from your president contents236-1)-fal… · fall 2016: volume 36, issue 1 contents from your...

Fall 2016: Volume 36, Issue 1

ContentsFrom Your President . . . . . . . . . . . 1

Loren C. Veigel

Rationales for Renaissance Repertoire . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3

Dr. Zebulon Highben

Summer Conference Recap . . . . . 5Christopher Dent

“What’s That Squiggly Thing?”:Integrating Musical Literacy in the Volunteer Choir . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Daniel Parsley

Distinguished Service Award . . 11Amy Gelsone

Treasurer’s Report . . . . . . . . . . . 12Kent Vandock

Repertoire for DevelopingGroups: Hugo Distler’s MörikeChorliederbuch, op. 19 . . . . . . . . 13

Brad Pierson

Retirees: Relics or Resources? . . 18Jerry Parsons

Vocal Jazz: Is Anybody Out There? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19

Chris Ilg

OCDA Mentorship Program . . 20Brad Pierson

Upcoming Events . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Leadership Roster . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

AdvertisersCMS Publications . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2

JW Pepper . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

Otterbein University . . . . . . . . . . . 4

Soundwaves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10

Stanton’s Sheet Music . . . . . . . . . . 6

Xavier University . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8

From Your PresidentIt’s Simply N the Same….TEXT MESSAGES NEVER REPLACE a face-to-faceconversation. An email stream is just not thesame as lunch with a friend. An online searchwon’t provide the sensitive mentorship of atrusted colleague who cares about your suc-cess. No technological tool fulfills one’s needslike the nod of a head, a responsive and tar-geted observation, or the sympathetic touch of a friend.

A younger attendee at OCDA Summer Conference said to me, “Today’snew teachers think mentorship is an email and resources are Googlesearches.” Consider the experiences our Summer Conference can provide inmentorship and resources! e OCDA Board has observed that attendanceat OCDA Summer Conference, while still strong, has shown a gradual butsteady decline. Your Board continually makes adjustments and comes upwith ideas for invigoration of the conference. Come get your mentorshipand resources in person!

Mark your calendar for June 19–21, 2017, planning to attend our terrificSummer Conference on the beautiful campus of Otterbein University. Atregistration time, speak to several young colleagues, reminding them of thepriceless value of camaraderie and personal professional contact (not tomention all the fun we have!), and encouraging them to come with you toconference. Over the many years I’ve been involved in ACDA, absolutelynothing has been more valuable than the personal contact, friendships,mentorship, and collegiality developed through this organization. KnowingI could pick up the phone to call an OCDA colleague for any need has al-ways provided an indispensible support system. My sincere advice to all myyoung colleagues would be: Get involved! OCDA can become your mostvaluable resource, your finest mentors, your favorite colleagues. e per-sonal contact is not to be missed.

I send my best wishes to every OCDA member, as your season beginswith your students, singers, children, or worshippers. Remember thebeauty of our profession as you change lives for the better every day!

At this time, there are several items I’d like to bring to your attention:

First, I express once again my sincere appreciation for the tremendous privi-lege of serving my beloved OCDA as your President. Feel free to reach out

OCDA President LorenC.Veigel

to me at any time. [email protected]

e national Sing Up Campaignhas been very successful, and thisfall will run for only one month.Doug O’Neal continues as our ca-pable membership chair. Take amoment to think of a colleaguewho is not an OCDA member.Share with them the great benefitsof our organization, especially thepersonal/professional relation-ships. Forward new member con-tact information to Doug at [email protected]. Watchohiocda.org for further informa-tion. OCDA has a strong nationalpresence; our Sing Up campaignshave been successful. Your assis-tance will assure our continued

strength, and allow the next gener-ation of conductors to experienceOCDA/ACDA.

I wish to express my personal grat-itude to my wonderful Board. Youshould be proud to be representedby such dedicated and giving choralprofessionals. ere is tremendousenergy in our organization rightnow, and thanks to these people, wehave a bright future.

Expect a survey to appear fromyour OCDA Board, regardingSummer Conference programmingand attendance, as well as OCDANews (online vs. print versions).Please take the few moments re-quired to complete this survey; the

data will assist your Board to planfor the future of OCDA.

Over the past few years, SuzanneWalters has worked diligently toestablish a great opportunity for el-ementary school choirs: theOCDA-sponsored ElementaryChoir Festivals. Now endorsed alsoby OMEA, these events are poisedto expand regionally across thestate. Kudos to Suzanne for her su-perior work, and our best wishes asshe steps aside from her chair posi-tion. OCDA is delighted to an-nounce the appointment of JulieStrebler, of Coventry Schools,Summit County, as our new Ele-mentary Choir Festival Chair. Ifyou desire information about this

FALL 2016 table of contents 2

S THun pacu oyw oNoc, retaatd lna0 002etnr iot fcefrere paegr aos fenilediug

SSSSS GG THTTG GA Ecae hte sahcr ehS. M. C. rDy bd esompo tcarng pdiliub-llike svisne W. slevell likd sna, uporg, e t rec f

SSSS NNIMl Oaut

GGNN II NIIipt setnong cingis-thgiA s mpocy tilaque sehT. rreae s tmrofnoc cise muh. Teci s eceipe seht, reos m’taathW

.secnamrofret p

NGr os feceis noitisopA EMo O ty lurtre s a

gr aos fenilediugn ad cnl aacismum, egare s atxeT

d ens arembunng inrael lacismu

citca prtseni fehtc isuo Mihe OhTtaatd ln0 a00r 2of

TICMS PUBLICA AT6 E l wood D

pg, t recnor cod fese un bev eppae gaibrevd na, retem v. Esngikran moissrepx e utr suoye kaT. ecneirepx e x elblaiav a avsiontiospom cechn coitaaticossn Aoitaatcdu E sahcrur poe flbaliavs a avr ie

IONS

Dr

.secnamrofret pll ae dulcnd inae taatirpor r a ore fes hng iihtyre rn oisivdi-tsrio a fs ttnedu

!setnong cdiare-thgil saroh

more fs

re usaeme telmpo ch ting witaat

c ist mus

3136 Englewood D

Silver Lake, OH, 44

cile csael, prr, edro oTTo iclbupsmc.ww.ww

. Dr

4224

:erek hccom.sationc

http://www.ohiocda.org

http://www.cmspublications.com

wonderful new project, or wouldlike to help bring a festival for ele-mentary choirs to your area ofOhio, please contact Julie ([email protected]).

OCDA members attending Sum-mer Conference were provided abrief preview of ACDA’s fantastic2017 National Conference, to beheld in Minneapolis March 8–11,2017. is landmark conference

provides the expected limitless op-portunities to experience perform-ances, reading sessions, clinics, andcomposer’s sessions, and to meetconductors from across the nationand around the world. Mark yourcalendar and make your plans toattend.

I’m not yet prepared to an-nounce all the details of our 2017Summer Conference, but I am very

excited about our plans. I promisethat you’ll gain great insights fromour nationally recognized headlin-ers, as well as hearing from some ofour own Ohio experts. Of course,there will be the usual reading ses-sions and social events. Rememberthose dates: June 19–21, 2017.

Now, go change lives for the better,my friends! Have a wonderful year. d


OVER THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS I havebecome a preacher of the “gospel ofRenaissance music.” As we allknow, the repertoire we choose forour ensembles becomes the cur-riculum by which we teach them.ough there are many differentgenres, categories, and types ofmusic from which we can (andshould!) choose, I believe thatevery choir’s repertoire each yearshould include at least one motet,madrigal, or other work from theRenaissance era. is article detailsa few of my reasons for that asser-tion.

