Smiles

I had an "ah-ha" moment yesterday.

It has to do with faces.

You see, in my doctoral coursework, I gave three recitals.  In one of my recitals, I received a small number of comments about faces I made while conducting.  These faces were smiles, and the students did not know how to interpret them, so they assumed that it was negative.

These comments have bothered me for awhile because I had no idea what they were talking about.  Yes- I smile a lot in rehearsal.  That can't be upsetting to people, right?  And I refuse to stop smiling.  It's who I am and my classroom is built on positivity and encouragement.

Yesterday I was working with my small vocal jazz group.  I asked them to modify a vowel, and they did.  They sang a few more modulations before I stopped them to give feedback, at which point a senior said to me, "Ah!  That smile- I know you aren't laughing at us, but I always wonder if I'm doing something wrong."  She's a wonderful student and we have a good report, so we were able to chat about this.  As it turns out, I DID have a little smile on my face.  I was smiling because they had done such a good job modifying the vowel like I had asked them, and it was TOO well-modified.  So what I was hearing was a wonderful vocal jazz "ee" vowel, followed by a very pure "oo."  The two vowels didn't fit "in the same sleeve," because the singers had done such a great job modifying the "oo" vowel, just like I asked.  The contrast had made me unwittingly smile.

Then today in rehearsal, my singers were rehearsing a piece they know very well.  I found myself being aware of my face, and how at times I wanted to smile while conducting.  I often do not notice when I do this, because it's a response to what I'm hearing.  And it happens in two instances: the first is when the singers do something I ask and it's too much of what I asked (this is my fault, and a testament to my singers that they were so committed), and the second (and more often) is when my singers do something so well I want to stop and yell," Yes!  That was exactly it!"  But of course, I don't stop (... to be honest, sometimes I do stop and yell, but I try not to often because it disrupts the flow of rehearsal).  What I do is smile instead- and I often don't realize I'm doing it.

So I addressed it today in rehearsal.  Multiple singers were like, "Professor, we love your faces.  Please don't stop doing them."  I told them they could always raise their hand and ask what the smile was about if they saw it (and it was once we had stopped singing).

I'm still thinking about this new discovery.  I'm not sure there is much I can change.  I can definitely work on having more of a poker face, but I'm not sure I want to.

Now I know that this is what I do, however, I may address it more in rehearsal.  For example, when we finish rehearsing a piece, I might say, "I had to smile because you remembered the phrasing and warmth in measures 35 and 36, altos.  That was wonderful."

I'm relieved.  There is nothing like getting an evaluation and not knowing why you got the feedback you did.  At least now, I have a little better understanding.

Applesauce

I have thought about this blog post for a long time.  And the reason I feel so inspired to post today is because of applesauce.

Let me start over.

Today I made applesauce for my 7 month old son.  Yes, he is 7 months now.  I can hardly believe it.  At any rate, I made sweet potatoes last week and froze them.  Today I made applesauce for his breakfasts this week.  This made me think about how I balance my life.  Most of the time, I think I'm doing okay.  When I'm home and my son is awake, I spend time with him.  I rarely split my time during the week between him and something else, because I don't see him often.  I cherish the time I have with him.

I work hard at drawing a line between my work space and my home/personal space.  Yes, I bring work home, but I only do work on my work computer.  And I do fun (or thesis revisions) on my personal computer.  I also keep my son off of most social media.  I don't post photos of him.  This is intentional.  I often untag me from photos that have my son in them.  This is a choice that my husband and I made together for a variety of reasons.  While we have no judgement of those that choose to put photos of their children on social media, we choose not to.  One time, I received a message from someone who said, "Did you have a child?... I didn't know, because all you ever post about is work."  Yes.  This is accurate.  For the most part.

Sometimes I post about my little one.  But it's often sometime fun- like the fact that he likes Bon Jovi.  Or something else goofy.  I'm not hiding him, so if I'm amused enough, I may share a story.

But this brings me to one of the biggest struggles of my work/life balance: navigating academia as a mother.  And not just a mother, but a nursing mother.

I had a conference this weekend.  My mom, who was visiting from Minnesota, came with and watched her grandson.  She brought him to me to nurse.  The alternative was to find a place to pump and a cold place to store the milk after it's pumped.  Thank goodness for grandmas.

