35. The Architect of Choral Repertoire: an interview with Dr. Dennis Shrock
04/27/20 • 61 min
In an unprecedented era of technology use in choral music, I was curious: how has technology influenced the history of choral music? I knew insight could be found from none other than the god of choral repertoire himself, Dr. Dennis Shrock.
As a graduate student in choral conducting his Choral Repertoire book served as our bible for three semesters of choral literature. I poured over the many pages of his scholarship looking for insight into what the best choice would be when I was trying to determine what music to select for my graduate lecture recital. Admittedly, this was the most intimidated I have ever been for an interview. I am the farthest thing from a choral literature savant. And yet, I had to know what this man thought on this subject.
I am delighted to share this interview with you. We not only talk about technology in choral music and how it's benefitted his research and writing, we gain valuable insight into his process. You'll be moved by his story. You'll be reminded of the power and influence a teacher can have on the lives of their students. You'll be inspired to listen to new music and to try your hand at arranging. And you'll also have a greater sense of appreciation for writing literature.
Thank you, Dr. Shrock for this wonderful interview.
#MorePeopleSinging
Choir Baton Host: Beth Philemon | @bethphilemon
Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
For more information on Choir Baton please visit choirbaton.com and follow us on Instagram @choirbaton
Dennis Shrock is author of three books published by Oxford University Press: Choral Repertoire (2009); Choral Scores (2015); and Choral Monuments (2017). He is also author of five books published by GIA: Performing Renaissance Music (2018); Performance Practices in the Baroque Era (2013); Handel’s Messiah, A Performance Practice Handbook (2013); Performance Practices in the Classical Era (2011); and Music for Beginning Conductors, An Anthology for Choral Conducting Classes (2011). In addition, he is co-author with James Moyer of A Conductor’s Guide to Choral/Orchestral Repertoire, and he is editor of early-music editions for the GIA Historical Music Series. Dr. Shrock has held faculty positions at Boston University, Westminster Choir College, the University of Oklahoma, and Texas Christian University, and has had residencies at the University of Delaware, Baylor University, the University of Southern California, the University of Mississippi, and Yale University. He has also served as Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Canterbury Choral Society of Oklahoma City, Interim Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and Editor of The Choral Journal.
Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
Music by: Scott Holmes
Follow @ChoirBaton on
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Follow @BethPhilemon on
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In an unprecedented era of technology use in choral music, I was curious: how has technology influenced the history of choral music? I knew insight could be found from none other than the god of choral repertoire himself, Dr. Dennis Shrock.
As a graduate student in choral conducting his Choral Repertoire book served as our bible for three semesters of choral literature. I poured over the many pages of his scholarship looking for insight into what the best choice would be when I was trying to determine what music to select for my graduate lecture recital. Admittedly, this was the most intimidated I have ever been for an interview. I am the farthest thing from a choral literature savant. And yet, I had to know what this man thought on this subject.
I am delighted to share this interview with you. We not only talk about technology in choral music and how it's benefitted his research and writing, we gain valuable insight into his process. You'll be moved by his story. You'll be reminded of the power and influence a teacher can have on the lives of their students. You'll be inspired to listen to new music and to try your hand at arranging. And you'll also have a greater sense of appreciation for writing literature.
Thank you, Dr. Shrock for this wonderful interview.
#MorePeopleSinging
Choir Baton Host: Beth Philemon | @bethphilemon
Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
For more information on Choir Baton please visit choirbaton.com and follow us on Instagram @choirbaton
Dennis Shrock is author of three books published by Oxford University Press: Choral Repertoire (2009); Choral Scores (2015); and Choral Monuments (2017). He is also author of five books published by GIA: Performing Renaissance Music (2018); Performance Practices in the Baroque Era (2013); Handel’s Messiah, A Performance Practice Handbook (2013); Performance Practices in the Classical Era (2011); and Music for Beginning Conductors, An Anthology for Choral Conducting Classes (2011). In addition, he is co-author with James Moyer of A Conductor’s Guide to Choral/Orchestral Repertoire, and he is editor of early-music editions for the GIA Historical Music Series. Dr. Shrock has held faculty positions at Boston University, Westminster Choir College, the University of Oklahoma, and Texas Christian University, and has had residencies at the University of Delaware, Baylor University, the University of Southern California, the University of Mississippi, and Yale University. He has also served as Artistic Director of the Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Canterbury Choral Society of Oklahoma City, Interim Conductor of the Dallas Symphony Chorus, and Editor of The Choral Journal.
Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
Music by: Scott Holmes
Follow @ChoirBaton on
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Visit ChoirBaton.com
Follow @BethPhilemon on
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Previous Episode
34. Your Dress Rehearsal Opportunity
While you can't give your singers in the Spring of 2020 a final end of the year or semester concert as a culminating experience of the work they've done, I do believe you can provide a unique opportunity to reflect, showcase, and remember their year. Digital Portfolios, my friends. Yes, digital portfolios. Before you dismiss this idea - stay with me. A portfolio is a product that ultimately shows either your best work or how your work has progressed over time. This podcast is an example of a form of a digital portfolio. Listen to the progression of episodes and you'll (hopefully) see how I've grown as an interviewer.
This episode is a mix of a 2020 "there are four reasons why you should be exploring digital portfolios now" clip and a 2017 presentation I gave at the North Carolina Music Educators Conference on the same topic. I'll breakdown how, why, and what - and give you examples of what your students can put in them. Similarly, the April Mini-Course in the Teaching Membership also provides a further in-depth guide to implementing them. I firmly believe now is the time to begin experimenting who digital portfolio implementation. This is your dress rehearsal opportunity.
Here's the thing, why not use the digital content singers are creating during virtual learning and starting to organize it on a site that they can reference a year from now and show how they've grown? A digital portfolio isn't the current solution to online learning in the classroom, it is the long-term solution to assessing student growth and achievement, regardless of whether we're teaching in schools or online.
And note, I know not every school has digital portfolio capabilities. I address ideas you can take to doing a hard-copy of a portfolio, too.
#MorePeopleSinging #EvenOnline
Choir Baton Host: Beth Philemon | Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
For more information on Choir Baton please visit choirbaton.com and to follow us on Instagram @choirbaton @bethphilemon
Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
Music by: Scott Holmes
Follow @ChoirBaton on
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Visit ChoirBaton.com
Follow @BethPhilemon on
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Visit BethPhilemon.com
Next Episode
36. Stop Looking for the Right Choral Repertoire....
How many times of you struggled to find the exact piece of repertoire for a concert? How many times have you thought you found the perfect piece only to discover the tessitura that sits in all the wrong places?
Or there's a four-part TB divisi in a random 2 pages of the piece. Or all of the many other pervading themes that are a part of the struggle for finding repertoire to meet your ensemble's needs.
This week's guest on the Choir Baton Podcast is Victoria Boler. Victoria walks us through how and why we can and should be arranging in the choral classroom. This episode also has my vulnerability level on 100% because I'm singing and improvising on the spot with her. Here's why you should listen to this episode even RIGHT NOW, as we don't know what choir will look like for the next couple months. With the exception of composer Dale Trumbore and her amazing forward thinking - there is not a composition out there yet for a choir amidst these times. NOW is the time to begin to dust off your composing and arranging skills and try your hand at making music that works for your choirs.
*** Update: We are always learning - myself included! In this episode I use the folk song Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me. I loved this song growing up because my grandmother would sing it to me. It was recently pointed out to me the racial implications of this song. I had no idea! Now, I could erase this entire episode - BUT - the content of what is here, how to construct an arrangement on a basic melody - is still good. And, my use of this song is an opportunity to for anyone else who didn't know it's history to learn. So, I leave the episode alone because I think now there is even one more lesson to learn here, besides how to make your own arrangements. Research folk songs before you sing them, even if they were a childhood favorite! ***
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Victoria Boler is a leading elementary general music educator and curriculum designer. In addition to general music, Victoria has taught orchestra, choir, and percussion ensembles. In an administrative role, Victoria has served as Fine Arts Coordinator, leading band, orchestra, choir, general music, and musical theater at the programmatic level. Victoria’s primary instruments are voice and percussion, and she has earned undergraduate degrees in both instrumental and vocal music education. With Orff certification in all 3 levels, Victoria is currently completing her Masters of Music in Music Education and her Kodaly training. She publishes general music curriculum and instructional materials at victoriaboler.com, where she serves thousands of educators in their journey to create a grounded and artistic music curriculum for their unique teaching scenarios. Victoria's lesson planning subscription, The Planning Binder, empowers teachers to know exactly what to teach, when to teach it, and what strategies to use. Inside the Planning Binder, you’ll find long-range plans like scope and sequences, as well as specific teaching activities in concept plans. Each month you’ll see new documents to jump-start your planning, as well as steps to a
Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger
Music by: Scott Holmes
Follow @ChoirBaton on
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Visit ChoirBaton.com
Follow @BethPhilemon on
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Visit BethPhilemon.com
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