Renaissance music is technicallyand texturally diverse. As a young conductor I avoidedRenaissance music, thinking it wastoo difficult for my choirs. Cer-tainly many Palestrina motets andMonteverdi madrigals would bedaunting for less experienced

singers, but there are many simplerworks with limited ranges thatwork wonderfully for beginners,regardless of age. Smaller ensem-bles shouldn’t shy away from theRenaissance, either: Many com-posers such as Dufay, Dunstable,and Praetorius wrote numerousworks for 2 and 3 parts as well aspieces with thicker vocal textures.

Speaking of textures: Renais-sance choral music does not neces-sarily mean a cappella singing. Weknow that it was not unusual forinstruments to double (or evensometimes replace) vocal parts inthe Renaissance, and modern con-ductors should feel free to includeinstruments in this way. Wind andstring instruments are particularlylovely timbres for such doubling;with keyboard instruments, theorgan or a digital keyboard using asustained sound are preferable tothe piano because of the difference

in sound qualityand production.

Renaissance music makes better, more independent musicians. e largely polyphonic nature ofmuch Renaissance repertoire en-courages good breath support, en-ergized phrasing, and confident,independent singing. ere arevery few cases of “altos get the left-over notes” in Renaissance compo-sition; each part gets aurally inter-esting melodic material that is en-joyable to sing and hear. Consideralso that the staggered, imitativeentrances of a Josquin motet or thechromatic tension of a late Italianmadrigal require careful listeningand responsiveness to other voices.Such attentiveness helps singersdevelop an intuitive understandingof how other parts interact withtheir own.

Rationales for Renaissance RepertoireDr. Zebulon Highben, South Central Region Chair

e foundational principle ofthe steady, constant tactus—as op-posed to modern meter signaturesand metronome markings—like-wise builds musical independence.Singers learn that musical pulseand tempo aren’t always dictatedby the conductor, but can be inter-nalized by individual performers.In the case of Renaissance musicthis internalization is explicit, sincethe concept of tactus is related tothe range and speed of the humanheartbeat.

A great experiential way toteach Renaissance tactus is to allowthe ensemble to help establish anddetermine its speed in a piece.First, ask students to tap their owntactus individually on their ster-num or knee; then, invite them to

whisper or audiate the text whilethey tap. Finally, have the wholechoir sing together while trying tofind and agree upon a uniformpulse. It may take a few tries, butyou’ll be surprised how quicklyyour chorus will settle into atempo, and how often that tempois the same (or perhaps better) thanwhat you might have chosen.

Renaissance music builds musical literacy. Notation, melodic contour, inter-vals, rhythm and duration, modaltonality—all these musical elementsthat might seem dull in the averagesight-singing text can be taughtcontextually with Renaissancerepertoire. Solfège works wonder-fully with many Renaissance works,

and there’s no better way to chal-lenge a group’s sight-singing skillsthan to pull out an unfamiliarmotet and read through it.

Renaissance music also allowsus to teach our choirs about musi-cality. e expressive qualities ofRenaissance compositions are builtinto their structure; performersmake expressive changes basedupon melodic contour, texturechanges, length and/or speed ofnotes, etc., rather than any dy-namic markings or other indicatorsin the score. By teaching theseideas to our choirs, we can helpthem learn to be naturally musical.

Take, for example, Hans LeoHassler’s well-known motet “DixitMaria.” (http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/sheet/hassler/hass-dix.pdf)


otterbein.edu/musicOtterbein is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Music (NASM)

Music at OtterbeinSTAND OUTDegrees O�ered:

Bachelor of Music Education

Bachelor of Music in Performance

Bachelor of Arts

Bachelor of Arts in Music and Business

Contact: Claire Brock, 614-823-1504, [email protected]

Building your future...one note at a time

Upcoming Audition Dates:

http://www.otterbein.edu/music

e motive introduced by thetenors at the beginning of the work(mm. 1–6) has a number of charac-teristics typical of a Renaissancemelody. e stressed syllables fallon the beat and have longer dura-tions than other syllables. Likewise,the energy and volume of the lineparallels the direction of themelodic contour. When the othervoices enter, they are in strict imi-tative polyphony (though altos aretransposed by a fifth), and in anygiven moment the voice parts withmoving notes become slightlymore prominent than the others. Atexture change at mm. 22 (“Ecceancilla Domine”) illustrates achange in the text, as Hassler useshomophony to emphasize Mary’sresponse to the angel.

You get the idea. e point hereis that many of the musical attrib-utes we would like our singers tohave and to know can be taughtthrough Renaissance pieces. Putanother way: It’s easy for teachersto generate a long list of potentiallearning objectives from a singleRenaissance work.

Renaissance music encouragesvaried teaching techniques. Introducing a new Renaissancepiece to a choir is an opportunityfor creative lesson planning. Howyou introduce the piece will shapethe choir’s understanding and en-joyment of it.

With the Hassler motet men-tioned above, I would teach the en-tire choir the opening tenor motiveby rote. I’d ask them to echo me asI sing the first word, then the firsttwo words, then the first fourmeasures, then the entire six-barmotive. Carefully modeling thephrasing and dynamic shaping Iwant to hear, I would use hand ges-tures to help show the text stress.en I would teach the same music“transposed” to the alto’s key. Afterwe had learned that motive to-gether, I would invite the choir toopen their scores—at which point,they would find that (thanks topolyphonic imitation) they’d basi-cally learned the notes, rhythms,and expressive qualities of the firstten measures.

Another technique that singers

enjoy is learning part-book style.Like a “real” Renaissance-era cho-rus, each section receives a copy ofonly their part rather than the fullscore. (You can find Finale/Sibeliusfiles for many Renaissance pieceson CPDL and quickly extract theindividual parts into separate doc-uments.) Invite the choir to standin circles by section so they aresinging to each other as they learntheir parts. is technique is am-plified with less experienced choirsif you can introduce their parts viasectional rehearsals before puttingthem together.

Beyond these rationales for Renais-sance music, there is one more thattrumps the rest: Singers enjoy thisrepertoire. Every spring, many ofmy choir members will say that theRenaissance compositions we per-formed in the past year wereamong their favorites.

I hope this brief article has pro-vided you with some inspiration topull out and dust off your Renais-sance scores. Your choirs will thankyou for it. Happy programming! d


OCDA’S 2016 SUMMER CONFERENCE

was held June 20–22 on the cam-pus of Otterbein University inWesterville. is year OCDA wel-comed Rodney Eichenberger andAndrea Ramsey as our headliningclinicians. Eichenberger presentedsessions on a variety of topics in-

cluding “the conductor’s mirror,”multi-purpose vocalises, and theartistic rehearsal, while Ramseypresented sessions on the highschool men’s chorus, the non-audi-tioned middle school choir and themeaning of the choral experiencefor grades 7–12. Ramsey offered

insight into herown works in asession titled“Compositions and Conversations:the choral music of Andrea Ram-sey.” Eichenberger offered an op-portunity for several conductors toreceive feedback as part of a con-

Summer Conference Recap Christopher Dent, Summer Conference Coordinator

ducting masterclass, with attendeesserving as the choir.

e conference boasted sevengreat performances as well, includ-ing the Ohio Northern UniversitySingers, directed by Dr. Ben Ayling;Lancaster Chorale, directed by Dr.Stephen Caracciolo; CappricioColumbus, directed by Larry Grif-fin; and the Dempsey MiddleSchool Choir, directed by TracyCinereski.

e OCDA High School Men’sand Women’s Honor Choirs wereagain directed this year by LyndaHasseler and Frank Bianchi. isone-day event saw over 100 highschool singers join together fromhigh schools across the state to

perform several outstanding selec-tions.

e annual Children’s HonorChoir is always a huge part of Sum-mer Conference, with singers ingrades 4–8 coming to participate ina rigorous three-day event. isyear’s Children’s Honor Choir wasdirected by Fred Meads from theAmerican Boychoir School.

