Choir Fam Podcast

Dean Luethi & Matthew Myers
  • 4.8 (15)
  • Performing Arts
  • Updated Biweekly

The Choir Fam Podcast is a venue for conversations about the current state of choral music. Hosts Dean Luethi and Matthew Myers seek to bring the worldwide choral community closer together through their discussions with a variety of guests who work with choir in its various forms. The goal of the podcast is to provide listeners with interesting tidbits of knowledge they could use in day-to-day choral rehearsals and to bring light to the ways that issues in the choral field are being observed and addressed.

  1. 4d ago

    Ep. 169 - Utilizing Singing to Promote Community Healing - Michael Bussewitz-Quarm

    "One way for me to work through things like gun violence and civil rights issues, things I really struggle with, is to set it to music and build a community around it. I found that this really speaks to singers, which is healing and affirming for me. What's more therapeutic when you're struggling than having a community around you? We build that for each other. I can't write the music and just stop there. It has to be performed. I need a choir around me. I need a community around me.” Michael Bussewitz-Quarm is an award-winning composer and conductor based in New York whose choral music frequently engages questions of identity, social justice, violence, belonging, and human connection. Her works have been commissioned and performed across the United States and internationally, including at Carnegie Hall, the Kimmel Center, Orchestra Hall, Lincoln Center, DAR Constitution Hall, and the ISCM World New Music Days. Her large-scale choral-orchestral work US, commissioned for Sing Democracy 250, is scheduled for national broadcast and streaming on PBS in September 2026. In 2021, Bussewitz-Quarm won The American Prize in Composition in the Professional Choral Division, and Where We Find Ourselves received support from New Music USA’s Creator Development Fund. Her current major project, This Borrowed Earth: The Rising Forest, is a new choral-orchestral work exploring climate change and humanity’s relationship with the living world. Her music is published by Peermusic Classical, Hal Leonard, and Listen Afresh Publishing. To get in touch with Michael, you can find her on Facebook (@mbussewitzquarm) or Instagram (@mbuqu) or visit her website, listenafresh.com. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

  2. Oct 5

    Ep. 168 - Scaffolding Learning for All Levels of Experience - Brandon Boyd

    "Working with the MTC Women’s Prison Glee Club was life-changing, taking women who had never been in a choir, teaching them about head voice, consonants, vowels, and diction and all the musical things that we talk about all the time in choir. We went down to the very basics and that was remarkable for us as conductors to see you have the ability to teach anybody if you learn how to sequence and understand where people are and how you can take them to the next level." Dr. Brandon A. Boyd is the Director of Choral Activities, Graduate Choral Conducting Program Director, and Associate Professor of Music at the University of Missouri, where he conducts MU University Singers, Sankofa Chorale, and Choral Union Symphonic Chorus. In addition to his conducting duties at the university, he teaches graduate courses in choral conducting, choral literature, and choral arranging. As a proponent of choral singing to build community, his research interests include organizing choirs for the homeless, identifying the social and physical effects of choral singing on senior citizens, creating authentic field experiences for music therapy and choral music education students. For three years, Dr. Boyd co-directed three choral community partnerships in Florida: The Tallahassee Senior Choir, RAA Middle School Partnership Choir (university students and middle school singers), and the MTC Women's Prison Glee Club (university students singing with women housed in a correctional facility). As an active composer and arranger, his music is sung regularly by ensembles throughout the United States and abroad. Dr. Boyd served as Santa Fe Desert Chorale’s Composer-in-Residence and Community Engagement Leader for their program Giving Voice to the Voiceless. As a global collaborator in the orchestral world, Dr. Boyd has served as chorus master, assistant conductor, and guest pianist with the London Symphony in London, England. He has made multiple performances at Carnegie Hall in the capacity of guest conductor, composer, and collaborative pianist. He holds two degrees from Florida State University (Ph.D. in choral music education and M.M. in choral conducting) and earned a B.S. in music education (emphasis in piano) from Tennessee State University. To get in touch with Brandon, you can find him on Instagram (@baboydmusic) or email him at boydba@missouri.edu. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

