Under Grad Conducting

The good news is that yesterday I was asked to TA an under graduate conducting course. Not only does this mean more money, but it means that I get experience in teaching a conducting course- something I want to do in my future. It meets on Tuesday and Thursdays from 9:30 AM to 10:45 AM. For this, I'll have to be on a bus by 8:30, which means early work outs. I am really quite ecstatic about this development. It is a beginning conducting course. There are two sections since there were so many students that showed up. And while I will not be the main teacher, I will be leading or helping with one of the classes while he is with the other one. My goal is to read as much as I can of their conducting book and finish it this weekend.

I am going to pick up my keys tomorrow. I'm going to get maybe 7 or 8 keys. In other words, a lot of keys.

I also have my first official assignment. It is for research methods. And as silly as it sounds, I am so excited about having an assignment.

Tonight my school ends at 6. An early night!

If the First Rehearsal is Any Indication...

My first rehearsal went very well. Of course there was a lot more talking that I would have liked- going over the syllabus, explaining my goals and some things I want to happen this year, getting to know the ladies. I voiced each lady and placed them in a tentative section. I will spend more time with that today. I have a list of "to do" things, every thing from asking Jon (my teacher) clarifying questions to e-mailing some of the women to starting a thread in our Facebook group about some activities that Women's Choir can do this year.

After some confusion with the Men's Choir, we started warm-ups. The men stayed for the first 15 minutes singing with us before I asked them to go to their choir room and see if their director was there. The ladies finished warm-ups and then we went over the syllabus (huge gaff: I left the syllabus sitting next to the door at home). I went over my goals with them: Make good music they can be proud of, challenge them and myself to grow musically and as a person, to support and encourage them to be vulnerable to the music, and to foster a supportive environment between everyone. Then I listened to eat one of them sing. I have some really strong singers and everyone truly has something to give (and hopefully to receive) from this choir.

Voicing them took a lot longer than I thought and we were left with about half an hour left when all was said and done. They came in, I placed them in sections and we sang. The only song we got to was "Will There Really Be a Morning?" But they did well, were able to sing some harmony, and ended our time together in beautiful unison.

Next rehearsal, I really look forward to shutting up a little and having them sing. They have so much potential and I realized that if they do not do great things this year, it is completely my fault since they have the ability. Although that makes me feel a little anxiety, it really excites me and motivates me to work hard so I can be the best director possible.

Today is my first official class. Actually, two classes if you count choir. University Choir meets today for two hours. Then I have 4 hour gap before my second class- Research Methods.

Tonight will make for a late night. Mondays and Tuesdays I finish at 9:45 on campus. Last night I got home at 10:35.

The first picture is another photo of the music area but from a different angle. The second photo is the path I walk to get back to the bus stop when I'm going home. Last night I was happy to see that it was fairly well lit. There is a campus bus but I am not sure which bus to jump on to get me to the public transit stop. I will figure that out soon.

First Day of Grad School

First day of school.

What does my day look like? Well, it consists of attempting to sleep in (I woke up at 7), working out, laundry, typing up some things for Women's Choir, practicing, going over music.... notice I have no classes? I have a meeting today at 3 PM and Women's Choir at 7 PM tonight. It seems strange that my first day of school does not require me to wake up at 6 AM to get ready and head to class.

I am really excited about the first rehearsal tonight. I think it will be very successful. I had some last minute details to take care of this morning that I didn't get a chance to do yesterday due to John's birthday. Perhaps some pictures from that later.

Aced it

So, my TA amount does not cover as much as I wish it would. I had not thought that the amount received would be insufficient. I thought that either I would get nothing or that it would cover most of tuition. Of course, the experience of having my own college choir is wonderful, plus I AM still getting a small stipend. So even though the college is getting very cheap labor, I certainly would not refuse the position. That would be dumb and probably very ungrateful. But it does cause me to pause when thinking about finances.

On a positive note, I got the results back from my music history and music theory placement exams. I passed both and therefore will not have to take any remedial courses in history or theory. I will have to take one history course as a part of my program. But since I scored well in all areas, I can pick any historic era I want. I am registered to take an analysis course and will be able to keep that in my schedule since I passed theory. I'm very glad I will be getting that done with immediately.

It's almost the weekend. School starts Monday. John's birthday is Sunday.

Placement Exam = Done

Placement exam is done. It was so great to be done. The history portion, which was the second test we took, was fine. I felt very confident with most of it- with a few listening example exceptions. The theory tripped me up. I did fine on some of it, but am a little worried about some of the analysis. I did not review fugal analysis, mainly because I was not sure how to review. I should have looked at previously analyzed fugues, but I did not think that would help much. It would have. It seems like there is much more room for small mistakes to trip a person up in theory. So, that's what I'm worried about. I hope I do not have to take a theory review, but what is done is done.

On a fun note, in the history section I did call Wagner a jerk, said sprechtstimme sounded creepy to me, and mentioned that Ben Folds uses prepared piano in the song "Free Coffee"- kind of. He puts altoid tins on the piano strings and then pumps the sound through a distortion pedal/amp/whatever it's called.

