Megan contributes Spleen translation

What a great group of students we have in our choir. Top notch.

Best. Students. Anywhere.

Megan has contributed this website that contains a translation of our Spleen piece.

Here is the translation. The part in grey is the part of the poem the composer left out of his setting of the text.

Let me breathe in for a long, long time the scent of your hair, let me plunge my entire face into it, like a thirsty man into the water of a spring, and let me wave it in my hand like a scented handkerchief, to shake memories into the air.

If you could only know all that I see! All that I feel! All that I hear in your hair! My soul voyages upon perfume just as the souls of other men voyage upon music.

Your hair contains a dream in its entirety, filled with sails and masts; it contains great seas whose monsoons carry me toward charming climes, where space is bluer and deeper, where the atmosphere is perfumed by leaves and by human skin.

In the ocean of your hair, I glimpse a port swarming with melancholy songs, with vigorous men of all nations, and with ships of all shapes silhouetting their refined and complicated architecture against an immense sky in which eternal warmth saunters.

UPDATED: I didn't realize that this one was omitted also. I regret not getting to sing this verse.
In the caresses of your hair, I find again the languors of long hours passed upon a divan, in the cabin of a beautiful ship, rocked by the imperceptible rolling of the port, between pots of flowers and refreshing jugs.

In the ardent hearth of your hair, I breathe the odor of tobacco mixed with opium and sugar; in the night of your hair, I see the infinity of tropical azur resplendent; on the downy shores of your hair I get drunk on the combined odors of tar, of musk, and of coconut oil.

Let me bite into your heavy black tresses for a long time. When I nibble at your elastic hair, it seems to me that I am eating memories.

Patrick contributes German pronunciation analysis

Many thanks to Patrick for the following analysis of OUR German pronunciation and the German choir he heard on an online recording from our UAB library:

Patrick's observations:

As far as the German pronunciation discrepancies I had noticed, most of them involve the "e" vowel. I also heard most of them on the CD you gave us to listen to (the choir on the website is much better, by the way!). Here's what I noticed:

m. 9: Women need to be careful about their pronunciation of the ö with an umlaut.

m. 11: Men's vowel sound on der isn't quite right. We sound too much like an American choir singing in German and not enough like a real German-speaking choir.

m. 18: The letter g at the end of the word traurig is treated like the ch sound would be in the same position, not like a hard g as our women have been doing.

m. 35 & 41: This is the same problem as m. 11. The first e in the word gehe needs to be closer to our long e sound in English (ee) rather than an "eh" or even "ay" sound.

m. 36 & 42: Our vowels on Altar need to be brighter.

m. 38 & 44: Again, the vowel on the word dem needs to be longer.

m. 45, 49, 54, 58, 62, 66, & 70: See comment for m. 11. The difference between dir and der is almost indistinguishable (but not entirely).

m. 75: The vowel in Seele also need to be closer to English "ee" than "eh" or "ay."

m. 78: The g at the end of unruhig is treated in the same manner as traurig in m. 18.

m. 85 & 93: The first e in werde needs to be longer (i.e., "VEER-de"). This caught my attention more that any of the others.

m. 96: Again, the e vowel in er needs to be longer (more like English ear than air, if that helps).

m. 97: We need to be sure that the s at the end of meines is hard, NOT soft like a z in English.

Great work from a fine student.

One Hour: One Page

Why yes, I did. I spent one hour on one page of music today. And it was a good move. That blasted page and a half in "Spleen" is finally starting to make some sense.

And then, I spent 15 or 20 minutes with the tenors on the first part of the work and the last part of the work. They've got it. We are very close to having "Spleen" in our hands . . . and then we can finally begin to "own" the piece as well as go on to something else.

So yes, it took an hour. And yes, it was worth it.

And . . . the facebook-livejournal diversion was interesting today. Isn't technology great? Or at least . . . interesting?

Choir blogs spreading . .

Choir,

You might want to take a visit to the Kilgore College Choir blogs and welcome them into the blogging world. The director just started a couple. (he had posted a question about blogs/forums on the ACDA website)

KCC
ETCC


I also found one that started one after the ACDA LA convention . . . can't remember where i saw it, though. (found it!)

Also saw one here, but it is more political in nature than musical! And the director seems to hate republicans and our president. I refrained from commenting on the posts although it was difficult!

Oscar Thoughts

Leigh and I are having a great time watching the Oscar's.

No choir thoughts, just movie star watching . . . comments that need to be said:

1. Way to go Hillary Swank. My hero.
2. Sean Penn is an idiot.
3. P. Diddy is a bigger idiot. I've never seen a guy that has a higher opinion of himself.
4. Was Beyonce lipsyncing?
5. Loved the tribute to Johnny Carson.
6. YoYoMa and tribute to actors who passed away very touching.
7. Loved Jamie Foxx with daughter. And he won! Just won. Classy. But what about Clint? Oh well . . . didn't see Ray but I really like Jamie Foxx and the Ray Charles legacy.
8. Loved the Oprah/John Kerry comment.
9. Loved the tribute Jamie Foxx gave Sydney Poitier. And wow . . . honoring his grandmother. Leigh cried.
10. Julia Roberts . . . now a mother of multiples.
11. Clint Eastwood . . . way to go Clint! Glad i saw this movie. if you haven't seen it . . go! And he honors his mom . . . at 96. wow.
12. Enough of a choir director's view of the movies. Learn the French piece!

preparing the score(s)

I've devoted much of my energies lately towards our opera: Mozart's Figaro.