At the beginning of November, I have another conference.  I'm driving there and back every day (it's about 90 minutes away).  I have no idea where I'm going to pump or where I will store the milk after it's pumped.  I found myself thinking about this conference tonight, and here were some of my questions: Should I contact someone who is organizing the conference and ask if there would be a space for me to pump?  Should I try to make it a non-issue for other people and just pump in my car? I'd have to remember my car charger and then find a place to wash my equipment- how far away would I have to park for the conference and would this be a huge pain in the butt?  Where can I store the milk?  I should probably bring a cooler with ice in it.  What if the ice melted?  Would I be able to find other ice?  Should I plan on pumping while I'm driving?  I can't do it hands-free, so I suppose that's dangerous.  Does that mean I'll have to pump right when I get there and/or right before I leave? Maybe there are other nursing mothers at this conference- or will they all skip this particular conference?  One of my new contacts told me about a Facebook group for mothers in academia- maybe I should try to find this group and ask this question to other nursing mothers in academia?

And this is just for one conference.  My husband is gone this week for work.  So that means I have very little time to do other work.  My mornings are crazy with two of us helping to get him ready, but when I'm flying solo, I have to do so much prep work the night before so I can take care of my little one in the morning.  He falls asleep around 7 PM, that means I have about 2.5-3 hours to get ready for the next day, to clean up from that day, and to hopefully get some revisions on my thesis document in (and perhaps a shower).  And fingers crossed- he doesn't wake up after his first sleep cycle.

I don't expect others to really understand.  No one, unless they have been through it, can understand how a sleep regression affects a family.

But here is the point of all of this: We (mothers) need to be our own advocates.  I tell my music education students this often.  I say, "Hopefully you will have others who will also be advocates for the music education of your students, but if you don't have that support, you still need to be an advocate.  You need to be an advocate for your students' education, for your program, for your development as a teacher."  The same is applicable to me.  How can I tell my students to be advocates for themselves and their students if I can't be an advocate for myself?  Yes, I worry that others might think I'm not working hard enough or they might think I'm being selfish by drawing that life/work balance.  I worry that the head of my program might be frustrated that I have to bring my son to an event.  These worries- they are always there.  But what is my alternative?  Spend less time with my son?  That is not happening.  And if I don't show my students that it is possible, who will?  If I won't be strong in my profession, where will they see it?

So applesauce.  My husband is gone this week, and I made applesauce today.  It's going to be a hard week, but I will still cherish the time I have with my son.  And when John returns from work, I will remind myself how grateful I am that I have a partner that is a true co-parents.  And I will take the time I need this week to be a professional, and I will take the time I need this week to be a mother.  I will work efficiently, and I will love both my job as a teacher/musician and job as a mother.

Applesauce.

Being Uncomfortable in Music

Tomorrow morning, my auditioned choir sings in Chapel.  This is their first time "out of the shoot" for the semester.  The piece is "Hymn to the Travelers" by Holst (from his settings of the Rig-Veda).  It is NOT one of those "feel good" pieces, but rather speaks to those that are wandering and needing direction.  It's full of dissonance, feels slightly "lumbering" in the time signature of 5/4, and sequenced dynamics give the listener a sense of people traveling toward them and then away.  In short, it is uncomfortable.

But it is appropriate for the Chapel service, and it is appropriate for our current social climate, as people attempt to find a place to "fit" in this world.

Also, my singers do a great job with it.  We are working on consistency, and if they are able to sing it like they did in rehearsal today, it will be quite stunning.  I am excited to hear my students tomorrow.

In other news, I watched the debate last night, and it stressed me out.  Negativity is hard.

Plate Spinning

There are many plates spinning right now in my proverbial fall semester kitchen.  Things in progress but not yet completed: Syllabi, lesson planning, repertoire selection, books on reserve, requests for new scores in the library, meetings with my student workers, recruitment possibilities, concert schedule planning, the list goes on... 

I am more excited about this year than I have been about anything in awhile (new child excluded).  There is such a positive energy, an open dialogue, a healthy approach to new things.  I am not seeing the world through rose-colored glasses.  I know this position is going to take energy and work, but the faculty I have met seem to be willing to put that energy in.  The reason I have so many plates spinning right now is because there are so many great ideas to implement.  Many of these ideas are not going to be perpetual time-eating, but it does take a little push to get off the ground.  I don't mind that.

