Singer Network

A Service of Chorus America

The man behind the cluster chords.

Kelsey Menehan

For most of us choral singers, the composer is little more to us than the name that appears under the title on the front of our score. Most of those folks are long gone, and we're left to scouring history books if we want to find out anything about them.

Every so often, though, we get to be in the presence of a real living, breathing composer. And what a delight that can be.

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A Chinese Folksong for All 

"Mò Li Huā" (Jasmine Flower) has been popular since the Qing Dynasty. Learn this beautiful ballad with Jing Ling-Tam.
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The Wow Factor 

Think choral music is only found in drafty churches or formal concert halls? Think again! These innovators are stretching our imaginations and taking choral performances to the next level.
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Mormon Tabernacle Choir Tops Billboard Charts 

Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing: American Folk Hymns and Spirituals reaches the No. 1 spot on the classical music charts.
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Music for Taxing Times 

Please tell me that you are not, at this moment, at your desk surrounded by all the detritus of tax season - tiny scraps of paper that might be “deductible” if you could read them, chewed up No. 2 pencils, half empty coffee cups (or, more likely, fully-drained glasses of scotch). If this is indeed you, don’t sit there in silence! Do your taxes with accompaniment.
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Ligeti in Winter 

February, in my memory, was the month of the worst Nor’easters, bringing snows four feet deep drifting to 15. This February, the San Francisco Symphony Chorus is rallying as the result of a different sort of perfect storm: Ligeti’s Requiem. The 20-part, 20-minute piece, known best for its use in 2001, A Space Odyssey, ranks as one of the most difficult the Chorus has prepared.
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Conquering the B Minor Mass  

Love it or hate it, we can all agree that the Bach B Minor Mass is a seminal piece in choral music. But, love it or hate it, we can all agree that it takes Olympian fortitude to learn and perform. In an interview with Singer Network, professor Dennis Shrock gives us a better understanding of the man behind the music, the work itself, and what we can do to succeed.
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Mining for Gems: Part Two 

Choral music sleuth Helene Whitson has sifted through used CD bins and trolled the Internet to bring you more of the best but obscure choral recordings out there.
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The Road to Terezín 

Why would a chorus of Jews in a Nazi concentration camp perform the Verdi Requiem—not once but 16 times? Conductor Murry Sidlin set out to discover the truth for himself.
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Sex, Drugs, and Rock and Roll 

Among the zipped up, stiffly starched giants of the choral repertoire, Carmina Burana is the bad girl who can't seem to keep her blouse buttoned.
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Choral Masterworks: Is Any One Version “The Best”? 

In a Singer Network interview, choral conductor Tom Hall pulls back the veil on several well-loved choral works.
 
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