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

Matt Falker is a jazz and gospel pianist, vocalist, arranger, and founder and Director of the Oceanside Jazz Festival at MiraCosta College, where he also serves as a Professor. Matt is a champion for creating and advocating for accessible vocal jazz charts which can be seen in his publisher role with Anchor Music Publications (many thanks to Anchor Music for financially supporting InChoir). Today we feature two of Matt Falker’s vocal jazz arrangements, “Give me that Smile” and “Easy Love” that illustrate his creative versatility and multi-faceted artistry.  

Dale Trumbore is a Los Angeles-based composer whose music has been praised by The New York Times for its “soaring melodies and beguiling harmonies”. Listeners will be impressed with her compositional versatility and breadth of vocal writing, from simple two-part to accessible and advanced settings for all types of choirs. Join us as we feature the charming “Lullaby for the Newly- Hatched” and the captivating and creative “Part of Me Hurtling Toward”.

The American Choral Directors Association has awarded the Raymond W. Brock award for Student Composers since 1998 to recognize choral compositions of high quality. In this episode of InChoir, we talk to two composers who were Brock award recipients--Troy University’s own Michael Mills (2010, “Crossing the Bar”) and Patrick Vu (2023, “On the Hillside”). Each composer has gone on to also play important roles as conductors, music educators, and advocates for all things choral!

Nadia Tarnawsky masterfully weaves Ukrainian cultural and musical traditions throughout her compositions as we will hear throughout A Ukrainian Wedding. In this conversation, we learn about her Ukrainian heritage and hear the rich musical contributions of this talented composer.

Frank Ticheli is best known for his works for wind ensemble and concert band, many of which have become standards in the repertoire. On this episode of InChoir, we feature how his choral compositions explore text through shifting color palettes and timbres. Join us as we trace how these evocative techniques can be heard in his two featured pieces - “Listen to the Silence” and “Earth Song”.

The music of Juhi Bansal draws upon culturally rich musical traditions to create expressive and evocative “sound-worlds”. As an Indian composer brought up in Hong Kong, her music draws upon both traditions and can be heard throughout our two featured pieces—"Fear (Becoming the Ocean)” and “Aurora” (Special thanks to the L.A. Choral Lab for sharing their performance recording of “Aurora”).  Join us for our conversation with Juhi where we follow her musical journey “From Sea to Sky”.

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.

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.

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.

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.