ABSTRACT Title of Dissertation: SHARED INSIGHTS: A SURVEY OF POSTSECONDARY AND ADULT MEN’S CHORUS DIRECTORS Gregory Gustafson Graf, Doctor of Musical Arts, 2016 Dissertation directed by: Dr. Edward Maclary, Professor of Music School of Music The following dissertation focuses on the all-male chorus context. Through a survey of university, GALA and adult affiliated community chorus directors on the specific challenges – vocal pedagogy, rehearsal techniques, auditioning, and repertoire – of the TTBB chorus, valuable insights were gathered from participating directors that serve to supplement existing literature available to directors. ii SHARED INSIGHTS: A SURVEY OF POSTSECONDARY AND ADULT MEN’S CHORUS DIRECTORS by Gregory Gustafson Graf Dissertation submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of the University of Maryland, College Park, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Musical Arts 2016 Advisory Committee: Professor Edward Maclary, Chair Professor Kenneth Elpus Professor James E. Ross Professor Martha Lee Randall Professor Rose-Marie G. Oster iii © Copyright by Gregory Gustafson Graf 2016 iv Table of Contents Table of Contents .......................................................................................................ii Chapter 1: Introduction ..............................................................................................1 PART I: SOCIAL/EMOTIONAL ASPECTS Chapter 2: Culture & Environment ............................................................................11 What appeal does the all-male chorus offer that is different from a mixed voice setting? ............................................................................................13 Please provide one or more examples of how the men’s chorus is a consistent and positive force in the cultural life of your university or community. ......................................................................................................17 Describe how you foster a sense of team among the choristers. .........................19 What have been your most successful recruiting methods? ................................22 Why do you believe there are so few women conductors of men’s choruses? ....25 Would you describe men’s choruses as thriving in your state or region? Please explain why or why not. ...........................................................................31 From your perspective, what is the current condition of men’s choruses in America today and what does the future hold?................................................34 PART II: PEDAGOGICAL ASPECTS Chapter 3: Vocal Pedagogy, Rehearsal Technique & Music Literacy ......................40 What are your priorities when teaching vocal technique to your men’s chorus? ......................................................................................................41 In many cases, the tessitura of T1s lies at the top of the staff leaving them to negotiate their chest voice and head voice. What particular exercises, visual images, kinesthetic motions, etc. do you use to reinforce consistent head voice production? .............................................42 What is the approximate percentage of untrained singers in your men’s chorus? What specific challenges does this percentage of amateur singers present to your ensemble and what are some strategies you use to meet these challenges? .......................................................46 Describe your approach to issues of balance. ......................................................49 What strategies do you employ to teach aural skills and musical literacy? .........51 What standing formations do you use and why? .................................................54 Chapter 4: Audition Process ......................................................................................60 What is your audition process for male chorus? Do your audition requirements for male chorus differ from a mixed chorus audition? If yes, please explain. ...........................................................................................60 What vocal qualities do you listen for and what level of music aptitude do you expect? .......................................................................................63 How do you determine singer placement within each section? ...........................65 Chapter 5: Repertoire & Programming ......................................................................67 How do you choose literature for your ensemble? Program to program? Over an entire season? What are your criteria? ...................................67 ii What resources do you use when searching for men’s chorus repertoire? ..........70 Some composers routinely revoice compositions for men’s choirs that were originally conceived for mixed choirs. When evaluating a revoicing, what criteria do you use to critically assess the arrangement? Do these criteria differ from the criteria you use to evaluate music originally conceived for men’s choir? .................................................................71 When singing Renaissance music that is not specifically edited for men’s chorus, what adjustments, if any do you make? For instance, do the tenors sing the upper octave in falsetto; do you re-arrange voices; do you transpose? .................................................................................................73 What are your "desert island" men's chorus pieces? ............................................74 How much do you agree with the following statement? Commissioning new music for men’s choirs is important – why do you feel this way? ...................................................................................74 Chapter 6: Conclusion................................................................................................79 Appendix A: What advice would you give a young conductor wanting to start an all-male chorus at his or her musical organization? ...........................................................................84 Appendix B: The Benefits of New Commissions ......................................................86 Appendix C: Desert Island Music Choices ................................................................89 Appendix D: Respondents’ Biographies ...................................................................92 Bibliography ..............................................................................................................96 iii Chapter 1: Introduction According to Jeremy Jones, “male choral singing in the United Sates quickly found a foothold on college campuses influenced in part by community male choral groups first established by German-American immigrants in communities throughout the Northeast and Midwest.” 1 The first well-known male glee clubs in America were established at Harvard University in 1858, the University of Michigan in 1859 and Yale University in 1861. Jones then chronicles how the glee club tradition took hold in America just after the Civil War (1861-65). Over 200,000 soldiers of German descent fought for the Union armies and many of these soldiers participated in male choral societies in the United States prior to the War. When the war ended many men pursued a college education and took their enthusiasm for male choral singing with them to college campuses across the country. Jones also found that the broadening interest in collegiate male choruses just prior to and after the Civil War correlated to the rise of male community singing clubs in the German tradition, such as the Liederkranz of New York City and the Columbus Männerchor (1848). In the first decade of the early twentieth century other historic male choruses were established such as – the Mendelssohn Club of Kingston, New York (1903), The Choral Club of Hartford of West Hartford, Connecticut (1907), The Orpheus Club of Ridgewood, New Jersey (1909), and the Mendelssohn Club of Albany, New York (1909). From this point forward in the development of all-male choruses and choral singing in general, Patrick Freer states that, “The expansion of the choral arts in late twentieth century United States was […] made possible by the intersection of three complementary and simultaneous efforts: 1 Jones, Jeremy D, “The Development of Collegiate Male Glee Clubs in America: An Historical Overview,” D.M.A. diss., University of Cincinnati, 2010. 1 knowledge about the male changing voice, the development of the North American children’s choir movement, and a focus on teaching vocal technique to amateur singers of any age.” 2 The catalyst for this project comes from my personal experience as director of the University of Maryland Men’s Chorus. Having had virtually no prior exposure to all-male ensembles, I had many questions, for instance, why do some male singers prefer the all-male choir? What are appropriate criteria for designating part assignments? How does one effectively teach tenors to negotiate the head voice successfully and consistently? Since few printed resources were available, I sought answers to these questions by asking trusted professionals in the field. The list of choral pedagogy books and articles is rich and continues to grow. Many offer valuable perspectives pertaining to rehearsal technique, vocal pedagogy, choral diction, sight- singing, and historical performance practices. However, most of these resources address the mixed-voice ensemble experience only. Issues related to the TTBB ensemble are usually relegated to a brief discussion,