Fanfare for a New Day – Afterthoughts

Our recent Fanfare for a New Day concert was a very enjoyable time for me.  It was a great and rare pleasure to study and prepare all new music (at this point in my career I often find I’m conducting things for a second, third or fourth time!).  I thought that MOS performed extremely well, especially considering the relatively few rehearsals we had to learn the music.  The comments I heard from both singers and audience members seem to suggest it was a meaningful experience for them as well.  This leads me to a question addressed to anyone in attendance at the concert – performer or listener.  What are your reactions to the concert?  What worked for you and what did not?  Which pieces were favorites and which weren’t?   With several weeks now having passed since the performance, is there any of the music that is still “resonating” with you?  Even as we are now in the midst of preparation for our December performances, it can be useful to take a few minutes to reflect on this recent concert.  I look forward to hearing what you have to say.

Fanfare for a New Day

Fanfare for a New Day marks the beginning of a third decade of music making for The Michael O’Neal Singers, and in a concert on October 25th we will indeed perform new music for a new day.  All of the selections to be performed will be by active, living composers, with most of the pieces written in the past ten years.  Beautiful melodies, lush harmonies, intriguing rhythms, and meaningful texts are joined together to create a program that should provide many memorable musical moments.

From an e.e. cummings poem set exquisitely in twelve-part  a cappella form by composer Eric Whitacre to an inventive mass setting that would sound perfect in a jazz club, by former King’s Singer, Bob Chilcot, this is a concert that will have something for everyone.   Other composers to be performed are David Conte, David Dickau, Guy Forbes, Dan Forrest, William Hawley, Morten Lauridsen, John Rutter and Mack Wilberg.   The music created by these composers should assure us all that choral music has a bright future, as long as we keep producing the choirs to sing the music.

Are there “new” pieces of music that have been meaningful to you?   Many of you have shared in past blogs some of your favorites.  Share them again or offer some new titles.   To choral enthusiasts, it is a fascinating subject!

The Elements of Music – Rhythm

I had the good fortune of singing under the direction of Robert Shaw for a number of years.  One thing he was constantly drilling into the heads of his singers was the importance of rhythm and the inevitable influence it would have on our performance.  While recognized as one of the three main elements of music (the other two being melody and harmony), he seemed to think that rhythm was given far too little attention by many conductors and singers.  Anyone who ever had the privilege to participate in a Shaw rehearsal undoubtedly had the opportunity to experience his “count singing,”  a technique that quickly identifies anyone with rhythmic “issues.” 

In its most recent rehearsal, MOS was reading through Bob Chilcott’s captivating work, A Little Jazz Mass, scheduled for performance at the end of October.   The piece is fun and enjoyable to sing and I think the chorus was doing a very good job (overall).  I was, however, struck by the challenges the rhythm seemed to present to some of our singers.   Perhaps I shouldn’t have been surprised, for I have noticed in recent years that MOS auditions seem to include an increasing number of rhythmic mistakes in both sight reading and tonal memory exercises.   I think this “rhythmic insecurity” may be more common than I first suspected, and I look forward to concentrating more this year on the joys of rhythm, both in A Little Jazz Mass, and in other pieces as well.

I’d like to know what you readers think about rhythm.  Does it come easily to you or is it indeed a challenge, especially as compared with melody and harmony?   How do you go about working on rhythmic problems?   I know that I personally always try to “internalize” the division of the beat.  That’s especially helpful in “feeling” syncopation, a very important component of jazz.  Anyway, I’m already looking forward to the next couple of rehearsals, where “rhythm” will be treated with the respect it deserves!

Kudos to Church Choirs

Church choirs are in many ways the foundation of choral singing in America.  Certainly, there are few choruses that can claim a minimum of 52 performances a year, yet this is exactly what church choirs do.  I am fortunate to be the director of an excellent church ensemble, the Roswell United Methodist Sanctuary Choir, and this morning especially the Choir was at the top of its form.  As a large choir (125 members) we often sing big pieces for a big Sanctuary (seating of 2,000).   Our anthem today was Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing, arranged by Mack Wilberg, Director of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir.  It is a beautiful setting of a fine early American  folk hymn, and the Sanctuary Choir presented an impassioned performance, contributing immeasurably to the worship experience of the morning.

