Tag: Aaron Director

Polyphony Episode 1 – Remote Rehearsals and Strategies

Six Appeal’s Jordan Roll, Accent’s Evan Sanders, and Northern Blend Chorus’ Katie Taylor join us to talk about how to keep rehearsal momentum going when you can’t get together – and why maybe there are other ways to think about the role of rehearsals.

Accent is a group with members from France, Sweden, Canada, UK, and the US – so they’re no strangers to remote rehearsal. Pro group Six Appeal brought on two new members from other parts of the country and met in person for the first time only days before a Disney Cruise gig. Northern Blend brings together over three-dozen women from around a region who balance singing with regular daily lives. Each group has a different perspective on remote rehearsals, and how they’re each keeping their communities strong when they can’t get together. We talk about it all on this episode of Polyphony!

Polyphony Podcast Will Blend Voices

!! New Show Alert !!

We are all experiencing an unprecedented time that has presented the a cappella community with some very unique challenges. Acaville’s new podcast, Polyphony, is bringing together various members of the a cappella community to offer perspectives on issues we face in today’s climate.

Hosts Aaron Director and Rachael Schoenbaum will moderate these important discussions with some of the brightest minds in a cappella on Mondays at 5 pm Pacific, with replays on Sundays at 7 am & pm Pacific.

The show will air free on acaville.org or on the Acaville app. Each episode will be released as a podcast the following week. The conversations get underway on Monday, July 27!

Check out Requests & Dedications Hour!

Did you know YOU can control the airwaves at Acaville? Every Thursday we play requests and dedications at 6 pm Pacific – submit yours right at acaville.org!

Tonight we’ve got Home Free, Ball in the House, Blue Jupiter, Street Corner Symphony, Vocal Line and so much more!

A Message from Acaville

Below is a statement from Acaville founder, Aaron Director:

It has been a heartbreaking several days. I have been struggling with if, and
how, for Acaville to respond. The struggle is not because it’s not our place –
it’s everyone’s responsibility, if we see a murder, to say something. It’s even
more a requirement to do so when the murder isn’t singular, but yet another
example of a pattern that has continued for hundreds of years.
The struggle is more about what to say or do. Systemic racism in America is
a big and seemingly omnipresent issue. What can we, a community nonprofit
focused on music and the human voice, offer? It is a question that can lead
to a sense of helplessness.
But that very helplessness can lead to anger and then rage, and then
destruction – a path that we don’t want to follow. That helplessness can also
lead to oblivious silence, which only enables the discrimination, racism, and
murder. That result is intolerable as well.
So for the moment, we can start by simply speaking up, and saying that it is
unacceptable. By naming it and shaming it. Is that a big step? No. But it’s a
start.
Another place we can look – and maybe make some impact: our own
backyard. The a cappella community has made strides in diversity and
inclusion over the last decade or so, but there is still so far to go. Here at
Acaville, we’ve tried to raise issues of inclusion in our programming, but we
can do more. We will do more.
We continue to work through the sadness and anger, and will continue to
work to find ways to help. Even if individually our efforts feel small,
collectively, I’m confident we can change the world.