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The choral world mourns the loss of Diane Loomer, co-founder of the internationally acclaimed women’s choir, Elektra, on December 10th at the age of 72. She is also credited with founding Chor Leoni, a highly regarded men’s choir that often toured with Elektra. Loomer emigrated from Minnesota to Vancouver in 1962, and quickly became a…
Confession, the spiritual masters tell us, is good for the soul. It’s not hard to see why. Confession lightens the conscience. It deflates the ego and allows us to offload the guilt we carry, sometimes without even being consciously aware of it. So I hope you’ll permit me the opportunity to confess a few secrets…
Our choral art form is unique: it is group story telling that unites music and words in a way that heightens the meaningful impact of each. The corporate aspect of choral music making—something done together by many different individuals at the same moment in time in the same place—powerfully magnifies and intensifies the impact of…
Hello from Zagreb! Where? Wasn’t there a war there? How do you get there? Do they speak English? I am on sabbatical for the fall semester from Oakland University. As I did on a previous sabbatical, I have chosen to come and live in Zagreb, Croatia for about three months. It will be a…
March 30, 1927 – October 7, 2012 Howard J. Rizner, 85, of Hillsdale, passed away Sunday, October 7, 2012 at his home. He was born March 30, 1927 in Dearborn to Joseph and Victoria (Plomer) Rizner. He was married December 27, 1951 to Barbara Knoblauch and she survives. Howard Rizner’s career of teaching vocal music in…
Some of the most popular articles in Bella Voce are those that contain repertoire suggestions. With that in mind, the board decided to ask our R & S chairs to submit one repertoire selection each month to share with our membership. Below you will find some of these suggestions. Please refer back here periodically as…
Earlier this year, Minnesota ACDA asked me to contribute to their year long focus on renewal. Here is a short article that was born out of that request. Celebrate a little EVERY day….. In a world where expectations seem to increase by the second, I am constantly looking for ways to recharge. I am often…
Resources for Children’s Choirs: There are many great resources out there for directors of children’s choirs. Included below are books specific to teaching children’s voices, tried and true repertoire suggestions and links to some of the children’s choir programs in the state of Michigan. I welcome more additions or suggestions! Please use the link to…
As a male choir director I often struggle with finding successful SSA literature that does not talk about beauty, flowers, and/or butterflies. Though there are many great composers out there writing exciting pieces for treble choirs such as Stephen Hatfield, Andrea Ramsey, and Joan Syzmko; I stumbled upon a great piece of literature: And Ain’t…
As music educators one of our goals is to help our students develop into independent musicians. A crucial component of independent musicianship is the ability to successfully read music. Developing music literacy is essential to the goal of equipping students with independent musicianship skills (Henry, 2004). Often students do not receive enough instruction on sight-reading….