I've never conducted a work that lasted 2.5 hours and it has been quite a mammoth task to just get the score ready to conduct.

For every cut in the vocal/piano score, a cut had to be made first in the conductor's score and then in each orchestral part. Finding and making the cut in the CS is harder than it sounds. For one thing, nothing matches up because the CS is in German/Italian, not English.

I've been surprised at the amount of concentration that had to be devoted to the task: any mistake will cause a major problem during the sitzprobe and dress rehearsal.

Lately, the task has been marking dynamics and cues within the conductor's score. The task isn't yet complete, but will be soon.

And last night I began listening, closely listening, to the opera. My, what a glorious work it is. I'm getting excited about the performance, even as I get nervous that preparation time will soon end.

Doing the work of music is quite difficult at times, especially in the middle of everything else. But the payoff--the joy of doing what we do--is transcendent.

But . . . isn't this a choir blog?

Yep . . . but the work . . . and the payoff . . . is the same.

No Music?

Got this quote in my email this morning and I thought I'd share it with you. It comes from a daily email service provided by Bruderhorf.com in case you are interested (Daily Dig).

No Music?

The man that hath no music in himself,
Nor is not moved with concord of sweet sounds,
Is fit for treasons, stratagems and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are as dull as night,
And his affections dark as Erebus;
Let no such man be trusted.

--William Shakespeare

midsemester blog drought

Apologies for the recent pause in blogging.

Enjoyed clay's recent post. It seems that all the UAB choir bloggers have taken a break; I guess school is getting to everyone. Now is the time to persevere, I guess.

At least February is nearly over. March and April will fly, and then we travel to France.

The highpoint of my week: two evening meals from PFChang.

SMU performing Richte in B'ham

Press release:

Thursday, March 17
7:00pm
Independent Presbyterian Church
3100 Highland Avenued
Birmingham, AL

The Meadows Chorale of Southern Methodist University, under the direction of Alfred Calabrese, will be performing on Thursday, March 17 at 7:00pm at Independent Presbyterian Church, 3100 Highland Avenue, Birmingham. Admission to this concert is free. We would be honored to have you and your choir members/students in attendance.

The program will include "Abendlied" of Rheinberger, Psalm 43 "Richte mich, Gott" of Mendelssohn, Britten's "Festival Te Deum," selections from Vaughan Williams "Mass in G," Ravel "Trois Chansons" Whitacre's Leonardo Dreams of His Flying Machine" and others.

The Meadows School of the Arts Division of Music offers the Bachelor of Music degree and Master of Music degree in performance and music education. For information on these programs, or on the maste'sr degree in choral conducting, or the master of sacred music degree through the Perkins School of Theology, visit our website at www.smu.edu/choirs or www.smu.edu/meadows.

Program:

PROGRAM Heavenly Visions

I. Cantantibus Organis……………………………………………………..Peter Philips (1561-1628)

II. Three Motets from the German Tradition

Abendlied, op.69, no.3……………………………………………..Josef Rheinberger (1839-1901)
Geistlicheslied, op.30……………………………………………….Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)
Richte mich, Gott, op.78,no.2……………………………….....Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

III. Three Works from the English Cathedral Tradition

Festival Te Deum, op.32……………………………………………Benjamin Britten (1913-1976)
Rest…………………………………………………………Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958)
Sanctus from Mass in G Minor………………………………………………….Vaughan Williams

Intermission

Earthly Expressions

IV. Two by Brahms

In stiller Nacht
Nachtwache I, op. 92, no.3

VI. Trois Chansons……………………………………………………….Maurice Ravel (1875-1937)

VII. Leonardo Dreams of his Flying Machine…………………………………..Eric Whitacre (b.1971)

VIII. To be chosen from:

Wondrous Love……………………………………………………..arr. Robert Shaw/Alice Parker
Lux Arumque…………………………………………………………………………Eric Whitacre
Shenendoah………………………………………………………………………..…arr. James Erb
I can tell the world……………………………………………………………………Moses Hogan

Million Dollar Baby

This reviewer said it best: I deem a movie to be worthwhile if I need time to recover after seeing it. Million Dollar Baby is such a film. It does not easily release the viewer, and it demands a time of reflection and contemplation afterwards.

It was a great movie and I highly recommend it. Not a modern day Rocky movie at all . . . and it does take you a while to recover afterwards.

There is a great poster on the gym wall in this movie with a phrase that goes something like this:

Winners simply do what losers don't want to do. (or something like that) It is a great quote and one we can learn from. (the quote looks to be derived from this one by Albert Gray: Winners have simply formed the habit of doing things losers don't like to do..

Do yourself a favor. Go see this movie.

