CUEcast
168 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 2 years ago - ★★★★★ - 7 ratingsCUEcast is the 3-times weekly podcast spotlighting the world of faith based youth choirs. Hosted by YouthCUE Founder, Randy Edwards, the episodes are divided into three subdivisions: CUEcast Classic (Mondays), CUEcast Communiqué (Wednesdays), and CUEcast Axiom (Fridays). The interviews, discussions, and dialogues feature a wide array of guests, including but not limited to choral conductors, successful directors, current students, and professional YouthCUE alumni. The podcast encourages the best practices for student choirs across the United States and Canada. Produced by YouthCUE, the premier organization for community based youth choirs since 1990. www.youthcue.org
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Episodes
Episode 66: Challenging large institutional churches to look in the mirror
March 23, 2021 16:31 - 40 minutes - 92.6 MBJonathan Greer is a theology student at Brite Divinity School in Ft. Worth, Texas. He was drawn into this theological environment to challenge himself and further develop his skills as a peacemaker and an ambassador between local churches and the larger community in which they serve. In this fascinating dialogue, Jonathan and Randy discuss the need for established congregations to reach out the immediate communities around them. Be ready to think and be challenged as we dig deep in this thoug...
Episode 65: The spoken word as art
March 16, 2021 23:18 - 50 minutes - 117 MBWe welcome back our friend Angelique Feaster Evans as our guest on Episode 65. Angelique, the Founder and Artistic Director of the Mahogany Ensemble Theater in Shreveport, LA, is a world-class artist and performer. In this conversation, we will ask Angelique to share with us some of her favorite pieces of poetry and prose. Angelique never fails to inspire, enlighten, educate, and motivate us at YouthCUE. We invite you to listen in on the beauty!
A choral professor’s philosophy for inspiring excellence
March 09, 2021 17:03 - 40 minutes - 93 MBDr. Paul Neal is Director of Choral Activities at Berry College in Rome, GA. Having completed his DMA at UCLA under Donald Neuen, Paul was an early YouthCUE alumnus, having grown up through high school singing in Randy’s church youth choir. Paul’s musical journey beyond high school was traveled alongside a number of highly successful colleagues and a handful of extraordinary teachers. From all these relationships, Paul has gleaned an enormous cache of experience and inspiration, a treasure-tr...
Episode 63: Art as a way of embracing social justice and racial equality
March 02, 2021 14:00 - 31 minutes - 73.1 MBAmerican soprano Melissa Givens moves and excites audiences and critics alike with a rich, powerful tone, crystalline clarity, and intelligent musical interpretations. A champion for collaborative musical endeavors, Givens performs with various chamber groups, including Conspirare, the 2015 Grammy winner for Best Choral Performance. In today’s episode, Melissa and Randy will discuss the role of the arts in the journey towards social justice and racial equality.
Episode 62: Student choir ministry to last over the long haul
February 23, 2021 14:00 - 32 minutes - 74.8 MBVeteran minister of music and youth choir director Sid Davis (St. Luke’s United Methodist Church, Houston) discusses the principles which have built his youth choir dynasty through the decades. As Sid continues to work closely with his students, the foundation being laid in their lives today is as powerful (or perhaps even more powerful) than twenty or thirty years ago. Listen in on this joyful conversation between Sid and Randy; by doing so, we will gain insights into how Sid has remained pa...
Episode 61: Students’ dialogue
February 16, 2021 14:00 - 37 minutes - 87.3 MBIn this episode, Randy and three high schoolers discuss the importance of words. We’ll dialogue about verbal affirmation, encouraging rhetoric, trash talk, and genuine ways of expressing openness and friendship with those we are meeting for the first time. The insights shared by these high schoolers will provide guidance for us leaders as we engage in communication with today’s teenagers, both in the choral environment and interpersonally.
Episode 60: Keeping my students singing
February 09, 2021 14:00 - 41 minutes - 94.8 MBDana Effler is Director of Music and Arts Ministries at First United Methodist Church in downtown Dallas. While she gives overall leadership to the church’s diverse and robust music ministry, Dana also directs seventh though twelfth graders in The Variations Youth Choir. In today’s episode, we will hear how Dana and her husband, Tim, (who is also organist at First Methodist) are navigating ministry and continuing to make choral music with the students they lead.
