Choir Baton Podcast Episode 36. Stop Looking for the Right Choral Repertoire....

How many times of you struggled to find the exact piece of repertoire for a concert? How many times have you thought you found the perfect piece only to discover the tessitura that sits in all the wrong places?

Or there's a four-part TB divisi in a random 2 pages of the piece. Or all of the many other pervading themes that are a part of the struggle for finding repertoire to meet your ensemble's needs.

This week's guest on the Choir Baton Podcast is Victoria Boler. Victoria walks us through how and why we can and should be arranging in the choral classroom. This episode also has my vulnerability level on 100% because I'm singing and improvising on the spot with her. Here's why you should listen to this episode even RIGHT NOW, as we don't know what choir will look like for the next couple months. With the exception of composer Dale Trumbore and her amazing forward thinking - there is not a composition out there yet for a choir amidst these times. NOW is the time to begin to dust off your composing and arranging skills and try your hand at making music that works for your choirs. 

*** Update: We are always learning - myself included! In this episode I use the folk song Shoo Fly, Don't Bother Me. I loved this song growing up because my grandmother would sing it to me. It was recently pointed out to me the racial implications of this song. I had no idea! Now, I could erase this entire episode - BUT - the content of what is here, how to construct an arrangement on a basic melody - is still good. And, my use of this song is an opportunity to for anyone else who didn't know it's history to learn. So, I leave the episode alone because I think now there is even one more lesson to learn here, besides how to make your own arrangements. Research folk songs before you sing them, even if they were a childhood favorite! *** 

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Victoria Boler is a leading elementary general music educator and curriculum designer. In addition to general music, Victoria has taught orchestra, choir, and percussion ensembles. In an administrative role, Victoria has served as Fine Arts Coordinator, leading band, orchestra, choir, general music, and musical theater at the programmatic level. Victoria’s primary instruments are voice and percussion, and she has earned undergraduate degrees in both instrumental and vocal music education. With Orff certification in all 3 levels, Victoria is currently completing her Masters of Music in Music Education and her Kodaly training. She publishes general music curriculum and instructional materials at victoriaboler.com, where she serves thousands of educators in their journey to create a grounded and artistic music curriculum for their unique teaching scenarios. Victoria's lesson planning subscription, The Planning Binder, empowers teachers to know exactly what to teach, when to teach it, and what strategies to use. Inside the Planning Binder, you’ll find long-range plans like scope and sequences, as well as specific teaching activities in concept plans. Each month you’ll see new documents to jump-start your planning, as well as steps to apply the plan to your classroom.

You can learn more on her website. @victoriaboler #MorePeopleSinging #EvenOnline

Choir Baton Host: Beth Philemon | Choir Baton Podcast Producer: Maggie Hemedinger

For more information on Choir Baton please visit choirbaton.com and to follow us on Instagram @choirbaton @bethphilemon