Productions Magazine

28/07/2023

How to Put the FUN Back in Fundraising
by Hilary Harkness

I do not enjoy fundraising. I do not relish the idea of asking people for donations.

However, I absolutely love our local high school show choir, which boasts amazingly talented students who manage to balance studying with after-school rehearsals and competitions across the state. For that reason—for those kids—I am willing to step out of my comfort zone to do whatever I can to help make their show choir dreams a reality. Other parents and the surrounding community feel the same way; they also want to help create and support opportunities to financially support the show choir. With that in mind—and after a few years of parenting a show choir kid, volunteering as a chaperone during competitions, and helping behind the scenes—this is what I have learned about successful fundraising.

Follow the link in our bio to read the full article.

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24/07/2023

16 Tips to Prepare for Vocal Auditions
by Yona Marie

Got auditions coming up and don’t know if you’re ready enough? I’ve auditioned for dozens of choirs in my lifetime, including school choirs and church choirs, chamber choirs, and acapella groups. Although I was pretty giddy with nerves and excitement for all of them, I managed to get into every single one. Two big factors come into play here: talent and preparation. If you’ve got the voice, let’s make sure you’re prepared to impress the judges with everything else.

Follow the link in our bio to read the full article.

20/07/2023

Andy Haines The Life of a Freelance Choreographer Part 2
by Lisa Gibbs

In Part 1 of our interview, Andy Haines explained how he “was so lucky because this career found me backwards.” He was able to make a career of something that came naturally to him. In Part 2, Andy gives us a little more insight into his process and his plans after retiring from his forty-three-year career as a freelance choreographer.

Follow the link in our bio to read the full article.

17/07/2023

The Ins and Outs of Custom Arrangements
by Jeffrey Bowen

Custom arrangements have been a standard in many competition show choirs. Most show choir directors and choreographers know that designing their shows around their custom charts will give them an edge over other groups. For younger generations of new show choir directors, the idea of stepping into the whole custom arrangement aspect of their show can seem daunting.

For those who have less experience with custom show arrangements, this article covers three topics: arrangement details and the need for licensing; costs of licensing and other ways to license music; and a more affordable option for obtaining show choir arrangements.

Follow the link in our bio to read the full article.

28/01/2023

In a suburb of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, choir directors at Linn-Mar High School sing and dance with more than 450 students as they prepare for a variety of concerts, shows, and competitions. Trent Buglewicz, Sarah Anderson, and Jack Jorgensen work daily with their students in ten distinctive vocal groups. These groups and individuals have been consistently rewarded for their performances at state competitions and auditions. I interviewed nine-year veteran at the school, Trent Buglewicz, to glean some insights about the success of Linn-Mar show choirs.

Read the full article at https://www.productionsmag.com/article/affecting-audiences-emotionally-linn-mar-high-school/

25/01/2023

The phrase “break a leg” has been a long-standing tradition in the theatrical world. Some attribute the origin of this custom to John Wilkes Booth breaking his leg on that fateful evening at Ford’s Theatre. Others say this phrase was said by understudies to the actors as they went on stage in hopes they would get their big chance at the lead parts. Even others attribute the custom to the bending of the leg to bow or curtsy in curtain calls thereby wishing them a performance that prompts numerous curtain calls.

Read the full story here https://www.productionsmag.com/article/show-choir-stage-safety-checklist-2/

23/01/2023

When sophomore Jordan Kelberg arrived at Elon University last year and met fellow sophomore Holland Cogan, they noticed a lack of a performance groups that fit their niches. “We saw an opportunity to create something because Elon has acapella groups, Elon has a choir, but they didn’t really have anything in between that,” Cogan says. Unlike acapella groups and traditional choirs, Kelberg and Cogan wanted to go beyond using only vocal ability—they wanted to do choreography as well. They combined those elements and worked toward creating a show choir group.

Read the full story about Elon's show choir club https://www.productionsmag.com/article/elon-debuts-universitys-first-show-choir-club/

20/01/2023

Music education is said to promote personal growth, deepen self-knowledge, and generally bring more joy to students. Furthermore, music education shares all the same goals as any other scholastic discipline; the aim is to help students find their personalities and understand their place in society. Chorus America found that many adults who grew up singing as adolescents and teenagers now credit their time in choir for their positive social and professional interactions, their creativity, their discipline, and their ability to listen and follow in the workplace.

Read more about how raising money and forming young professionals: https://www.productionsmag.com/article/raising-money-forming-young-professionals/

20/01/2023

Music education is said to promote personal growth, deepen self-knowledge, and generally bring more joy to students. Furthermore, music education shares all the same goals as any other scholastic discipline; the aim is to help students find their personalities and understand their place in society. Chorus America found that many adults who grew up singing as adolescents and teenagers now credit their time in choir for their positive social and professional interactions, their creativity, their discipline, and their ability to listen and follow in the workplace. Read the full article here https://www.productionsmag.com/article/raising-money-forming-young-professionals/

18/01/2023

The December issue of Productions Magazine is full of info-packed pieces on Linn-Mar show choir and how performances can affect the audience emotionally, Elon University's first show choir club, how raising money through fundraising helps form young professionals, and a checklist for stage safety. Visit https://www.productionsmag.com/issues/december-2022/ to read through the entire December issue!

13/07/2022

After many years of creating custom music arrangements for show choirs, I have found that so many show choir directors have great ideas when it comes to what they want—but how they convey those thoughts through notes and sound clips can vary tremendously. The common denominator, however, is they want the best arrangement possible.

https://www.productionsmag.com/article/best-custom-arrangements-even-budget/

After many years of creating custom music arrangements for show choirs, I have found that so many show choir directors have great ideas when it comes to what they want—but how they convey those thoughts through notes and sound clips can vary tremendously. The common denominator, however, is they w...

11/07/2022

Make fundraising your forte! We know that you, as music educators, are always looking for ways to raise money for your music travel programs. To help you out, we have collected information on dozens of different fundraisers. Whether you want to sell a product, host an event, or gather donations online, you’ll find ideas and options here. Once you have chosen a fundraiser, you must also make sure everyone knows about it. We’ll provide you with the best tips in promoting your fundraisers so you can “Fundraise on a Major Scale.”

https://www.productionsmag.com/article/fundraising-major-scale-2/

Make fundraising your forte! We know that you, as music educators, are always looking for ways to raise money for your music travel programs. To help you out, we have collected information on dozens of different fundraisers. Whether you want to sell a product, host an event, or gather donations onli...