Episode 59: Music as diplomacy
February 02, 2021 14:00 - 36 minutes - 84.6 MBDr. Carey Cannon recalls his four-year experience singing in the US Army Chorus stationed outside Washington, D.C. Carey relates several experiences serving in the Nation’s Capital post-9-11 and how those experiences are eerily similar to recent events at the Capitol Building. Now, two decades later, Carey describes how his ministry at South Main Baptist Church in Houston is still very much about musical diplomacy. Don’t miss this most interesting, colorful and timely episode.
Episode 58: How ministers prescribe music to help calm their flocks
January 26, 2021 17:35 - 28 minutes - 64.9 MBLongtime friends and ministerial colleagues Robert Guffey and Randy Edwards discuss the calming, uniting, and encouraging qualities of music in their congregations today. Whether in Roanoke (Robert) or San Antonio (Randy), both ministers have learned over the decades to celebrate the rich miracle of music, particularly during challenging or dark times.
Episode 57: Allowing music to help us navigate the darkest days
January 19, 2021 14:00 - 38 minutes - 87.6 MBFamily counselor and Nashville minister Weslee Hill returns to CUEcast with an episode encouraging choral musicians to lean into our art as we face difficult times. In this interview, Randy discusses with Weslee what happens when we engage the many colors of choral music to actually address our deepest feelings and emotions rather than skipping and bouncing over them with only “happy music.” This is a fascinating conversation which has vast implications for our ministry with teenagers.
Episode 56: How can we keep from singing?
January 12, 2021 14:00 - 35 minutes - 81.1 MBEmily Current Floyd has been busy during the pandemic. Aside from keeping up with her ongoing and creative programming at Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Atlanta, Emily has just completed a great new resource published by Choristers Guild. HOW CAN WE KEEP FROM SINGING is a collection of “ten virtual rehearsal plans for youth and adult choirs to nurture faith and to sing God’s praise.” In this episode, we’ll talk choral music and how this exciting new resource came to be.
Episode 55: What are a few of your favorite things?
January 05, 2021 14:00 - 18 minutes - 43.5 MBTo begin 2021, Randy provides insights into the power of our “favorite things.” As you might guess, the illustrative material will include “My Favorite Things” from THE SOUND OF MUSIC. But don’t expect this to be an episode of sugar coating, playing the glad game, or living in an aloof reality. To the contrary, we will discuss the profound strength and dynamic power of concentrating on our life-changing, life-giving, life-transforming memories which can guide us confidently into our uncertain...
Episode 54: Introducing V21, YouthCUE’s Original Virtual Festival
December 15, 2020 13:00 - 11 minutes - 26.4 MBFor months -- which feels like years -- student choir directors have been searching high and low for something meaningful we can provide our students to help them feel connected, energized, and engaged in music making and community building. In this episode of CUEcast, Randy discusses the concepts behind V21 (YouthCUE’s original virtual festival) and how it will minister to dozens of choirs and hundreds of students in the late spring of 2021. Listen in and see how you and your students can en...
Episode 53: Helping our kids handle the fears and frustrations of life in 2020
December 08, 2020 14:00 - 39 minutes - 90.9 MBFamily counselor Weslee Edwards Hill is Minister of Congregational Care at the Brentwood United Methodist Church in Nashville. Aside from her critical role in caring for a congregation largely in isolation, Weslee is also mother of three young boys, two of whom are teenagers. In this highly practical episode, Weslee provides both student ministers and parents an array of helpful tools for helping teenagers through this challenging chapter of life.
Episode 52: An interview with Pastor Alan Rudnick
December 01, 2020 17:12 - 33 minutes - 76.1 MBRandy and Alan discuss Alan’s involvement in student choir as a teenager and how his experience in this teenage ministry laboratory is today influencing his vocation as a senior pastor. Special attention is given to navigating the treacherous waters of the pandemic as well as the toxic political rhetoric in our culture. The dialogue focuses on how we can help our students become instruments of peace.