Today I have been able to spend time on some music- just spending more time with it and singing through some of the parts. I've also done a little research on some of the songs my ladies are singing.

I am now going to head to the school and put together my choir folders. I am still missing my sight reading material, but I can copy that and put it in before Monday's rehearsal.

Running this morning was awesome. I listened to a Fresh Air about the beliefs that have shaped Michelle Bachmann. Very interesting. A little scary.

And I have discovered that Palestrina was amazing at word painting. What a smart guy.

School Picture Overview

So the first picture is a picture of the bus stop that will be my stop. There are three bus stops at the school and this is the second one.

The second picture is across the street from the bus stop.

The third picture is just a pretty picture of foliage on campus. If you come to visit us, I'll take you there!

The fourth picture is of the sports complex next to the music building. Yes, it's a blue pyramid.

The last picture is part of the music department. The building to the left is a recital hall. Past the recital hall and on the right side of the picture are more music buildings.

Instructor Status

Here it is! My name under "instructor" of a college choir.

So my ultimate dream, the goal I've had since 8th grade, is to work with college choirs. As I have learned more and gotten more involved in the field, I have developed a passion to work with future choir conductors- teachers of all ages. Being able to help them teach about music and the world through the medium of music, specifically choir.

It's an awesome thing.

Selecting Music

There are many things I think about when selecting music for a group. I am in the process of selecting music for the Women's Chorus.

Right away, there are certain obstacles because I do not have all the information needed to make the best decision: number of students, skill level, etc. I have done some research. According to last year, there were about 30 ladies and it was a strong group. They sounded very nice at their May concert. But this does not mean it will be at the same place as last year.

So, understanding there may be changes is important, new knowledge added to change the framework of the group.

The first thing is to simply look at music- text, rhythm, ranges. Is there a theme to the concert? Do you want two soprano parts going back and forth on a high G? Do the altos constantly hang out around G or A3? Is it extremely polyphonic and will each part have to be completely comfortable in their independence? Is it a song that has a topic I want a group to sing about? Will they feel silly singing the words and never connect with the song?

If it passed the preliminary test, the next thing to do is to play through it- either the vocal parts, the accompaniment, or preferably both. Is it interesting? I look to progression, rhythm, word painting, etc. Does it capture attention or will the singers zone out because it sounds boring? Is it a song that is easy to teach other concepts through?

I normally put all the songs that pass this preliminary test in a different pile. I then will listen to each of these songs on YouTube or iTunes. Often times I'll play it again.

Then I need to make decisions that become more difficult: What mixture of songs do I want that will shape a program that the singers and the audience will want to invest in? Personally, I like to find one song that the singers will have immediate and somewhat easy success on so they start to have cohesion and pride as a group (normally either a schmultzy pretty piece or an excitingly rhythmic piece with easy harmony). Then I'll add in a mixture of difficulty and of different concepts- I'm likely to choose pieces that force my singers to listen to different things. For example: at least one piece that is vertical so their ear learns and practices how to adjust where they are in the chord and at least one piece in unison so that they learn the value of not just listening in how they are a part of a vertical chord but also how to be one voice. Also, depending on how well I know the group, I will likely choose at least one song that has a concept my singers really need improvement on.

During this step I often will eliminate more songs or I will put songs away for a different time/concert. And sometimes when I switch out one song, I need to look at the other songs to see if it would still make a cohesive program.

It's a very exciting process, especially when I discover some awesome new song or I learn that I can program a song I have always wanted to program.

By the way, my Women's Chorus has a facebook group page. Even if you cannot sing with us, I welcome you to join the group simply to show your support- or let me know if you'd like me to add you.

Keep singing!

Recruitment

I went to school today and spent over 5 hours there. It was actually really spectacular. I have decided on quite a few of my pieces for the fall concert and have some ideas for the winterfest concert, although I can't make any decisions until I know my choir.

Recruitment. That is what the next few weeks are about. Oh, and all the other grad school stuff. I am so blessed that John is able to help support us- because it would be very difficult to have a full time (or even part time) job. Today it hit me how much I really have to do.

My teacher said something today that made a lot of sense- graduate school is about paying your dues. He said that it's a lot of work and a lot of crappy work that I may or may not have to do in the future. I took that as long hours, a little bit of schmoozing (mainly to make connections), hard work, etc.

I also met the other grad student. I also had a meeting with a couple of undergrads and we talked about ACDA. What was really cool is that once every Friday we get to have staff meetings- my teacher, me, and the other grad student. It's awesome.

I'm so ready for this.

Scrabble During Sunset

Yesterday evening John and I went to the beach to play Scrabble while the sun was setting. Rough life.

This upcoming weekend is a Jazz Festival that is happening very close to our apartment. Tickets are $45 so I doubt I will be going.

In other news: I received an e-mail today saying my name has officially been submitted for a Graduate Assistantship for the Women's Chorus. Everyone in the music department is positive that it will happen. Once it is approved, I have to go in and sign a contract. Then boom- money! Or at least, less money having to be paid out for school.