Podcasts about chorus master

“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 is thrilled to have returned home to assume the position of Artistic Director of the Halifax Camerata Singers and Chorus Master of Symphony Nova Scotia. Formative choral experiences include touring with the American Boychoir as a boy soprano and singing as a member of the Nova Scotia and National Youth Choirs. He holds degrees from Mount Allison University, the University of Michigan, and Michigan State University where his doctoral research was in the area of Canadian choral-orchestral works.Joel relocated to Nova Scotia in 2023 after spending nine years as the Director of Choral Activities at Trinity Western University in Langley, BC, where he oversaw a program of six choirs and taught various courses within the School of the Arts, Media and Culture. Joel led the TWU Chamber Choir on tours to Ottawa, New York City, China, Hong Kong, Japan, and Taiwan. In addition to his work at TWU, Joel served as the Artistic Director of the Valley Festival Singers in Abbotsford and was the conductor of the award-winning Coastal Sound Youth Choir in Coquitlam. A singing member of the Canadian Chamber Choir since 2007, he was named the ensemble's Associate Conductor in 2013. As such, he contributes to the programming and long-term artistic visioning of that organization. Prior to his time on the West Coast, Joel lived and worked in Windsor, Ontario, serving as the conductor of several local ensembles including the Windsor Symphony Orchestra Chorus. In high demand as an adjudicator and clinician across the country, Joel is a past Guest Conductor of the New Brunswick Youth Choir and the Manitoba Provincial Honour Choir, and was the Assistant Conductor of the 2012 National Youth Choir.Major works conducted include Poulenc's Gloria, Vaughan Williams' Hodie, Ramirez's Navidad nuestra, Mendelssohn's St. Paul, Handel's Alexander's Feast, Requiems by Fauré and Duruflé, Bach's St. John Passion, and Allan Bevan's oratorio Nou Goth Sonne Under Wode. In spring 2023, Joel conducted the premiere of a new oratorio by David Squires and made his Carnegie Hall debut in a program featuring Vaughan Williams' Five Mystical Songs. Joel believes in the power of choral music to build and strengthen community. His wife, Meghan is an audiologist, and they have three precocious children: Everett, Penelope, and Felix.To get in touch with Joel, you can visit the Halifax Camerata Singers website at halifaxcamerata.org or find them on Facebook (@HalifaxCamerataSingers) or Instagram (@halifaxcameratasingers). You can also find the Canadian Chamber Choir at their website canadianchamberchoir.ca, on Facebook (@CanadianChamberChoir) or Instagram (@canadianchamberchoir).Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts.Podcast music from Podcast.coPhoto in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

Australian conductor Paul Fitzsimon has been Chorus Master at Opera Australia since 2019, and has worked as repetituer and conductor with the company since 2012, most recently conducting performances of La Boheme and Don Giovanni at the Sydney Opera House. He was Assistant Conductor of the Melbourne Symphony Orchestra in 2008/09 and has conducted most of the symphony orchestras in Australia, and in Europe has conducted the Frankfurt Radio Symphony, Ensemble Intercontemporain in Paris, and the Hamburg Ballet at the Baden Baden Festival. Highlights in recent years include conducting the national tours of The Marriage of Figaro, The Magic Flute, and Madama Butterfly for Opera Australia, Dvorak's Symphony no. 7 with the Adelaide Symphony Orchestra, as well as a new production of Brian Howard's Metamorphosis for Opera Australia in 2018. Paul majored in piano performance at The University of Melbourne and later completed his orchestral conducting studies at the Universität der Künste in Berlin and through the Symphony Australia Conductor Development Program. He was the recipient of the Brian Stacey Award for Emerging Conductors in 2008.  The STAGES podcast is available to access and subscribe from Spotify and Apple podcasts. Or from wherever you access your favourite podcasts. A conversation with creatives about craft and career. Recipient of Best New Podcast at 2019 Australian Podcast Awards. Follow socials on instagram (stagespodcast) and facebook (Stages).www.stagespodcast.com.au

On this episode, we hear from conductor Brandon Eldredge and soprano Tessa McQueen about Act One of Jake Heggie and Gene Scheer's chamber opera, TWO REMAIN. Act One focuses on the true story of Polish poet Krystyna Zywulska surviving the Holocaust – and the psychological trauma she dealt with the rest of her life. It's based on her searing memoir of 1946, “I Survived Auschwitz.” Brandon and Tessa share more about Krystyna's life, about how challenging it is to perform and interpret a story of this magnitude, and how important it is to keep telling these stories. Brandon Eldredge has built a broad-scoped knowledge and experience as a conductor, pianist, and operatic coach, working across the United States, Germany, and Sweden. He is CCO's Associate Conductor and Chorus Master this summer, working on all three productions. During the year, he is on staff at Virginia Opera as Assistant Conductor and Chorus Master. Soprano Tessa McQueen is a first year Studio Artist in the Bonfils-Stanton Artists Training Program, and in addition to her role of Krystyna Zywulska in TWO REMAIN, she is in the chorus of Die Fledermaus and several opera scenes for the Short Works performances. Tessa received her Bachelor of Music degree in Voice Performance from Oklahoma City University and will begin her Master's degree at Rice University this fall. Have questions or want to provide feedback? Email us at podcast@centralcityopera.org. To hear more stories from inside Central City Opera and buy tickets to the shows, visit us at centralcityopera.org.  