Episode 51: An interview with the Rev. Dr. Amy Butler
November 24, 2020 15:10 - 30 minutes - 70.4 MBHaving served as a missionary in New Orleans and later as Senior Pastor at Calvary Baptist Church in Washington D.C. (2003-2014) followed by Riverside Church in New York City (2014-2019), Amy has always been fascinated by the question, “What does it take to build a community that can change the world?” Amy now serves at Interim Pastor at National City Christian Church in Washington, D.C., whose church facility is the rehearsal venue for all YouthCUE festival events in the heart of the Nation’...
Episode 50: A Student Perspective
November 17, 2020 13:00 - 39 minutes - 90.8 MBRandy speaks with four students from across the United States who weigh in on how 2020 has affected their lives and their relationships with their friends. Aside from being a great resource of information for student choir directors, it would be good to have the teenagers in our choirs listen in on this discussion, as well. Be prepared to be both informed and inspired as we engage this bright quartet of high school and university students.
Episode 49: Brain Imaging and Student Choirs
November 10, 2020 19:11 - 16 minutes - 37.6 MBDr. Cary Savage, a YouthCUE alumnus, is a brain scientist and professor at the University of Nebraska – Lincoln. Having previously taught at Harvard Medical School and the University of Kansas, Cary’s expertise in brain imaging provides him valuable insights into the effects of pandemic isolation and how student choir directors can help their students -- and ourselves -- through this time. Join us for this insightful discussion!
Episode 48: It’s Election Day 2020
November 03, 2020 14:00 - 41 minutes - 96 MBRandy leads a conversation with YouthCUE friends Pam Dunagan as well as Dan and Carlene Jean on discovering inner peace and sharing that gift with those around us. Set in the midst of our current and bitter political fray, the discussion will center around how God offers love and comfort to all of us. Please join us for this enlightening episode!
Episode 47: An Interview with Dr. Anton Armstrong
October 27, 2020 13:00 - 1 hour - 145 MBNo name is currently more recognized and respected in the world of American choral music than that of Anton Armstrong. Having served as the conductor of the St. Olaf Choir for the past thirty years, Dr. Armstrong was for the decade prior on faculty at Calvin College. As a beloved conductor and educator, he is in constant demand, traveling the globe to provide his extraordinary brand of leadership to thousands of young singers every year. In this interview, Randy will discuss with Anton the cu...
Episode 46: A conversation with Dr. Rollo Dilworth
October 20, 2020 11:00 - 31 minutes - 72.7 MBRandy interviews Rollo Dilworth, composer, Professor of Choral Music Education and Chair of the Department of Music Education and Therapy at Temple University’s Boyer College of Music and Dance in Philadelphia. In this rich interview, we discuss the role of the arts in the struggle for racial equality and justice in the United States. Dr. Dilworth describes his own growing up experience and what propelled him to become one of the leading authorities across North America in choral education an...
Episode 45: Had it not been for John Stinson
October 13, 2020 11:00 - 53 minutes - 122 MBIn 1983, budding young youth choir director Randy Edwards came face to face with his own racism in an unexpected and most unlikely way. It was through a gentle and loving confrontation with then fourteen-year-old John Stinson that the course correction began. In this episode, Randy tells the story and engages in a rich and powerful dialogue with John Stinson, now 51. You’ll not want to miss this life-changing episode for the whole YouthCUE network and, indeed, for the whole world. Please join...
Episode 44: What white Americans need to hear from the African American community
October 06, 2020 11:00 - 51 minutes - 119 MBRandy interviews actress, teacher, social activist Angelique Feaster Evans about the current climate of race relations and where we are in our nation’s progress towards racial equality and social justice. The questions and solutions are often complex and Angelique is, as always, brilliant in her communication on key issues. Sometimes what needs to be said is not easy to hear. However, when communicated by one as loving and sincere as Angelique, white Americans are inspired to be newly energiz...
Episode 43: A Conversation With UNT's Dr. Allen Hightower
September 29, 2020 11:00 - 24 minutes - 34.6 MBDr. Allen Hightower is currently Director of Choral Studies at the University of North Texas. Previous to his appointment at UNT, he was Director of Choral Activities at Luther College as well as Director of Choral Studies at Sam Houston State University. In this interview, Randy and Allen will discuss the challenges to choral directors going forward in and beyond the COVID pandemic and how directors can actively meet the needs of today while preparing for the future.