Other conference highlights in-cluded jam-packed reading ses-sions, thanks to the tireless work ofour Repertoire & Standards chairswho hand-pick the best music toshare with you; terrific socialevents including our annualGemütlichkeit at Quaker Steak andLube (a new location this year) and

the All-Conference Party at Brio; acrowded exhibit hall with severalvendors from across the state; andthe presentation of this year’s Dis-tinguished Service Award to EricRichardson, who spent five decadesinspiring students at OlmsteadFalls Middle School, StrongsvilleHigh School, Westlake HighSchool and Heidelberg University.Eric also serves as director ofmusic at Bethesda on the BayLutheran Church and has served asWorship R&S Chair for ACDACentral Division.

I look forward to seeing you atthe 2017 conference, June 19–21,2017, at Otterbein University. d


O ANTSTS AANTO TTTANTTANT

ON’S SHEET MUO N ’ S S H E E ET M U“ S h he ee et M Mus us ic c S p

USIC U S I C p pe ec ci ia al is is sts ts s”

1 800 41-8-800-4-4www ..ststwww

42 MUSIC4242-MUSICttaantntotonns.ccocom

s At Stanton’you do looki

we search for new mus ng for teaching opportu

P Y P YY sic the way

nities

P t i M i Ed P t i M i Ed

d tion! d tion!

you do, looking for teaching opportu engaging texts, appealing melodies nies, and pieces that will be enjoyed ciated by your singers and audience

...our Source for r...YYour Source for C l a s s i c a l Vo c a l - B ro o a d w wa ay - C o n t e s t L i t e r rat t u re e ocal - Broadway - Contest Literature o Classical V o M u s i c T h e o ry y - Music Theory - Concert Band - Jazz Ensemble - Marching Ba

Open Monday-Friday 9:00-5:00 &

our P Yo Y nities, and harmo-

d and appre- es alike.

- S h o w C h o i r - S a c r e d C h o ra ra l - C h o ra a l e x t s - exts - T T - Show Choir - Sacred Choral - Choral T and - Orchestra - Ensembles - Methods - Marc

& Saturday 9:00-4:00 - stantons

Partner in Music Ed

Elementary - Sight Reading Large W l e m e n t a ry ry - Sight Reading Large W i g h t Reading Large W e a d i n g L a r rg e Wo r k s We d ed Works W Elementary - Sight Reading Large Wexts - Software - Solos & Ensembles ches - Overtures - T

.com - [email protected]

ducation!

d d i n g - Christmas h r i s t m a s dding - Christmas nsembles

om

http://www.stantons.com

CHARLENE’S WEEKLY AGENDA in-cludes rehearsing with the chancelchoir for two hours each ursdayat the First United MethodistChurch in her hometown. Charlenegets up bright and early every Sun-day morning to rehearse at 10:00AM in preparation for the 11:00 AM

service. Charlene has been doingthis every week since she was 18years old and has established thisroutine for the past 30 years.

Charlene has a beautiful so-prano voice. She is conscientiousand a dedicated chorister who al-ways comes to rehearsal with agreat attitude. In addition to herbeautiful voice, Charlene clearlyvalues the role of education in herlife, as she is a gifted high schoolEnglish teacher. Charlene had awonderful experience singing inthe high school glee club where shelearned solfège and key signatures,but she has not been invited to uti-lize that knowledge since thoseformative years. Charlene has sincelost the ability to identify a notatedpitch on the staff by name afterleaving her college women’s choir.At chancel choir rehearsal everyweek Charlene asks, “What is thatsquiggly 8 looking thing?” whichbegins every page of her music. Noone has taught Charlene that themarking mp doesn’t mean “megapitch.” Amidst all of this, everytime Charlene asks a question hersincere desire for musical knowl-edge is undeniable.

Have you come across this situ-ation before? It’s likely that most ofus have come face-to-face withsomething like this, though maybenot to the ridiculous extreme ofthis hypothetical scenario. Eventhough the severity may vary, thesentiment remains true: standardsfor instilling musicianship in thevolunteer choral ensemble oftenfall short in comparison to stan-dards for the academic choral en-semble. As music educators, we re-alize that our choristers all have ex-pertise in their day to daylives—they are profoundly literatein many areas of life. Whyshouldn’t musical literacy be in-cluded in their arsenal of skills?

As community and churchchoir directors, we are called tobuild up musicianship skills in allsettings. Even when individualscome from a well-rounded, musi-cianship-centered choral upbring-ing, the issue at hand remains thatoutside of the primary, secondary,or collegiate realm, the invitationfor musicianship training oftenfalls to the wayside due to real,valid time constraints.

is plea for musicianshipbuilding may seem like a grandioseideal. Reality may be a little differ-ent. When push comes to shove,pounding out pitches and relyingon choral “regurgitation” becomesthe needed course of action to getthose two pieces concert-ready forthe program next week, or to make

sure the anthemdoesn’t fallapart for this upcoming Sunday.Certainly, the “regurgitation”method of teaching has a sense ofnecessity in the volunteer choir, butfar too often it becomes the normrather than the exception during re-hearsal. I find myself a culprit of thespoon-feeding method more oftenthan I’d like to admit!

As music educators, we owe itto our choristers to provide toolsthat better invite musical literacy,whether they are volunteers or ex-perienced musicians. I realize thatthat this is not new information.Take the following words of en-couragement as a nowhere-near-exhaustive list of ideas that simplyscratches the surface for nurturingcapable, well-rounded choristers inyour community and church choirs.

Music: an Art and a ScienceMusic as an art and expressionalone simply isn’t enough. Teachyour choristers to experiencemusic as both a beautiful art, butalso as a calculated science, andyou will have a much easier timecreating an environment focusedon musical literacy. Know that thisfocus on music as an art and a sci-ence is intended to complement,and not downplay or dismiss, othervaluable areas found within choralmusic such as community building,mental and physical wellness, spiri-tuality, and countless other benefits

“What’s at Squiggly ing?”: IntegratingMusical Literacy in the Volunteer ChoirDaniel Parsl, Music and Worship R&S Chair


gained from collective choralsinging.

Understanding that musician-ship skills are a building block ofthe science of sound—what weconsider the analytic categoriza-tion and specific calculation ofpitch in relation to a greater tonaland musical context—is key to con-vincing your choristers that musi-cal literacy is a science. Principlesmust be understood and then ap-plied in order for concepts to befully integrated into a wholly en-gaged experience. Utilizing musi-cianship tools can be equated, insome sense, to the practice of achemistry or physics lab; we mustexperiment and use these tools tounderstand the whole concept.

To put it bluntly, music can’t berelegated to only art or only sci-

ence—it is the perfect marriage ofthe two. If choristers believe fullyin this union, they will be more aptand dedicated to expand their mu-sicianship skills while fully embrac-ing the artistic elements of musicmaking.

CreativityMake musicianship skills a game,even for adults. When an activity isenjoyable, we might not even real-ize that we are learning—this is thebest kind of learning.