Just as I feel privileged to direct this committed and talented group of people, I am sure there are many of you out there, choir members and directors alike, who have similar feelings about your own church choir.  I’d love for you to share some of your most meaningful church choir experiences.   These might involve a particular piece of music, a service, a concert or a rehearsal.  Our sharing will be a great way to honor the choirs that are making a difference in people’s lives on a weekly basis.

The Five L’s

I have a goal.  As a new choral season begins (I’ve recently resumed rehearsals with the Roswell UMC Sanctuary Choir and will soon start rehearsals with MOS), I am reminded of something I try to achieve at every rehearsal.  I call it the Five L’s, which stand for Listen, Labor, Learn, Laugh and Love.   At the conclusion of a rehearsal, it is my goal that all participants (including myself) will have experienced each of those five actions to some degree.  We listen – to the music and to each other.  We labor – working together for a shared purpose brings enormous satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.  We learn – listening and working together will almost always lead to learning something new.  We laugh – I believe a rehearsal without laughter is an opportunity lost.  And finally, we love – of course, we should certainly make every effort to love the music we are rehearsing, but I think it is also important to love and care for each other. 

I think if we keep the Five L’s at the forefront of our minds when we enter the rehearsal, and recognize that each of these words are action verbs, we will depart the rehearsal with a recognition that the time we’ve spent together has been worthwhile and important.  Anyway, that’s my goal.

Great Music for Great Spaces

The fifth annual incarnation of The Michael O’Neal Summer Singers is just days away from its performance of Great Music for Great Spaces.  The repertoire is built around music for chorus, brass and organ, both individually and in various combinations.  Including selections by Parry, Vaughan Williams, Beethoven, Pachelbel, Holst, and many others, the program promises to be a celebration of celebratory music!   It takes place at Roswell UMC in Roswell, GA, at 3 PM on Sunday, August 16. 

The 150+ singers who will be sharing their music that afternoon have been a joy to work with this summer.  The Summer Chorus of MOS is open to all interested singers.  No one is asked to audition and we always end up with a wide range of backgrounds and skill levels represented in the chorus.   The one unifying force in our group is the love of singing.  The enthusiasm has been evident from the first notes sung at each rehearsal and I will miss seeing these folks on a regular basis.  The good news is that most of them will continue their singing in other organizations this season.  There are, of course, a number of the Summer Singers who will return to the regular MOS chorus or to my church choir at Roswell UMC and I will have the pleasure of seeing and hearing them on a weekly basis.  However, a majority of the Summer Singers participate in other fine community and church choirs during the year and they will be returning to their respective organizations following our Sunday concert.   The sadness at bidding them farewell is tempered with the knowledge that they will be continuing to make great music in great spaces around the metro Atlanta area.

As I complete my summer season and anticipate the beginning of my regular season I am reminded how fortunate I am to have so many opportunies to share music making with such a large and diverse group of people.  Thanks to all of you!

A Chorus of 300,000 Singers

I recently returned from a Baltic cruise that included many wonderful ports.  One of my favorites was Tallinn, Estonia.  Many of you may remember that Estonia was one of the Soviet satellites and regained its independence in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union.   Leading to that day was something called the Singing Revolution.  The Estonian people, always known for their love of singing, participated in a non-violent protest of the Soviet occupation of their land.  The protest, which lasted from 1988 to 1991, began with over 300,000 people singing patriotic songs of protest and solidarity at the Song of Estonia Festival in Tallinn. 

The singing continues in Estonia and I missed by only three days the Estonia Song and Dance Celebration, in which 26,000 choir singers joined together to perform Estonian folk songs.  While I was sorry to miss the Celebration, I was heartened to see the smiles on the faces of the Estonian people during my visit, and couldn’t help but think the recent singing many of them had experienced had something to do with the happy expressions.

While most of us will never have an opportunity to sing in a chorus of 300,000 or even 26,000, I believe many have had some meaningful “large chorus” experiences.  It may have been a regular large chorus of which you have been a member, or a special festival chorus, such as an All State Chorus.  I’d love to hear from you about these experiences.  Share your best “large chorus” memory.

