Aiming for Excellence with Dr. William Payn

Today’s guest has been an important part of my life, and a big influence. A composer of music for choir and handbells, a respected festival conductor, and a former professor of music and director of choral studies at Bucknell University, he’s my college choir director, Dr. William Payn. I spent four years singing for him in Bucknell’s Rooke Chapel Choir, where I learned more than just great choral music. We talked about his history with music, from childhood on, the experiences of conducting vs. composing, how to encourage people to do more than they think they can, and how a particularly memorable choral performance at the American Choral Directors Convention—a rarefied experience for us all—came to be.

Listen to us sing Aaron Copland's "In the Beginning," and two of Dr. Payn's compositions, at the links at fycuriosity.com, and join the conversation on Facebook and Instagram! You can rate and review the show here. Thanks!