Simple activities are worth theirweight in gold. Utilize a rhythmand subdivision exercise with a vol-unteer leader clapping quarternotes then “directing” the choir tochange rhythmic values (i.e. “afterthe third measure, we change totriplets while the first row keeps

quarter notes”). Allow for a num-ber of choristers to “direct” thechoir through Curwen hand signsas each section responds to a dif-ferent sign without verbal proddingfrom their leader. e most simpletools and exercises empower yourchoristers to take responsibility fortheir own development withoutthem even recognizing their ownengagement. Don’t discount whatyou would use with middle schoolor secondary school students—ittranslates more often than youwould think for average volunteerensembles.

An Open Mind: Try, Try Again! Assess what works for each group.I’ve found that my adult chancelchoir, with members aged from18–85 years, responds well to Cur-


XACHO

VIER UNAV TIVACAL OR

NIVERSITESVITI

ITY

[82na JtaSud7 A102

y]s onlytisalco vsetatDon iti

..

t [ins5 2ebF,tSa,riF,tSa

[82na, JtaS

.

y]s onlytisalntameur7b 1eF1 1ebF

y]s onltisalco v

a-

http://www.xavier.edu/music

wen hand signs. ey are a kines-thetic group of learners. We readboth new and old hymns with handsigns each rehearsal and tend torefer to intervallic issues in re-hearsal through kinesthetic means.On the other hand, I’ve found thatmy auditioned chamber ensembleworks better with solfège and canswitch within seconds betweenneutral vowels and solfège sylla-bles, especially when they are at-tempting to read through a newpiece without keyboard support. Inrehearsals with my upper elemen-tary children’s choir, students relishusing numbers, solfège, and handsigns interchangeably.

Find what works for the ensem-ble and don’t be stuck with just oneway of exploring musicianship.Don’t be afraid to “crash and burn”

in experimenting with your ensem-bles; when something doesn’t workas well as you had hoped, re-group,re-think, and re-envision. Most im-portantly, don’t let individuals be-come too frustrated with their mu-sicianship journey. Frustration canbe a powerful tool for progress; un-regulated frustration, however, canturn choristers off to new ap-proaches entirely. When a methodworks, celebrate and encourageyour ensembles in their successes.

Literature as a Tool for TeachingSometimes we program pieces be-cause we truly love the music andwish to invite our choristers toshare that love. Sometimes we pro-gram because the anthem fits thetheme of worship for that morning.Sometimes we program in order to

teach certain musical principlesand literacy. Try programming sev-eral pieces that have specific, at-tainable literacy content areas andclear literacy goals. e focus couldbe understanding mixed meter, re-lating dynamic contrasts, sightreading within basic harmoniccontexts, teaching articulation, orany other of numerous contexts.

It is important to keep in mindthat not all pieces serve the sameeducational outcome. We mighthave our “gravy” pieces, but we alsoneed to have a meal for our choris-ters that includes a protein, a veg-etable, and a starch. Our planningmust include an entree that is nu-tritional for the choristers’ overallmusical development. Each ingre-dient should serve a purpose. Likea good meal, we wouldn’t want just


http://jwpepper.com

steak or potatoes. We need a vari-ety of things on our plate. To an-swer the question in your head:yes, dessert (and maybe even a lit-tle wine) should also be included!

e Big Picture and the Bigger RewardTime is precious in rehearsals.Make it a personal practice to de-vote at least 10% of rehearsal timeto active musicianship building. Asan additional layer, consciously uti-lize literacy techniques throughoutyour rehearsal process like solfège,count singing, rhythmic solfège,and flash cards with musical termsand concepts. ough you may feelmore pressed for time to “getthings done,” the rewards will be-come clear later down the roadwith your volunteer ensembles.You will quickly notice how muchfaster your choristers will correctpitches after reading through apiece the second time, how intu-itive they become with style andphrasing, how intonation will im-prove when choristers understandthe context and function of whatthey are singing, and how muchmore efficient your rehearsal willeventually run if you stick to the

plan. It is a scary process to devoteeven 9 minutes of a 90-minute re-hearsal to building musicianship,but in my experience this practiceis crucial to the overall success forthe ensemble. e faster the en-semble takes on the nuts and boltsof a piece, the more time you haveto help them create a beautiful, vo-cally sound product. e morecomfortable they are with the sci-ence, the better equipped they willbe to create the art.

Never Forget: ese Are Lifelong StudentsWhether we—or they—like toadmit it or not, our volunteer cho-risters are still students. By stu-dents, I don’t mean the way wewould traditionally view the rela-tionship of teacher and student inacademic settings. Rather, we mustconsider our volunteer choristersas students to encourage lifelonglearning.

I recently had a conversationwith a tenor in my adult chancelchoir at the end of a rehearsal inwhich we had been trying toachieve a particularly challengingset of musical literacy standards.Because I’m sensitive to the awk-

wardness that can arise when theinstructor role is filled by a con-ductor considerably younger thansome of his singers, I braced fordiscomfort. To my surprise, my 72-year-old tenor said, “I wanted tosay thank you for explaining thekey signature in ‘Keep Your Lamps’tonight. It is something I want toknow more about. You also men-tioned something about a circle offifths. Can we talk more aboutwhat that means sometime?” Afterwe had talked for a bit he endedour conversation with, “I’m a firmbeliever you can always teach anold dog new tricks.”

I think that sentiment is over-whelmingly true. We must con-tinue to cultivate this understand-ing of lifelong learning as a neces-sary and intrinsic principle for ourchoristers’ musical growth and suc-cess. No one is too old, too inexpe-rienced, or too unprepared tobegin the journey toward musicalliteracy. Our duty is to begin orcontinue this journey for all of thechoristers who devote their voicesto our craft. To do so will be ablessing to our singers, and to notdo so would be a disservice tothose we lead. d


http://www.soundwaves.org

IT IS MY DISTINCT HONOR to cele-brate in this article the latest recip-ient of the OCDA DistinguishedService Award, Mr. Eric Richard-son. Without a doubt, EricRichardson has proven to be achampion of choral music in Ohio.He has been a successful choral di-rector, clinician, and mentor to nu-merous Ohio choral musicians.

Nominated by friend and col-league William Zurkey, Eric waspresented the award at the businessluncheon on June 22 at OtterbeinUniversity. In his nomination letter,Zurkey notes “Mr. Richardson’s in-fluence has gone beyond his teach-ing as he has become both a clini-cian and an OMEA contest judge.He presently works with many highschool choral groups with the goalof assisting directors in buildingskills in their choirs. He is a mentorto many high school choral direc-tors in the state as he travels toshare his passion for choralmusic. . . . Over the past 40 years,musicians, students, and commu-nity members have been the grate-ful recipients of Eric’s passion forexcellence in choral music.”

Eric taught at Olmstead FallsMiddle School, Strongsville HighSchool, Heidelberg University, andWestlake High School, where heset a standard of excellence and su-perior ratings in OMEA events. Inretirement he continues to be ac-tive in the American Choral Direc-tors Association, Ohio Choral Di-rectors Association, and the Ohio

Music Educators Association, andhe has served in several capacities,most recently as the Worship R&SChair for the ACDA Central Divi-sion. He is currently the Director ofMusic at Bethesda on the BayLutheran Church in Bay Village,Ohio. Eric Richardson has been amajor influence on choral music inOhio. His colleagues, former stu-dents, and community membershave been inspired by his passion.