I will likely attempt to post a blog on repertoire somewhat soon.  But I will say this: Planning a methods course is tough.  I want to give my students the best education possible for their future careers as educators.  I have spent and will continue to spend a lot of time planning lessons, and I'm still not convinced the lessons will accomplish what I want them to.  I don't want the students in my class to get the short-end of the stick in any way.  I know many of my deficiencies, and I know that my expertise is in choral conducting.  

Thankfully my predecessor left a wealth of lesson plans for this class.  It has made the planning much easier.  

I had a new course added to my schedule, and a course taken away.  I will no longer be teaching class voice.  I'm a bit bummed, as I love teaching voice.  However, in its place I will be teaching a vocal jazz ensemble.  I have been secretly studying vocal jazz for a few years, and I will be excited about trying my hand at it.  

Back to revisions of my thesis document.  Anybody out there want to read a chapter of my thesis document and give me feedback?  (I'm just about burned out of this academia thesis document thing).

Nursing Mothers

As many know, I recently had a son.  "Recently" as in almost five months ago.  But still, he's young yet, so I consider it recent.  I went back to work about a month after he was born, but my schedule was pretty flexible.  I worked from home and then went in to teach.

So now, for the first time, I'm facing full days back at work without seeing him.  I am simultaneously excited about my new job and sad about not spending my day watching my son grow.  I also know that I would not be happy if I stayed home with my son.  Yet, my career and work are more enriched now having him in my life.

New faculty orientation is August 11.  I do not think day care will start until the 15, so John may have to watch our son that day.  It will be my first full day away from him (our son, not John).  I am not worried about him hanging with John for the day, but rather how I am going to get my pumping sessions in.  The schedule is full.  So, I emailed the person who sent the email, let them know I would have to step out to pump, and asked they let me know if there is any time frame I should absolutely plan on not missing.

The laws are such that it is illegal for a job to not allow me time and space to pump.  Plus, Meredith College is, from every interaction I've had, a wonderful and supportive place to work.  Yet, I was a little nervous sending the email.  Nursing mothers- heck, mamas in higher education at all- are not always supported.  This nervous feeling comes from a society that claims to support families but begrudgingly says it's okay for a mother to pump at work, only up to a year.

I am incredibly eager to start in earnest and get back to routine.  I think I am in a good spot.  I am ready to get back in the swing of things- so much so that my excitement overshadows my sadness to not see my son for 8 hours during the day.  This has been a good amount of time for me.  I feel ready. Now it's just time to navigate the having-a-nursing-infant-while-working thing.

Looking forward to August

I have done very little recruiting so far for the next year.  Starting in August, I will be hitting the pavement to do some recruiting.

Last year there were not a lot of singers in the non-auditioned choir.  By "not a lot of singers," there were 9.  This next year there are 24 signed up.  I hope to have 35 singers when the semester begins.

August is my month to plan.  And plan a lot.

Talk About Research

How much should one talk about their research before it's actually published?

Working on the last chapter of my dissertation.  This music is beautiful.

A Hybrid Choir

In between trying to put a 2.5 month old down for naps- the kid is so curious, he'd rather stay up all day and look at everything than sleep even when he is CLEARLY sleepy.  When do they start develop reasoning again?... what was I saying?

Oh yes, in between trying to get him to nap, I have started to look at music.  I've eliminated some pieces, but I have kept many out.  I have no idea yet as to the numbers of singers in my choirs and I have no idea what to expect as far as how to program... yet.  I am keeping out a variety of difficulty levels.  I have plans to do some research into the catalogue of some composers (like Schütz).  I love this.

I have been faced with an interesting dilemma (although I have a solution).  The person who was in my position before did not voice the women into sopranos/altos, but rather divided them up into parts (I, II, III), and had them rotate what part they sang each piece.  Now, I understand why she did this.  Developmentally, at some levels, it makes sense.  I like the idea.  However, by doing it that way, I wouldn't get to shape the color of each section and overall, the choir.  So, I was left with the choice: Continue on the tradition and have an even sound across the choir (which would likely not work for many pieces) or voice them into soprano/alto.

My solution is a bit of a hybrid.  I want to shape the sound and the color of the choir.  So I will voice them into soprano/alto.  This is necessary.  And for the students who are being given voice lessons, by the time they enter their sophomore year, they will start to have some distinct colors and sounds that will direct them into a certain voice part.  However, I understand the value of letting most of the voices sing both the alto and soprano parts.  So, the pieces that dictate a more "even" color across the color, I will assign them numbers and we will rotate.  I'm not sure if I'll like doing this (plus it makes a whole HECK of a lot of work for me), but I'm happy to try it.