Now that the Lyric Opera has decided on Macbeth as their production for September 2021 and they've finished casting (and re-casted), now it's time to bring in the people who will inhabit the world of Macbeth. That's where Michael Black, the Chorus Master at Lyric Opera of Chicago comes into the process. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit bringingupthelights.substack.com

Paul Fitzsimon has been with Opera Australia since 2013, fulfilling a variety of roles including conductor and répétiteur. He’s currently our Chorus Master, responsible for ensuring that the glorious chorus you see and hear on our stages is prepared for any task. He’s also conducted performances for us, including Metamorphosis and The Merry Widow. In this interview, Paul talks to our Artistic Director, Lyndon Terracini, about how he came to work at Opera Australia and explains the job and daily life of a Chorus Master. He explains how a chorus is constructed and the particular set of skills required to be a chorus singer.

Dr. Tom Bookhout is a choral conductor, current Chorus Master of The Phoenix Symphony, and a lifelong music educator. We speak about his career in music and how it has enriched him, the experience of leading people in unified efforts and how that has shaped his life outside of work, how the arts community is dealing with the unprecedented difficulties brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and so much more...

Ben Costello is a freelance conductor, musical director, adjudicator, singing coach and accompanist, working internationally. He is also Artistic Director of Thames Concerts Ltd, Founding Director of Kingston Chamber Singers, Chorus Master for the Leith Hill Musical Festivalcombined choirs concerts, Guest Conductor of the Voices of Hangzhou Youth Choir, a lecturer in musical theatre at the University of Portsmouth, and a musical director and singing coach at Laine Theatre Arts.A specialist in musical theatre, he has been musical director for numerous productions, and a reflective product of this has been his continuing work in most of the major London performing-arts colleges includingArts Educational (London), Mountview Academy, the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Guildford School of Acting, the Royal Academy of Music, the London College of Music, Starquest Performers College and the universities of London, Surrey and Kingston.  Countless of his former students enjoy successful careers in the West End and beyond.Ben trained initially as a flautist, and subsequently majored in piano, singing and conducting.  He remains much sought-after as an outstanding accompanist in musical theatre repertoire but collaborates in a variety of genres with countless singers and instrumentalists in concerts and other performing environments. Ben is also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Musicians, organising and chairing the Company's annual musical direction scholarship.Ben has been musical director with many musical theatre productions across the U.K., is a guest conductor with various choirs, and as an accompanist and coach collaborates with countless singers and instrumentalists. He judges at competitive festivals throughout the U.K. and overseas as an adjudicator member of the British and International Federation of Festivals and the Schools Music Association.Outside of music, he is a keen motorcyclist, and rides a rather heavy Triumph Tiger Explorer 1200.https://www.bencostello.com

Hear from one of the country’s finest Children's Choir Directors and Music Educators about the importance of children singing and learning music. Patrick Flahive is one of the most experienced musicians teaching children in the United States. As an educator and church musician, he knows first-hand that great adult choirs and singing congregations of adults flourish in parishes where there are children's choirs. Enjoy exploring Patrick's own musical story which led him to be the National President of the American Federation of Pueri Cantores, the official Roman Catholic international organization for Children's Choirs. Hear about his 19 years as president and the many festivals and tours which he took with his own choir, Pueri Cantores of San Gabriel Valley. Patrick works with us here at Christ Cathedral and will be directing our Preparatory Choir for the Diocesan Children's Choir of Orange, he works as the Children’s Chorus Master for the annual Cathedral Opera Production mounted by LA Opera at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels’, and has numerous choirs at his parish in Covina.Pueri Cantores San Gabriel Valley: http://puericantoressgv.orgTheir Christmas Concert is Sunday, December 17 at Sacred Heart Church in Covina. 7:30 PMThe next One-Act Opera at the LA Cathedral, “Jonah and the Whale” will be March 16-17, 2018 MUSIC: Welcome Yole (Ceremony of Carols) Benjamin Britten PCSGV Choir, Patrick Flahive, ConductorMUSIS: Deo Gracias (Ceremony of Carols) Benjamin Britten PCSGV Choir, Patrick Flahive, ConductorMUSIC: Deck The Halls English Carol PCSGV Choir, Patrick Flahive, ConductorMUSIC: This Little Babe (Ceremony of Carols) Benjamin Britten PCSGV Choir, Patrick Flahive, ConductorMUSIC: Jesus Christ, the Apple Tree Elizabeth Poston PCSGV Choir, Patrick Flahive, ConductorMUSIC: Jingles Bells James Lord Pierpont PCSGV Choir, Patrick Flahive, ConductorOriginal air date December 2, 2017

