by Eva Floyd Reality Check: What the Students Have to Say About Musicianship, Modes, and Bartok’s Mikrokosmos Have you ever read an article from the Envoy promoting pedagogical suggestions/materials and wonder about how it actually plays out in real-life teaching? This edition of Choral Connections is a follow…
By Matthew Nutter I know it’s going to be a good year when the majority of my sixth graders come in and already know the hand sign for ti. That first day, after we’ve gone over seating charts and played a name game, talked about where the bathrooms…
Bethany Houff The 2024 OAKE National Conference in Chicago was filled with inspirational choral singing. As both a singer in the Participant Choir and an audience member at the National Choir Concerts, I witnessed brilliant teaching, sequencing, rehearsing, and performing throughout my five days in Chicago. I arrived…
By Eva Floyd Changing voice workshops and articles are most often associated with teachers of middle school-aged students. However, these topics are relevant for elementary teachers as well, as they often hear voices changing in their 5th or 6th grade classes. High school teachers also crave this information…
Rachel Rosellini After college I sought an elementary general music position because I wanted to connect literacy to performing music. To set my students up for success in their future ensembles, I sought to give them the skills to read music. As a student, I always had a…
Eva Floyd Reflecting on my experiences with the publication When I first read the preface of Kodály’s Let Us Sing Correctly, I was confused by his statement “those who always sing in unison never learn to sing in correct pitch” (Kodály, 1952, p. 2). I didn’t understand the…
Eva Floyd Story #1: I was an assistant conductor for a SSAA collegiate choir when I was in grad school. Part of my job responsibilities included helping to prepare program notes for the choir’s performance at the National ACDA Conference in New York City. One of the pieces…