This past week, I sat down to choose my choir's repertoire for the spring. I got to thinking about the variety I wanted for the program, and what makes a great selection, so I decided to write with some thoughts that might help you as you choose your choir's repertoire! A little background: as I wrote about in this post , I have a choir of about 80 or so students in third, fourth, and fifth grade. I see them once a week, for 35 minutes, and we have two concerts at school each year, as well as community events as those arise. I was a trumpet player all through school, and before my Kodaly training, I literally was in one semester of choir. Ever. So it has taken me quite a while to feel comfortable selecting repertoire, as well as directing the choir! I've gone to several choral sessions throughout the years at conferences, but am definitely not claiming to be a choral expert! Here are some thoughts as you choose choral repertoire: Is it quality? As Zoltan Kodaly once said, ......

This past week, my choir performed their holiday concert, and it got me thinking about my favorite songs for this time of year, as well as songs I'd like to perform next year. Today, I'm teaming up with my friend Amy Abbott at Music a la Abbott to blog about our favorite Christmas choir songs as well as ones we'd like to do for next year! A couple notes: My choir consists of third, fourth, and fifth graders. Many of these pieces could also work for middle school. Many of the titles are linked to the octavos on JW Pepper or other sites; simply click to view! #1: Christmas is coming This is one of my favorites for this time of year. It's an English folk song that works well as a round. I've heard a few different versions of it, but this is the one I use: You could also have one part of the choir sing "God bless you" on mi-re-do as an ostinato. #2: "Minka " arr. by Jill Ann Jones This is one of my all-time favorites for Christmas! It's a 2-part......

This past week, my choir performed their holiday concert, and it got me thinking about my favorite songs for this time of year, as well as songs I'd like to perform next year. Today, I'm teaming up with my friend Amy Abbott at Music a la Abbott to blog about our favorite Christmas choir songs as well as ones we'd like to do for next year! A couple notes: My choir consists of third, fourth, and fifth graders. Many of these pieces could also work for middle school. Many of the titles are linked to the octavos on JW Pepper or other sites; simply click to view! #1: Christmas is coming This is one of my favorites for this time of year. It's an English folk song that works well as a round. I've heard a few different versions of it, but this is the one I use: You could also have one part of the choir sing "God bless you" on mi-re-do as an ostinato. #2: "Minka " arr. by Jill Ann Jones This is one of my all-time favorites for Christmas! It's a 2-part......

As I started my choir this year, I incorporated technology in a way that hadn't before with choir, to save time and be more efficient. Today, I thought I'd share those strategies in case it helps save time with your choir! Sign-up with Google Forms Before I started recruiting for choir this year, I had a conversation with my friend Matt, who also directs a choir at his school. He mentioned that he was using Google forms to sign up students for choir, and I was so excited to try it with my students! In the past, I've always had students fill out half a sheet of paper with their information (like name, teacher's name, grade level, etc.) and then I collect all of the half sheets and enter the information into an Excel spreadsheet. Matt's idea, though, was ingenious, as it saves SO much time! Instead of them handing you a half sheet of paper which you then have to enter, I simply include a link in the parent letter home which they then go to, fill out the information, a......

As I started my choir this year, I incorporated technology in a way that hadn't before with choir, to save time and be more efficient. Today, I thought I'd share those strategies in case it helps save time with your choir! Sign-up with Google Forms Before I started recruiting for choir this year, I had a conversation with my friend Matt, who also directs a choir at his school. He mentioned that he was using Google forms to sign up students for choir, and I was so excited to try it with my students! In the past, I've always had students fill out half a sheet of paper with their information (like name, teacher's name, grade level, etc.) and then I collect all of the half sheets and enter the information into an Excel spreadsheet. Matt's idea, though, was ingenious, as it saves SO much time! Instead of them handing you a half sheet of paper which you then have to enter, I simply include a link in the parent letter home which they then go to, fill out the information, a......