Best Napoles Podcasts (2024)

1
Ep. 80 - Bridging Artistry and Scholarship - Jessica Nápoles 50:17

15d ago50:17

50:17

“If a student has been unsuccessful at elementary and middle school, by the time they get to high school, it’s really hard to shift and course correct. But if they haven’t been successful at elementary and you get them at the middle school level, you really do have the potential to shift that course in a monumental way, to reshape their views about…

1
Ep. 82 - Inspiring and Motivating Adolescent Tenors and Basses - Vincent Oakes 49:00

7h ago49:00

49:00

“Octave displacement is a really big thing with adolescent singers. Make a game out of it - I’ll have them match me, match me up an octave, match me down an octave - versus scolding when you’re in the middle of rep and someone is singing too low and you just point and say ‘that’s too low.’ That’s a little ambiguous for the average 13-year-old. To g…

1
Ep. 81 - Expanding Access to Choral Participation - Marcela Molina 49:17

8d ago49:17

49:17

“I started to see the possibilities of what a youth community choir could be. Seeing that profound impact on a young woman was very transformative for me. After two or three years, everything that I did had more layers. There was a new potential of enhancement and community impact. The things that make me go like a volcano are about community, acce…

1
Ep. 79 - Voice Pedagogy Concepts for a Variety of Genres - Ryan Deignan 56:15

1M ago56:15

56:15

“Contemporary commercial music is closer to the students’ everyday musical culture. There’s that component of culturally relevant pedagogy that both show choir and vocal jazz meet. They are a bit more naturally motivating to a majority of students, and we honor the musical culture of the United States and our popular styles from the last 100 years …

1
Ep. 78 - Optimizing Choral Administration with a Booster Club - Cathy Britton 49:56

1M ago49:56

49:56

"I didn’t want to do any middle level teaching because of behavior, but I ended up teaching eight years at Patrick Henry Junior High. I loved every moment of it. I learned that if the kids loved and trusted you, they would do anything for you. It was just so much fun to take what they were willing to give and do some good work with them. It all tra…

1
Ep. 77 - Creating Opportunities Through First Impressions - Stephen Caldwell 56:10

2M ago56:10

56:10

"The greatest lesson that I learned as a gig singer is that your career and reputation are built one chance at a time. You get one chance and one chance only. If I want people to go out on a limb for me and recommend me for a gig, then I have to make sure that I'm protecting their reputation as well as my own. That starts with never being late, alw…

1
Season 3 Wrap-Up 13:29

2M ago13:29

13:29

Thank you for listening to our show this season!! Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the second season: Sommerpsalm, Waldemar Åhlén Christmas Oratorio, Johann Sebastian Bach Komm, Jesu, Komm; Johann Sebastian Bach Agnus Dei, Samuel Barber Bluegrass Mass, Carol Barnett Afternoon on a Hill, Eric Barnum Missa Solemnis, Ludwig van B…

1
Minisode 3 - Stephen Salamunovich, Anneliese Zook 6:44

2M ago6:44

6:44

Choir Fam Minisode 3 includes Lightning Round answers from two of our Choir Fam listeners: Stephen Salamunovich Renton, Washington Anneliese Zook Garfield, Washington We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to answer our Season 1 lightning-round questions for us to share with our audience. We are looking forward to getting to know you…

1
Minisode Intro Part 3 - Share Your Story with the Choir Fam 2:55

2M ago2:55

2:55

We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to answer our Season 3 lightning-round questions for us to share with our audience. We are looking forward to getting to know you better. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com with the following info: Subject Line: Choir Fam Minisode First and last name, pronouns optional City and state you live in Sc…

1
Ep. 76 - Approaching Choral Music with Imagination - Jean-Sébastien Vallée 46:16

2M ago46:16

46:16

“The number one thing that I look for when I meet a younger conductor is imagination, someone who comes with ideas but also has a story to tell with the music. Often younger conductors are really worried about technique, the way they look, the way they rehearse, but it starts with imagination. What do you want to communicate? People are so worried …

1
Ep. 75 - Connecting with Audiences Through Choral Programming - Erick Lichte 50:46

2M ago50:46

50:46

“We are there to be servants of our community. A lot of amateur choirs can become bowling leagues; they show up on Wednesday night, they have a great time, and that’s the reason they do it. I think the trick is to satisfy the needs of our singers, develop them as artists and people, but also make the focus constantly about reaching out to our audie…

1
Ep. 74 - Commercial Music within the Large Choral Ensemble - Eric Rubinstein 54:01

3M ago54:01

54:01

“So many people view conducting as a reflection of the music, and if that works for them, that's great. I view conducting as a reflection of the movement. Undergrads aren't always predisposed to musical language, but they are already predisposed to the language that Laban uses: time, space, weight, flow. Instead of saying 'that's not marcato enough…