Upcoming tests and current work

Tuesday: Testing memory on Richte and notes on Radiosfer

Current work:

Allelujah: releases, proper note length (especially basses and tenors)
Radiosfer: notes must be solid Monday. Every note.
Redz Kur: Feels solid to me. If it isn't to you, fix it.
Clap Your Hands: The next piece we break down.
Selig: solid, fine tuning.
Lux: solid, fine tuning.
ITYJ: relearning, notes and releases.
Daniel: relearning, notes and releases.

Un Hemisphere: We will learn this language next week. DEFINITE. Test language on Thursday!

Regaining Momentum and Frequent Flier Miles

Choir,

Great rehearsal yesterday. It seems as though we regained our momentum and are back on the right track.

I thought that everything we attempted got better. Make sure that the changes "stick" by thinking through the rehearsal again and marking your music.

Mr. Berg (via David) gave me some information from Witte Travel regarding frequent flyer miles. If you are interested, please check my office door for more information.

Basics:
United: 800.421.4655
Northwest: 1.800.447.3757
American: 1.800.882.8880
UsAirways: 1.800323.2323
British: 1.800.955.2748
Continental: 1.713.952.1630

Contagious blogging

Welcome Lambuth Univeristy Choir to the blogging world!




I encourage you to check out the choir blog for Lambuth. So nice to see choir blogging catching on!

I've invited them to do New York with us. Maybe they will join us in Birmingham and NYC next year! A little Irish Blessing for us all!

12 Weeks: Contributors and Dead Weight

Tonight, Leigh and I watched an Oprah show. Now, we don't watch Oprah much. Actually, I never watch Oprah.


However, Leigh has started US on an exercise routine that is supposed to culminate in a better you at the end of 12 weeks. This guy, Bob Greene, talked a little about why 12 weeks was a good time period . . . he said things about how that amount of time was the "perfect" time for humans to really focus on a goal.

Guess how many weeks until the competition?

13 weeks from Friday. When you factor Spring Break into it, that gives us the magic number.

We have a diverse group of singers in our choir. I am convinced that every singer in our choir has the ability and potential to be outstanding in every way.

It seems that we are coming to a point in our organization when people need to step up their efforts to achieve their potential.

Translation: Some of you need to get with the program, and I don't mean the Bob Greene version. We are quickly approaching the time when you are either working with the group to achieve something wonderful or you are working against the group and holding us back.

My advice: GWTP. NOW.

An Aesthetic Experience

I begin each day with an aesthetic experience.

It isn't the normal experience of engagement in art or submergence in music listening. Instead, it is gazing at the beauty and uniqueness of my three daughters. They are each perfect pictures of beauty, individualism, joy, and infinite possibility.

Before children, I thought my life was full and had meaning . . . I didn't have the slightest idea of what life could really be like, to tell you the truth.

Triplet girls, what a concept.

Life is beautiful.

How to call France

Found this site today, and though you may be interested if you ever make international phone calls.

It helps you deal with all the unfamiliar numbers and codes.

And . . . it even tells you what time it is over there. (I have problems remembering that France is 7 hours ahead of us.)

Bon jour!

Lux defined

Found a great Latin dictionary site and used it to dissect Lux. Read about it and see if it gives you other images and other interpretations besides the one we already have.

Lux: light, daylight, light of day; (prima luce => at daybreak); life; world; day;
Calida: warm, hot; fiery, lusty; eager, rash, on the spot; having a warm climate/place
Gravisque (gravis): heavy; painful; important; serious; pregnant; grave, oppressive, burdensome;
Pura: pure, clean, unsoiled; free from defilement/taboo/stain; blameless, innocent; chaste, unpolluted by sex; plain/unadulterated; genuine; absolute; refined; clear, limpid, free of mist/cloud; ringing (voice); open (land); net; simple;
Velut: just as, as if;
Aurum: gold (metal/color), gold money, riches
Canunt: sing, celebrate, chant; crow; recite; play (music)/sound (horn); foretell;
Angeli: angel; messenger
Moliter: It may be two words written together mol + iter
calmly/quietly/softly/gently/smoothly/easily; w/out pain/anger/harshness; weak
iter: journey; road; passage, path; march
natum: born, arisen; made; destined; designed, intended, produced by nature; aged
modo: only, merely; just now/recently, lately; presently;

Honor Choir Order

Call Time: Saturday, Feb. 11th, 2:00, choir room

Order:

• Selig sind (Schutz)
• Lux Aurumque (Whitacre)
• Richte mich, Gott (Mendelssohn)
• Redz Kur (Kalnins)
• See What the End is Going to Be (Staheli)

See you there!

Pep talks

Eleven comments on my previous post; and one from Leah! That makes twice that she's spoken out today!

Some are referring to a "pep talk" that I gave last semester.

Actually, I don't really give pep talks, I just speak from my heart/mind/soul and trust that what I say/feel/think connects with you.

Just so you know, I was very pleased with choir rehearsal today. The extra 5-10 minutes that the choir put forward in looking over the text of Redz Kur before rehearsal paid off in a stunning performance, even during a rehearsal period.

My, what we would be if everyone knew their part intimately! And we will, soon.

Remember what we learned today: as a group, we sounded fabulous. When I broke it down to the individual level, it wasn't solid. When the parts are solid in every soul that sings, we will be a tremendous choir.

We will continue to test; it does what it needs to do.

