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