I have expe-rienced Eric’sencouragementpersonally: We were lucky to havehim as our Junior High clinician forDistrict 1 Honor Choir a few yearsago. My students still rememberhis techniques and jokes! Eric iskind, caring, personable, funny,and highly respected among hispeers. I am thrilled to congratulatehim on this outstanding honor! d

Distinguished Service AwardAmy Gelsone, Historian



Treasurer’s ReportKent Vandock, Treasurer

1/1/2016-Category 9/4/2016

INCOME

Advertising 1,321.45

Children's Choir Income 23,078.42

Commissioning Consortium 4,849.42

Elementary Choir Festival Income 1,858.84

High School Honors Choir Income 12,835.00

Int Inc 7.68

Member Deposits 3,192.00

Summer Conference Income 24,581.14

TOTAL INCOME 71,723.95

EXPENSES

ACDA Membership Dues Transfer 859.00

Awards 422.75

Bank Charge 27.94

Board Meetings 680.81

Children's Choir Expenses 20,760.07

Commissioning Consortium Expense 5,021.18

Elections 219.45

Elementary Choir Festival Expenses 1,858.83

Fees 50.00

High School Honors Choir Expense 12,290.70

Insurance 1,825.00

Newsletter 300.00

Office 411.03

OMEA 255.95

Sponsorships 227.21

State Officer Travel 307.44

Summer Conference Expenses 19,980.27

Travel 617.00

Website expenses 652.94

TOTAL EXPENSES 66,767.57

OVERALL TOTAL 4,956.38

2016 Newsletter Report - Year To Date1/1/2016 through 9/4/2016

9

HUGO DISTLER is considered to beone of the most influential com-posers of the twentieth century.Alongside contemporaries such asErnst Pepping and Johann NepomukDavid, Distler helped usher in anew era of music known as theNew German Church Music.Motets from his op. 12 (e.g. Singetdem Herrn ein neues Lied and Wa-chet auf, ruft uns die Stimme) re-main favorites among choirsaround the world, and larger workssuch as Die Weihnachtsgeschichte,op. 10, and Choralpassion, op. 7,are widely recognized for theircontribution to the choral canon.Distler’s reputation as a composeris so strongly associated with thesepieces that many of his smallerworks, especially his secular music,are relatively unknown outside ofhis native Germany.

e music of Hugo Distler isnot immediately associated withaccessibility. e pieces that rankamong his most popular can bequite difficult, even for more expe-rienced ensembles. Further, the im-mediate association with sacredmusic may deter public schoolteachers from considering Distler’soeuvre as a resource. is articleaims to introduce the Mörike-Chorliederbuch, op. 191 to choralconductors, and to highlight sev-eral pieces representative of thecollection. A complete table of ti-tles and voicings is also provided.

High Quality and AccessibleAmong the most enduring and im-portant musical contributions ofHugo Distler are the forty-eightmotets of the Mörike-Chorlieder-buch. ese secular works remainhighly popular in Germany to thisday, and for American choral con-ductors they represent a vast arrayof under-performed but wonderfulpieces. e music of this set in-cludes pieces for male, female, andmixed choirs with a range fromunison to eight-part voicing, andthe collection has been referred toas “his most beautiful and liberatedwork.”2 Pieces such as Wanderliedsound similar to the English madri-gals of the late sixteenth century,and it is precisely this sort of rhyth-mic movement within the text andits connections to German folkmusic which drew Distler to thepoetry of Eduard Mörike:

What immediately attracted meas a choral composer to Mörikeis first of all his elementalrhythmic power and flexibility,which was remarkable in the19th century and is uniqueeven in modern times; andnext, reminding us of an oldGerman folksong, the objectifi-cation of poetic meaningthrough literary form which, asthe literary work of our masterproves, thoroughly unites inti-mate subjectivity and distinc-tively independent character inevery single case.3

e pursuit of high-qualityrepertoire is a constant concernamong conductors and music edu-cators. Reading sessions at conven-tions which cater to specific en-sembles or age groups demonstratethe demand among teachers fornew ideas about music that suitstheir ensembles. For many direc-tors, it is difficult to find repertoirethat is both challenging and repre-sentative of varied musical eras.is is especially true for thoseconducting at the junior high level,those with smaller or unbalancedchoirs, and those with non-audi-tioned ensembles. e music ofDistler’s op. 19 provides an excel-lent resource for ensembles of alltypes. rough both text and com-positional techniques, connectionscan be made to a wide variety of al-ready popular musical styles andcomposers, making these selectionsvery versatile pieces to program.

Whether one conducts a select,auditioned SATB choir, has a smal-ler, unbalanced SAB high schoolensemble, or directs a men’s or wo-men’s choir, the Mörike-Chorlieder-buch offers a piece that will suityour ensemble well. e threebooks in the collection contain pie-ces in the following voicings:4

Voicing FrequencySA 4SAA 1SAB 4

Repertoire for Developing Groups: Hugo Distler’s Mörike Chorliederbuch, op. 19Brad Pierson, Mentorship Chair


e music here, with a range ofonly an octave, is quite simple. Intypical Distler fashion, bar lines donot go through the staff and so donot obscure the poetic or musicalintention. In this way, this smallpiece can serve as a good introduc-

tion to reading Distler’s music. einstructions indicate that the pieceshould be sung as a canon, and be-cause of this, it can be a nice intro-duction to harmony for youngersingers. While the description indi-cates that the canon is sung by so-

prano, alto, tenor, and bass voices,Distler includes several caveats inthe foreword to the work whichallow for flexible realization.5 Forexample, he suggests that transpo-sition of the pieces is possible whennecessary (although he does state


Voicing FrequencySATB 10SSA 2SSAA 5SSAATB 2SSATB 4SSATTB 1TB 3TBB 1TTB 2TTBB 6Unison (Canon) 3

I contend not only that thepieces are appropriate for specific

voicings, but also that they are ac-cessible to choirs with less experi-ence. ey are not easy, but thechallenges they present becomesimpler when viewed through amore informed lens.

Der Gärtner (e Gardner)One particularly appealing aspectof the works of op. 19 is the hugevariety within the collection. Notonly is there great musical diversitywhich allows for a vast array ofmoods and sounds, but there are

also opportunities for ensembles ofnearly any size and experiencelevel. Choral teachers often mustwork with unbalanced and/or smallchoirs, and singers with limited ex-perience. ese teachers maystruggle to find music suitable fortheir ensemble while maintaininghigh musical integrity and challen-ging their singers. “Der Gärtner” isone of the many unison pieces in-cluded in op. 19. Its brevity allowsfor it to be shown here in its en-tirety. (See Example 1.)

Example 1. Hugo Distler, Mörike-Chorliederbuch: “Der Gärtner”

that it should only be used in “ex-ceptional cases” so as not to affectthe character of the piece).6 He alsoadvises that in most cases, equalvoice parts can be used rather thanthose voices indicated.7 e simplepastoral poetry of “Der Gärtner” iswell suited to singers of any age,and while the additional challengeof singing in a foreign languagemay be daunting to some singers,the straightforward nature of thepiece makes it quite accessible. Itshould be further noted that de-spite its simplicity, the beauty ofthe melody makes this a nice inclu-sion for choirs of advanced skilllevels as well. Several other similarunison pieces are featured in thecollection, including “Auf demSpaziergang” (“On the Walk”) and“Suschens Vogel” (“Darling Bird”).

