HCP 17: Ryan Heller on programming beyond the masterpieces in the community choir
Ryan Heller is the artistic director of Chorus Austin, and my husband! He is a conductor, singer, and occasional composer who shares with us how to bring new music to the community choir and its audience. He shares his success with Chorus Austin, Portland Vocal Consort, and how these organizations have been able to commission a variety of new compositions from living composers. To finish, Ryan shares his mission to give new pieces second and third performances.
Listen to this episode and more on Apple Podcast or Spotify.
*Have you subscribed to the newsletter? Check out in the footer the link to subscribe and get a FREE guide to be a happy composer, conductor or singer, a $20 discount coupon for your next choral recording, and a weekly email with awesome content!*
In this episode, you will learn:
- Growing up in a musical family took him to try several instruments
- First encounters with choirs both in classical music and barbershop
- His path from instruments to singing
- How Ryan’s professors lead him to leadership roles in choirs
- Changing schools to find more challenges and more learning
- Bill Haul’s terrifying but formative educational techniques
- What he learned from every ensemble he was in (both what he wanted to do and what he did not)
- How musicians are welcomed to bring their creativity to Ryan’s rehearsals
- It is about the audience
- My love for count singing
- What are the fears that people feel when programming new music and how to manage them
- The success of Donald Grantham’s large-scale work commissioned for Chorus Austin Symphonic Chorus
- Shameless composer plug (One has to do it, right?)
- All music was once new
- How regardless of your ensemble, you can engage with new music and how it benefits all involved in the process
- Second exposition to a piece and looking it from a different point of view
- Keep an open mind and ear to appreciate music
- How previous success can help you feel more confident to bring new music to another ensemble
- The formula to slowly add new music to your program
- It does not always have to be a world premiere
- Programming second and third performances of new music have many benefits
- His advice for composers, conductors, and singers
Share it with me
- Do you support second and third performances of new music or prefer a new commission? Why?
Links mentioned in the show:
Help us keep the show running
- Support this podcast, and the entire brand of The Happy Choir by becoming a Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/composercordero
- To help others find this podcast, help us leaving a review in iTunes, and if you have two extra minutes, an honest review will also help a lot. My first goal is to get 10 ratings.
Produced by Carlos Cordero.
Thank you for listening!
I know there are lots of other podcasts to choose from out there, and the fact that you are here is all! Remember to let me know if I can do something different or better. I am open to listening to suggestions on how I can improve. Whether you are at your office, your room, your car, gym, biking, or doing the dishes, I hope to bring value to your choral life.
If you enjoyed today’s show, consider sharing it with your friends. It would be helpful if you take 1 minute and leave an honest rating/review of this podcast on Apple Podcast, or in the comments below. This is the way the show gets found and the way I can connect with more people!
Remember to subscribe to the Podcast on your favorite platform and that way you’ll get notified every time there is a new episode. You could also subscribe to my newsletter where I’ll make sure to remind you on my weekly email.
Hugs,
C.