By this hybrid solution, I'm looking for these outcomes: 1) A choir that still carries distinct colors as it traverses the pitch spectrum, 2) The singers to really dig into their sound and not be afraid to sing, 3) giving singers the opportunity to sing throughout the entirety of their range.

It's rarely about range.  Most singers can sing most vocal lines.  But it is about color.  And yes, I know that is a tricky term to define.  I'm not looking to define it.  Within the idea of "color" lies not just quality of sound, but also dynamics, ease of production, timbre, etc.

I'm excited about this.  We will see how it works out!

Elementary Methods

Today I went through my personal collection of music and looked at the treble pieces.  I pulled 77 of them to sit at the piano and play.

Now it begins.  The process of selecting music.  Of course, I'm only looking at my collection right now.  The next step is to look at the college's library.  The third step is to look at public domain (guided by some of my research.  For example: finding some SA pieces by Buxtehude, since I know he wrote some).

In preparation for the fall, I have started to make lists of what needs to be done and when.  Selecting and prepping music is the fun bit.  It's what I love to do.  I'm teaching a conducting masterclass, which I also love to do.  I'll be teaching a voice class.  I've never taught class voice but I have taught many, many voice lessons.  I am excited to use my vocal books.  I have quite a few of them.

However, the class I really have to prepare for is elementary music methods.  I took the course in undergrad.  I taught 6 weeks of elementary music.  I'm certified K-12.  I had an amazing elementary student teaching placement.  But things have changed in the past ten years.  I know that I will have a lot to brush up on this summer.  For starters, I have an entire textbook to read.  I also have to hone my recorder skills.  I'm not kidding.  I'm teaching the recorder in this class (also excited about this).  Needless to say, preparation for this class will be a focus of mine this summer.  The person I am replacing has sent me all of their notes and lesson plans from their elementary methods course.  She has a PhD in music education, and her big passion is elementary music education.  So of course I will use her lesson plans this first year.  No need to reinvent the wheel when an expert has already given me a good roadmap for it.  Despite all the work this will be, I am very excited to teach this course because it will only serve to make me a better teacher.  I firmly believe that I became a much more aware and intentional teacher during my elementary student teaching placement.  The cooperating teacher was fantastic, and I loved learning from her.

I look forward to sharing some of my refreshers on this blog.

I'm also slowly starting to think of themes for the concerts this year...

189

189.  That's how many pieces of treble music I am going to pull from my personal collection and look at over the next week or two.

I want to relax this summer, but I have plenty of things to do.  I'm beginning to make lists of things to get done.  Let's forget about dissertation for a minute.

189 pieces of music.

I want to plan.  I want to immerse myself in music.

All the planning!

We have slowly started to pack boxes in our apartment.  To move to a real house.  For the first time in years, I will be living in a house.  I think the last time I lived in a house was when I was 18, unless you count the month I spent renting a room in a house in Madison.

As we pack, it's important that I keep some items out and available so that I can use them before we move and immediately after we move.  Those items include: my choral library and all my music ed resources.  I am stoked about the planning I have to do, but I actually have to do the planning.  Unfortunately, I will be spending most of July traveling, which makes it a pain to lug around large books.  However, if I don't want to feel stressed out in August when classes begin, I have to begin planning sooner rather than later.

My course load, as I understand it, for the fall will include my two choirs, elementary music methods, conducting masterclass, and a voice class.

So that's it.  I'm anxiously awaiting a day (soon) when I feel I have time to start looking through some music for next year.

Tales of a Working Mother?

I don't mean to turn this into "Tales of a Working Mother," but I wanted to share one thought about returning to work after having a baby 3.5 weeks earlier.

Don't do it.

Preparing for maternity leave, I thought, "If I discover I can't do it, I'll take more time off."  Everything else was taken care of, right?  Sure, baby would need to eat, but my wonderful in-laws would be bringing him to me during the day to nurse.  I had an hour in between classes, and babies take 20 minutes to eat, right?  So I would still have time to meet with students in between classes, too!  And I might be tired because baby would wake up a lot at night, but I was only going back for 3 weeks or so (until my concert was finished).  And I might feel sad at leaving him, but again, it was only for 3 weeks, so I could survive that and then spend the summer with him before I went back to work.  So, it was completely doable to go back to work, prep a concert, have a baby, and work on my dissertation.  Oh, and take job interviews.

