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conductors to utilize the material in Languages and the language, is equally as important
a variety of pedagogical ways. One Storytelling to consider. The stories and voices a
could explore the diff erent composi- Text and language provide their conductor chooses to represent can
tional tools, having students identify own set of challenges to the choral strongly aff ect the experiences of
where the work is canonic vs. homo- repertoire selection process. The both singers and audience members.
phonic. There is a key change from English language, though it is typ- The following section goes through

G major to B-flat major, which could ically the fi rst spoken language for teachable elements as they relate to
be an excellent time to explore key many American singers, can be sur- language and storytelling, and crite-
relations, with discussion regarding prisingly diffi cult to pronounce for ria one may use when selecting rep-
the interval between a G and B-fl at young students. The wordier the ertoire based on the skill level and
and what similarities those two keys song, the quicker the rhythms, and age of the ensemble.
may or may not have. The change in the more advanced the vocabulary, With young singers, it is a good
key plus the diatonic nature of the the more trouble a conductor and idea to choose a piece with a relat-
work also makes Ikan Kekek an ideal student are bound to have. The the- able or interesting storyline. All the
piece to learn on solfege (Figure 8). matic content of a piece, no matter better if the story lends itself to kin-

CHORAL JOURNAL June/July 2021 Volume 61 Number 11 63