48 episodes listed below
A cappella, from the classroom to the loop station.
Justin Glodich talks with people who work in contemporary a cappella, from a middle school music teacher to an award-winning beatboxer and live looper. The conversations stay practical: how an arrangement comes together, how to record video on a small budget, and how to keep singers in a choir while their voices are changing.
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The Aca-Education Podcast with Justin Glodich is an interview show about contemporary a cappella, and it spends as much time on the rehearsal room and the classroom as on the stage. Glodich hosts, and episodes pair him with one or two guests who teach, arrange or perform. Several begin with a short preview of what the guest will cover. The most useful stretches are practical. Evan Weisblatt, a middle school music teacher in Pennsylvania who leads a group called Lion Voice, talks about the changing voice and how it can shake a young singer's confidence and thin out a program. Dan Satter, an arranger, transcriber and vocal percussionist, explains how he writes for a group where some sections read music better than others: the rhythmic lines go to the stronger readers, and he takes care that nobody feels handed the lesser part. He also covers merging musical theater with a cappella and recording audio and video on a limited budget. With Black to Gold, Connor Martin walks through the journey of an arrangement and Andrew Orsie offers tips on booking performances. Their conversation includes a good audition story about arriving with a whole arrangement learned when only the first few pages were asked for. Other guests widen the frame. Galush, an award-winning beatboxer and live looper, talks about the history of beatboxing and a college project analysing the a cappella and beatboxing communities. That conversation lands on the idea that music culture cannot be separated from the cultural context of the artists who make it. The episode also promises an exclusive performance. Chris Lombardi, a teacher now making music his full-time career, describes the online a cappella community he built through the pandemic, and why posting performances reaches relatives and friends a local choir never could. Black to Gold talk about how they managed to thrive in the same period, and their episode closes with a snippet of their single 'Decode', originally by Paramore. Not everything stays with a cappella. The conversation with Jessica Peresta, introduced as 'the domestic musician', turns toward elementary music education and the things undergraduate training leaves out, and Glodich himself calls it a shift of gears. He is an openly enthusiastic interviewer, the kind who introduces one guest as a superstar in the making and another as a phenomenal musician. That warmth keeps things relaxed. Choir teachers could start with Evan Weisblatt, arrangers with Dan Satter, and anyone drawn to vocal percussion with Galush. Taken together, these episodes follow an a cappella piece from arranging and rehearsal through recording and finding an audience.
Made for: Suits a listener who teaches choir or general music, or who sings and arranges in a contemporary a cappella group, and wants practical ideas from people doing the same work, from handling changing voices to booking performances.
What sets it apart: It stays with contemporary a cappella but comes at it from the teaching side, so arranging tips and budget recording advice sit next to strategies for middle schoolers whose voices are changing. The guests range from classroom teachers to an award-winning beatboxer and live looper.
Former vocal percussionist, America's Got Talent contestant and current music teacher Justin Glodich talks with educators and musicians heavily versed in contemporary a cappella, as well as other important topics in education. Episodes discuss lessons, ideas and stories to provide a useful resource to all educators.
That 13-page audition story is catnip if your choir brain never really clocks out.
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Short reviews from the PlayNext desk, based on the episodes we processed.
A grounded conversation about choosing steadier work, then finding a practical path back to music full time.
Chris Lombardi's route from college music studies and early production and writing into about a decade of teaching, then back toward music full time, gives the episode a clear through line: creative ambition still has to live alongside ordinary pressures.
A practical conversation about keeping middle school singers confident and involved as their voices change.
Middle school a cappella runs into a familiar pressure point when changing voices begin to shape confidence, self-esteem, participation, and what feels comfortable in front of peers.
A candid conversation about Decode, auditions, and keeping Black to Gold moving through the pandemic.
Black to Gold uses this episode to split attention between the group's single "Decode" and the less glamorous work of keeping an a cappella group active through the pandemic.
