Registration Info
July 22–26, 2024 | 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
James Jordan & guests
SRC Seminar Room
About Special Topics in Choral Pedagogy
Led by James Jordan, the conductor of the Westminster Choir, this revolutionary course will not only inform how one teaches their choir, but radically change the way one approaches vocal instruction and musicianship. In addition to carrying on the legendary pedagogical work of Frauke Haasemann, Dr. Jordan is one of Edwin Gordon’s only choral conducting students who experienced firsthand the development of Music Learning Theory. Dr. Jordan’s extensive understanding of music learning are now published in a new book, Intonational Solfège (GIA). This method and its related pedagogies will be shared with all class members. Additionally, in collaboration with Westminster’s renowned voice science faculty, Dr. Jordan has advanced and moved voice science into the choral rehearsal with his new book, Essentials of The Choral Warm-Up (GIA). Both texts and their all-inclusive pedagogies will be covered in detail in the class with the author. The pedagogies shared in the class are for all ages and skill levels of singers. Conductors and teachers will leave this unique pedagogical experience changed because of the pedagogies and teaching methods shared in this class. In addition to cutting-edge pedagogy, students in the class will learn how to structure warm-ups and use appropriate conducting gestures to cause their singers to sing with healthy vocal technique.
Both Intonational Solfège and Essentials of the Choral Warm-Up books are available on the giamusic.com website, and are required for the class. Students will also be encouraged to own Inside The Choral Rehearsal (giamusic.com, G-9293). Students should come to campus with books in hand as there are none available for sale on campus.
Note: Essential texts for the class will be available for sale on the first day of class:
Intonational Solfege (GIA)
The Choral-Warm-Up (GIA)
The Essentials of The Choral Warm-up (GIA)
The Musician's Breath (GIA)
Session Topics
- Voice science pertaining to alignment, respiration, articulators, phonation, and registration and resonance
- Debunking choral folk legends about “fixing” choral ensemble sound
- Teaching via architecture of the vowel
- Pedagogical “miracle” of the mixed vowel ü
- New warm-up sequence and music learning sequences that align with voice science
- Vocal registration and the choral warm-up
- Rethinking a pedagogically efficient choral warm-up to build healthy choral tone
- Determining acoustically correct standing positions for choral ensembles
- New essential 1-3-5 exercises for use in choral warm-ups that align with voice science
- Eliminating blend and intonation issues within choral ensembles
- Guides to teaching phrasing
- Understanding the horizontal part of the conducting gesture and its role as the primary method of communication to singers about all things regarding vocal technique and musical intention
- Designing Warm-Up sequences for your ensemble that Improve BOTH musicality and musicianship.
- New rehearsal techniques that teach within a harmonic context to reinforce listening and audiation, contributing to long-term musical growth and sensitivity
- A comprehensive approach to teaching aural literacy within the choral rehearsal
- Philosophies and procedures for teaching the essential elements of musicianship that will transform ensemble performance
- Using Aural Immersion Solfège to teach any piece regardless of an ensemble’s reading literacy and music theory knowledge
- The use of tonal and rhythm patterns to build audiation skills within each singer in an ensemble
- Understanding harmonic rhythm through movement (Space Audiation) to teach central elements of music
- The use of the audiational breath to transform both musical and interpretative elements within your ensemble
- Vocal pedagogy for teaching vowels that creates possibilities for choral intonation