Choral Memories

These past several weeks I’ve been especially impressed to see and hear the 170 or so persons who have chosen to participate in The Michael O’Neal Summer Singers (MOSS).   The background of these singers is varied, ranging from novice singers to seasoned professionals.  However, it is this wide difference in experience that, for me, makes MOSS one of my most satisfying conducting ventures of the year.  I see MOSS as a sterling example of choral music at its essence; creating something beautiful and meaningful as a group, and something we could never do as individuals.  It reminds us of the Gestalt theory in which we recognize that the “whole is greater than the sum of its parts.”  Choral music has provided me with so many wonderful experiences over the years, some of which were musical and some emotional, but often a combination of both.  Many times the experience has been shared with my fellow singers, although there have been instances where the group involvement has led to a very singular and personal experience. 

 All of this that I have mentioned above has created for me a lifetime of choral memories, and it is hard to imagine my life without them.  I sense that most of you who take the time to read my little “musings” in this blog have had many meaningful choral memories as well.  I wish you would share them in this space, not only as an opportunity to pay tribute to the memory, but also as a way to share with other interested persons why we all love choral music.  These memories could be based on something that happened in your childhood or as recently as last year.  I look forward (we all look forward) to hearing what you have to say.

Music and July 4th

I just completed three fantastic Patriotic Concerts with the Roswell UMC Sanctuary Choir and Atlanta Wind Symphony and was reminded of the tremendous emotional impact music often has on us.  Many audience members told me they were in tears through much of the concert and I even heard from several performers who told me how moved they were by the music they were performing.   Our concert included many of the Patriotic “standards” such as America, the Beautiful, God Bless America, Battle Hymn of the Republic, Armed Forces Salute, and Stars and Stripes Forever. 

While we didn’t perform it in our concert this year, one of my favorite patriotic hymns is This Is My Song, sung to the Jean Sibelius tune FINLANDIA.  I believe it speaks to me so deeply because it reminds me that love of country is not unique to citizens of the United States of America.  The text, written by Lloyd Stone in 1934, goes as follows:

          This is my song, O God of all the nations,
          a song of peace for lands afar and mine.
          This is my home, the country where my heart is;
          here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;
          but other hearts in other lands are beating
          with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine.

           My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean
           and sunlight beams on cloverleaf and pine;
           but other lands have sunlight too, and clover,
           and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.
           O hear my song, thou God of all the nations,
           a song of peace for their land and for mine.

These words help me remember that I am not only a citizen of the USA, but also of the world.  As such, I wish for all the peoples of the world freedom, justice and happiness.

The great patriotic music we enjoy each July 4^th includes the themes listed above and when performed and heard with true sincerity this music encourages us to be the country our forefathers envisioned.  For all of you, I wish a safe and happy holiday which will hopefully include some thrilling and soul-stirring music.  Happy Birthday, America!

Choral Music Impacts Our Lives

Chorus America is a national organization that supports the work of choral groups (especially independent choruses) around the country.  The Michael O’Neal Singers has been a proud member of Chorus America for many years.  In 2009 Chorus America commissioned a study of the impact of choruses and choral singing in our American life.  There were four key findings:

Finding #1 – Choral singing continues to be the most popular form of participation in the performing arts.   There are an estimated 32.5 million adults regularly singing in choruses today and 42.6 million Americans overall (including children).

Finding #2 – Adults who sing in choruses are remarkably good citizens.  Chorus members are avid patrons of the arts, they volunteer significantly more frequently than the general public, they contribute much more financially to philanthropic organizations than the average American, and they exhibit greater civic leadership than their fellow Americans.

Finding #3 – Children who sing in choruses have academic success and valuable life skills.  Children who sing in choruses get significantly better grades in school, they are more likely to possess qualities conducive to learning and development, e.g., good memory, good practice and homework habits, and high levels of creativity, and finally, they are better team players and have more advanced social skills.

Finding #4 – The decline in choral singing opportunities for children and youth is a key area for concern.  More than one in four educators say there is no choir program in their schools and one in five parents say there are no choir opportunities for their children in their communities. 

Obviously, the first three findings are excellent news for those of us who love choral music, while the fourth finding is distressing, especially in light of the first three.  I would encourage everyone who cares about the future of choral music to spread the information obtained from this study.  It provides an opportunity to express pride in the impact of the choral artistic effort, and also gives a chance to encourage actions that will foster choral growth for generations to come.  A copy of the full Chorus Impact Study is available from Chorus America at www.chorusamerica.org.