1
Ep. 73 - Developing a Personal Compositional Voice - Christopher Tin 45:52

3M ago45:52

45:52

"The question I had to ask myself was, 'Do you want to change who you are as a composer just so can match a particular sound that is in fashion or is expected of you in the concert hall world or do you want to say true to yourself as an artist?'" Time and time again, whenever this question pops up, it's always you turn towards yourself and ask your…

1
Ep. 72 - Bridging the Exquisite and the Accessible - Melissa Dunphy 56:49

3M ago56:49

56:49

“The music that I fell in love with that made me want to be a musician when I was a young teenager was not loved because it’s super difficult. That’s not the reason you love music. You love music that makes you feel and makes you think. If something is challenging, that feeling of reaching the finish line and being able to create a performance that…

1
Ep. 71 - Openness and Authenticity in Choral Education - Marques Garrett 54:18

3M ago54:18

54:18

“You can’t be a good teacher, you can’t be a good conductor, without being a good human being... I’m grateful that I have stuck with so many of the things that felt true to me. I’m honest and vulnerable but also still open to learning from other people, because everything that I do is not right. If I realize it’s not right, I need to ‘fess up to it…

1
Lessons on Language with the Grammar Girl (Mignon Fogerty) 31:45

4M ago31:45

31:45

In this episode, Ray chats with Mignon Fogerty, aka the Grammar Girl. "Good grammar" may seem like the epitome of prescriptivism, but when it comes to her "Quick and Dirty Tips", Mignon leans on a more ideologically neutral approach. Might you even call "good grammar" ... a style choice?

1
Ep. 70 - Building a Career in Contemporary A Cappella Performance - Anders Edenroth 41:24

4M ago41:24

41:24

“My professional career comes from something that I did not study. I think it’s called the hidden curriculum - things that you learn that are not on your schedule that are many times equally or more important as things on the schedule. Now, don’ t tell your students not to study and only spend time doing whatever they do. The combination is the sec…

1
Ep. 69 - Choral Music for Singers in All Career Paths - Elizabeth Chilton 44:35

4M ago44:35

44:35

"When you're singing choral music, you can't be thinking about all those other things that are going on in your life. It takes incredible mental focus. People would say to me, 'how do you have time to sing in a choir when you're working on a doctorate?' and I would tell them that for me, it's like getting a mental holiday. It revives me. It refresh…

1
Ep. 68 - Choral Music for Social Action and Community Dialogue - Alexander Lloyd Blake 44:57

5M ago44:57

44:57

“Being text-focused has been really beneficial and a change from the way I’ve seen concerts programmed in the past: ‘Do the keys align? What is the soundscape?’ Those things are important, but for these concerts, the message that we’re putting out there has to be priority. We are choral musicians, and we have words and stories to share, and those h…

1
Ep. 67 - Promoting Healthy Singing in All Styles - Ryan Holder 46:17

5M ago46:17

46:17

Ryan W. Holder is currently in his eighteenth year as the Associate Director of Choral Studies at Northern Arizona University (Flagstaff, AZ), where he directs Vox Astra and the Northern Voices and High Altitude vocal jazz ensembles, teaches undergraduate and graduate conducting and choral methods, supervises choral student teachers, and serves as …

1
Ep. 66 - Building Connections Through Music Education - Hilary Apfelstadt 49:22

5M ago49:22

49:22

“I really thought I wanted to be a high school teacher, but the first job I got was in elementary. That turned out to be the best ‘teaching-me’ experience I could have had, because I learned that if one could get music across to people without much background, you can get it across to anybody.” Dr. Hilary Apfelstadt is Professor Emerita of Choral S…

1
Ep. 65 - Prioritizing Equity in Choral Spaces - Arreon A. Harley-Emerson 1:05:32

6M ago1:05:32

1:05:32

“We were doing some Anglican chant, and we went on to the Hogan ‘Ride On, King Jesus.’ It was as if it was the first time we had ever seen light. It was a revelation for me and for the singers and led to a lot of rebranding of who we are, our values, whose music is important, and the right balance we should be striving for. I felt like I had finall…

1
Ep. 64 - Cultivating Musicianship in Singers of All Levels - André J. Thomas 1:13:40

6M ago1:13:40

1:13:40

“If people think you value them, they will do anything in the world to make the music for you." André J. Thomas is an Associate Artist with the London Symphony Orchestra. Thomas is Professor Emeritus of Music at Florida State University. He was visiting Professor of Choral Conducting at Yale University from 2020-2022. He also served as faculty memb…

