In a commentary for Chorus America’s online feature Noteworthy, Donald Nally commends James MacMillan’s St. John Passion to choral music colleagues—despite its considerable challenges. Not only is its scale monumental, the oratorio may invite controversy.
Programming a modern St. John Passion invites controversy in a way that programming a historical setting such as Bach's does not. For Donald Nally, the musical and philosophical discussions raised by James MacMillan's St. John Passion made taking on the work an experience of growth for all involved.
"I want to catalyze an international community around our organization and expand the repertoire that we do."
Midcoast Community Chorus of Rockport, Maine was founded on the belief that everyone has a voice that deserves to be heard and that powerful things happen when we sing together in community. The group’s founder and artistic director Mimi Bornstein talks about the impact of that vision in the community.
For the members of C4: The Choral Composer/Conductor Collective, the answer is “everyone.” Here’s how this “team of maestros” navigates their various roles in the organization.
Riding the wave of a popular cultural phenomenon has enabled the Oratorio Society of Minnesota to unearth previously unperformed music and attract new audiences.
This issue of the American Choral Review looks at composer Zakaria Paliashvili's setting of Liturgy of St. John Chrysostom. Co-authors John A. Graham and Parker Jayne explore Paliashvili's Georgian influences and how his version fell into obscurity after the Russain Revolution.
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At the opening session of Chorus America’s 2014 Conference, conductor Josh Habermann and a cappella pioneer Deke Sharon talked about new trends in vocal music and breaking down boundaries between the classical and pop worlds.
Sirens, a series of six a cappella movements by composer Mason Bates, explores texts about things that are alluring or attractive. Ragnar Bohlin found the piece itself, particularly the fifth movement, so compelling that he knew he had to have his own chorus perform it.
For the 200th anniversary of “The Star-Spangled Banner,” a musicologist takes a closer look at the history of the anthem.