For the latest of our podcasts in collaboration with Scottish Opera we spoke to Associate Chorus Master and repetiteur, Susannah Wapshott. Susannah joined the company in 2008, and there are few people better placed to give an insight and overview to the workings of Scottish Opera. She discusses her various roles and the extensive collaboration involved. She also explains how her career has unfolded from a young age, her musical background and training, the challenges she has faced, the personal highlights of her time with the company, and offers advice for anyone interested in working in opera.

Maestro Nir Kabaretti is best known in our part of the world as the Music Director of the Southwest Florida Symphony, but he’s better known around the world as the Music Director of the Santa Barbara Symphony, which he has led since 2006 and he was recently appointed Music Director of the Israel Sinfonietta Be'er Sheva chamber orchestra. Maestro Kabaretti graduated from the University of Music and Performing Arts in Vienna, and was then appointed Chorus Master of the Vienna State Opera and the Salzburg Festival, and since then he has done a whole lot - go check out his wikipedia page, for real.NOTE: in the episode we refer to the Israel Sinfonetta Beer Sheva Festival in Israel. The festival is 3/26 - 4/1 and more info can be found here

Show NotesRoberto Devereux is an opera by Gaetano DonizettiBeverly SillsUniversity of Cincinnati, College-Conservatory of Music (CCM)Franco Corelli, Luciano Pavarotti, Martina Arroyo, Grace Bumbry, Joan SutherlandElijah is an oratorio by Felix MendelssohnSarah BernhardtEvans and Henri briefly discuss Cincinnati Opera’s 2018 production of La Traviata, which featured soprano Norah Amsellem as Violetta.Pagliacci is a one-act opera by Ruggero LeoncavalloCincinnati Opera produced Richard Wagner’s The Flying Dutchman in 2018Henri mentioned that these were the most rewarding operas he has worked on: Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Nixon in China, Elektra, Salome, and FidelioNorma and Ariadne auf NaxosLady GagaThe Oxford Introduction to Proto-Indo-European and the Proto-Indo-European WorldGoogle Maps

On Tuesday, January 16, Bruce Stasyna, Chorus Master of the San Diego Opera Chorus and Music Administrator for San Diego Opera, gave a talk to donors and supporters about Astor Piazzolla's Maria de Buenos Aires. In his presentation he talked about the role of a conductor, how he approaches rehearsals with singers and orchestra, the origins of the tango, Piazzolla's role as a composer and why the conductor is relishing the opportunity to play and conduct from the piano in this production. Punctuated by appearances of his dog 'Chewy', some backstage crew members and dancers warming up for an ensuing rehearsal, you'll get a first-hand peek at the musical building blocks for a wonderful opera. Enjoy!

In honour of my Spirit Sister Lynn Wedewer I am going to be doing Lynn's Jesus Blessed Birth Blessed Nativity and Angels Chorus Master Empowerment for anyone who would like to attend. Lynn Wedewer birthday was Dec 18th I will do this empowerment on Dec 16th on a Saturday @ 9AM EST. Lynn created this beautiful empowerment when we were part of her Sacred Inner Circle Nov. 11, 2003. Broadcast from IntuiTalks.com, a unique webcasting platform for light-workers.

Join us for a special preview of Portland Opera's upcoming production of Cosi Fan Tutte. The preview is hosted by Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor Nicholas Fox with musical highlights performed by singers Antonia Tamer, Kate Farrar, Aaron Short and Ryan Thorn --in a total of seven arias from the opera. For more information, visit Portland Opera. Recorded Live at Central Library: July 9, 2017  

The U.S. Army Europe Band and Chorus reaches out to the Baltic states through the universal language of music. Band commander Major Dwayne Milburn’s passion for music is infectious and takes him all over the world. The U.S. Army Europe Band and Chorus was recently in the Baltic region as part of its ‘United we stand’ tour, performing to crowds in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. Their music aims to reaffirm the United States’ commitment to its Baltic allies. Major Dwayne Milburn, commander of the U.S. Army Europe Band and Chorus, explains the role of music in modern day military forces as a universal language which speaks to people the world over. This version includes graphics and has no subtitles.