But here is what I learned:
- It wasn't about me.  Physically, I could return to work and teach.  I might be a little more tired at the end of it all, but I could still teach.  This was the least of my concerns.
- Baby DOES need to eat.  And my in-laws DO bring him to me during the day.  But he hasn't been gaining weight like he should.  So he often needs to eat every two hours.  And eating every two hours means he needs to eat two hours from the last time he started eating.  So, if he ate from 11 to noon,  he would need to eat again at 1.  Which leads me to....
- My baby takes more than 20 minutes to eat.  I'm not sure what's "normal."  Perhaps some babies eat in 20 minutes.  I'm honestly not sure where I got that number.  Maybe somewhere in all my research before he arrived.  But my baby is a slow eater.  In fact, one time a nurse said, "He's a lazy eater... whoops, we don't call them that any more."  It's not unusual for him to take 40-60 minutes to eat.  So no, I don't have time to meet with students in between classes.  And nursing takes up a lot more time than originally anticipated.  And because he hasn't gained as much weight as he should, the doctor has told me NOT to go off feeding cues, but wake up him every two hours during the day to eat.  I spend anywhere between 4.5-5.5 hours nursing EVERY DAY.
- And yeah, I am tired.  But honestly, that's not a big deal.
- And yes I'm sad to leave him.  But I didn't anticipate how hard it would be to leave a baby I KNEW hadn't eaten enough, and would likely be hungry again soon and would fuss.  And I, being a bad mom, would not be there for him.  (Yes, mom guilt- also unanticipated).
- And, this has been the LONGEST 3 WEEKS of my adult life.
- I took job interviews.  They were hard, especially two days after being discharged from the hospital.  I can prep a concert.  But I barely have time to work on my dissertation.  Not to mention trying just to be a human... it's hard to find time for that.

So, if I had to do it again, I would take leave through the end of the school year.  For my baby.  For me.  And to understand how my life as a mother works with this new baby.

I'm very lucky.  I love my job- as a mother, as a wife, and as a conductor.  So next time?  A post about music.

One Thought: Work and Maternity

If I could offer one thought right now, this would be it: Having job interviews right after having a baby is hard.  And just because one musters the energy and focus to get through job interviews doesn't mean they are ready to go back to their day-to-day work.

And that's okay.

Now, off to prep some music...

The Longest Rehearsals

Today I was thinking about how to help my students.  I know, I know, we ALL think about our singers.  We think about how to inspire them, how to teach them concepts, how to get them to a place of personal satisfaction and smart musicianship... I leave all my rehearsals and reflect on what went well.  But, when I ask my students to lead sectionals, I am asking them to take time to think through how to present music to their peers (even if it's "just" one line, they still thinking about so many concepts).

So, that begs the question: what can I do to help them?

The first, and perhaps most obvious answer, is to set a good example.  I strive to be the best teacher I can be at every rehearsal, every class.  If I am not, I leave and reflect on why I wasn't on my "A game."  I recognize we all have off days, so I don't beat myself up, but I do expect more from myself next time.

The second thing that came to mind was: Be available for questions.

Yet, that doesn't seem to be enough, because how do they know what questions to ask?  So instead, I asked them to give me feedback on how they felt sectionals were going.  I asked them pointed questions: Do sectionals feel slow?  Do they feel their peers are focused?  What are they doing that is having success?

Based on their responses, I gave them some ideas to "break up" the monotony of sectionals.  Let's face it- no one loves pounding out notes.  So I gave them ideas of how I might address a few issues (some articulation concepts, some rhythm concepts, etc).

I know sectionals are not always the most awesome.  But as mentioned a few posts ago, Mozart can be difficult, especially if you have not sung Mozart.  What's also not good is JUST pounding out notes and rhythms.  What about text stress?  Articulation?  Dynamics?  Direction of line?  So much of that is my job, so there's a delicate balance of teaching notes/rhythms without allowing things to be incorrectly entrenched in the brain (it's hard to unlearn a bad habit!).

