InChoir: Conversations about Choral Music, The Arts, and Life

Vocal Colors

Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor, Paul Langford has a career that spans over 25 years. His work includes arranging for and performing with groups such as The Chicago Symphony Orchestra, the Chicagoland Pops, the Pensacola and LaCrosse Symphony Orchestras, and Walt Disney World.

United in Song

Dr. Tracy Wong hails from Malaysia and is a choral conductor, music educator, composer, vocalist, and pianist. She is passionate about helping choral educators to provide unique experiences for their students through collaborative commissions, customized workshops, festivals, and artist residencies. She has conducted workshops for choirs in North America and internationally. Her choral works are widely published and they have been performed by choirs at international competitions and festivals.

A Requiem for Water

Reena Esmail is the Los Angeles Master Chorale’s 2020-2025 Swan Family Artist in Residence, and was Seattle Symphony’s 2020-21 Composer-in-Residence. She also holds awards/fellowships from United States Artists, the S&R Foundation, the American Academy of Arts and Letters, and the Kennedy Center.

Skyward

Giselle Wyers (she/her/hers) is the Donald E. Petersen Endowed Professor of Choral Music at the University of Washington, where she conducts the award-winning University Chorale and teaches graduate and undergraduate courses in choral conducting and music education.
Wyers is a leading national figure in the application of Laban movement theory for conductors. She has served as guest lecturer in conducting at Sweden’s Örebro Universitet, European Festival of Church Music (Germany), Latvian Academy of Music, Eastman School of Music, Ithaca College, Westminster Choir College, University of Iowa, Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Portland State University.

Grace and Beauty

John Rommereim is a musician who has pursued a varied career as a composer, conductor, keyboardist, and professor. He has written works for choir, solo voice, orchestra, string quartet, saxophone quartet, flute ensemble, guitar, organ, piano, and electronic media, as well as a chamber opera, and music for theatre and film. The New York Times praised the “richly expressive” character of his vocal writing.
John Rommereim is Blanche Johnson Professor of Music at Grinnell College, where he conducts the Grinnell Singers and the Grinnell Oratorio Society, and teaches composition.

Music of the Spheres

David von Kampen is a composer, arranger, conductor, and music educator whose stylistic versatility can be heard in the wide-ranging genres he writes for, from jazz to choral, hymnody to liturgy, solo instrumentations to musical theater—and the list goes on. He currently teaches at the University of Nebraska.

Soulful

Today on InChoir, our conversation revolves around a new album released by Apollo5, titled Ánam. We'll be speaking to two acclaimed sopranos who lent their talents to the project, Clare Stewart and Penelope Appleyard.

Reimagination 2

Blake Morgan’s musical arrangements embody the essence of what it means to “imagine again or anew.” Together with host, Diane Orlofsky, learn how Morgan works in this unique creative space when he conceives his arrangements. This episode features Morgan’s arrangement of the iconic “Hushabye Mountain” (performed by the King’s Singers) and his setting of the beautiful folk song, “The Water is Wide” (featuring Blake’s demo of the arrangement he wrote for Take Six). We even “tease” a brand-new setting of “Time after Time” (performed by Lyyra and Voces8).
InChoir is a production of Troy Public Radio and the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Troy University.
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Reimagination 1

This is the first of two episodes with composer/arranger/singer, Blake Morgan, hosted by Diane Orlofsky. Morgan’s music crosses genres and has been performed by Take Six, the King's Singers, Manhattan Transfer, Conspirare, and many others. A gifted singer, Blake is now a member of Voces8, whose performances we often feature on this podcast.
In this episode, Morgan talks about the process of taking music which is familiar and arranging it so that it sounds brand new. We explore how Morgan reimagined the familiar hymn tune, “Shall we Gather at the River” (performed by Voces8 and the Ringmasters) and the evocative Scottish folk ballad, “Caledonia” (sung here by Voces8 and the Stay-at-Home Choir.)
InChoir is a production of Troy Public Radio and the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Troy University.
Follow InChoir on Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569122908481

Tapestry

In this episode, co-hosts Diane Orlofsky and Scott Sexton speak with two creatives connected to the recording project Awaiting Golden Light (performed by Connecticut-based Voices of Concinnity). First, composer Cheryl B. Engelhardt (whose composition, “The Breadth of Blossoms” was featured on the album) relates the fascinating story behind this captivating and timely music. We also hear how Artistic Director Sarah Kaufold advocates for inclusion on the podium, within the choral ensemble, and the choir repertoire.
InChoir is a production of Troy Public Radio and the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Troy University.
Follow InChoir on Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569122908481