As the calendar turns to August, we begin to hear the words “back to school,” much to the chagrin of many students. This is a chance, however, for students to explore participation in their schools’ music programs, be it by playing an instrument in the band or orchestra, or by singing in the choir. MakingMusicMag.com […]
Voices of Our City is an inspirational musical ensemble that has garnered plenty of headlines. The choir has been the focus of a documentary “The Homeless Chorus Speaks” that aired nationally on PBS stations. The group has performed with the San Diego Symphony, and opened a benefit concert at the historic Wiltern Theater in Los Angeles on a bill that featured Jason Mraz and founding members of the Doors.
Look For The Good, written and recorded in Jason’s home studio in Southern California, is a continuation of his career-long love for reggae music. It’s a genre he’s always returned to, inspired both by its rhythms and its revolutionary lyrics, and after making 2018’s Know. the singer found himself ready to further explore how he could participate in the style…
2018 marked the release of Dale’s single, Smile, which he used to promote a campaign in support of the international children’s charity Smile Train, which has provided over a million new smiles to kids who required corrective, cleft-palate surgery. In 2020, C. Dale released the EP “Where The Road Turns To Sand”.
The program, which offers an incubation process, reflects YPC’s goal of continuing to provide choristers and alumni with resources and support as they establish their own successful careers. Just Songs (Unplugged) is a compilation of acoustic solo works, with lyrical themes centered around social issues, created by YPC alumni as an inspiration for the organization’s young choristers. This winter, the artists will work with YPC’s choral members, grades 3-10, to perform Just Songs (Amplified), a set of new choral arrangements of the original songs,
It’s vocal month at Making Music, and in his newest video, Dr. Randy Kertz discusses the importance of good posture and breathing techniques for vocalists, and if you should find an expert to work on your intercostal muscles. Dr. Kertz’s monthly column addresses how musicians can avoid injury, how they can identify things they may […]
HaMelekh, by Jonathan Leshnoff, is a setting of two chapters from Heichalos Rabasi, an ancient Jewish mystical text almost 2,000 years old, that detail the approach to the presence of the Divine. Each space is a different room (heychal). The first movement set by the composer, Oso Odom, expresses both the fear and trembling of […]
Whether in a choir, a vocal group, a band with multiple vocalists, or singing in a group of any kind, of any genre, singing with other people is a musical skill to be honed and developed just like any other. Here’s a list of certain things to keep in mind and work on to make you […]
A Passion for Solo Voices, Chorus (SATB) and Orchestra Martin Bresnick’s Passions of Bloom for solo voices, chorus (SATB) and orchestra is based on the writings of Walt Whitman, Herman Melville, and Emily Dickinson. It was composed in honor of Professor Harold Bloom and the love of literature he has instilled in generations of devoted […]
(Piano-Vocal score) Rufus and Rita, by Lauren Bernofsky, is an adorable, light-hearted opera about a girl and her zany dog, commissioned by Reimagining Opera for Kids for in-school performances. The libretto features several forks in the road where the audience votes on what should happen next. The opera is scored for four singers of any […]