It's hard not to want to micromanage everything sometimes.  With that being said, I am glad my section leaders have the chance to lead sectionals.  Leading sectionals and being in front of a group was so helpful to me as a young(er) conductor.

Rereading Old Textbooks

As I'm preparing for an interview in which I'll be teaching a portion of a conducting class, I'm rereading some old texts about conducting.  I'm skimming them, really.  I am so passionate about conducting pedagogy and how the gesture should be an effective teaching tool, and not a deterrent, to the music.

There is one book (what I received is more of a manuscript, but now I think it is in book form) in particular I love rereading.  It is from my Choral Methods class from undergrad.  The teacher?  None other than Mr. Weston Noble- huge inspiration and a true delight to learn from.  Instead of expanding on one topic in this post, I would like to share some quotes as I come across them. Some of them are close and personal to me, as I subscribe to them as basic principals in my choirs.  Some of them are good reminders.  Some- well- I just think it's good teaching so I'm including it.

"What a gift we give to our students if we give them but ONE moment of wholeness they ill remember in the course of their four years."

"Only 30% of communication is the words.  70% is HOW we SAY those words."

In my manuscript, there is discussion about how some people believe to be very stern for the first semester with students.  While I believe in setting high expectations, this doesn't mean being a teacher that is hard to connect with (forgive that I'm ending with a preposition in this sentence).

"Be proud of your love of classical music... Instead of starting a piece of music by saying, ' I know some of you probably won't like this' try 'I love this piece and I'm anxious for you to learn it.  I know it's difficult, I also know you like a challenge...'."  I have used variations of this when I teach.  For example (relating to my last post), when I led the tenors and basses the other day in learning a portion of the Mozart Vespers, I stopped about 2/3 of the way through the rehearsal, took a moment to look at all of them, and said," I know Mozart can be difficult.  We are focusing a lot on notes and rhythms right now and that's not always the most exciting, plus it's not easy.  You are doing a great job, and I wanted to let you know I'm excited to hear the way you are starting to catch on to some of the nuances of this music."  In reality, I know some of them could dislike the Mozart because it doesn't sing as easily as "Sing Me to Heaven" (which they just did on a concert).  But I think they could love it.

"A carefully planned rehearsal is vital."  YES.  I plan my rehearsals, and I reflect on them rehearsals after they are finished.  On that reflection, I take the initial outline of my next rehearsal and shape it based on the rehearsal before.  Yes, I plan out about three rehearsals at a time- the first one being the most specific, and the second two giving specifics but allowing for flexibility to be shaped based on the previous rehearsals.

"Any choir encounters 'slumps.'  One must understand the reason why this has occurred."  The paragraph goes on to say to consider all things that could possible be affecting your students or your rehearsal.

There is a section about teaching using the three domains: Cognitive, Affective, and Kinesthetic.  I consider these three domains all the time when I'm planning.

"Space between singers is a basic rubric!"  Yes- when my singers spread out, they are stronger.

"How did Robert Shaw imbue this basic ingredient of rhythm into his choral music and musicians?  Count-singing was the result."  And then... "Counting can be counter-productive if a high tessitura is present."  I always encourage my singers to switch to an easy syllable/vowel in the extremes of their registers.

"Then he (Robert Shaw) went on to say: 'You directors spend so much time trying to achieve vowel uniformity and then you never arrive at the vowel together!'"

I am not sure if this manuscript was published.  If so, I will edit this post with the book title.  If it was published, I am not sure how different the book is from the manuscript.

I forgot about Mozart...

I forgot how difficult singing Mozart can be.

I say that because as a person who has been singing for years, has advanced training, and has been teaching for over ten years now, Mozart just makes sense.  I can't sight read Mozart perfectly, but when I'm singing any of his choral or choral/orchestral works, give me two run throughs and things will be pretty solid.

Then I stand in front of my choirs and teach the Mozart Vespers (K. 339).  And sight reading is a beast for them.  But how often have they sung Mozart?  The singers who have sung Mozart before have said to me," Mozart just makes sense when you sing his music enough."  And I agree.  But what about the singers who don't have strong sight reading skills and have never sung Mozart?

So, I start them under tempo, have them sing on a neutral syllable, then add some shaping to a phrase or two, combine it with another vocal line, etc.  And I hope they catch on.  If it's a theme or something that comes back in more than one line, everyone sings it.  I introduce articulation, but very few singers hold onto articulation as they are reading, which is fine, because I keep reminding them.