Wanderlied (Wandering Song)e work of the madrigalists of the

Renaissance has become standardrepertoire for choirs in America. Infact, many high schools even fea-ture madrigal ensembles of whichthis music is the hallmark. Con-ductors are drawn to the simpleharmonies and basic polyphonythat these pieces offer. “Fa-la-la”sections present fun, rhythmicmusic that students greatly enjoy,and “Wanderlied” appears to beDistler’s ode to this style.

is piece is written for threevoices, SAB. e tessitura for thesopranos and altos lies comfortablywithin their range with the altosnever singing lower than middle Cand the sopranos never higher thanthe F at the top of the treble staff.e baritone range extends fromC3 to D4. e text is set as twoverses, each followed by a sectionof “fa-la-la,” a short chorus, and afinal “fa-la-la” section. e opening


Example 2. Hugo Distler, Mörike-Chorliederbuch: “Wanderlied,” mm. 1–5

Example 3. Hugo Distler, Mörike-Chorliederbuch: “Wanderlied,” mm. 44–50

of the verses is set homophonicallyand primarily in 2/2 time. ebasic outlining of the B-flat majortonality is quite straightforward.(See Example 2.)

Meter changes throughoutcompositions are typical of Distler,and here, that includes bars of 3/2within the verse and a move to 3/4for the chorus section. is pro-vides added challenge for thesingers but is not dissimilar to achanging tactus in pieces of theRenaissance (such as in Since RobinHood by omas Weelkes and ElGrillo by Josquin des Prez). e in-tervals of the “fa-la-la” sections aremade simpler by having the femalevoices simply outline an F majortriad and the baritones similarly ei-ther outline this chord or move instepwise motion. (See Example 3.)

e simplicity of the piecemakes it readily accessible to mid-dle school choirs or to those highschool choirs struggling with smallmen’s sections and/or balance chal-lenges. e challenge of learningGerman is mitigated by Distler’streatment of the text. As in all of

his work, the close relationship be-tween text and music is ever pres-ent, and the language is set suchthat important words or syllablesnaturally fall on stressed beats orlonger note values. It has been sug-gested that this is a “direct result ofword-painting,”8 a reflection of theRenaissance influence. Its clear re-lation to madrigals makes for sim-ple programming as it would pairwell with many similar soundingpieces. Within the collection,Handwerkerlied also includes “fa-la-las” and Schön Rotraut similarlyincludes “ha-ha-has.” Vorspruch of-fers a similar feel in its “musikan-ten” section and would be a chal-lenge for more advanced groups.e constant repetition of words inthis section, similar to the Renais-sance “fa-la-las,” is a hallmark ofDistler’s works, and he utilizes thistechnique to create intense rhyth-mic activity without obscuring text.

Der Feuerreiter (e Fire Rider)For choirs who are able to tacklemore challenging repertoire, one ofthe most exciting pieces offered in

the collection is “Der Feuerreiter.”Distler masterfully crafts a haunt-ing sound to pair with Mörike’spoem about the “hellish light” ofthe fire at the mill and the Fire-rider as he gallops furiouslythrough the town. While the har-monic language of this piece is sig-nificantly more challenging thanthat of those previously discussed,it does feature several aspects thatmake it quite teachable. First, eachverse begins with all voices in oc-taves. e effect of this unison be-comes increasingly powerful as thestory unfolds. (See Example 4.)

As the location of the action isrevealed, the back and forth of“hinterm Berg” (“beyond the hill”)works similarly to the “fa-la-las”previously discussed, albeit with amuch darker and more ominousaesthetic. (See Example 5.)

In considering these portions ofthe music, one has a clear roadmapfor presenting the work to singersin a way that makes the challengingharmonic language of the musicmore readily accessible. Splitting attimes into six parts, this is certainly


Example 4. Hugo Distler, Mörike-Chorliederbuch: “Der Feuerreiter,” mm. 1–4

one of the more difficult pieces inthe collection but one that is sureto excite singers. e piece wouldwork well either as an opener or asa closer for a program, and willbring a wonderful sense of dramato a concert.

is collection also containsseveral other more challengingpieces which work well for largeror more experienced ensembles. Adirector looking for a piece thatwould be fitting for a larger choir

which can sing in eight-part voic-ing but which has a less experi-enced men’s section might considerLebewohl. is piece includesbeautiful lyric lines and close har-monies within the women’s voiceswhile limiting the men to a re-peated chordal statement wellwithin the grasp of the averagehigh school ensemble. Die Tochterder Heide features several “ha-ha”sections and familiar madrigal-likerhythms, but in addition to a six-

part split, it also extends the bassrange to a low E. ese pieces willpush ensembles towards more dif-ficult repertoire through their chal-lenging harmonies and intricaterhythmic relationships.

Conclusion e music of Hugo Distler standsout for its rhythmic tenacity andunique harmonic language.ough much of his music is quitechallenging and might only be con-sidered for advanced choirs, hisMörike-Chorliederbuch provides uswith an outstanding collection ofsecular music which is accessible toa wide variety of ensembles. equality of the poetry, having alsobeen famously set for solo voice byHugo Wolf (Mörike-Lieder), is well-established. While some of themusic shares similarities withmadrigals of the Renaissance, theharmony will set it apart from themusic of that era. Distler’s al-lowance for changing keys or sub-stituting voice parts when possiblegives the conductor a great deal offreedom in making this music suit-able for his or her ensemble. esheer number and variety of worksmakes it an excellent choice for thedeveloping choral program. d


Example 5.Hugo Distler, Mörike-Chorliederbuch: “Der Feuerreiter,” mm. 15–19

1 Published by Bärenreiter, BA1515.2 George Edward Damp, “e Achievement of Hugo Distler(1908–1942) with Emphasis Upon the Mörike-Chorliederbuch”(Master’s thesis, Cornell University, 1966), 7.3 Hugo Distler, Mörike-Chorliederbuch—Erster Teil: für gemischten Chor, Kassel, Germany: Bärenreiter-Verlag, 1961.Translated by Tim Cloeter.4 A complete table of the pieces included in the Mörike- Chorliederbuch follows this article.

5 A translation of the foreword is available in Hugo Distler(1908–1942): Recontextualizing Distler’s Music for Performancein the Twenty-First Century (Pierson, 2014).6 Ibid.7 Ibid.8 John M. Cantanzaro, “A Study of the Schütz Saint MatthewPassion and the Distler ChoralPassion,” Master’s thesis, Cali-fornia State University-Fullerton, 1979, 19.


Title Voicing BookAgnes TB 3An Philomele TBB + Soloist 3Auf de, Spaziergang Unison / Canon 1Das verlassene Mägdlein SSAA 2Denk’ es, o Seele SATB 1Der Feuerreiter SSAATB 1Der Gärtner SSAA 2Der Gärtner TTB 3Der Gärtner Unison / Canon 1Der Knabe und das Immelein SATB 1Der Liebhaber TB 3Der Tambour TTBB 3Die Soldatenbraut SSAA 2Die Tochter der Heide SSA 2Die Tochter der Heide SSAATB 1Die traurige Krönung SATB 1Ein Stündlein wohl vor Tag SATB 1Er ist’s SA 2Erstes Liebeslied eines Mädchens SSAA 2Frage und Antwort SATB 1Frage und Antwort TB 3Gebet SA 2Gebet SSA 2Handwerkerlied SSATB + Soloist(s) 1Jägerlied SAA 2

Title Voicing BookJägerlied TTBB 3Jedem das Seine SATB 1Jung Volker (Gesang der Räuber) TTBB 3Jung Volkers Lied TTBB 3Kinderlied für Agnes SATB 1Lammwirts Klagelied TTB 3Lebewohl SSATTBB 1Lieb in den Tod SSATB 1Lied eines Verliebten TTBB 3Lied vom Winde SSAA 2Mausfallensprüchlei SA 2Nimmersatte Liebe SSATB 1Ritterliche Werbung SATB + 2 Soloists 1 (1 male & 1 female)Schön Rohtraut SAB 1Sehnsucht SAB 1Storchenbotschaft SATB 1Suschens Vogel SATB 1Suschens Vogel Unison / Canon 1Um Mitternacht SAB 1Verborgenheit SA 2Verborgenheit TTBB 3Vorspruch SSATB 1Wanderlied SAB 1