1
Ep. 63 - Passion and Perseverance in the Choral Arts - B.E. Boykin 43:53

7M ago43:53

43:53

“Let your passion guide you. That has been such a huge help to me in this journey because I know that I’m doing it because I love to do it. Don’t get caught up in going through the motions. It’s easy to be on autopilot and push things to the back of your mind so you can keep putting out work, good performances, or good rehearsals, but always try to…

1
Ep. 62 - Goal Setting and Self-Improvement for Choral Educators - Lynn Brinckmeyer 41:03

7M ago41:03

41:03

“It’s people first. You need to address the humans that are there in front of you and help them be where they are. There are some kids who are hungry, who haven’t had anything since their last meal at school the day before or the week before. The human part of them has to feel safe before they can care about whether that’s a late sixteenth note.” D…

1
Ep. 61 - Building Student Agency in the Choral Rehearsal - Joe Svendsen 52:58

7M ago52:58

52:58

“Social practice is the ability to let peer groups problem-solve together and work things through. This is what I try to practice a lot of in the learning stages of music making. The phrase I use is ‘You learn music with us so that someday you can go learn music and make it without us.’ If they’re not identifying how to problem-solve and correct on…

1
Ep. 60 - Nurturing Choral Expression for the Disadvantaged - Jonathan Palant 51:34

7M ago51:34

51:34

“It’s powerful to see [the Dallas Street Choir] perform. It’s powerful to see the invisible become visible. Both the audience reaction to take an invisible, isolated population and see them for the very first time in many ways, but it’s also powerful for them to be seen.” Jonathan Palant is Associate Dean of the Arts and Director of Choral Activiti…

1
Ep. 59 - Making an Impact in the First Year of Teaching - Christina Hall 51:28

8M ago51:28

51:28

“As first-year teachers, we have more power than we think we do. Our voice is heard more because we’re the new person in town. As young teachers, I think that our confidence is still growing. We’re still learning to navigate what to ask and how to ask admin... You can always ask for something, and the worst thing they’re going to say is ‘no’ or ‘no…

1
Ep. 58 - Building a Toolbox for Accessible Choral Singing - Tracy Wong 51:23

8M ago51:23

51:23

"The timbre of the singing voice [in Malaysian music] is definitely different from singing Western art music mainly because of the language itself. The way the language is being spoken accesses a different space in our whole instrument. If you want sing the music of a different culture or language in that particular tone, listen to how a person wou…

1
Ep. 57 - Integrating Choral Pedagogy with Musicianship Skills - John Guarente 52:42

9M ago52:42

52:42

"The repertoire will always have some sort of example of something that you're talking about in music theory, and it helps really build that connection between the studying of music and the doing of music. The more and more I teach theory, the more little leaves I uncover, and I'm able to help students make that connection more and more every year.…

1
Ep. 56 - Transcending the Limitations of Art Music - Michael McGlynn 1:02:01

9M ago1:02:01

1:02:01

"My entire philosophy of choral music is that of all forms of music it is the one that has the capacity to produce a state of transcendence, and as a composer that is my primary function. Bear in mind, I don't write music for choirs; I write music for people. If you perform the music correctly, it can open a gateway, a higher state of consciousness…

1
Ep. 55 - Empowering Student Leaders in the Choral Ensemble - Monika Tabor 42:12

9M ago42:12

42:12

"The first year is the worst. The kids will want everything that’s not you, and that’s OK. They don’t want to know what you know until they know that you care about them, so you just wear them down with kindness and that sense of wonder about music. That’s my trick. I try and find what they wonder about music and then find ways to hook that into th…

1
The Marvels of Translation: Interview with Keith Khan-Harris 37:50

9M ago37:50

37:50

What can we learn about the nature of translation by reading a warning message in hundreds of different languages? In this episode, Keith Kahn-Harris discusses his latest book, The Babel Message, in which the mundane, multilingual warning message found inside Kinder Surprise Eggs ignites profound observations about the nature of language and the wr…

1
Ep. 54 - Affirming Identity Through Choral Music - Xiaosha Lin 50:38

10M ago50:38

50:38

"Every time on stage when we connect with the choral music and I see the students moved or touched by choral music, that's the moment I fall in love with choral music. The love of choral music is affirmed again and again by the connection you make with these humans and the music." Xiaosha Lin is currently assistant professor and director of choral …

1
Ep. 53 - All in the Family: A Choral & Wind Conducting Duo - Shelby and Micah Laird 51:52

10M ago51:52

51:52

"In this small community, they’re going to hear Beethoven’s 9th Symphony in their backyard. The festival has the intention to broaden the horizons of this community through music. That’s why we do what we do: to learn and grow and teach and support each other." - Shelby Laird "I've always been in love with the choral rehearsal. It is so methodical …