Our next test comes Saturday, when we sing for people who know what singing is all about. I already know that we will do a good job . . . but greatness will only come from knowing and performing from that intimate level of music making--with our bodies, minds, souls, and faces.

I can't wait.

Motivation: Sugar or Cattle Prod?

What does it take to motivate you? Is it someone gently coaxing you into doing the right thing or is it the cattle prod?

As I've told you in the past, the conductor is ultimately responsible for the success or failure of his/her group. Translation: if we fail to do our best, it is my fault.

We are currently in the preparatory phases--through today's work, we determine right now if we will succeed or fail at the end.

So the challenge for the conductor is a serious one: what is the best tool to use to achieve the desired result?

We'll find out, won't we?

Another Special Visitor: Ross Bernhardt !

Another outstanding composer of a work we've done has visited our blog in the previous entry "LA great BHM better."

He's sent a message to you, the UAB choir, and I wanted to make sure you knew about it! We are honored that Ross has visited us. He paid you a wonderful compliment and talks a little about his piece "Irish Blessing" that we performed last year.

Thanks, Ross!

LA was great BHM is better

Greetings once again!

A few short notes:
It is great to be home. The 2005 ACDA convention is now history. I'm glad I went, and my presentation went well.

Best choir that I heard: BYU.
Great choirs that I didn't hear, according to other attendees: Iowa, Norwegian Women.
Maybe St. Olaf was good on Saturday night, didn't hear them or anything about them.

The best part about coming home was to be with the girls again. We've had a great time today catching up on the playtime that we missed.

The next best part will be to rehearse my choirs once again, and to listen to what Dr. Jordan did last week. Can't wait!

A Special Substitute Teacher

Choir,

Awesome to have Eric Whitacre visit our blog, isn't it? Again, thanks to Delia for stepping out and inviting him to read our thoughts about his piece.

NOW . . . .

This week another important person will visit you, and this time in the rehearsal hall. I have no doubt that you will be on your best behavior and that you will learn much. I regret that I will not be with you to learn from Dr. Jordan. I look forward to hear what he concentrated on during his time with you . . . it will make us all better musicians.

I have always believed that it is the person in front of the choir that makes the greatest difference in a choir's accomplishment, sound, and musicality. Dr. J is the one that taught me this . . . I think you will see what I mean.

So, I'm off to LA early in the morning. I'll be presenting a session entitled "Simplifying the Conductor's Lifestyle: Making Technology Work for You."

You can read or see the presentation here. I've also got a links page to information I reference in the presentation. Enjoy!

Eric Whitacre responds to UAB

To my "hip" choir from their "genius" blog creator:

Updated: It's true, composer Eric Whitacre has responded to one of our posts (see lux below).

From Mr. Whitacre:

Hey gang,

First off, let me begin by saying that you are by far the hippest choir I've ever seen. The blog is genius, and to read the way that all of you have connected through it is inspiring and heartwarming.

Delia wrote to me to let me know that you were performing my "Lux", and I just wanted to drop a note aand tell you all thank you. Thank you for bringing such obvious passion and artistry to the music, and thank you for giving so bravely of your souls.

She had asked me to talk about why I had written the piece, and I'm afraid that I don't have an answer. Everytime I try and put my process into words, it breaks down and becomes something else. All I can tell you is that the music SOUNDS to me exactly the way I FEEL.

Warm regards to all of you, and again, many thanks for singing Lux. And if the Carnegie thing doesn't work out(bravo, Maestro!), I'd like to personally invite you all to come and sing some of my music and the Mozart Requiem with me at my festival in China in summer 2006. You are EXACTLY the sort of souls with whom I would love to make music.

Cheers, and word up,
Eric Whitacre

Major KUDOS to Delia.

and . . . uh . . . word up. (translation needed for the approaching age 40 conductor)

Delia's email that prompted the Whitacre visit:

Dear Mr. Whitacre,

My name is Delia Charest and I am a senior at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Our choir at UAB loves you and your amazing music. Last year we performed “Water Night” and this semester we are working on “Lux Aurumque.” We will be performing and competing with this awing song this May at the Florilège Vocal de Tours, in Tours, France. Our choir is a very close group who share what they feel about the music; one of the ways we do this is through our Blog. The last post that our director Dr. Philip Copeland made contained a lot of these feelings, especially about “Lux Aurumque”. I invite you to read these interpretations, and to feel comfortable to respond with your ideas at the time you were writing “Lux Aurumque.” I know that the choir and I would be extremely interested in knowing what such an amazing composer’s thoughts are on his wonderful piece of music. Thank you for everything that you to contribute to our wonderful world of music, I know that the uab concert choir will continue to perform your music for as long as you graciously give it to the world.

With deep respect,

Delia M Charest

Internalizing and Visualizing a Work

My major professor during my doctoral work was all about creating images for works we sang in choir. He would instruct the choir to write out his images in our music . . . like "in ms. 32 the sun bursts through the clouds . . . "

It was an interesting experience and I understand what he was trying to do for us. If a picture is worth a thousand words, then the right image can communicate much to a group trying to create a common interpretation for a piece of music.