Complete List of Works in Mörike-Chorliederbuch, op. 19

ONE OF THE FIRST QUESTIONS peopleask me is, “how does it feel to beretired?” I have to admit that thefirst response I give them is an en-thusiastic, “it’s great.” And I will tellyou, it really is. ere are someamazing benefits to being retired:getting to drive to a store between10:00 and 2:00 without gettingstranded in traffic, staying up lateto watch a show, or movie of inter-est, going to movies when it is only

you and a handful of other peoplein the theatre, taking long rides onmy motorcycle without having tocome home and grade 4-part har-monizations until 2:00 a.m., look-ing at Facebook every day to wish aformer student a happy birthday orto see a new picture of their chil-dren who are now singing, not hav-ing to take the red-eye flight homeafter a gig on the west coast so Ican make it to class the next morn-

ing. I have to admit that it truly is awonderful life.

However, there are negatives tobeing retired as well. I miss the re-lationships with the students andcolleagues on a daily basis. I missthose conversations with kids whoare going through a rough ordeal. Imiss the looks on their faces whenthey get something right for thefirst time. In other words, not hav-ing daily human contact is difficult.

Retirees: Relics or Resources?Jey Parsons, former Rired Members Intert Area Chair

It can actually be lonely at times, ifyou let it. I had to ask myself, am Ia relic, or can I be a resource?

I have been fortunate enough tobe living the “retired” life and stillhave contact with colleagues andstudents. e only difference is thatthey are not “my” students. I am af-forded the pleasure to go and workwith many choirs across the state,usually before adjudicated eventsthough not always. I also have thepleasure of judging adjudicatedevents, and I continue to learnmore about our craft with each ex-perience. I always enjoyed workingwith my own students. But work-ing with somebody else’s studentsis just as much fun. Typically, whenI walk into a classroom, I am some-body new, which means that evenmy old (eye rolling) jokes are newto these students. Some of themactually laugh.

Having a retiree work with yourstudents is one of the most reward-ing experiences you and your stu-dents will have. I was very fortu-nate to have had some of the best

former teachers come and workwith my students when I wasteaching. Like all directors, I wasafraid to ask because I thought thatwhoever I brought in was going tojudge me as a teacher. It took me along time to finally get past thisfear and ask someone to come inand work with my kids. What Igained was a ton of new tricks formy own “trick bag.” Many of uswould like to take sole credit forthe successes we have had. How-ever, the reality is that everythingwe have learned and now do withour choirs has been passed downfrom our former teachers, profes-sors, mentors and colleagues. Asmuch as we would like to thinkthat we can hear and fix every-thing, the reality is that we can’t.Even the best of the best of the bestof us can miss something crucial ina piece of music. Having anotherset of ears is invaluable not only toyou, but to your students as well.My choral community began togrow rapidly when I let myself getbeyond my own insecurities, and

allowed others to work with meand my students.

OCDA is about promotingchoral music. We all have so muchto learn, and also to give. e bestadvice I can give is to take advan-tage of these resources as much asyou can. I am retired, but still learnevery day about the craft of choralteaching and conducting. I am verygrateful to the multitude of col-leagues who worked with my stu-dents, or gave me the opportunityto hear their choirs, because Ilearned so much. I would encour-age all of you to open your class-room to other professionals. Our“bag of tricks” has a lot of room init that can be filled with the wis-dom of others and those that pre-ceded them. You can bet, the nextgeneration will be calling you topass along some of those tricks.Kudos to the countless colleagues Ihave had the pleasure to work withthroughout my professional career.

Have a great year. As for me, to-morrow is just another Saturday. d


SO, THE SCHOOL YEAR is in full swing.Has your year already thrown youany curve balls? Have you alreadycreated new solutions you’ve nevertried before? And did you findyourself having to come up withyour new plan on your own, or didyou get to pick the brains of others?

I’ve been the OCDA Repertoire& Standards Chair in Vocal Jazz for

a while now. If I were you, I’d prob-ably assume that R&S folks have allsorts of connections in Ohioschools within their musical genre.I picture the Show Choir directorsgetting together for semi-annualdinner parties and Multiculturalfolks having monthly jam sessionson exotic instruments.

If those assumptions are true

(and it would be a blast if theywere), I envy those folks. To tellyou the truth, I have no clue as towhether or not there are vocal jazzprograms in any of the other highschools in the state of Ohio (exceptfor GlenOak). I mean, I’m surethere are programs. . . . I think. Iguess I’m not sure. After all, Ihaven’t ever had an encounter at a

Vocal Jazz: Is Anybody Out ere?Chris Ilg, Vocal Jazz R&S Chair

HAVING TAKEN THE JOB at the University of Toledoin 2015, I am still feeling like a bit of a “newbie” inthe state of Ohio. One of the first things I learnedabout this state, however, was how kind and gen-erous our OCDA members are with their timeand their talents. I immediately felt welcomed tothe state and I have already been fortunateenough to make some great friends in the area.is experience has served to remind me of ex-actly how valuable friends, supportive colleagues,and mentors are in our lives as teachers.

It is with this mindset that I eagerly acceptedthe chair for the OCDA Mentorship Programthis year. I remember well what it was like duringmy first years in the classroom: I was 22 yearsold, teaching students only a few years youngerthan I. I was in a school in a tough neighborhoodin North Las Vegas taking over a program thathad been largely neglected before my arrival.While I didn’t fully understand this at the time, Iwas completely and utterly unprepared and un-qualified to be in that classroom. Now as I men-tor pre-service teachers, I am keenly aware thatit is impossible for us college professors to equipstudents with everything they will need to sur-

vive, let alone flourish, in their first years in theclassroom.

I will go further and say that one of the bestlessons I have ever learned as an educator, and re-ally as a person, is that the more I learn, the moreI realize I don’t know. ere are countless dayswhen I call friends and colleagues, still in searchof mentors to help guide me through the multi-tude of decisions that face me. Who among usdoesn’t need someone to be there to support andhelp us along the way?

e OCDA Mentorship Program exists to sup-port not only conductors and teachers in the earlystages of their careers, but also all choral profes-sionals who are looking for a boost, some newideas, or moral support. e program pairs theseindividuals with mentors who can offer expertise,wisdom, and experience. We are currently compil-ing lists of OCDA members seeking to serve asmentors or seeking to be mentored. You can regis-ter for this program on the OCDA website here:http://ohiocda.org/interests/mentorshipapp.

For any questions or additional informationplease contact me at your convenience:[email protected]. d


convention where someone said, “Idid that piece last year with myjazz group,” or “have you everheard of this one that I recentlyused?” I’ve never received an emailfrom any teacher in Ohio that statesthat they have a vocal jazz ensem-ble. And there’s no database atOMEA or OCDA that states “thisschool has a vocal jazz program.”

Well, let’s change that. is is

my shout out to you—let me knowyou exist by sending me an email [email protected] and sim-ply telling me your name, yourschool, and your status as a schoolthat has a vocal jazz program. Let’scollaborate. Let’s perform together.Let’s perform for each other. Let’shave kids eat a meal togethertelling quirky jokes about major7ths and different ways to sing the

words “oh yeah” at the end of anarrangement. (Okay, strike that lastpart—but keep the meal.)