Episode 42: Panel Discussion - Church Student Choir Directors
September 22, 2020 18:13 - 46 minutes - 64.8 MBFour church student choir directors discuss their approaches at the beginning of a new school year. Each of these leaders has been known for creativity and innovation even before the pandemic began. All directors in the YouthCUE network will benefit greatly by hearing the discussion of these highly effective colleagues.
Episode 41: Panel Discussion - Community Choir Directors
September 15, 2020 11:00 - 43 minutes - 60.4 MBTwo faith‐based community youth choir directors discuss their current programs and how they are seeking to keep their students connected during the pandemic. Hearing about the journeys of these directors will help all of us be better and do better jobs ministering to our students.
Episode 40: Panel Discussion - High School Choir Directors
September 08, 2020 11:00 - 47 minutes - 66 MBIn the thick of beginning a new school year, Randy speaks with two outstanding high school choral directors, Anna Osterman and CUEcast returning guest Remington Foster, about the challenges they are facing and how they continue to move towards hopeful futures in their schools. In this episode, we discuss totally new challenges as well as new methods of teaching and connecting with students.
Episode 39: Looking Back on the First Year of CUEcast
September 01, 2020 11:00 - 28 minutes - 39.9 MBRandy looks back on the first thirty‐nine episodes of CUEcast, which together have brought us to the first anniversary of the podcast. What began as an every‐other‐week episode accelerated into an every‐week program at the beginning of the pandemic in March. We’ve learned a great deal in over these fifty two weeks, and there’s much more to glean in the future.
Episode 38: Adolescent Sanctuaries, Pt 3 - The Spirit of Liberty
August 25, 2020 11:00 - 35 minutes - 49.4 MBPamela Dunagan again joins Randy for a continuation of the discussion of Adolescent Sanctuaries. In this episode, the continued dialogue will revolve around equipping directors to help students stake out their own private safe places to enrich them and see them through life’s difficult stretches. Join us for this down-to-earth conversation between friends addressing the deeper needs of students today.
Episode 37: Katy Lundeen - A Delightful Duet Between Science and Music
August 18, 2020 11:00 - 30 minutes - 42.2 MBKaty Lundeen directs a youth choir in San Diego, but her day job is in a large Japanese pharmaceutical company. Her area of expertise (other than directing student choirs) is in neuroscience biomarkers for neurodegenerative diseases; which means she searches for and analyzes proteins that can tell us how drugs are interacting with the brain. Like a lot of us, Katy has been working from home for the past several months, and she’s looking forward to when she might be able to work in the lab again.
Episode 36: Erin Kirn - A YouthCUE Alumna Describes the Front Lines of the COVID Pandemic
August 11, 2020 11:00 - 32 minutes - 45.6 MBIn this episode, a YouthCUE alumna talks about her experience in youth choir and how it has prepared her to be on the front lines battling COVID-19. Erin Kirn was part of her youth choir from the start of 7th grade through the summer following her senior year of high school, and during this time she traveled across the United States participating in mission projects and concerts. Erin recounts her best youth choir memories and recalls some of the music which continues to support her work today.
Episode 35: A Special Tribute to the Life of Babs Baugh
August 04, 2020 11:00Babs Baugh was a world-class stateswoman with a heart of gold, a talented musician, a dedicated fan of the arts, and a philanthropist to many deserving causes. She always seemed to have time to minister to friends who were hurting or listen to anyone who needed to talk, and she always knew how to find humor. To the end, she continued to fill her life with relationships old and new, ever thinking forward and giving her best energies to the people she dearly loved and cared about. This special ...
Episode 35: A Special Tribute to the Life of Babs Baugh
August 04, 2020 11:00Babs Baugh was a world-class stateswoman with a heart of gold, a talented musician, a dedicated fan of the arts, and a philanthropist to many deserving causes. She always seemed to have time to minister to friends who were hurting or listen to anyone who needed to talk, and she always knew how to find humor. To the end, she continued to fill her life with relationships old and new, ever thinking forward and giving her best energies to the people she dearly loved and cared about. This special ...
Episode 34: Rising Star Elaine Hagenberg on the Phenomenon "O Love"
July 28, 2020 11:00 - 38 minutes - 53.5 MBElaine Hagenberg is a powerful new voice in church music. Although she has only been a full-time composer for 24 months, Elaine has already blessed the world with a colorful array of elegant choral compositions. One need only to Google “O Love” to discover how powerfully her music has impacted the lives of church, high school, and collegiate choirs around the world. Elaine's style of composition leaves singers and listeners mesmerized by the beauty of her melodies, harmonies and haunting acco...
