In my years of working with choirs as singer, accompanist and director, I have noted that many of my colleagues, especially those who are trained primarily as organists, are reluctant to talk to their singers about purely vocal matters. We are much more comfortable with phrasing, dynamics, tempo, etc. When it comes to the actual sound that our choir members make, we are reluctant to intervene. Perhaps it is because we do not feel sufficiently trained as vocalists that cause us to hesitate. However, if I could suggest some demands that every choir director should make on every choir, perhaps some who have not been emboldened could start in the direction of talking comfortably with your singers about the tone that they make.

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This week's contributor John Schlobom works in Customer Care at Augsburg Fortress in addition to serving as Director of Music at Lutheran Church of Christ the Redeemer in southwest Minneapolis. He has some good seasonal suggestions for Lent and Holy Week music planning.

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My name is Eric Vollen, and I’m the new marketing manager for Worship & Music at Augsburg Fortress. One of the products I work with, both at the publishing house and in my church, is Prelude Music Planner, and I’d like to take some time to share with you how Prelude has helped my workflow as a church music leader.

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Many of our Prelude users plan their musical offerings well in advance, but there are many still waiting for inspiration to strike. We polled some of our editors and other folks about their favorite pieces to play in the seasons of Advent, Christmas, and Epiphany. May you gain some inspiration from these suggestions!

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This week, Jane Knappe, Augsburg Fortress Event Coordinator interviews David Cherwien, Cantor at Mt. Olive Lutheran Church, Minneapolis, MN, and music director for the National Lutheran Choir.

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[Editor's note: Last week we heard from Karol Kimmel on building your youth choir program, with ideas about scheduling, worship suggestions, and continuing education. This week: more ideas from Kimmel on choir visibility, rehearsal punctuality, recruitment, and team-building.]

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[Editor's note: This week begins part 1 of a 2-part article by Karol Kimmell about children's choirs, with applications for all ages: this week part 1 includes attendance/scheduling, liturgy and worship suggestions, and continuing education ideas.]

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[Editor's note: Rally Day and the startup of choral seasons is upon us, but there's still time to get organized for fall! Thanks to Anne Krentz Organ for writing these seasonal pointers, helpful whether you're highly organized or running last-minute. Either way, we're here to help with Prelude's ever-growing resources. Blessings to you in your music ministries this September.]

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This is Part Two of a two-part series featuring interviews with Jeffrey Brillhart and Zebulon Highben, summer clinicians for the Augsburg Fortress 2013 Music Clinics. This week, enjoy some of Zebulon Highben’s thoughts on questions posed by Jane Knappe.

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