Some of My Favorite Youtube Choral Performances

Today is a list of youtube links to some of my favorite youtube choral performances.
I was tempted to just include videos with me singing or conducting, but then I thought better of myself. So here are some other ensembles in amazing performances. I include a little info about each below the link.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Yhnml4DW9g

We start with Leonard Bernstein conducting his choral classic, Chichester Psalms. This recording is with the Poznan Philharmonic Chorus. The incredible artistry that Bernstein pulls out of the string players, in what is essentially a string overture to the final movement, is beautiful. The boy soloist in the final movement is spectacular!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adWwLYH27uk

The Kansas City Chorale, under director Charles Bruffy, truly sings the Russian Liturgical Choral music with amazing passion. This is Rachmaninov's Our Father from the Liturgy of St. John Chrisostom, Op.31.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iHMGuzD9X8Y

In the long relationship between composer Morten Lauridsen, The Los Angeles Chorale, and conductor Paul Salamunovich, few ensembles have had as much beautiful success as this collaboration. This movement from Les Chansons de Roses: De Ton Reve Trop Plein is much less popular than the final movement Dirait Ton. But for me this is the movement that shows the width and breadth of this choir, conductor, and composers incredible ability and joy of singing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSadmO0VHOs
From Arvo Pärt: A Tribute - Arvo Pärt by Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir, Theatre of Voices, Pro Arte Singers and Paul Hillier, conductor

This also another great collaboration between composer and choir. Arvo Part and the Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir are inseparable in my mind. This performance of Part's incredible "Which was the son of..." is the lineage of Christ according to St. Luke. This list of "begats" could be very boring, but Part and the choir know exactly where the emphasis needs to be and the compositional style which Part calls "tintinnabula" is evocative and visceral. 

I hope you enjoyed these selections. I am a fan of many choirs and many styles of music, but these particular selections are a part of my choral vocabulary and my "go to" songs when I am in the mood for really phenomenal choral performances.

MusicSpoke: Another blog about choral music, musicians, and ideas...

I have some choral anthems published through a relatively new publishing company with a new model for composers.

MusicSpoke's mission is to support composers in composing. It is artist owned and supports the composer's right to self promote and produce music of high quality. As a part of this initiative, Kurt Knecht,
one of the founding owners of MusicSpoke has a regular blog. Kurt is a Lincoln area composer, church musician, teacher, and supporter of choral music. He will also be one of the Lincoln Choral Artists guest musicians on our spring concert, "Song My Mother Taught Me." We will even be performing at Kurt's church, St. Mark's On the Campus on May 13th. http://lincolnchoralartists.org/currentseason.html


Below are links to a few particular blog postings I thoroughly enjoyed. I have read almost every blog, short or long, and they all have gems of knowledge and offer a more personal insight into composers' and musicians' minds.

http://hear.musicspoke.com/blog/do-you-really-love-music

http://hear.musicspoke.com/blog/settling-the-solfeggio-wars

http://hear.musicspoke.com/blog/what-sets-musicians-apart

www.lincolnchoralartists.org 

www.musicspoke.com

                                                                                           

http://musicspoke.com/downloads/carol-of-hope/

One of my choral arrangements.

Music in the Rockies, or how I can't fight being a choral nerd!

Over the Labor Day holiday I traveled to Colorado on my Harley-Davidson Motorcycle. I went with my best friend from Minnesota. He and I met in youth choir over twenty years ago. We have both developed a love of riding, but we have also both engaged in less "cool" activities. I would consider us both Star Wars geeks, Muppets fans, Beatles lovers (that's pretty cool), and a million other nerd culture supporters. When I was in High School being a nerd was not the "in" thing it is today. There was no Big Bang Theory or massive support of Sci-fi movies, Renaissance Festivals, or Robotics teams. It seems that the tide turned and now it's "Hip To Be Square." Maybe part of riding a motorcycle for me has been about doing something that is completely different from my regular choral "nerdiness." But as I have directed many choirs and I always find the one or two riders in the choir, including in LCA! 

So when I was in the mountains over the weekend I had hoped to really let go of work and daily life. But of course I found myself, humming, even singing, and actually thinking of the score for the music of our first concert. Part of it is I love the music; Benjamin Britten's Old Joe Has Gone Fishing, Willamette Spence's At the Round Earth's Imagined Corners, Alice Parker's Johnny I Hardly Knew Ye, Aaron Copland's I Bought Me A Cat... but also I think this music and the music being performed by Toasted Ponies (Lincoln Folk Ensemble) and Lincoln Christian School speak to the great folk music traditions and storytelling history often found in choral music. I found myself contemplating the deeper meaning of the text as I dropped down from the mountain into clouds in Rocky Mountain National Park. I was again swooned by simple yet beautiful harmonies as I whizzed around deep curves.