Episode 33: Heather Sorenson - Writing Music That Expresses Universal Feelings
July 21, 2020 11:00 - 28 minutes - 38.9 MBHeather Sorenson is one of the bright luminaries in church music today. Creating fresh choral settings of texts ancient and contemporary, Heather’s compositions seem to capture the essence of singers’ emotions from the first read through. In this interview, Randy will discuss with Heather the process of creativity which enables her to resonate so powerfully with the singers for whom she writes.
Episode 32: Preston Edwards - This Is the Kind of Person I Want to Be
July 14, 2020 11:00 - 29 minutes - 41.9 MBYouthCUE Vice-President, Preston Edwards, turns thirty-five years old today, meaning he is now age-eligible to become President of the United States. In this special birthday interview, father (Randy) and son (Preston) discuss some of what it means to be an official, bona fide adult as recognized by the American political structure. Preston will describe the person he has been, who he is seeking to be, and the leader he hopes to become.
Episode 31: Mark Hayes - The Creative Process Through Good Times and Bad
July 07, 2020 11:00 - 31 minutes - 44.2 MBMark Hayes, one of the most prolific church music composers of our generation, discusses with Randy how he approaches music composition during normal days as well as the uncertain times of COVID-19. For the past 40 years, Mark has invested his efforts full-time into creating beautiful music for churches, schools, and concert halls across the globe, writing music as varied and beautiful as it is relevant. Today, Mark gives a special look at specific anthems, including some of Mark’s new music ...
Episode 30: Sanctuary, Part 2
June 30, 2020 11:00 - 25 minutes - 37.4 MBPam and Randy pick up where they left off discussing how choir directors can help their students build their own personal sanctuaries. Safe spaces are very important for all teenagers, but for some they are absolutely critical. The pandemic clamor, the relentless political mayhem, and the endless noise of life in 2020 can all combine to create chaos for adolescents. In this part of the dialogue, Pam discusses the concept YouthCUE has put forth for years—that we are in the ministry of creating...
Episode 29: God Has Work for Us to Do
June 23, 2020 11:00 - 33 minutes - 48.2 MBIn this powerful interview, James Wells, Director of Music and Director of Student Choirs at Brentwood United Methodist Church, Nashville, tells a compelling story about taking his students inside the Cook County Juvenile Detention Center in Chicago. It’s a riveting narrative, and the result is blest and enriched teenagers everywhere you look. James also provides helpful insights regarding helping our students through the disappointments of postponed graduations, canceled choir tours, and the...
Episode 28: Sanctuary, Part 1
June 16, 2020 11:00 - 30 minutes - 42.5 MBPam Dunagan is a political science professor at Northwest Vista College in San Antonio. Having spent a number of years as a clinical counselor and also as a volunteer choir singer, Pam has a unique perspective on how choral music can contribute to the mental health of teenagers and adults alike. In this conversation, Randy and Pam will explore ways we can help teenagers construct for themselves healthy sanctuaries in the midst of a world that is noisy and recently has demanded a certain amoun...
Episode 27: Jonathan Rodgers Expresses Insights From the Crisis
June 09, 2020 11:00 - 39 minutes - 54.4 MBDr. Jonathan Rodgers is Minister of Worship and Music at the Hunter Street Baptist Church in Birmingham, AL. An excellent choral clinician as well as a model minister, Jonathan is able to handle his large student choir by high levels of organization and pastoral care for his students. That’s in the normal times. What about now? In this interview, Randy will discuss with Jonathan the challenges of the pandemic and how he and his colleagues are managing to stay connected with his students throu...
Episode 26: Keeping Your Choir Strong During COVID-19
June 02, 2020 11:00 - 38 minutes - 52.9 MBFirst, Randy addresses the listeners with a special message about the protests taking place across the United States. Emily Current Floyd has been director of music at the Shallowford Presbyterian Church in Atlanta for 12 years. She is also very active as a superb workshop clinician. Using the classic YouthCUE model of the student choir mutual fund, Emily and Randy will discuss ways to keep our choirs strong and vibrant during the uncertainty of the pandemic.
