The Choral Contrarians

About The Choral Contrarians

A couple of friendly conductors bantering about complex issues affecting the choral world.

Publisher

Eric Barnum and Richard Robbins

Category

arts · education · music

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

16 Jan 2019

Latest episode

24 Oct 2025

Latest episodes

57 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   24 Oct 2025

   Artistic Debt

   Richard and Eric discuss a question posed in The New York Times: "What do consumers owe to producers of art?" They wonder if the concept of 'debt' within the artistic framework is plausible, and muse on its potential ramifications. Is it ethical for organizations to purchase used manuscripts, or loan for rehearsals and performances?

2. 

   6 Mar 2025

   Lost Episode: The Gift Economy

   "The Gift Economy" is a Choral Contrarian Lost Episode, recorded in Summer, 2024. Richard and Eric use the recent article "Toward a Gift Economy," composed by Simon Oliver (published July 2024) in the Plough Quarterly, as a springboard to both generally and specifically discuss 'gift' as it relates to a culture, economy, and potentially an artistic organization. Can the concept of a gift economy be leveraged for a more healthy ethic, both personally or culturally? Is it a flaccid,...

3. 

   22 May 2024

   The Intersection of Emotion and Performance

   Richard and Eric try to locate the intersection point of emotion and performance.  They not only attempt to differentiate the difference between how emotion works for the audience versus performer, but also debate the value and perception of emotion's usefulness as a performer of music.  Do we overvalue, or misjudge, emotion in the act of performance?

Reach and audience

Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.

Apple Podcasts (US)

4.9 / 5

35 ratings

Spotify

5.0 / 5

12 ratings

Podcast Authority Score: 22 / 100

A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.

Quality

10

Social presence

0

YouTube

0

Engagement

85

Contact The Choral Contrarians

Guest appearances

Does not typically book guests

Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.