A CONVERSATION WITH JIM MARVIN
Monday, March 25, 2019 at 7pm
Join us for an evening with Jameson Marvin, Harvard’s Director of Choral Activities Emeritus on Monday, March 25 at 7:00pm in Holden Chapel.
Andrew Clark, Harvard’s current Director of Choral Activities, will engage Jim in a lively conversation about Jim’s recently published book, Emotion in Choral Singing: Reading Between the Notes (GIA Publications, 2019), which explores what it takes to experience the transcendent power of choral music and achieve genuine emotional connection among composer, performer, and listener. As the book’s publisher observes, the book “offers a new perspective on the choral art [and] is chock-full of practical ideas, tips, and wisdom that will empower and inspire choral directors and musicians of all levels to achieve authentic emotional connection in their work.”
We will have copies of Jim’s book available for purchase (and for signing by the author) at the event. If you’re unable to attend in person, click here to order a copy directly from the publisher.
Stay tuned for further information announcing a live stream or video posting (assuming we’re able to line up the same in the next few weeks).
If you have any questions, feel free to call the Harvard Glee Club Foundation office at 617.547.GLEE (4533).
Description from the back cover of Jim’s book:
Emotion in Choral Singing explores what it truly takes to experience the transcendent power of choral music and achieve genuine emotional connection between composer, performer, and listener.
With unmatched detail and authority, legendary conductor Jameson Marvin surveys the history of singing; effective rehearsal; score study; repertoire selection; and the relationship between a composer’s intentions, music notation, and expression.
Specifically, this book looks at six complementary areas:
Musical Gesture and Emotion: A Guide to Teaching and Performing
The Historical Roots of Singing: Notation and Expression
Performing Polyphony in the 21st Century
Style and Expression in Renaissance Choral Performance
The Conductor's Process
Mastery of Choral Ensemble
A particularly noteworthy feature of this book is its emphasis on polyphony, which, Marvin reminds us, encourages an individual expressivity and musicality in singers that can be applied to all styles of choral music, making it as relevant and vital today as ever. Links to recordings included within this book provide a range of examples from throughout Marvin’s career.
Emotion in Choral Singing offers a new perspective on the choral art. It is chock-full of practical ideas, tips, and wisdom that will empower and inspire choral directors and musicians of all levels to achieve authentic emotional connection in their work.
Jameson Marvin is Emeritus Director of Choral Activities and Senior Lecturer at Harvard University. Under his leadership, the Harvard-Radcliffe Collegium Musicum, Harvard Glee Club, and Radcliffe Choral Society rose to be among the premier collegiate choruses in America. Dr. Marvin’s choral artistry is mirrored by his knowledge of style and performance practice of historical eras and his insightful, communicative, and inspiring performances.