I believe he would be very impressed with the students in our choir who have blogged out their impressions of Whitacre's Lux Aurumque. (the picture is Mr. Whitacre)

We have some very impressive young men and women in our choir:

1. Charles has given us:

As we sang this song, I started to form a mental image, as happens with me during most of our songs that we work on. However, none have ever been this vivid that I recall. The piercing high notes, heavy, thick, full chords and the beautiful Latin language all intertwined to present to me a perfect scene: Heaven at Night. I know we all think of Heaven probably as a beautiful sunlit place with shimmering floors and towering ivory ceilings, but what about when it's nighttime? Many people think night is even more beautiful than day here on Earth, so wouldn't you imagine that night in Heaven would be that much better? Can't you see and feel the warm darkness enveloping you in safety and sleep when you listen to that song? This song describes this scene so well to me, that it makes me think, if I could spend one night in heaven, it would be worth a thousand lifetimes. Even myself, who is sometimes afraid of the quiet darkness, when I listen to this song, it makes me feel as though everyone is either sitting reflectively or lying in their beds, and God and his angels are walking around, checking with everyone, just peeking in. It's everyone's alone time of reflection in heaven at this time of night, and the angels are singing their lullabies. Believe it or not, I got this image of this song, and felt and sensed all of these things, before I even read the translation of the words, something to the effect of, "Light, pure and heavy as pure gold, and the angels sing to the newborn baby," that's all I can remember of it. But maybe it could give you something to think about when we work on this piece next time. Until next time, just think, it's nighttime in heaven sometime.

2. Sarah has given us:

A single, pulsating ray of light descends
growing slowly, steadily brighter.

at the apex of the beam the angel host appear
the light is so bright,
so holy,
the shepherds avert their eyes
the host encompass the sky from horizon to horizon
and the rapturous light imbues the earth

Suddenly the angel song hushes, so soft it is barely audible,
in reverent awe of its Lord.

3. Clay has given us:

So this is a Christmas song that is describing what the angels were doing when Christ was born. The image I get is, in part, the same image I got when I sang a different song by Whitacre named "Water Night". The text for "Water Night" is from the spanish poet Octavio Paz and depicts both darkness and depth. Lux makes me think of the same setting as I did in water night. Darkness. Deepness. Quiet. There is one difference. A single angel amidst all the darkness singing his song to the newborn Christ. This song, Lux, is this angels song. One angels song. If one angel can sing this beautifully by himself, think of how much greater it is going to be when we are all singing praises together in heaven! The light, pure, warm and heavy as gold, is the angel. I see the light from the angel piercing the darkness and warming the newborn babe. Reassuring Him that everything is going to be ok. I think Christ would need this reassurance. After all, He came into this world in a manger and left the world nailed to a cross.

4. Erin has given us:

the greatest song in the world right now has got to be Lux Arumque by Eric Whitacre. When we sang it today, wow, I got chills. I picture a scene sortof like A Midsummer Night's Dream. There's a full moon; pure moonlight shining down into a forrest with a waterfall and the sound of crickets chirping. Then, out of the darkness of the trees comes one tiny gold light, floating, like a tiny angel. Man, I wish I could describe it better. It's so vivid in my mind. And that's just on the first page or two. I haven't figured out my picture for the rest of the piece but, I think I have a good start. I can't wait to sing it again tomorrow!

Fantastic and moving images, choir. Dr. Dickson would be proud.

Choir traveling to Europe

Here is a list of the people that planning on the Europe trip, for your information:

Soprano 1	Soprano 2
Kristina Banks Jessie Brown Leah Hains Erin Pair Lindsey Woolley	Katie Fussell Maggie Hendricks Rachel Hicks Meghan Ramsey Jennifer Scivley
Alto 1	Alto 2
Holly Sawardecker Deborah Anderson Delia Charest Sarah Labriola Katie Movelle	Lauren Davidson Meghan Granlund Carlee Jackson Rebekah Smith
Tenor 1	Tenor 2
David Berg Joshua Noland Patrick Williams Lincoln Parrott	Anthony Concepcion Wes Edgar Menterro Hambrick Jonathan Hood
Bass 1	Bass 2
Kevin Beck Charles Henry Clay Rector Evan Long	Andrew Granlund Zach Hill Waylon Hinkle Jonathan McNeil Chris Carter

37. Philip Copeland
38. Leigh Copeland
39. Dale Reynolds
40. John Ray
41. Kat Ray
42. John Williams

lux

lux

Carnegie Update

These look to be the dates for Carnegie Spring 2006:

Work to be performed: Solemn Vespers (Mozart)
Date of Performance: Tuesday, May 9
Residency: May 6 - May 10

And . . . it isn't just college choirs: Church Choirs, High School, College, Community will be invited. If you have ideas, continue to turn them in.

Carnegie Hall: Spring 2006

Choir,

It is time to share the secret I alluded to a couple of weeks ago.

Earlier this month, I received a letter from MidAmerica productions asking me to guest conduct in Carnegie Hall in Spring 2006. I could not believe it! And of course, I want to take my choir with me . . . do you want to go?

It is quite an opportunity, to be sure and I'm going to do my best to make it happen.

The reason for the incredible offer: they've heard about the great singing you've been doing for the past couple of years. And that is the truth.

