Music Is Not for Insects

Did I get your attention? I have to admit, I am bugged when someone starts their post title with “50 ways to leave your Lover” or “30 must have web plug-ins for middle aged music directors”.  I’m a sucker for the list post title, and no matter what it says, I will click on it or star it as a favorite in Google Reader….

198 PERFORMANCES IN ONE CONVENIENT LOCATION

I love it when technology makes my life as a choral director easier. And ACDA (The American Choral Director’s Association) has finally figured out how to use the internet and mp3 files to make great choral performances available to anyone via their web-site, or, behold, the amazing 2gb flashdrive:

I know, what’s the big deal with a 2 gb flashdrive? Nothing, until you load it with the ENTIRE COLLECTION of 2009 ACDA National Conference recordings (all choirs) in MP3 format. Sweet! And check out the cool logo on the drive. That’s some nice bling!

And these are the finest national and international choirs around; it’s quite an honor to be invited to sing at an ACDA National Conference. All kinds of choir are represented on this flashdrive from women’s choirs to men’s choirs, high school choirs, junior high/middle school honor choirs, madrigal singers, college ensembles, professional and community singers, jazz groups, children’s choirs- they’re all represented.  I’ve listed all the choirs on this 2gb resources at the end of this post.

ACDA JUMPS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY

If you haven’t been to the ACDA website in awhile, you need to check it out. Not only can you download mp3’s of great performances, but check out videos too. This is an incredible resource for choral directors looking for quality literature and performances of this literature. BRAVO to ACDA for jumping into the 21st century. Members also have access to forums, resources, and publications that are invaluable for choral educators. And if all this music and technology is still new to you, check out this fun video on how to access mp3 files and get the most from the new ACDA site:

198 PERFORMANCES- THE LIST OF CHOIRS FROM THE 2009 ACDA NATIONAL CONFERENCE

Alamire, David Skinner, England.

American Boychoir, Fernando Malvar-Ruiz, New Jersey.

Cantoria Alberto Grau, Maria Guinand, Venezula.

Children’s Chorus of Greater Dallas, Cynthia Nott, Texas.

Chor Leoni, Diane Loomer, Canada.

Clear Creek High School Symphonic Chorale, Kyle Pullen and Sean Pullen, Texas.

Cornell University Glee Club, Scott Tucker, New York.

Green Valley High School Madrigal Singers/Chamber Singers, Kimberly Barclay Drusedum, Nevada.

Hamilton High School Chamber Singers, R. John Hamilton, California.

High School Honor Choir, Christine Bass, conductor.

High School Honor Choir, Tim Sharp, conducutor.

Incheon City Chorale, Hak Won Yoon, Korea.

Iowa State Singers, James Rodde, Iowa.

Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir, Judy Bowers, conductor.

Lawrence Children’s Choir, Janeal Krehbiel, Kansas.

Lawrence University Concert Choir, Richard Bjella, Wisconsin.

Luther College Nordic Choir, Craig Arnold, Iowa.

Mirinesse Women’s Choir, Rebecca Rottsolk and Beth Ann Bonnecroy, Washingon-  (I created this web-site!).

Michigan State University Women’s Chamber Ensemble, Sandra Snow, Michigan.

OneVoice, Stephen Widenfofer, Illinois.

Pacific Youth Choir – Coro Pacifica, Mia Hall Savage, Oregon.

Phil Mattson Singers, Phil Mattson, Iowa.

St. Mary’s Varsity Ensemble, Randy Stenson, Tokyo, Japan.

Tascosa High School Women’s Choir, Billy Talley, Texas.

Taylor Festival Choir, Robert Taylor, South Carolina.

Unity Singers, Ruth Palmer, Minnesota.

University of Texas at Austin Chamber Singers, James Morrow, Texas.

The Vocal Majority, Jim Clancy, Texas.

Voces8, Barnaby Smith, England.

CPDL stands for ‘Choral Public Domain Library’, an internet-based free sheet music website which specializes in choral music.

Begun in December 1998, CPDL is one of the world’s largest free sheet music sites. All its scores are in the public domain and can be freely downloaded. Most of these are public domain editions of music whose copyright has elapsed, but some scores are newly composed and offered for download by the composer.

The primary goals of CPDL are:

• To make sheet music available for free.
• To create a website for public domain music that includes only legally downloadable scores.
• To allow develop a viable collaborative model for sheet music distribution.
• To publish scores that are not otherwise commercially viable.
• To create a website that catalogs a large number of free sheet music websites.

As well as scores, you can use CPDL to find texts and lyrics, translations, and information about composers – all available under a public domain license

For ten years CPDL has been a great resource for choral directors looking for free music. There are thousands of titles in every voicing imaginable available in several formats including pdf, Finale, Sibelius, and Noteworthy Composer. You can do advanced searches by title, composer/arranger, musical period, musical type/genre, voicing, words from text, language or nationality.

Here is a screen shot of the number one download at CPDL:

Here are the top 23 titles downloaded from CPDL:

I have found several great titles to use with my men’s choir, and because it is a wiki, it is constantly being updated and revised by fellow educators. You can create an account and contribute your expertise by uploading an original composition or just commenting on a translation or suggesting a place to find resources on a particular piece. It’s a great resource for those with a limited budget.