But still, after the past few days of rehearsal, I was reminded that Mozart can be difficult to read.  I'm glad we had our concert February 24 and were able to start on the Mozart sooner rather than later.

Score Markings- Complete

I finished choral score markings for the Mozart Vespers.  My job is now to do two things: 1) Double check my form analysis of each movement and 2) hear the entire piece in my head over and over.  Sing it.  Think it.  Love it.  Embody it.

I have the choral scores marked for Psalm 86 by Holst, too.  I haven't yet done the Howard Goodall Psalm 23 markings, but I am not worried.

We have a choir concert on Wednesday night.  There will be some great moments.  Unfortunately, I have lost so many rehearsals with my choirs so far this semester (with two snow days, a hospital visit, the campus closing because of a visit from the POTUS, candidates coming in for interviews, etc).  The next few days of rehearsals will be full and well used.

The small chamber ensemble is singing a piece in Russian and two pieces in French.  The Russian is a challenge because of language and the counterpoint, and the French is tricky because of vowel alignment.  I'm grateful to have three days of rehearsals with them.  The large auditioned group is in a great place.  Not quite consistent with all vowels in one of the pieces and sometimes the Cuban piece they are singing requires a reminder of character, but with two rehearsals this week, they will be fine.  The large non-auditioned group has come a long way in the last three rehearsals- and I have lost the most rehearsals with them.  I wish I had two more rehearsals with them instead of one, but as long as Tuesday's rehearsal is efficient, I think I'll be pleased.

This concert has snuck up quickly- especially, as mentioned, due to the lost rehearsals.  But they have worked hard.  The concert will be shorter than normal (less time = less pieces).  And then we start on the Mozart, which will be a challenge but completely possible.  I am looking forward to working on the Mozart with the singers.  It will be very challenging, but I think they will be very proud of themselves when they are done.

A Snow Day?

Tomorrow is a snow day.

It's a strange experience to have a snow day as a college professor.  I don't like particularly like snow days.  I like my students.  I want to have rehearsals.  We have a rehearsal schedule to keep so I can give them tools to have a great concert.  Not to mention, I've lost other rehearsals this semester due to other reasons.  Maybe I would feel differently about a "snow day" if I hadn't lost those rehearsals.

So, I sent my singers an assignment.  Really, it's not a big deal, but I do need them to hear the music and keep it in their head.  So that's what I did- I emailed them some links to our pieces so they could listen to them.  I'm normally against doing that, because I never want students to get a certain idea of a piece stuck in their head.  In this case, however, I'm feeling almost desperate.  I meet with my non-auditioned group only on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  So, I won't see them until Thursday now, and it will be after an entire week.

So tomorrow I will be working on music and putting together some editions for future use.

But I'd rather be teaching.

Festival Repertoire...

So let me spend a moment talking about music and education.

Today I spent time preparing music for a festival I am conducting in a week and a half.  The festival is for high school students who auditioned and were selected.  When I was selecting music, I really debated about the type of music I should select.  Should I choose quality literature I believe has some great teaching and musical value, but they might know?  Should I choose literature that is unknown completely to them?  How "teacher-y" should I get?  How predictable should the repertoire be?  If it's too outside the box, will the students not enjoy it?

Lots of considerations.

