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Dr. Timothy Seelig to headline Washington's Summer Institute, 2008
For the complete 2008 brochure in PDF, click on the graphic to the left - Also includes a tear-off registration page if you prefer mailing it in. |
WA-ACDA
Summer Institute (sponsored by WA-ACDA, University of Puget Sound
School of Music, |
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A CONVERSATION WITH DR. TIMOTHY SEELIGBy Karen P. Thomas, Northwest Division R&S Chair for Community Choirs.This summer, we are excited to welcome Dr. Timothy Seelig as our headliner for the ACDA Summer Institute. Karen P. Thomas has asked him a few questions that will give us a little background and a preview of what is in store when we meet with him in Tacoma this July. . .
TIMOTHY SEELIG: I began my university studies with the goal of becoming
an opera
singer. All along the way, I studied choral conducting as a minor
because it was the way I began my singing life - singing in choirs. KAREN: I know that everyone is very interested to hear about your current activities, now that you have finished a 20-year history with theTurtle Creek Chorale. What is new on the horizon? TIM: I am in my 13th year on the adjunct music faculty at the Meadows School of the Arts at Southern Methodist University, a really wonderful place to create. Of course you already know that I have been truly fortunate to get to travel across the U.S. and Canada teaching workshops and conducting. I am also the Artistic Director in Residence for GALA Choruses, a position that they were gracious to allow me to help create. KAREN: Can you tell us about your work as the Director of Art for Peace &Justice in association with the Cathedral of Hope's Hope for Peace andJustice program? TIM: The mission of this organization is to equip progressive people
of
faith to be champions for peace and justice. Once again, I was
hired
to create a complete program using the arts to raise peoples' KAREN: What interests and excites you in your current work? TIM: I love teaching and conducting adults and young people
alike. I know
my life was changed by a choir director when I was young. It
is that
excitement about music that I hope to inject in everyone I meet. In KAREN: Any new and exciting rehearsal or conducting methods books in the works for upcoming publication? TIM: The new DVD for "The Perfect Rehearsal" just came out. Like "The
Perfect Blend," it combines some good old practical help with
a big
dose of humor. By the time I am with you all this summer, the
3rd (and KAREN: Could you please give us a preview of the sessions you'll beleading at our summer institute? What topics will you cover? What worksmight we study or sing in your sessions? TIM: You know there is nothing I love more than warming up the voices
in a
chorus, so there will be a heavy dose of new ways to think about
training your singers in new, innovative ways. We'll talk about
how to KAREN: What are some of the new (or recently re-discovered) choral worksyou've recently encountered which are especially interesting to you? Anygems you'd like to share with us? TIM: I must have been under a rock, but for the Maya Angelou event, a singer brought me John Rutter's "A Distant Land" and I just fell out of my chair. It was composed at the fall of the Berlin Wall and the release of Nelson Mandela from prison. I am horrified that I didn't know it already. KAREN: You are very much in-demand as a choral
clinician and conductor inthe US. What other significant
workshops/clinics/performanceswill you be leading in the
next few months, and to what interesting TIM: Now that would sort of be like picking just one conductor
to single
out. It would just make the others feel unimportant! However,
I will
say that the Northwest is my absolute favorite. I would move
here in a KAREN: Is there anything else you'd like to add? TIM: Expect to have fun! Educator, speaker, leader, singer, conductor, motivator, writer, guide, friend, parent. As an educator, Dr. Seelig holds four degrees, including Doctor of Musical Arts from the University of North Texas and the Diploma in Lieder and Oratorio from the Mozarteum in Salzburg, Austria. He was the Artistic Director for the world-renowned Turtle Creek Chorale for 20 years, from 1987 to 2007, and has taught as a adjunct on the music faculty at the Meadows School for the Arts at Southern Methodist University since 1996. Dr. Seelig’s early training was as a singer. He made his European operatic debut at the Staatsoper in St. Gallen, Switzerland and his solo recital debut at Carnegie Hall in 1991. He has two solo recordings, Everything Possible and Two Worlds. He is a published arranger, lyricist and writer. His best-selling book, The Perfect Blend, was followed by an instructional DVD, published by Shawnee Press. The sequel, The Perfect Rehearsal, was released in the spring of 2007, followed by the DVD by the same name in February, 2008. The third book, The Perfect Choral Workbook will be released in late 2008. Upon stepping down from the Turtle Creek Chorale, Dr. Seelig began as the Director of Art for Peace & Justice, a program of the national non-profit Hope for Peace & Justice (www.H4PJ.org). In this capacity, he will continue the work he started with the Turtle Creek Chorale of using the arts to raise awareness and further social issues and causes. In addition, he was named Artistic Director in Residence for GALA Choruses, Inc. He continues his teaching at SMU. Dr. Seelig continues a busy guest conducting schedule with workshop appearances throughout the U.S. and Canada. As a clinician, 2008 appearances include the Northeast, Southwest, Northwest and West regional conventions of the American Choral Directors Association; the 2008 national MENC convention as well as state conventions including Texas, Oregon, Indiana, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Ohio and Florida; and all-state choirs including South Dakota, Connecticut, New Mexico and Georgia. He served as the Chairman of the Choral Advisory Committee for Dallas Independent School District. He has been a recent guest lecturer at such prestigious universities as Michigan State University, Kansas University, Texas State University, Stetson University and Vandercook College. During his tenure with the chorale, it grew from a membership of 40 to 350, performing in six separate ensembles. The budget of $69,000 grew to $1.7 million annually. Under his direction, the Turtle Creek Chorale has recorded 36 Compact discs, reaching top 10 on the Billboard classical charts. The chorale has been the topic of two PBS documentaries, the first of which was awarded the Emmy in 1994. The chorale has been invited to eight national, regional and state ACDA conventions and performed for the Eastern Regional MENC convention. The chorale has performed across the U.S. including Carnegie Hall and in Barcelona, Prague and Berlin. Dr. Seelig has been honored on many occasions. A few of these include University of North Texas Distinguished Alumnus, The Dallas Historical Society designation of “history maker of today”, and the Dallas Theater Center’s “pillar of the Dallas artistic community” as well as carrying the Olympic torch as a community hero. Most recently, Dr. Seelig was awarded the Hero of Hope award for his 20 years of service with the TCC. He is the proud father of two incredible, and thankfully grown, children. |
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KAREN
THOMAS: Let's begin with a little background information. Everyone
is well aware of your 20 years of leadership as artistic
director of the TurtleCreek Chorale. Tell us a little
about your musical training. Were there particular
conductors or teachers who were especially importantin
your life?