  3. Sep 17

    Ep. 167 - Rehearsal Transitions as Opportunities for Singer Engagement - Morgan Luttig

    “Transitions are key to all of the rehearsals that I run. We lose a lot of very valuable rehearsal time when we switch from one task to the next, whether they’re taking their music out or they start talking to a neighbor. Every time we switch tasks, there’s a ‘switch cost,’ which is the time it takes for our brain to transition from one experience to the next experience. I’ve developed transition strategies that help minimize that time. The goal of a transition is to continue the music making through that changing experience.” Morgan Luttig is a dynamic choral conductor, music educator, and clinician known for her philosophy of "make serious music unseriously." She currently serves as Director of Choral Activities at the University of Alabama where she conducts University Singers, Treble Chorus, and Druid City Chorus while overseeing undergraduate and graduate conducting programs. Her innovative approach to teaching and rehearsing has been recognized through national and state performance invitations, award nominations, grant acceptances, and fellowships. During her tenure, the University of Alabama choral program has nearly tripled in enrollment. To get in touch with Morgan, you can find her on Facebook (@morgan.luttig) or Instagram (@m.luttig) or email her at mluttig@ua.edu. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

  4. Sep 8

    Ep. 166 - Achieving High-Level Artistry with Community Choirs - Matt Hill

    “The work that we do as choral people matters. The art matters. The music is the engine that drives the experience for everybody. In community organizations, they yearn for high level artistry. They don’t want it to be a hobby. They want to be challenged and fulfilled. I want the experience for them to be fun, but I don’t want it to be ‘for fun.’ There’s no bench in a choir. Everyone is contributing all the time, and we need everybody’s best effort all the time.” Dr. Matt Hill is a choral composer and conductor who specializes in community and collegiate ensembles. In a typical week he conducts five auditioned choirs, including a 7th-12th grade treble choir, undergraduate treble and mixed choirs, and two semi-professional adult ensembles, along with a volunteer church choir. He founded Sing Omaha in 2007 and serves the nonprofit as Artistic and Executive Director. The organization now reaches approximately 500 musicians a year: roughly 350 singers across nine choirs from kindergarten through adult, plus a private lesson studio of 150 students at two locations. He is also Director of Choral Activities at Creighton University and Director of Worship Arts at Divine Shepherd Lutheran Church. His forthcoming book, The People-First Conductor, argues that choirs exceed every expectation placed on them when their singers are regarded as people first. Rather than a conducting primer or a repertoire guide, it offers a framework for designing the whole choral experience, from first rehearsal to final bow. The work that happens around the singing determines whether singers will invest in the process and risk the vulnerability that a meaningful social, spiritual, educational, and artistic experience demands. Hill has twice been named Nebraska Choral Director of the Year, and serves as Executive Director of the Nebraska Choral Directors Association. He has represented community choirs on the national ACDA board since 2021, and has published six articles in Choral Journal. As a composer he has been commissioned by ensembles across the country and was selected for the International Choral Composers Institute in 2026, where Great is the Sun! closed the final concert and will be published by Choristers Guild in 2027. His catalog with perusal scores and recordings is available at www.MattHill.music. He lives in Omaha with his wife, Jen, and their 7-year-old son, Walter. To get in touch with Matt, you can visit MattHill.music, email him at matthill@creighton.edu, or find him on Facebook (@MattHillComposer), Instagram (@matthillcomposer), or X (@matthillmusic). Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

  5. Aug 28

    Ep. 165 - Building upon Traditions in a New Choral Position - Bella Garcia y Lauer

