MPP #10: Choral music with Dominick DiOrio

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Composer & conductor Dominick DiOrio is a supremely talented musician, and we have many friends in common who have raved about him to me over the years. He’s a widely-respected choral conductor, and a huge champion of new music, so I’ve been interested in getting him on the show from the word “go”.

We have a few audio issues at the beginning of the episode, but everything smooths out nicely after a few minutes, and we have a really wonderful chat.

In the course of our conversation, we talk about:

• Wearing the dual hats of conductor and composer
• How performative pursuits can inform your writing, and vice versa
• Common score review practices for choral conductors
• Composers who have (or don’t have) a vocal sensibility
• Adjudicating competitions, and what disqualifies many entries in the first round
• Recording requirements in competitions
• The evolution of choral music in the US, and its effect on choral writing
• The affinity toward new music in the choral world
• Operatic vocal technique as the primary style taught to voice majors
• Self-conscious composition
• Giving students compositional tools without pushing them into a particular style
• Submitting works to conductors and ensembles

Links:
Dominick DiOrio
NOTUS: IU Contemporary Vocal Ensemble
Graphite Press