Eastern Division R & S

Male Choirs

Chairperson:  John Delorey

John Delorey is Director of Choral Music and Adjunct Professor of Music at Worcester Polytechnic Institute.  He is also the Chorus Master for the Massachusetts Symphony Orchestra and Assistant Director for the Schola Cantorum at the College of the Holy Cross.
www.wpi.edu/~jfd

Greetings!

Welcome to the Eastern Division Repertoire and Standards for Male Choirs website. I am thrilled to be working with so many of my talented colleagues and am hoping that this website becomes a place where we can offer help in programming, repertoire, rehearsal techniques and some of the specific vocal, pedagogical and social concerns that are part of male choruses.

It is my intent to update this site on a monthly basis with new repertoire and articles that will help all of us sift through the inordinate amount of material that the Internet drops into our computers every day. Please feel free to contact me at anytime with concerns or suggestions.

I am particularly interested in the current interest in a cappella groups and how they impact our programs and how they might be situated to strengthen our choral programs. The WPI Men's Glee Club (founded in 1874) has had an a cappella group, made up exclusively of members of the chorus, for the past thirty years, and there are many stories to share. John Delorey - jfd@wpi.edu.

Spring Offering for Men's Chorus

Dear Directors,
Please find a PDF of a manuscript of a "Quodlibet on Sea Shanties" for men's chorus.  It is not that hard (a bit on the high side for tenors at the end) and has a piano part that is being fleshed out, but I wanted to share it before it goes to press so you can have and use this version free of charge. Below are two links to two performances on YouTube:
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9rkNR_XT-w (my beloved alums in a very fast version)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGp_B82y4wk (last year's Glee Club learning the piece in concert!)

Young Men's Choral Festival

Fourth Annual Young Men's Choral Festival

On Saturday, February 9, 2011, Handel and Haydn Society, Boston Children's Chorus, and the Eastern Division of the American Choral Directors Association presented the Fourth Annual Young Men's Choral Festival at the Boston Latin School.

Featured on the program was the Boston Arts Academy's Men of Valor; Boston Children's Chorus Young Men's Ensemble; Handel and Haydn Society's Young Men's Chorus; North Quincy High School's Yakootones; WPI Men's Glee Club and Simple Harmonic Motion;  MIT's Logarhythms.

It was a fantastic day of music making, with each of the groups performing three songs from their repertoire.   The MIT Logarhythms provided a quick a cappella workshop, and the singers formed a mass chorus under the direction of Dr. Bill Cutter of MIT to perform three selections:  If Ye Love Me (Tallis), Haul Away, Joe (Cutter) and Soon Ah Will Be Done (arr. Dawson).

These festivals are designed to encourage young men to continue singing once they leave high school by exposing them to collegiate groups, both choral and a cappella in nature, and featuring excellent guest clinicians and performance groups.

If you have a group of high school (or younger) men that would enjoy either participating or attending such a wonderful event, please email me at jfd@wpi.edu and I will put you on the mailing list for next year's Festival.  A PDF of the program with repertoire from all of the performing groups is located here. Below is a photo of Dr. Cutter directing the massed chorus.

Dates to Remember

Each month I will list upcoming events that may be of interest to both singers and conductors, be they concerts, workshops, or...Conferences!

February 15 - 18, 2012, Providence - Eastern Conference

I will be attending and will post more about our presence as the conference approaches.

Repertoire

Each month I will post a new piece of music in PDF format that you can download and use for FREE! If you have a favorite piece that is in the public domain and suitable for men's chorus, please send it to me to see if it would be appropriate for this page. First posting will be August 1 - Thomas Ravenscroft "Psalm XXIII" for TTBB.

Online Resources for Repertoire

ACDA National Site for Male Repertoire Lists http://acda.org/repertoire/male_choir/2008_division_reading

ChoralNet Web Site - http://www.choralnet.org/ 

Choral Public Domain Library - http://www2.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Main_Page

Musica International - http://musicanet.org/en/index.php 

Online Resources for Male Choirs

Intercollegiate Men's Chorus, Inc. - www.imci.us

Associated Male Choruses of America - www.amcofa.net

Barbershop Harmony Society - www.barbershop.org

Last revised July 14, 2011