So the ball’s in your court. I lookforward to hearing from you, and Ithink our kids would look forwardto spending some time with otherOhio kids singing jazz. At the veryleast, let’s get together as directorsand bounce around some thoughtsand ideas. d

OCDA Mentorship Program: Call for Participants!

http://ohiocda.org/interests/mentorshipapp


Upcoming Events

February 2017OMEA Professional Development ConferenceFebruary 2–4, 2017, Cleveland, OH

omeapdc.com

March 2017ACDA National ConferenceMarch 8–11, 2017, Minneapolis, MN

acda.org/conferences.asp

Leadership Roster

PridentLoren Veigel2851 Sherwood Ave NWMassillon, OH [email protected]: 330-837-8371C: 330-685-2558Voices of Canton, Inc.Witte Travel

V.P. (Past Prident)Dara Gillis5205 Cascade DrPowell, OH [email protected]: 740-833-1010 x4355C: 614-327-1073Delaware Hayes High School

Prident EleRichard Schnipke413 Strafer St.Cincinnati, OH [email protected]: 513-745-2832

C: 614-325-9661Xavier University

SraryBrandon Moss1759 Canvasback LaneColumbus, OH [email protected]: 614-499-8089O: 614-801-6554Central Crossing High School

TreasurerKent W. Vandock8192 County Road DDelta, OH [email protected]: 419-822-5716O: 419-445-5579C: 419-270-5396Archbold Local Schools

NW Region ChairBeth Vaughn1015 Crystal Meadows Ct.

Findlay, OH [email protected]: 419-354-0100 x1154C: 419-303-4582Bowling Green High School

SW Region ChairKellyAnn Nelson650 Walnut St.Cincinnati, OH [email protected]: 616-405-5742Cincinnati BoychoirYoung Professionals Choral Collective

SC Region Chair Zebulon Highben156 Amazon PlaceColumbus, OH [email protected]: 740-826-8103H: 614-641-7706Muskingum University

Tim Cloeter, Editor • [email protected] • 419-372-8288 office • 262-527-8151 cell

OCDA News, the official publication of the OhioChoral Directors Association, is published threetimes annually and is distributed without charge tomembers of the Association as well as to selectedmembers and officers of the American Choral Direc-tors Association. Distribution is by PDF file that is e-mailed and posted at ohiocda.org. OCDA reservesthe right to determine inclusion of materials submit-ted and to edit all materials proposed for distribution.

Copy and Ad Submission Deadlines: September 15for the Fall Issue, January 15 for the Winter Issue, andApril 15 for the Spring Issue.

Advertising Rates: a full-page ad is $135 per issue, ahalf-page ad is $80 per issue, and a quarter-page ad is$45 per issue. A 15% discount is offered on the pur-chase of three consecutive ads; other discounts areavailable. Please contact the editor for exact ad sizesand other specifications.

https://omeapdc.com

http://acda.org/conferences.asp

mailto:[email protected]







http://www.ohiocda.org

NE Region ChairTyler Skidmore1045 N. Jefferson St. Unit CMedina, OH [email protected][email protected]: 330-590-0075Medina High School

EC Region ChairWei Cheng5651 Shadowbrook Dr.Columbus, OH [email protected]: 740-587-8506C: 513-265-0217Denison University

Information Thnology CoordinatorEric West417 Jefferson AvenueDefiance, OH [email protected]: 419-784-2777C: 419-439-1763Defiance High School

Conference Commiee ChairChristopher R. Dent4503 Edgarton DriveGrove City, OH [email protected]: 614-208-6778Indianola Presbyterian Church

Elementary Ftival ChairJulie Strebler583 Malvern Rd.Akron, OH [email protected]: 330-554-4605O: 330-644-3004Coventry High School

Children’s Honor Choir ChairJennifer Call22550 Westchester Rd.Shaker Heights, OH [email protected]: 216-417-5196O: 440-774-4079C: 440-454-2813Oberlin Choristers

High School Honor Choir ChairAnn Johnson9297 Cliff Springs TrailColumbus, OH [email protected]: 614-417-5100 x2529C: 614-218-2965Whitehall Yearling High School

Exhibits ChairKeith Tankersley3832 Carberry Dr.Dublin, OH [email protected]: 740-417-0112O: 740-833-1010 x4355Delaware City Schools

Newsler EditorTim Cloeter1082 Fairview Ave., Apt. N3Bowling Green, OH [email protected]: 419-372-8288C: 262-527-8151Bowling Green State University

HistorianAmy Gelsone1334 Winghaven RoadMaumee, OH [email protected]: 419-276-0744Anthony Wayne High School

Membership ChairDoug O’Neal277 S. 17th St.Columbus, [email protected]: 614-271-3684O: 740-657-4276Olentangy Liberty High School

Student Chapter RepDaniel Curtis Cox314 E. John St.Maumee, OH [email protected]: 419-708-5354Bowling Green State University

Mentorship ChairBrad Pierson4 Tremain Dr.Toledo, OH [email protected]@gmail.comC: 702-561-1653O: 419-530-4558University of Toledo

RiredVacant

Repertoire & Standards ChairsC HILDR E N’S C HOIR & C OMMUNIT Y YOU TH

Jeremy David249 Bowden LaneSpringdale, OH [email protected]: 609-284-8826Maddux Elementary School

YOU TH/ST UDE N T

Jeremy D. Jones112 Lantern Ridge RoadOxford, OH [email protected]: 513-529-6009C: 615-584-1792H: 513-280-5001Miami University

J UNIOR HIGH/MIDDLE S C HO OL

Libby Hainrihar1105 Rambling Brook WayDelaware, OH [email protected]: 937-578-6200 x6355C: 740-972-6522Marysville High School

HIGH S C HO OL

Kristen Snyder2061 Jones RdGranville, OH [email protected]: 614-806-5747O: 740-587-8105 x5020Granville High School
















C OLLEGE/UNI V E R SIT Y

Marie Bucoy-Calavan222 Melbourne Ave.Akron, OH [email protected]@gmail.comC: 909-268-8673O: 330-972-5211University of Akron

SHOWC HOIR

Emily Garlock6027 Triple Crown Drive Medina, OH [email protected]@bbhcsd.orgC: 418-512-3750O: 440-740-4879Brecksville-Broadview Heights HighSchool

VO C AL JAZ Z

Chris Ilg2767 Matthew LaneMedina, OH [email protected]: 330-241-2005Highland High School

WOME N’S C HORUS

Kristina MacMullen315 Weigel Hall1866 College Rd.Columbus, OH [email protected]: 517-902-7524O: 614-292-9926e Ohio State University

ME N’S C HORUS

Jason Falkofsky10410 Plymouth Ave. Garfield Hts., OH 44125 [email protected]@ignatius.eduC: 216-548-4898O: 216-651-2199Saint Ignatius High School

ETHNIC & MULTIC ULT UR AL

Lynda Hasseler1 College and MainColumbus, OH [email protected]: 614-236-6243Capital University

C OMMUNIT Y C HOIR S

Tim and Tracy Carpenter945 Caribou Run LaneMitford, Ohio [email protected][email protected]@clermontfestivalchorale.orgC: 513-886-1606 (Tracy)C: 513-885-1606 (Tim)Milford High School and Middle SchoolClermont Festival ChoraleMilford First United MethodistChurch

MUSIC/WOR SHIP

Daniel Parsley817 5th St. NW, Apt. 9Canton, OH [email protected]@gmail.comC: 513-477-9936O: 330-499-6040 x28Faith United Methodist Church












from your president contents236-1)-fal… · fall 2016: volume 36, issue 1 contents from your...

Documents