MidAmerica had a gentleman working for them that used to be the Director of Choral Activities at Troy State University. He's now back in Alabama at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church (his name is Dr. Terre Johnson). Terre has been keeping up with the choral scene in Alabama and heard that we were doing exciting things at UAB--thus, the invitation to me.

I've spoken with Dr. Reynolds about it and he is all for the idea. If possible, we'll unite several choirs around Alabama and present the work at the Alys Stephens Center in Spring 2006 and then take everyone up to New York for a few days of fun and fabulous experiences.

For the concert to happen, 175 singers are needed. I would hope that about 50 or more could come from UAB. If you've got ideas about choirs and programs to investigate/encourage, let me know.

Carnegie Hall, like singing in Notre Dame Cathedral, is an incredible opportunity as well as a very high honor for all involved. Let me know what you think!

Alex Ross--The Rest Is Noise: Orbiting

It seems this blog has been mentioned in more than just one place. And this time, by the music critic of the NEW YORKER.

Check it out:
Alex Ross: The Rest Is Noise: Orbiting: "Philip Copeland, doing the same to the life of a university choral conductor (with sub-links to many members of the University of Alabama at Birmingham chorus). All contribute to the great work of Demystification. Blogging can show composers, singers, and critics as living, thinking beings, alert to the flow of twenty-first-century culture, not as the anachronistic antisocial freaks we actually are."

How 'bout that? I've been contributing to the great work of Demystification and I didn't even know it. Good Lord, no wonder I've been so tired lately.

Also mentioned was a young soprano, Anne Carolyn Bird, who is trying to make it in New York. She's got a blog that is pretty interesting . . . some facinating reads for you if you have a moment to look. I especially enjoyed "The Average Audition."

Choir mentioned on The Fredösphere

The Fredösphere

Choir . . . we got a mention on the Friday 1/21 version of the Fredosphere. Check it out!

Fred of the Fredosphere and Alex Ross are referenced on the San Francisco Classical Voice.

Once in a lifetime

Selected and approved for Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris France. What an honor and what an opportunity. Probably a once-in-a-lifetime chance for you to sing in this cathedral.

Some historical points to ponder:

1. construction started in 1163, it was not completed until roughly 180 years later in about 1345. That makes the place 660 years old.

2. Crusaders prayed there before leaving on their holy wars, and polyphonic music developed in the cathedral.

3. Napoléon crowned himself emperor there.

4. A UAB choir will sing a thirty minute concert there on Wednesday, May 11, 2005 at 11:00 a.m.

ISFP

Chris gave us a few insights about ISFP personality types tonight and it prompted me to look up what he is, exactly, besides being the most unique personality type at UAB.

I found that there are more than a few famous ISFP's:


Liberace, pianist
Dan Rather, news anchor
Dan Quayle, U.S. Vice President, 1988-1992
Michael Jackson, performer

Interesting array of sites if you remember what your Myers-Briggs was. I'm an ENTP, and described here.

Enjoy!

A mini-vacation from me

Choir,

Dr. Reynolds will be leading the combined choir for the next two rehearsals in preparation for Monday's King David. I know you will give him your best and I thank you ahead of time for the effort.

We'll return to normal rehearsal schedule next week and I'm already looking forward to it.

I think the sectional rehearsals have done a world of good and I anticipate breaking down into them more often as we continue this semester.

Work hard.

DC

Diction Time!!

Alrighty,

Diction practice recordings for the French and Latvian pieces are online:

1. Un Hemisphere (Thanks to Dr. Mosteller)
2. Redz Kur (Thanks to Aaron May)
3. Mate Saule (Thanks to Aaron May)

A couple of notes on this:

1. Please show your appreciation to Dr. Mosteller. He didn't have to help us and I, for one, am extremely grateful.
2. Same goes for Aaron May (appreciation-wise), a current student here at UAB. Why don't you send Aaron a quick email and show your appreciation? goviite@yahoo.com

We are very appreciative to these two people.

The other important note on this: It is up to YOU to get to this diction. We are only as good as the time that you put into this!

MLK: If I Can Help Somebody

2011 UPDATE:  This is a post I made six years ago - and although I no longer work at UAB I still remember the choir that sang this marvelous arrangement by the great Ray Liebau.  You can now purchase the piece here on Mr. Liebau's website and listen to it on YouTube - but not by the Ole Miss Concert Singers - but by the Raffles Chorale, conducted by Mr Toh Ban Sheng in 2008 at the World Youth Choral Festival in Singapore.

In my happiest year as an instructor at the University of Mississippi, the choir sang a song arranged by Ray Liebau called "If I Can Help Somebody." The words were from a hymn quoted in one of the last speeches Martin Luther King ever gave.

We honor the great Martin Luther King today. Below is a portion of the speech he gave that night, with the hymn quoted in its context. There is a link to an Ole Miss recording of the arrangement, but it is rather large, so be forwarned.

If I Can Help Somebody (source of the sermon)

The words of Dr. King:

Every now and then I guess we all think realistically (Yes, sir) about that day when we will be victimized with what is life's final common denominator—that something that we call death. We all think about it. And every now and then I think about my own death and I think about my own funeral. And I don't think of it in a morbid sense. And every now and then I ask myself, "What is it that I would want said?" And I leave the word to you this morning.

