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Rising Voices: Perspectives from Early-Career Choral Directors in Higher Education

What practical advice or resources have you they offer so many great conversations that inform my
found helpful at the start of your career in philosophy as a teacher and conductor. I have found
higher education (repertoire, programming Dennis Shrock’s Performance Practices in the Baroque and
considerations, books/podcasts/articles)? Classical Eras books as well as Face to Face with Orchestra
and Chorus by Don Moses, Robert Demaree, and Allen
Burk: In my methods courses, I have really enjoyed Ohmes to be vital resources in my preparation of mas-
teaching Bridget Sweet’s books (Thinking Outside the terworks.
Voice Box and Growing Musicians in particular) as well as
Sharon Paul’s incredible book, The Art and Science of the Petite: I transitioned to higher education in the fall
Choral Rehearsal. Those two authors have invited me to of 2020, and my university moved classes online and
think creatively and critically about my own teaching “reduced density” rehearsals outside. There was not
and rehearsing. much institutional knowledge for these pedagogical sit-
In terms of repertoire resources, I first engage with uations. What I leaned heavily on during COVID and
Spotify recordings of choirs I admire: the Philippine the post-COVID rebuilding years was the importance
Madrigal Singers, Tenebrae, the ORA Singers, etc. I al- of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and fostering
ways discover (or re-discover) repertoire in the process. community. While these were not new focuses for me,
I also spend a lot of time on publisher websites; for ex- I really prioritized creating a welcoming environment
ample, I have been trying to strengthen my knowledge for my singers. A book that was recommended to me
of Southeast Asian repertoire, which led me to Muzik- at that time was Teaching with Respect by Stephen Sieck.
sea Publishing. I purchased Ken Steven’s amazing Den- Now in its second edition, Sieck challenges us to con-
dang Alam Khatulistiwa last year, which quickly became sider the lived experiences of all our singers.
one of my choir’s favorite pieces for the year. Another book I have incorporated in my personal
Finally, I am grateful for the conductors and schol- journey is The Soul of Civility by Alexandra Hudson.
ars creating databases of music by composers under- Hudson presents a strong argument for civility over
represented by the Western classical canon: Marques “politeness.” I am not much of a podcast listener,
Garrett’s exhaustive database of Non-Idiomatic Music but one podcast I enjoy is Choir Fam by Dean Luethi
by Black Composers and Erik Peregine’s Trans+ Com- and Matthew Myers. They discuss a variety of topics
posers Database (erikperegine.com), to name a few. for all choral music educators, including “Growing
Learning this music is truly a joy and an important act and Thriving in the First Years of Teaching.” Shel-
of liberation. In the face of so much hate and oppres- bie Wahl-Fouts had a blog on ChoralNet called “One
sion, these resources will remain an integral part of my From the Folder: Repertoire Thoughts for Women’s/
teaching. Treble Choir” that I still consult for treble repertoire
ideas (choralnet.org/archives/category/one-from-the-
Myers: I am often inspired by thematic programming, folder). Honestly, though, my biggest source of profes-
so I will search for keywords that fit my themes on sional development—throughout my career—has been
Graphite, MusicSpoke, CPDL, Musica Internation- ACDA.
al, the Institute for Composer Diversity, JW Pepper,
self-published composer websites, and my university
choral library. I also search my graduate school cho-
ral literature notes for these keywords and reach out
to colleagues who enjoy discussing programming. I
can often build a great list of options just by consulting
these resources. As a podcaster myself with the Choir
Fam Podcast, I have loved listening to shows like Choir
Baton, Choir Chat, Compose Like a Girl, and conduct(her), as

32 CHORAL JOURNAL September 2025 Volume 66 Number 2