youth community choir could be. Seeing that profound impact on a young woman was very transformative for me. After two or three years, everything that I did had more layers. There was a new potential of enhancement and community impact. The things that make me go like a volcano are about community, access to programs, and how to break barriers for participation.”
Dr. Marcela Molina has been leading the Tucson Girls Chorus since 2006, first serving as Artistic Director and taking the helm as Executive Director in 2011. Unde...