    “My predecessor is very, very well-known, an amazing choral director, and he’s still in the area. I’m trying to establish myself as the new director following such a well-loved choral director. My colleagues and he himself set me up really well for that. How do I establish myself as somebody who knows what they’re doing and wants to honor what’s important to the community? I’m adjusting to traditions, learning to very gracefully sunset other traditions without ruffling too many feathers.” Bella Garcia y Lauer is about to start her 3rd year of teaching 8-12 grade choir at Curtis High School and Curtis Junior High School in University Place, and her 5th year of teaching. Born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico, she transplanted to Washington after graduating high school, and earned her Master in Teaching from Whitworth University after studying vocal performance and music education at Eastern Washington University. She is active in serving her local professional organizations in many different roles and currently works as a WMEA All State Honor Choirs group manager, is the Reading Session Coordinator for the Washington ACDA Board, and has served on the WA-ACDA Diversity Initiatives Committee since 2022. She is passionate about cultivating a strong and supportive choral culture in her program that broadens equity and opportunity for her students, and inspiring her students to love music and collaborative singing as a way to connect with each other and grow. To get in touch with Bella, you can email her at bellaglauer@gmail.com or find her on Facebook (@bellawuskii). Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

  6. Aug 17

    Ep. 164 - Creating Accessible and Engaging Compositions - Ryan Main

    "The most important advice I ever received is that you cannot call a piece 'done' until you have sung through every part, beginning to end, and 90% of the time changed at least one thing because of that sing-through. I think I'm a good music reader, but I'm going to falter at the things that most people would on a first read. If I'm singing through my music and I struggle to find an interval, that immediately gets flagged: Is this worth keeping? Is there a way I can support this so that it becomes an easier interval to find?” Ryan Main (b. 1984) is an award-winning composer, director, and clinician whose music for choirs and bands is performed at all levels worldwide. His compositions have been performed across the globe and extensively throughout the United States, frequently showcased at prestigious events such as national and regional American Choral Directors Association Conferences, festivals, Carnegie Hall, and other distinguished venues. Born in the Kansas City, Missouri area, Ryan began his post-secondary music education at the Conservatory of Music and Dance at the University of Missouri–Kansas City (2003–2006), earning a Bachelor of Music in Music Composition. He continued his studies at the Peabody Institute at Johns Hopkins University (2006–2009), completing dual Master of Music degrees in Music Composition and Music Education. Passionate about ensuring access to quality music education for all, Ryan founded the Youth Chorus of Kansas City, a non-profit organization serving youth from diverse socio-economic and cultural backgrounds throughout the Kansas City metro area. As artistic director, he leads the organization in providing meaningful musical opportunities to students who might not otherwise have access to them. Beyond his work with young singers, Ryan is dedicated to fostering the next generation of composers. He mentors aspiring creators across the United States and serves as Professor of Choral Arranging at the University of Missouri–Kansas City's Conservatory of Music and Dance, where his students have gone on to successful careers in composing and arranging. He also founded Endeavor Music Publishing, a fair-pay publishing company that ensures composers receive the majority of proceeds from each sale. To get in touch with Ryan, you can find him on Instagram (@ryanmainmusic) and Facebook: @ryanmain. You can also learn more by visiting ryanmain.com or endeavormusicpublishing.com. You can email Ryan about compositions at ryan@ryanmain.com or about publishing your works at ryan@endeavormusicpublishing.com. Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

