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Cambridge/Oxford collegiate choirs, VOCES8, Bach directly affects the connection the audience feels.
Collegium Japan, and the St. Olaf Choir were definite-
ly some of the top models. Why did I value those par- Wooten: As a student-performer during my under-
ticular standards of choral beauty? How might a com- graduate and MM experience, I put all my faith in
mitment to those types of sounds have limited me from the ensemble conductors for a successful conducting
valuing sounds that are, perhaps, unfamiliar to me or experience. I had far less faith in my musicality, as I
different from those “ideals”? considered myself to be an insignificant part of the ex-
While I do love the sounds of those groups and perience. As a burgeoning conductor during this peri-
deeply value their work, I now value more flexible od, I would stay the same. I trusted the choral concepts
criteria for successful choral performances: telling ho- I learned and the information my hands would show,
listic and meaningful stories about the types of music but I did not trust myself. It was not until doctoral study
we program, the ways we research and teach that mu- that I saw myself as an essential part of the whole—
sic, and the lessons we learn in the process. Perhaps the choir as an instrument. Similarly, I underwent a
most importantly, those criteria need to center the peo- personal renaissance of artistry. I trusted myself as an
ple offering the music, rather than some ideal I have ensemble leader and learned holistic connection to the
built up for what they “should” sound like. I am, more music. I count good, successful performances by the
than ever, committed to this work of investigating and connective energy that permeates it… knowledge of
deconstructing those “sound hegemonies” I was both score and skills intersecting with trust of self and all
raised in and built for myself. other performing forces.

Myers: The biggest change I have noticed is that the
modern concert takes the singers and audience on a What do you value as curriculum priorities
journey in a different way. A decade ago, a great con- among your ensembles, and how does your phi-
cert featured beautiful literature sung with note-perfect losophy of instruction reflect current trends in
preparation, exquisite tone, and visible engagement. student engagement?
Now that most choral musicians have easy access to
nearly perfect recordings, a concert is much more stir- Burk: I try to keep my priorities fairly simple. First, I
ring when it can weave narrative elements between the think about an entire year of choral programming:
pieces. Each piece is strategically placed within a larger What skills do we need to build in the first quarter?
program, almost curating how an audience should ex- What kinds of repertoire should we use to build those
perience the concert as a whole. Contemporary audi- skills? Then, how do we use those skills as a founda-
ences are also much more aware of social issues than tion and build from there? Second, I think about a mu-
they were even a few years ago, so choirs now have the sical “diet” through a series of questions: How am I
ability to evoke even deeper visceral responses from lis- balancing styles and genres? How am I teaching vocal
teners when they perform works that address our mod- technique? How am I including or excluding people
ern society. based upon my repertoire choices? Whose stories are
we telling, and how? How am I meeting my students
Petite: The demand for technical mastery is still pres- where they are, and where will I push them out of their
ent. I think, however, there is more emphasis now on comfort zones? How am I balancing the emotional and
singers “performing” the repertoire. By this, I mean, physical demands of each piece?
we expect to see the meaning of the text on the faces Finally, I try to establish a narrative that connects
of the performers. We want to see the passion and buy- each piece together (sometimes this is the first step, de-
in of the singers, rather than merely focusing on how pending on the kind of concert). Whether it is a textual
closely the singers follow the conductor’s interpreta- theme, stories of composers or poets, or a musical con-
tion. The singers’ connection to the text and musicality nection between pieces, I find these bridges of knowl-

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