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

At InChoir, we love to introduce new groups and debut collections like the one we feature in this episode. We will explore selections from a new album titled RISING, by a new choral group called LYYRA along with two of its members, Elizabeth Tait and Anna Crumley (who arranges one of the compositions as well). From classical to folk, jazz, and even pop-infused, there is truly something for every listener on this choral project, and all of it is told with unique and fresh arrangements for women’s voices.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Follow InChoir on Facebook: www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61569122908481

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

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

In this episode of InChoir, co-hosts Diane Orlofsky and Scott Sexton speak with Canadian composer, Katerina Gimon, about her choral composition “she was wilderness” (performed by the Vancouver Chamber Choir). Join us as we explore Gimon’s music which has been called eclectic and dynamic. Learn how she draws from many musical styles and takes the listener through layered textures, intense emotions and shared human experiences.

InChoir is a production of Troy Public Radio and the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Troy University.

In this InChoir episode, host Diane Orlofsky talks to composer/arranger/singer, Greg Jasperse, who is also the Director of Vocal Jazz at Western Michigan University. Together they explore the stories behind his choral arrangement of the seasonal favorite, “Lo, how a Rose E’er Blooming,” (performed by members of the WMU Chorale) as well as his original vocal jazz composition, “I am Alive” (sung by the WMU Vocal Jazz Ensemble, Gold Company). Jasperse also discusses how music can support and facilitate spaces where we can listen to and learn about other people.

InChoir is a production of Troy Public Radio and the College of Communication and Fine Arts at Troy University.

On this episode of InChoir, co-hosts Diane Orlofsky and Scott Sexton speak with Canadian composer and educator, Sarah Quartel, about her fresh and exciting approach to choral music. Quartel believes that choral music is all about relationships, connections, storytelling, and honoring all voices, including the audience members who hear her music. We feature two of her compositions— “Iesous ahatonnia” (an adaptation of The Huron Carol, sung by the London Voices) and “Water Mother” (from her larger work, Song of the Stars, performed by the Singing Girls of Texas).