Inspired Choir

11/17/2023

This past fall, my treble ensemble dug into Mari Esabel Valverde's arrangement of Hébé by Ernest Chausson.

The rich harmonies, flowing French poetry by Louise Ackerman, and beautiful interpretation and voice leading by Valverde make this piece a gorgeous Romantic-Era addition to any choral concert.�

In this week's post at inspired choir.com/hebe/, I share about composer Ernest Chausson, composer/arranger Mari Esabel Valverde, poet Louise Ackermann, some basic fundamentals of French Art Song, and the story of the Greek character Hébé.

I'd love to hear from you! Have you sung or conducted Mari Esabel Valverde's arrangement of Hébé by Ernest Chausson with your choir? Let me know in the comments below!

10/30/2023

What spooky choral works are you listening to this week to get you in the mood for Halloween?? 🎃 👻 🦇

Every fall as soon as we get our first chilly evening, I find myself in the mood to be scared. Usually, this means turning on a scary movie and cuddling up with some hot apple cider and a cat.

But this year, I'm leaning in to the creepy, spooky choral music to help set the mood for Halloween.

In this week's post, I share five of my favorite spooky choral works to get you ready for Halloween. Check them out by visiting inspiredchoir.com/listen-up-halloween !

What must-listen spooky Halloween Choral Works are on your October playlist? Let me know by responding in the comments below!

🎵

10/13/2023

Inspired Choir is back with new repertoire posts! My first featured choral work this fall is The Girl with the Numbers by Marie-Claire Saindon - Composer/Compositrice. As soon as I heard this piece this summer, I just knew it had to be featured on our Fall 'Main Character" Themed Concert.

This composition shares the story of American mathematician Katherine Johnson, known most prominently for her work calculating rocket trajectories for NASA's first orbital flight with Friendship 7 and the first human flight to the moon with Apollo 11.

Check out this week’s post at inspiredchoir.com to learn more about the composer, main character, and NASA, the Space Race, and Civil Rights in the 1960’s!

Have you performed The Girl with the Numbers? What were your challenges and triumphs with this piece?? Comment below to share!

08/03/2023

Thank you to everyone who joined me this week at ’s summer conference!

I had such a great time sharing with you all of my favorite resources and techniques for breathing, stretching, mindfulness, and teaching, learning, and choosing “world” and cultural musics.

Arkansas teachers, I’m serious about wanting to come visit you and your students!

07/29/2023

Big News! I’ve launched a course to help choir leaders Start Strategically Planning Your Concert Cycle Today!

This course is for you if
🎶You want your students to be excited about your repertoire, but finding the right teaching resources is just so hard.
🎶You're maybe a little bit burned out as you try to keep on top of lesson planning, grading, concerts, contests, etc.
🎶You've considered coming up with a system, but have no idea where to start.
🎶You've seen curriculum guides and resources online, but can't quite get yourself to buy or create your own.

I’m here to tell you - you can do this! And you don’t have to do it alone.

The Choir Curriculum Catalyst is a self-paced program that will help you plan your whole concert cycle, semester, or year mindfully, intentionally, and with great detail. Start your year off right with activities, assessments, and daily plans ready to go now!

This is a Beta version of the course which means the course isn't complete yet...on purpose! I want your feedback on the direction of the course, which I will complete by mid-to late August!

Visit inspiredchoir.com/choir-curriculum-catalyst/ or click on the link on my bio to learn more!

07/27/2023

Thank you to all who attended my live webinar tonight! Check out the replay here!

When you think of strategic planning, does your stomach churn a little bit? If you're anything like me, you love the thrill of choosing new music, but then y...

07/22/2023

I have had the absolute honor of interviewing 22 incredible composers over the past month and cannot wait to share their wisdom and insight with you at the Summer Summit July 24-26!

This virtual summit is for anyone who enjoys choral music and wants to learn more about some of the composers who are helping to shape our choral field today. And it’s completely free!

Grab your free ticket at inspiredchoir.com/summer-summit/ or by clicking on the link in my bio!

Don’t want to wait until July 24? The all-access pass will give you IMMEDIATE access to all of the videos, along with transcripts of all interviews, four bonus interviews, and classroom worksheets for each piece featured on the summit.

Get to know the composers behind the works you love, discover new choral works, and think deeply about the role of choral music in our world today.

P.S. Yesterday was Inspired Choir’s first birthday! Cheers to one year! What a fun way to celebrate - hosting a summit!