If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don’t want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. (Yes) And every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize—that isn’t important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards—that’s not important. Tell them not to mention where I went to school. (Yes)

I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to give his life serving others. (Yes)

I'd like for somebody to say that day that Martin Luther King, Jr., tried to love somebody.

I want you to say that day that I tried to be right on the war question. (Amen)

I want you to be able to say that day that I did try to feed the hungry. (Yes)

And I want you to be able to say that day that I did try in my life to clothe those who were naked. (Yes)

I want you to say on that day that I did try in my life to visit those who were in prison. (Lord)

I want you to say that I tried to love and serve humanity. (Yes)
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. (Amen) Say that I was a drum major for peace. (Yes) I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. (Yes) I won't have any money to leave behind. I won't have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. (Amen) And that's all I want to say.

If I can help somebody as I pass along,
If I can cheer somebody with a word or song,
If I can show somebody he's traveling wrong,
Then my living will not be in vain.
If I can do my duty as a Christian ought,
If I can bring salvation to a world once wrought,
If I can spread the message as the master taught,
Then my living will not be in vain.

Yes, Jesus, I want to be on your right or your left side, (Yes) not for any selfish reason. I want to be on your right or your left side, not in terms of some political kingdom or ambition. But I just want to be there in love and in justice and in truth and in commitment to others, so that we can make of this old world a new world.

Delivered at Ebenezer Baptist Church, Atlanta, Georgia, on 4 February 1968. MLKEC.

Progress for the first two weeks

I'm feeling pretty good (today) about our progress on the music for the spring. Some specifics on the pieces we will be doing in France:

Selig sind die Toten: Very good work this week. Know from last year.
Ave Maria (Vytautas Miškinis): will most likely change for another piece
See What the End is Going to Be: Learned last semester

Alleluia: Learned last semester, will begin work again soon. (LEARN IT, new folks)
Der Tanz: Easy, will not be hard to learn.
Un hémisphère dans une chevelure: Notes are OK, recording French tomorrow with Dr. Mostellar.
He’s Got the Whole World: Learned last semester, worked with girls on Thursday.

Clap Your Hands: might change, but learned last semester
Salmo XLII: Learned last semester, will work in sectionals next week
Organ Fugue: we'll change this one for another work.

Richte mich, Gott: Great work on this one. Memory must begin soon.
Mate Saule: Some light work done on this one, but learned it last semester and Aaron May (Latvian language guy) comes to record tomorrow

Redz, kur jaja div' bajari: Good work on this one, and will record Latvian tomorrow.
Daniel Daniel Servant Of The Lord: We did this one last year. Jonathan McNeil has confirmed that he is going on the trip, so we will do it again. I picked this one with Jonathan in mind for the solo . . . just to let you know.

Talked with a guy about our Spring 2006 possibility again. Exciting.

California State University-Northridge Singers

Concert Choir,

I found the BIO of the choir from California in the most recent edition of the Choral Journal. (Page 54)

Here are some salient points:

The CSU Northridge Singers are the advanced choral ensemble at California State University. Composed primarily of auditioned undergraduate vocal arts majors, the Northridge Singers have performed at national and regional ACDA Conventions and Regional MENC conferences.

They won the 2003 International Eistedfodd "Choir of the World" competition in Lllangollen, Wales.

Other credits of note include performances or recordings with artists Wynton Marsalis, Russell Watson, Barbara Streisand, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and Hollywood Bowl Orchestras, and the Los Angelas Master Chorale.

Their performance at the 2005 ACDA National Convention in Los Angeles will mark the ensemble's second appearance at an ACDA national convention in the last five years.

What does it mean?

It means we aren't in a competition with losers, we are in a competition with winners. People that have accomplished things. Their inclusion into this choral competition raises the bar. And they are just group that we know about. You can bet that there will be some truly outstanding European and Latvian choirs that show up to Tours, France this summer.

Will we raise our current level of performance and effort to make a serious challenge at this competition? Or should we just give up now?

You know what it takes. Do it.

The Time is Now to Prepare for Then

Choir,

Hope you all "got" what I "meant" today at the beginning of rehearsal: the time to put in the effort is now, when we have enough time ahead of us to perfect and nuance our music.

On May 14, we will want to be as absolutely prepared as we can be. And it isn't just the people that are going to Europe that must work now . . . people that don't go to compete, if they don't work hard, will slow our progress and limit our full potential.

I am excited about this semester. It will be some hard work but all moments in our concerts will be thrilling . . . I'm convinced of it. You need to get excited by it. And you need to listen to your German recording.

Oh, and here is a hint about the other thing i referenced about a Spring 2006 possibility.

Guidelines for beginning bloggers

I'm sharing this list that I found tonight for all the other UAB bloggers who started blogging along with me last semester. It is a great list . . . look here for more info.

