Episode 161: Where Has All the Polyphony Gone? with David Simmons Wood

Choralosophy

Recently, David Simmons Wood made a splash by writing an article for Early Music America called “Toward a Rebirth of Renaissance Choral Repertoire.” In the article, David drew attention to what I see as a troubling gap in our collective repertoire and programming trends. Namely, the near disappearance of Polyphony from our performances, classrooms and in the textures of new music explored by living composers. Polyphonic writing provides so many building blocks for the theoretical mind of the musician, but also crucial steps in the development of young singers. So, what is driving this atrophy of access to a foundational piece of our art form? It is a complicated problem! So tune in as David and Chris discuss issues related to classroom challenges, the intimidating expert, the lack of exposure, and even the unintended casualty of our attempts to focus on diversifying repertoire and the push to include more living composers. We also go deep into SOLUTIONS. Ways to get started, resources and benefits of polyphony in school and community ensembles.

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David Simmons Wood (he/him) is the director of K-State’s Early Music Ensembles and is the founder and director of the annual K-State Recorder Workshop. David is also engaged as a faculty member in the Theory, History, and Composition Division.His performing career has included appearances with Dallas Bach Society, The Orchestra of New Spain (Dallas), The New York Baroque Dance Company, The New York State Baroque, Texas Choral Artists, and Fenix de los Ingenios, as well as performances at the Boston, Indianapolis, and Bloomington Early Music Festivals. He was also a founding member of Ishallyn, Ensemble for Early Celtic Music.He holds degrees from Kansas State University (B.M. Voice) and the University of North Texas (M.M. Choral Conducting and Voice), and he studied early music ensemble direction at the Historical Performance Institute at Indiana University’s Jacobs School of Music.

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His primary emphases have been the sacred vocal music of the 12th to 18th centuries, liturgical reconstruction, and historical pronunciation.David serves as the Programs Director for the Early Music America, the North American service organization for early music and historical performance practice, where he oversees scholarshiips, grants, the annual Young Performers Festival & Emering Artists Showcase, a series of webinars and other video resources, and coordinates social media and email marketing activities.David has also be involved in church music leadership for more than two decades, holdinng the position of Minister of Music at Central Christian Church (DOC), Dallas, TX; and First United Church, Bloomington, IN.

He has also served on the board of the United Church of Christ Musicians Association.David worked in public radio at WFIU, Bloomington, IN. first as an Announcer/Producer (2005-2007), then as Music Director and Program Content Coordinator (2008-2014), and served on the board of the Association of Music Personnel in Public Radio.

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