07/21/2023

BONUS INTERVIEWS DETAILS! There are four Summer Summit bonus interviews that can only be found in the All-Access Area! Roger Emerson Composer/Arranger and I discuss his arrangement of Joni Mitchell’s “Both Sides Now,” Yu Hang Tan shares about his breakaway first choral arrangement “Ikan Kekek,” Coty Raven Morris and I discuss her lyrical collaborations “Dust” and “I Want to Be the Sun,” and Pederson shares about his work “Hands Are Knockin’”!

Don’t want to miss these exclusive bonus videos?The all-access pass will give you IMMEDIATE access these four videos, along with all of the other Summer Summit videos, transcripts of all interviews, and classroom worksheets for each piece featured on the summit. All for just $47.

Don’t wait too long to purchase! The price of the All-Access pass goes up as soon as the summit begins.

Grab your free ticket for the July 24-26 summit today at inspiredchoir.com/summer-summit/ or by clicking on the link in my bio!

Get to know the composers behind the works you love, discover new choral works, and think deeply about the role of choral music in our world today.

07/20/2023

Composing duo Coty Raven Morris and Saleel Menon sat down with me to talk about their composition, “Who I Want to Be.”

In this interview, we discussed the origins of this piece, ’s process for arranging ’s melody, the beauty of the simple text, and the importance of wellness discussions with choirs of all ages and abilities. The energy during this interview was so. much. fun. You won’t want to miss it!

Check out this interview and more at the Inspired Choir Summer Summit, coming up July 24-26.

Don’t want to wait until July 24? The all-access pass will give you IMMEDIATE access to all of the videos, along with transcripts of all interviews, four bonus interviews, and classroom worksheets for each piece featured on the summit.

Grab your free ticket at inspiredchoir.com/summer-summit/ or by clicking on the link in my bio!

Get to know the composers behind the works you love, discover new choral works, and think deeply about the role of choral music in our world today.

               

07/20/2023

Composer Catherine Dalton and I sat down to talk about her composition, “Silver Deity of Secret Night.”

In this interview, we discuss the elements of science, math, history, and music that are all at play in this work. Catherine shares about her inspirations for this piece, her compositional process, and the ways in which ensembles might explore the message of this piece, which is rooted in the excitement and hopefulness of the Apollo 11 mission. Such a cool piece and story!

Check out this interview and more at the Inspired Choir Summer Summit, coming up July 24-26.

Don’t want to wait until July 24? The all-access pass will give you IMMEDIATE access to all of the videos, along with transcripts of all interviews, four bonus interviews, and classroom worksheets for each piece featured on the summit.

Grab your free ticket at inspiredchoir.com/summer-summit/ or by clicking on the link in my bio!

Get to know the composers behind the works you love, discover new choral works, and think deeply about the role of choral music in our world today.

               

07/19/2023

Composer Jake Runestad and I sat down to talk about his composition, “Your Soul Is Song.”

In this interview, Jake shares the tragedy that led to this beautiful and impactful work. He discusses the importance of understanding backstory, of having conversations about choral works, and of cherishing the rehearsal process. I had such a nice time chatting with Jake - you won’t want to miss this session!

Check out this interview and more at the Inspired Choir Summer Summit, coming up July 24-26.

Don’t want to wait until July 24? The all-access pass will give you IMMEDIATE access to all of the videos, along with transcripts of all interviews, four bonus interviews, and classroom worksheets for each piece featured on the summit.

Grab your free ticket at inspiredchoir.com/summer-summit/ or by clicking on the link in my bio!

Get to know the composers behind the works you love, discover new choral works, and think deeply about the role of choral music in our world today.

07/19/2023

Composer Moira Smiley and I sat down to talk about her composition, “Sing About It.”

In this interview, we discuss the power of singing to convey rich messages and remind ourselves of the work we need to do. Moira shares how the music for “Sing About It” came to her, how ensembles should discuss the pledge to join a cause and give gutsy support, and her love of community music making and collaborations with choirs.

Check out this interview and more at the Inspired Choir Summer Summit, coming up July 24-26.

Don’t want to wait until July 24? The all-access pass will give you IMMEDIATE access to all of the videos, along with transcripts of all interviews, four bonus interviews, and classroom worksheets for each piece featured on the summit.

Grab your free ticket at inspiredchoir.com/summer-summit/ or by clicking on the link in my bio!

Get to know the composers behind the works you love, discover new choral works, and think deeply about the role of choral music in our world today.