  7. Aug 5

    Ep. 163 - Engaging the Body in Singing and Conducting - Zanaida Robles

    "What I do with the high school choirs is important. I always tell them, 'I'm really just trying to convince you to do what you already know you can do, to give yourself to it, to create this big whole beautiful experience for yourselves. Then your audience is privileged to get to see what you can do.' That's the inner calling. It's using conducting, singing, and teaching to try to inspire people to connect with their music-making magic, just trying to connect people." Hailed as a “composer of energized and soulful music,” Zanaida Stewart Robles is an award-winning artist whose vibrant works have been performed worldwide by professional ensembles, community choirs, educational institutions, churches, and individuals world wide. A sought-after composer, vocalist, and educator, she blends rich harmonies, rhythmic drive, and influences from gospel and jazz to progressive rock, creating music that connects deeply with performers and audiences alike. Her works are available from MusicSpoke, E.B. Marks Music, Pavane Publishing, Oxford University Press, Gentry Publications, Hinshaw Music, and Stainer and Bell. Dr. Robles is performing arts instructor at Harvard-Westlake Upper School in Studio City, CA. She served for 2 years on the advisory board for the California Choral Directors Association as Repertoire and Resources Chair for Choral Composition. For three years, she served as chair of the board of directors for the Grammy-award-winning choral group Tonality. She also served for four years on the board of directors for the National Association of Negro Musicians. As a concert soprano soloist, studio vocalist for film and television, and professional ensemble singer, Dr. Robles has sung throughout the United States, and in parts of Europe, New Zealand, and Australia. Some of her film, television, and video game credits include “Glee,” “Godzilla,” “Star Wars: The Last Jedi,” and “Wicked.” Dr. Robles holds a Doctor of Musical Arts degree in choral music from the USC Thornton School of Music, a Master of Music degree in conducting from CSU Northridge, a Bachelor of Music degree in vocal performance from CSU Long Beach, and she is a graduate of the Los Angeles County High School for the Arts. To get in touch with Zanaida, you can visit zanaidarobles.com or find her on Facebook (@zanaida.robles) or Instagram (@zanaidastewartrobles). Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

  8. Jul 24

    Ep. 162 - Poetic Lyricism in Choral Music - Charles Anthony Silvestri

    “I tell composers to collaborate with a poet who takes their craft as seriously as they take their craft. It’s a very rare creative who can do both well. What most often happens is a really good composer isn’t a very good poet, or a very good poet is a mediocre composer. One side of that creative process will lose. That’s why I love to collaborate, because you bring in a separate creative mind who has different standards and who takes their craft just as seriously. It keeps both sides intellectually honest, able to not lose objectivity.” Acclaimed as "the preeminent choral lyricist of our time," poet, author, composer, and clinician Charles Anthony Silvestri specializes in providing bespoke poetry for choral composers, especially texts in Latin, both sacred and secular.  He is the author of more than seventy published works in collaboration with over a hundred composers worldwide, including celebrated composers such as Eric Whitacre, Dan Forrest, Ola Gjeilo, Christopher Tin, and Kim Andre Arnesen; and for groups such as the King's Singers, VOCES8, San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus, and the Tallis Scholars.    As a clinician, Silvestri speaks to choirs about his works, the creative process, and about his collaborative relationships with composers. He has given live and webcast presentations at Lincoln Center, the Kennedy Center, Disney Hall, and at universities and schools around the country.   His poems for Eric Whitacre's Sleep and Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine have also been published as children's books. He is also the author of A Silver Thread (GIA 2019), a retrospective of almost 20 years of his lyric poetry; and his essays have been published by Business Insider and The Huffington Post. Silvestri's words have been sung by thousands of choirs around the world, and have been heard on television, radio, and Grammy-winning recordings. ​In addition to writing choral lyrics, Silvestri is also an accomplished artist/painter. He is an aficionado of Irish traditional music and plays concertina in a trad band and at pub sessions around the world. Retired from the classroom in 2025, he is a veteran teacher with almost four decades of experience teaching kindergarten through college. He currently lives, writes, and makes music in Lawrence, Kansas. To get in touch with Tony, you can find him on Facebook (@CharlesAnthonySilvestri) or Instagram (@tony_silvestri) or visit his website, charlesanthonysilvestri.com/ Email choirfampodcast@gmail.com to contact our hosts. Podcast music from Podcast.co Photo in episode artwork by Trace Hudson

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Ratings & Reviews

4.8
out of 5
15 Ratings

About

The Choir Fam Podcast is a venue for conversations about the current state of choral music. Hosts Dean Luethi and Matthew Myers seek to bring the worldwide choral community closer together through their discussions with a variety of guests who work with choir in its various forms. The goal of the podcast is to provide listeners with interesting tidbits of knowledge they could use in day-to-day choral rehearsals and to bring light to the ways that issues in the choral field are being observed and addressed.

Information

  • Creator
    Dean Luethi & Matthew Myers
  • Years Active
    2022 - 2026
  • Episodes
    182
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 Choir Fam Podcast
  • Show Website
    Choir Fam Podcast

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