An award-winning beatboxer traces live looping through beatboxing history and a cappella culture.
Beatboxing comes through as both technique and cultural memory in Justin Glodish's conversation with John Galoosh, an American beatboxer and live looper.
A reflective conversation on what teacher preparation can miss, shaped by Jessica Peresta's work as the domestic musician.
Jessica Peresta comes through as a practical, reflective guide: a professor, former Oklahoma Teacher of the Year, Teacher of Today Award winner, podcaster, author, and parent whose work sits at the intersection of music education and lived classroom experience.
Clear guitar lessons for steady beginners.
Practical talk for stronger school music programs.
Playful music lessons built for listening.
Music education with practice, policy, and feeling.
Practical band-room fixes from a teacher still in the classroom.
Episode 59 of The Aca-Education Podcast centers on Chris Lombardi, a New Jersey teacher of about 10 years who turned a COVID-era side project into a full-time music career.
Justin Glodish interviews Evan Weisblatt, a middle school music teacher in the Lower Moreland Township School District, about Lion Voice, his Temple University a cappella background, and the changing-voice problems that shape middle school arranging.
Justin Glodish talks with Connor Martin and Andrew Orsie of Black to Gold about the group's new Paramore cover, "Decode," and the Fleetwood Mac "The Chain" video that first pulled him to them on Instagram.
Episode 56 of Aka Education centers on Galoosh, an American beatboxer and live looper, as Justin Glodich walks through looping technique, teaching, and beatboxing history.
["Jessica Peresta traces 'The Domestic Musician' back to September 2016, a nickname from her husband and a blog that grew into a business after she started writing for teachers.", "Justin Glodish introduces her as a former Oklahoma Teacher of the Year and Teacher of Today Award winner who runs a podcast, keeps a blog, and raises kids.", "She describes taking an elementary music job midyear with no budget, no formal music program, and fifth graders who had gone years without music class.", "Her first fixes were singing, movement, body percussion, old materials, carpet samples from Lowe's, and one box of rhythm sticks, then later a district stipend."]
Justin Glodich interviews arranger and performer Dan Satter about combining musical theater with a cappella, including Dan’s arrangement and recording of “For Forever” from Dear Evan Hansen.
Justin Glodish reviews 2021 on The Aca-Education Podcast, reporting 31 released episodes and listeners in over 40 countries.
Justin Glodish interviews Wisconsin educator Lee Stovall about building a Pro Tools-focused music technology class at Rufus King High School.
Justin Glodish interviews Sean Altman, a Rockapella founder who explains how the group formed from Brown University Hijinx and later reached television through Carmen San Diego.
Justin Glodish interviews educator and author Jen Rafferty about helping teachers identify the purpose behind their work, including her mission to inspire people to discover their voice.
Amanda Hanslick, choral director at E.O.
Justin Glodish interviews Nate Altamari, co-director of Rock Voices in Albany and Saratoga, about teaching amateur singers to perform rock repertoire.
Justin Glodich interviews composer and music educator Roger Emerson, whose catalog includes more than 500 choral titles and over 15 million copies in circulation.
Justin Glodich interviews Justin Critchfield about moving to Dayton, Ohio, studying contemporary a cappella at Centerville Forte, and developing vocal percussion.
Justin Glodish interviews Rob Dietz about founding Ascending Height in Ithaca, New York, joining Ithaca Pella, and building a career in contemporary acapella.
Justin Glodich interviews Jason Luciana, a high school choral director, about his a cappella group South Avenue and balancing teaching with personal musical projects.
Justin Glodich reviews the year 2020 and sets goals for 2021, focusing on positive takeaways and encouraging educators.
Justin Glodich interviews social media star Paige Zilba about beatboxing, songwriting, music therapy, and using social media as an educator.
Music teacher Justin Glodich interviews Ryan Stumpkes about efficient rehearsal techniques for a cappella groups.