Join us for a special preview of Portland Opera's upcoming production of Puccini's La Bohème. The preview is hosted by Chorus Master and Assistant Conductor Nicholas Fox with musical highlights performed by Portland Opera's Resident Artists. For more information, visit Portland Opera. Recorded Live at Central Library: April 30, 2017

Dr. Amanda Quist takes us through a typical warm-up for the Westminster Choir College freshman choir. You’ll learn how, in just 5-7 minutes, she addresses the building blocks of great sound. Plus, you’ll take some fun detours into topics like cell phone policy and how to classify voices. Listen: Highlight to Tweet: “You need to have 3 ways to solve any problem” - Amanda Quist Show Notes: Amanda directs the (compulsory) freshman choir at WCC, so she is first director students meet. Her goal is to take a group of unfamiliar singers with widely-varying levels of experience and make a unison sound. Day 1: sing and build community (students see how they are connected); talk about music they love, their major, who they are; start with voice building - 5-7 minute warm up; next do something physical Low energy? Have them move...step-touches, or something fast-paced like a call and response. Buy in is tougher for the students without choir experience. Knowing the reason behind the exercises helps them buy in. No cell phone use in rehearsal, no tolerance. Breath - long exhalations on different sounds; must warm up breath, it’s connected to mindfulness Tone - balance between light and dark (chiaroscuro) Intonation - clear and resonant, with clear overtones; begin building triads; build their ears with solfege scales, scales in different modes Sight-reading is the most crucial skill for incoming freshmen to have. 3 Key Takeaways: Go into rehearsal with a plan, but be willing to change it when you assess the energy level of the students. The fundamentals are crucial and should be practiced every rehearsal: voice-building, breath, tone, intonation. The most valuable skill a high school director can give their students is the ability to sight-read. Resources/links Mentioned: Episode 7: Your Students are Worth the Investment, with Dr. Amanda Quist Bio: Dr. Amanda Quist is Associate Professor of Conducting at Westminster Choir College, where she conducts the Chapel Choir, Westminster Kantorei, and teaches graduate and undergraduate conducting. Kantorei was selected to perform at the Eastern Division ACDA Conference in February 2014 for her “Building Sound” workshop, was invited to sing at the American Handel Festival the previous year, and was selected as a National Finalist for the American Prize. During her work with the Westminster Symphonic Choir she collaborated with the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Dresden Staatskapelle, and composers Ola Gjeilo and Tarik O’Regan. Dr. Quist recently served as Chorus Master for the North American premiere of Toshio Hosokawa’s Matsukaze for Spoleto Festival USA and the Lincoln Center Festival. The New York Times and Charleston Post and Courier reviews described the chorus’ performance as “beautifully prepared,” “gripping,” with a “gossamer web of voices,” and “bridging the vocal and instrumental textures with perfect intonation.” Dr. Quist is Director of the Westminster Vocal Institute, and she was previously Director of Choral Activities at San José State University. She was selected to be the 2014 recipient of Westminster of Rider University’s Distinguished Teaching Award, and other honors include the prestigious James Mulholland National Choral Fellowship and the Audrey Davidson Early Music Award. Her research focus is voice science and pedagogy in the choral setting, and she recently presented an Interest Session for the National ACDA Conference in Salt Lake City. An active adjudicator and clinician, recent and upcoming appearances include the California All-State, Texas All-State, Delaware All-State, Tennessee All-State, and Vermont All-State honor choirs. She has also conducted honor choirs and served as an adjudicator in Arizona, Michigan, New York, Arkansas, Georgia, and New Jersey. She recently served as the Pennsylvania ACDA Summer Conference headliner, and as summer conducting faculty for Connecticut State University. An active mezzo-soprano, recent solo engagements include performances with the Monmouth Civic Chorus and Orchestra, Symphony Silicon Valley, Fuma Sacra, Princeton Pro Musica, and Princeton University. Dr. Quist serves as the National ACDA R&S Chair for Youth and Student Activities and ACDA Mentorship Co-Chair. Sponsored by: Sight Reading Factory (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for 10 free student accounts!) My Music Folders (Use promo code “NINJA” at checkout for best pricing - usually reserved for bulk purchases only!)

Many reasons: a rehearsal evening can revive flagging spirits, especially under a good Chorus Master. And there might be more personal reasons for staying, too...

There's a distinctly operatic feel about this latest edition of the Classic Newsnight podcast. Not only will we be hearing from Jane McCullough, who's directing Lehár's The Merry Widow for Opera UK, but also from Donald Nally, Chorus Master at Welsh National Opera. And if opera goes over your head, don't worry; we'll also be meeting a lady called Pam Westwood, who's just produced a remarkable new keyboard tutor: “It's never too late to play piano”. And Pam insists we can take the title at face value – so no excuses! Classic FM's resident doctor, Rob Hicks, is also here, talking about that scourge of the winter months, the common cold.