Guide to Research for the Choral Conducting Studio

• ML402: History and Criticism, Biography, Conductors
  • This section includes compilation biographies grouped by subject, e.g. band leaders, conductors of the 21st century, African-American conductors
     
• ML422: History and Criticism, Biography, Conductors, A-Z
  • This section includes biographies of individual conductors
     
• ML457: History and Criticism, Interpretation, Performance Practice
   
• ML458: History and Criticism, Conducting
   
• ML1380: General Works, Vocal Music
   
• ML1499-ML1554: History and Criticism, Choral Music
  • This section includes both sacred and secular music, and is divided by time period and region of origin
     
• MT85: Conducting, Score Reading and Playing (includes instruction and study)
   
• MT820-MT949: Singing and Voice Culture, General
  • This section includes physiology and vocal hygiene, vocal pedagogy, and choral techniques

Selected titles:

• Rosewall, Michael. Directory of Choral-Orchestral Music. Paperback ed. New York: Routledge, 2016.
• General Collection, ML128.C48 R67 2016  

• Whitwell, David. American Music Education: The Enigma and the Solution. Edited by Craig Dabelstein. Austin, TX: Whitwell Publishing, 2016.
• General Collection, MT3.U5 W53 2016
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• Whitwell, David. The Art of Musical Conducting. 2nd ed. Austin, TX: Whitwell, Books, 2011.
• General Collection, MT85 .W45 2011
   
• Whitwell, David. Essays on Performance Practice. Edited by Craig Dabelstein. Austin, TX: Whitwell Publishing, 2013.
• General Collection, ML457 .W48 2013
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• Whitwell, David. Psychological Problems in Conducting. Austin, TX: Whitwell Books, 2016.
• General Collection, MT85 .W55 2016

Interested in browsing conducting-specific journals? Explore a selection of our choral-related periodicals (current periodicals are just past the circulation desk in the rack on the wall, and older issues of print periodicals are located to your right when you first enter the Music Library):

• American Choral Review: Available online through Music Periodicals Database and in print at the Music Library
   
• The Choral Journal: Available online through several different Libraries databases and in print at the Music Library
   
• Journal of the Conductors' Guild: Available in print at the Music Library
   
• Journal of Research in Music Education: Available online through several different Libraries databases and in print at the Music Library
   
• Music Educators Journal: Available online through several different Libraries databases and in print at the Music Library
   
• Journal of Singing: The Official Journal of the National Association of Teachers of Singing: Available online through several different Libraries databases and in print at the Music Library

• Check individual composer biographies for information about specific pieces; biographies of a single composer are located in the ML410 section of the Music Library. Strategies for finding this content, which may be peppered throughout biographies, include:
  • Consulting the table of contents and index for piece titles, and the names of relevant people and places in the composer's life
  • Looking closely at the sections of the biography that deal with a specific time frame of interest or when your piece was composed
  • Don't forget to read up on the times in the composer's life preceding the composition of your piece - what were their influences? How did they come to write that specific work?
     
• Though the "analysis and appreciation" resources in the MT125 section focus on orchestral music, they may include write-ups of specific masterworks of interest to choral conductors!
   
• Our subscription to the A-R Music Anthology is more than just digital scores - this database includes a growing collection of critical commentaries and articles on genres, styles, and individual composers.
   
• For anyone working on Bach research:
  • Andrew Parrott's The Essential Bach Choir is an excellent resource for learning about history and performance practice
  • Alfred Dürr's The Cantatas of J.S. Bach: With their Librettos in German-English Parallel Text is the go-to resource for scholarly research on Bach's cantatas. This book breaks down the cantatas one by one, includes a translation, and historical context on the composition and performance practice.