So I decided on:
- A South African Freedom song... there is a piece I'm going to teach by rote.  I hesitated on this for two reasons.  1) I hated learning by rote when I was younger.  It's frustrating.  2) I didn't want it to seem hokey.  BUT... 1) learning by rote is not a skill many musicians end up honing.  It was GOOD for me to practice learning by rote when I was younger, no matter if it was frustrating.  Plus learning by rote is part of the tradition of the music. And 2) It's not hokey.  It's part of history, and we can share in the understanding of history and the world at large by singing music like this.
- The Heavens Declare (Haydn)... This is a great piece.  I'm concerned that some of the singers may have already sung it.  There are also some great arrangements out there of it.  So, if you have a larger program, this is something a high school choir could easily pull off.  But, we have a lot of students from small programs, who maybe wouldn't get a chance to sing this.  So I took a chance.
- Kyrie from Mass in E flat by Amy Beach... I doubt many, if any, of the high schoolers have sung this.  I love this piece for many reasons.  1) It's easy to make music quickly on this piece.  There is SO much meat to it.  2) There are a variety of solos.  3) There are definitely tricky bits, but it's rewarding.  4) It's by an early American woman composer.  How many high school students know who Amy Beach is?  How much attention do we give her as a composer of large forms?  It's such a neat part of our music history.
- Goodbye, Then by Timothy Takach... I'm really excited about this work, but a little nervous.  The notes and rhythms aren't super tricky, although if not taught well, the notes could be a disaster.  I really like Tim's music.  I think more people should be singing it.  I enjoy the way the piece builds.  Plus, the text is wonderful.  I chose it partly because I think the text is relatable.  It's real.  It would be easy to sing this piece and not really commit.  But if the singers can commit vocally, emotionally, and musically, this will be an extremely rewarding and moving piece for them.  I suppose the success of this one comes down to how good of a job I can do at teaching and relating it.
- John the Revelator arr. Caldwell & Ivory... This is the type of piece one might expect to end a concert with.  I don't mean to be so predictable, but it's a great closer.  With my small tenor section, this will work well.  It's energetic and "fun," yet there are some interesting stylistic things I can teach.  Not to mention, we can work on subdivisional pulse and rhythmic precision.

Every festival is different.  Every ensemble is different.  I had ideas outside of these, but these were the pieces I decided on programming.  If they don't work, then I will learn why.  But I will do my best to teach well and to provide a good musical and education experience for these young singers.

Planning for the Unpredictable

Well, this spring is turning out much differently than I envisioned.

I like to plan.  But it's tricky to plan for things that are inherently unpredictable.

So, I make a plan and then expect the plan to not work out.  This might sound frustrating to most people, but for me, as long as I have an initial plan, I can work around it.  Perhaps it's a learned skill from teaching.  I always plan and expect each rehearsal to get away from my initial rehearsal plan.

This next week is an intense "planning" week.  I'm spending more time prepping music for not only the February concert (which is planned, but can always use work), planning for April and making marks in music- which is the REAL work related task this week, finishing up a large chunk of my thesis document, and catching up on some emails.

I have already lost 3 rehearsals this semester and will lose rehearsals this next week.  That means I have very few rehearsals between now and our next concert (February 24).  But, at least there is a lot of time between that concert and the April masterworks concert.  And let's be honest, singing Mozart can be hard.  And that is what we are doing in April.

It is always hard for me to lose rehearsals.  Of course, nobody likes it, but I don't want my students to lose progress and lose momentum.  They ended first semester on such a great note (no pun intended).

Next time, hopefully a post on music.

Prep for the Week

I will miss teaching advanced conducting this semester.  I am glad I don't have to prepare for the course, considering everything else that is happening this semester, but I really love teaching conducting.

I have one week before second semester begins.  Aside from dissertation fun (which I finished the first draft of my second chapter today), this week is focused on music preparation and a few logistical things I have to follow-up on.  I have a lot of music preparation to do, although I'm feeling closer to prepared for the music on our first concert this semester.  I'll spend more time on it this week, but I will also continue preparing the Mozart the choirs will be singing in April.

What a fun few months coming up!

I really did chose the right career path.  I love teaching.  I love music making.

Two Months of Hard Work?

I have not been able to find the time to work on my music preparation for second semester.  Now, second semester starts January 11, so I still have time.  And yes, I have the music picked out.  And to be fair, I've looked at all of it and have started marking some of it.  And some of it is easy to prep.  But still, I would like to be able to spend more time on it over the next week without compromising the time I write my dissertation.

Speaking of which, I'm almost done with the first draft of my second chapter.  And then- I plan on hitting my third chapter hard this month.  Then when that is done- great!

I will be quite irritated if anyone on my committee wants me to change the entirety of how I arranged my chapters... or if my topic isn't approved as I submitted it.  Because I wrote my proposal in June.  And submitted it in August.  And I don't have time (really, the patience) to let it continue at this pace.

I feel very helpless in moving the process along.  I'm working on my stuff, but I'm waiting on others. Unfortunately, when my stuff doesn't get done, the onus is on me, no matter if I've done my work.  And it's my future and my career that is affected.  It's those jobs I don't get or become unqualified for if my dissertation defense is pushed off another semester.  And it's the almost $500 of student fees on top of my dissertation credits that I have to pay a semester.

So, music preparation.  That's my focus.  And my dissertation.  And then come March, I'm taking a little more time off.