High School Choral Directors' Description of Appropriate Literature for Beginning High School Choirs

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 122-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca R. Reames
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
20Th Century ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
20Th Century Literature ◽  
Demographic Information ◽  
Choral Directors ◽  
Chi Square ◽  
Repertoire Selection ◽  
High School Choirs ◽  
Century Literature

Undertaken to investigate and describe the literature performed with a population of “beginning” high school choirs, this study is a survey of 263 MENC high school choral directors. From the 80% responses, 5 categories were analyzed: demographic information, repertoire selection criteria, literature sources, types of literature performed, and recommended repertoire for beginning high school mixed choirs. Chi-square and Kendall's tau-b analyses produced only one significant relationship. Additional findings in the study revealed that directors selected repertoire for advanced and beginning choirs similarly and that directors valued concerts, choral reading sessions, personal choral libraries, and recordings. Directors indicated that they programmed 20th-century literature most frequently and most successfully. Few similarities were found when selections recommended by directors were compared with a large published list.

The Repertoire Selection Practices of High School Choral Directors

2001 ◽  
Vol 49 (2) ◽  
pp. 102-121 ◽  
Author(s):  
Guy W. Forbes
Keyword(s):  
High School ◽  
Selection Criteria ◽  
Selection Process ◽  
Teaching Experience ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Relative Importance ◽  
Choral Directors ◽  
Repertoire Selection ◽  
Socioeconomic Composition ◽  
Selection Practices

The purpose of this study was to research the repertoire selection practices of high school choral directors. The 104 directors who participated in the study were selected from two groups: (a) directors identified as outstanding and (b) directors selected from the remaining population. Interviews, a written survey, and solicited programs were used to collect the data. Results suggest that the repertoire selection practices used by directors are not structured. Although directors consider a wide variety of criteria to be influential in the selection process, criteria do not seem to be consistently or systematically applied. The relative influence of individual criteria varies depending on the style of repertoire under consideration. Furthermore, demographic characteristics such as teaching experience, program size, and the socioeconomic composition of the school may also influence repertoire selection practices. Although similarities among directors regarding the selection process were identified, there were differences between the selection practices of “outstanding” directors and directors not so identified with respect to the balance of repertoire that directors believe students should sing and the relative importance and use of selection criteria.

scholarly journals Language and Ritual in T. S. Eliot's Sweeney Agonistes

2006 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bálint Szele
Keyword(s):  
20Th Century ◽  
Early 20Th Century ◽  
20Th Century Literature ◽  
Modern Drama ◽  
Greek Drama ◽  
Literary Sources ◽  
Century Literature ◽  
The Way

T. S. Eliot's Sweeney Agonistes is one of the most important pieces in modern drama. The purpose of this study of Sweeney Agonistes is to explore the fertilising forces that made it possible for the play to bring new colours to the language of the theatre; another aim is to look at the background of the fragments, exploring the different elements of ritual, religion, and literary sources working in the play. Although the play is fragmentary, it can be regarded as a key to Eliot's dramatic art. The way Eliot used the language of Jazz is unique in early 20th century literature; the lack of characters, plot and settings naturally draw our attention to language, which is characterised by an unprecedented vitality and dynamism. Eliot clearly succeeded in establishing a new vehicle for dramatic expression. The rituals providing the background in Sweeney are closely connected with Greek drama and the religious turn in Eliot's life leading to the birth of the Ariel Poems, one of which, "The Journey of the Magi," opens up to further analysis if we approach it from the direction of Sweeney Agonistes.

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