1
Ep. 52 - Immersing Yourself in the Music of a New Culture - John W Mathre 50:50

11M ago50:50

50:50

"The choir totally operates in Estonian. Luckily I think my musicianship is good enough that I can fall back on those skills even when I don't understand most of what the conductor says in rehearsals. When we start singing again, I can pick it up and improve on what we're doing. Sometimes I get what's happening based on context, and I'm also learni…

1
Ep. 51 - Sibling Choral Conductors: A Literal Choir Fam - John Parezo & Stephanie Schumacher 53:19

11M ago53:19

53:19

"I had already taught about a third of the students that we had at the opening of the school. We were able to hit the ground running. We spent a lot of time getting to know each other and team building. We built our own culture and have decided what we want to be." - John Parezo "It's been a really cool experience for me to teach elementary student…

1
Minisode Intro Part 2 - Share Your Story with the Choir Fam 3:13

11M ago3:13

3:13

We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to answer our Season 2 lightning-round questions for us to share with our audience. We are looking forward to getting to know you better. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com with the following info: Subject Line: Choir Fam Minisode First and last name, pronouns optional City and state you live in Sc…

1
Season 2 Wrap-Up 19:08

11M ago19:08

19:08

Thank you for listening to our show this season!! Here are the favorite choral pieces from our guests in the second season: Even When He Is Silent, Kim André Arnesen St. Matthew Passion, Johann Sebastian Bach Chichester Psalms, Leonard Bernstein Prayer of the Children, Kurt Bestor, arr. Andrea Klouse Ave Maria, Franz Biebl (x2) Ein Deutsches Requie…

1
The Power (and Omnipresence) of Rhetoric: Interview with Guy Doza 56:34

11M ago56:34

56:34

Rhetoric has a bad reputation. We tend to think of it as a linguistic tool used by polticians and marketing execs to maipulate the masses. While this stereotype is true, rhetoric is more than just snake oil––we use it in apologies, negotions, and love letters, all without even realizing it. In this episode, speech writer and author Guy Doza takes t…

1
Minisode 2 - Dan Walls, Christina Fangman 8:51

11M ago8:51

8:51

Choir Fam Minisode 2 includes Lightning Round answers from two of our Choir Fam listeners: Dan Walls Rockford, Illinois Choir teacher at Boylan Catholic High School in Rockford, Illinois Christina Fangman Pasco, Washington Music teacher at Amon Creek Elementary School in Kennewick, Washington We want to hear from you! We'd love all our listeners to…

1
Ep. 50 - Bridging Cultural Gaps and Fostering Empathy - Reena Esmail 52:09

11M ago52:09

52:09

"In choir we have a chance to learn to embody a different culture through its language. When you're singing pieces in another language, there's a moment where you have to feel that you speak that language if only for a few words, if only a few moments. I think that has the capacity to create a kind of empathy regardless of whether that's your cultu…

1
Ep. 49 - Redefining the Confines of Genre: Representation in Vocal Music - Adrian Dunn 49:07

12M ago49:07

49:07

"My goal as an artist, conductor, and thought leader is to make sure that we always start with 'why are we singing? Are we picking these pieces because people are telling us that we should, because they’ve been prescribed by lists? Are we picking these pieces because these are culturally relevant topics for the people who are part of our communitie…

1
A Defense of "Bad" English: Interview with Valerie Fridland 50:13

12M ago50:13

50:13

Instead of criticizing deviations from Standard English as "wrong," what if we celebrated them as expressive lingusitic innovations? In this conversation with Valerie, we take a look at some of the quirky features of English that our language teachers taught us to avoid, and in true Words for Granted fashion, we attempt to understand how and why th…

1
Ep. 48 - Fostering Connection Through Choral Music - Reginal Wright 46:03

12M ago46:03

46:03

"The middle school was a three-story building. At the bottom were all of the 'rough' kids. There was a second floor that was moderate. All the kids who had resources had their classes on the third floor. I'm teaching choir down in the bottom where there's a fight every 90 seconds. Over the course of my five years there we ended up through the choir…

1
Ep. 47 - Exploring Multiple Avenues to Musical Fulfillment - Anthony Maglione 46:36

1y ago46:36

46:36

"I try to be flexible with the way I write for people. For me it's a service when I get commissions, so I want to be able to serve the community that I'm working with in the same way that I would tailor a lesson to my classes depending on what the students need. I would do the same for what an organization needs with composition." Conductor/Compose…

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Napoles Podcasts

Podcasts Worth a Listen

Quick Reference Guide