Chorus America’s Scholarly Journals Find New Home at National Collegiate Choral Organization

October 1, 2020

Chorus America is pleased to announce a transition for the American Choral Review (ACR) and the Research Memorandum Series (RMS) to a new home with the National Collegiate Choral Organization (NCCO).

The American Choral Review (ACR) will be incorporated into the masthead of NCCO’s existing publication The Choral Scholar, beginning with the November 2020 issue. The issue will coincide with the launch of NCCO’s searchable digital archive of the ACR, which will be freely available to the public and researchers around the world.

The Research Memorandum Series (RMS) will be repurposed to publish abstracts of recently completed choral MM theses and DMA documents. With this new focus, the RMS becomes a tool to inform the field of new scholarship on choral topics. NCCO has future plans to create a searchable digital archive for the RMS as well; in the meantime, archives are house on Chorus America's website.

History of the Journals

The American Choral Review (ACR) explores choral repertoire and issues of performance practice pertaining to music of all periods, as well as commenting on recent scores, recordings, books, and performances. The ACR was founded by Alfred Mann in 1961, followed by editor William Weinert in 1999, James John in 2011, and Timothy Newton in 2017. The publication has also been guided by the efforts of an editorial board.

The Research Memorandum Series (RMS) is a biannual journal of bibliographic tools suitable to the choral director and/or to those researching choral music literature and performance practice. The RMS began publication in 1959 and has been edited most recently by David DeVenney (1995-2010), L. Brett Scott (2010-2017), and Matthew Bumbach (2017-2020).

The journals began under the auspices of The American Choral Foundation. In 1985, the administration of the journals was moved to the Association of Professional Vocal Ensembles, now Chorus America.

“Chorus America’s board and staff is grateful to the volunteer leadership that has shaped the ACR and RMS into vital research tools for the choral field,” said Chorus America president and CEO Catherine Dehoney. “As an organization with expertise in scholarly research that serves the specific needs of university and collegiate conductors, choral faculty, and music students, NCCO is an ideal steward to further this legacy. We look forward to a bright future of the ACR and RMS under the leadership of NCCO.”