* Prescriptions for Choral Excellence: Tone, Text, Dynamic Leadership.

* Prescriptions for Choral Excellence: Tone, Text, Dynamic Leadership, by Shirlee Emmons and Constance Chase. Oxford University Press, Inc. (198 Madison Ave., New York, NY 10016), 2006. 334pp.

As a conductor with more than 30 years' experience, I found this book to be rigorous, comprehensive and dynamically user-friendly. The practical ideas it offers as "diagnosis" and "prescriptions" are indispensable for choral conductors at any level and for ensembles of all varieties. The stated goals of the book are to demystify three subjects important to the role of the choral director:

* Vocal technique 

* How to elicit good singing, reliable musicianship and performance

* Leadership

No matter how much experience we have as choral directors, we know that each moment presents us with something new. The book presents an abundance of practical tools.

Part I, "Prescriptions for Choral Singing: Technical Vocal Skills," addresses issues of breath management, diction and intelligibility, tone and intonation, the individual singer, the warm up and the training period. The book draws on respected research, and is rooted in years of experience from two seasoned professionals with extensive vocal and choral background.

For those of us with previous training, the book is an invaluable refresher and because it is so comprehensive, suggestions abound for prescriptions and fixes to familiar choral challenges. The less experienced conductor will find this book indispensable and imminently accessible. It perceptively presents the reader particular choral problems, called "The Complaint,"

related to diction or breath or other issues, and then offers "The Diagnosis" and suggests remedies or "The Treatment Plan" that fixes the problem.

Part 2, "Prescriptions for Self-Development: Preparation, Development, and Execution Skills," addresses practical solutions to leadership issues, how to practice and use imagery and mental skills that have to do with relaxation and performance. There is an excellent section pertinent for collaboration with accompanists appropriately called "Pianist and Partner" and a valuable section on the qualities of a successful choral leader, and his or her followership.

A set of informative appendices that are concerned with vocal health, vocal function exercises, a "choral tessituras" statement from the American Academy of Teachers of Singing, and other useful aids, conclude the book.

I will return to Prescriptions for Choral Excellence frequently when faced with common everyday problems from shaping sound to creating warm-ups to match and remedy particular vocal challenges. This book will be a constant companion, a viable and reliable tool to read and reread for specifics and reminders related to mental preparation for the singers or helpful hints on memorizing. The book has several indispensable charts: The International Alphabet Chart, the IPA Consonant Chart, Vowel Modification Chart, all of these in one very practical, user-friendly, remarkable volume. This is a must read for choral directors at any level, as well as for singers and teachers of singing. I highly recommend this book. Catherine Roma, Cincinnati, Ohio.