I was blessed to have such a great experience. I shared it with a great friend. I enjoyed nature in a way I have never felt before. And I got renewed and excited about the music I love and can't wait to share with you on Oct. 25.

http://lincolnchoralartists.org/currentseason.html

Final Blog of the 2014-15 season or is it the 1st of the 2015-16 Season...?

I can hardly believe it. It's been almost a year since my first blog contribution for the Lincoln Choral Artists Director's Connector.

Last season was my first (very successful) season as Artistic Choral Director. I have used this space to promote the joy and trials of choral music leading, singing, and development. I have tried to show some of my personal joys in music and hopefully brought some new insight to the music we performed. I can't wait to get started with a new season. And really it begins with LCA singing the national anthem for the Saltdogs on Aug. 23, 5:05pm at Haymarket Park. We then begin in earnest with our first rehearsal on Aug. 27 at 7:30 back at Nebraska Wesleyan University.

Writing a blog has pushed me to be more creative and clear about why I do what I do...why supporting choral music is essential to building community and adding to the cultural conversation in Lincoln and the surrounding area. 

I can't wait to stand in front of and with these committed and dedicated people. But of course we are always looking for more voices. Please share with a friend or neighbor, maybe a spouse or a child that we are looking for new singers. www.lincolnchoralartists.org/singwithus.html

Summer Blues...

So it's been a minute since I've had a chance to write. The summer for LCA has been filled with meetings and a performance at the Haymarket Park in Lincoln. We had a great opportunity to sing for the Relay for Life event. We reprised the "Lambscapes" from the spring concert and led the national anthem for the opening ceremonies. It was a great success and such a  great way to support and be seen in the community.

Summer can be a strange time for choir directors. It's a needed break. This is great time for short term and long range planning and budgeting. It is a great time for revisiting the needs of the library of music. It's a time to attend conferences and visit with choral colleagues, a time to visit family from far away, and connect to the outdoors. For me that's on my motorcycle.

But all of these things can get old (well maybe not the motorcycle!) The routine of rehearsal and performance preparation is also just a part of a director's DNA. We thrive on it. I am very excited to get back to our regular routine. Thursdays, 7:30-9:30 with a great groups of hard working, excellent singing people. Until then come join us for a couple other events. You can see them on our facebook page!

https://www.facebook.com/LincolnChoralArtists/events

Check out our live Performance on FRIDAYLIVE: 9:47am on Friday, May 15 with Host Genevieve Randall

LCA on Friday Live, May 15th at 9:47am. I will talk about that evening's concert and there will be a live performance by the Lincoln Choral Artists.
http://netnebraska.org/…/…/friday-live-johnny-carson-theater

Live stream start time: Friday, May 15 at 9:00am (CT)
Friday Live broadcast from the Johnny Carson Theater at the Lied Center for Performing Arts in Lincoln with live performances from Deborah Greenblatt, Jackie Allen, Lincoln Choral Artists, and Ann Chang. Host Genevieve Randall will interview Jason Horner, the Homestead National Monument's Tallgrass Prairie Fiddle Festival fiddler Deborah Greenblatt, Bill Stephan, Launa Bacon and Peggy Gomez of Tugboat Gallery.

New Youtube Videos, Twitter, and Facebook: Ways to support and help tell about LCA

You may not know this but the Lincoln Choral Artists 

are all over the web!

We have our main webpage: www.lincolnchoralartists.org 

We have our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/LincolnChoralArtists

We have our Twitter Feed: https://twitter.com/LNKNChoir 

And we also have a Youtube page with new videos from the 

2014-15 Season: 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCxirJc1VoXvnruIS7ywMJzQ

So what does this mean for you? 

You can help us by visiting our webpage for information about upcoming events and joining us to sing! You can also connect to this blog, 

the Director's Connector: 

http://lcadirectorsconnector.blogspot.com/ 

You can LIKE us on Facebook, share your like, our page, and Facebook updates with your friends and family.

You can follow our Twitter feed and share our updates on your feed.

And of course you watch videos of the Lincoln Choral Artists on multiple platforms including TVs, Phones, and Pads and Computers.

Please support choral music in Nebraska 

by connecting with us!