Episode 25: YouthCUE Shifts Gears While Looking to the Future
May 27, 2020 16:55 - 35 minutes - 50 MBJoin us this week for a conversation with YouthCUE team members Tina McCartney and Edie Dutton. Conversation topics include what we have learned from more than 30 years of programming, the CUE specialty choirs which take students on journeys of growth, festivals, and the strong collaboration with YouthCUE directors.
Episode 24: Creative Ideas and Hopeful Perspectives Amidst COVID-19
May 19, 2020 11:00 - 23 minutes - 33.2 MBToday Randy speaks with John Woods, the Music and Worship Pastor at Dawson Memorial Church in Birmingham, AL. John is a highly creative student choir director enjoying strong relationships with the students he loves. During the pandemic, John’s creativity is being used to its fullest potential creating new avenues of connectivity and even new relationships. John shares fresh perspectives, great ideas, and his infectious sense of hope.
Episode 23: Turning Happy Experiences in Higher Education into Service
May 12, 2020 11:00 - 43 minutes - 60.5 MBRuben Ortega grew up in a strong high school choral program and a singer in the San Antonio Youth Chorale. By the time he was ready to enter collegiate life at the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor, Ruben had already decided he wanted to invest his musical skills in the enrichment of other students of all kinds. Soon to be in his senior year as a music education major, Ruben is now surveying the vocational horizon with great hope and optimism. He envisions a fulfilling career dedicated to the ...
Episode 22: Interview with Youth Choir Director Janis Maxwell During COVID-19
May 05, 2020 14:40 - 27 minutes - 38.6 MBToday we speak with Janis Maxwell, a youth choir director who has innovated to meet her students' needs during this extraordinary time. Janis has built a strong tradition of youth choir ministry at the First United Methodist Church of Athens, Georgia. She and her students were in high gear preparing for their Summer choir tour and mission trip when COVID-19 took the world by storm. In this episode we see how she has created new opportunities by starting virtual meetings and planning a virtual...
Episode 21: Composer-Songwriter Robert Sterling Discusses His Career and 'Crazy' New Album
April 28, 2020 11:00 - 40 minutes - 56.3 MBRobert Sterling has had a wide-ranging career as a renowned composer, producer, conductor, and studio musician of many musical styles. This multi-talented Nashville musician discusses his long and versatile career, how the music industry tried to pigeonhole him into a single style, and his relationship with fear while forging his unique artistic path. We also get a deep dive into Sterling's new genre-bending album Sounds Crazy, which proves to be an excellent and refreshing set of Christian s...
Episode 20: Joyful Stories from Recent SAYC Alumna Macy Drew
April 21, 2020 11:00 - 36 minutes - 50.9 MBSan Antonio Youth Chorale alum and first-year Texas A&M student Macy Drew walks us through her musical life. This articulate young woman shows her energetic joy and maturity through the stories she shares. Topics include the differences between high school and community-based choirs, the SAYC model, and the positive impact of social musical experiences on today’s young people. Later in the episode, we reconnect via telephone to check in during the COVID-19 crisis.
Episode 19: The Story of Carlene Jean's Uplifting Musical Research, and the Skagit Valley Chorale Tragedy
April 14, 2020 11:00 - 37 minutes - 51.5 MBThis week, Randy interviews recently retired pediatric therapist Carlene Jean on her cutting edge music research project, which involved several SAYC students. The project speaks to the importance of music in all stages of life, and it also produced a number of unexpected positive outcomes. We then touch base with Carlene and Dan Jean during the COVID-19 crisis, reflect on the tragic news surrounding the Skagit Valley Chorale, and share some wisdom gleaned from this unique medical and cultura...
Episode 18: Interview with Ashley Adams, and Remembering the Sick During COVID-19
April 07, 2020 11:00 - 25 minutes - 34.9 MBIn this episode of CUEcast, we pause to remember all those around the world who are sick as well as the brave healthcare professionals who are daily putting themselves in harm's way. These moments of meditation are led by the 2018 CUE Choral Ambassadors, as recorded on their tour of Ireland. We also speak with Ashley Adams, a precocious graduating high school senior from Friendswood, Texas. This articulate young musician was inspired by her love for music and choral music communities to study...