The following is a list of guidelines for beginning bloggers developed by George Siemens in December 2002:

1. Start. As stated earlier, blogging is best learned by blogging...and by reading other bloggers. So...start.
2. Know your motivation. Why are you blogging? What do you hope to achieve?
3. Link. The heart of blogging is linking...linking and commenting. Connecting and communicating - the purpose of the Internet.
4. Experiment. Developing a writing style is an evolutionary process. Try different approaches and formats until you find one that fits your message, audience, and personal motivations.
5. Use life and your experiences as your "idea generation" file.
6. Get an opinion. Then express it.
7. Express your personality...let your humour, your perspective on life, and your values shine in your writing.
8. Post regularly. This is important - readers drop off/lose interest with irregular blogs (syndication and aggregators allow blog readers to stay in touch with infrequently updated blogs - more on that in the section "Extending Blogs").
9. Keep writing clear and concise. Avoid jargon...but utilize the unique aspects of the medium (visual, links, sound). Focus on communication (function) before form.
10. Write for a reason, not recognition. Most bloggers have small audiences. Satisfaction is derived from the writing process, not the audience response.

Notre Dame Concert Update

Got this email from our Kristen Sullivan, our Tour Coordinator @ Witte Travel:

It is possible that you'll be chosen to sing at Notre Dame on Wednesday, May 11. Our concert organizer in France is suggesting that you prepare a 30 minute program in the meantime. If chosen, they'll want to see it immediately. From what I understand, it would not just be participating in a Mass, but a 30 minute program.

While it is not a sure thing, I would say that it is looking good.

Here is what I submitted:

Praise to the Lord (arr. Paul Christiansen)
Alleluia (Jósef Karai)
Salmo XLII (Uroš Krek)

Selig sind die Toten (Heinrich Schütz)
Ave Maris Stella (Edvard Grieg)
Richte mich, Gott (Felix Mendelssohn)

See What the End is Going to Be (Ronald Staheli)
Clap Your Hands (Edwin Fissinger)

Daniel Daniel Servant Of The Lord (Undine Moore)
Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen (arr. Norman Luboff)
He’s Got the Whole World (arr. Raymond Liebau)

French Translation

Choir,

I'm not sure I ever shared this with you . . . it is the translation to the French piece we are doing by Cosma, courtesy of Lauren Askew on November 11, 2004 (and some English-French translation software):

Let me breathe a long time, the fragrance of your hair, plunge there all my face like a man impaired in the water of a spring and to stir (or agitate) them with my hand like a sweet-smelling hankerchief, to shake memories from the air.

My love travels on the perfume like the love of the other men on the music. In the ocean of your hair i see a port swarming with songs, melancholic, vigorous men of all nations and ships of all forms of cutting. Their fine architectures and complicate on an immense sky or wearies the eternal heat.

In the burning hearth of your hair, I breathe the odor of tobacco, mixed, has opium with sugar. In the night of your hair, I see shining the infinite trpical blues. On the shores of the sleeping bag of your hair, I get drunk on the combined odors of tar, musk and coconut oil.

Let me bite your heavy and black braids a long time. when I bite your elastic and rebellious braids. It seems to me that I eat memories.

I'm sure we'll unpack and clarify this into something coherent.

For now, just get a sense of it.

A Nerd Wannabee?

This was my score on a test i found here:



What in the world does that mean? I'm not smart enough to be a nerd?

Richte mich Gott (Mendelssohn)

Choir,

There are links to several MP3 files on the MUP 220 page of my website.

My advice: Learn this German quickly. Two of the files are the spoken text and one is sung.

If you want to use a great program to help you learn quickly, download a program I use called WavePad. The program allows you to see the actual sound file and there are features that allow you to rewind quickly and repeat sections as much as you want.

If you are smart, you will be able to figure out how I inserted space (silence) into the original soundfile. If you click here, the file will immediately download. And the best thing about it? It's free.

Quinn says goodbye

Choir,

Quinn is not with us this semester, I'm sorry to say. She sent me a wonderful email, part of which I will excerpt here:

To the choir:

I have enjoyed every minute of concert choir and it will really be a void in my life. I will miss performing as well as all of the wonderful friendships that I've made.

To me:

You have been a wonderful teacher and friend. I'll still be around and I hope I can come and sing with you guys some and I'll be at concerts for sure!!!! Thanks so much for giving me such a wonderful opportunity.

To us both:

Choir has been a part of my life since the seventh grade, but it wasn't until your concert choir that it all came together and my true love for singing came out. It has been an honor to sing with such a talented group of musicians and have such a great teacher! I will miss each and every person.

Classy.

Making a Song Your Own

Somehow, I came upon this blog that was commenting on Ashlee Simpson's performance at the Orange Bowl last night.

I'm sorry I missed it, it must have been spectactular--as in perfectly awful.

In the comments section of the blog, one person responded about Kelly Clarkson's performance of The Star Spangled Banner:

Actually, there was a worse performance at this event.

The singing of the National Anthem (I think it was the National Anthem, the words were familiar although I didn't recognize many of the notes) by Kelly (Help, I can't find a note to hold) Clarkson was horrid. It wasn't quite as bad, though, as her "performance" of O Holy Night during a Christmas season show.

These idiot judges on American Idol, and such, praise these non-talents as "making the song their own." You don't make the National Anthem or O Holy Night "your own." You perform it with respect for the song, not some other worldly idea that your performance is more important than the song.

Just thought you might find that interesting--

For the record, I completely agree with the writer . . . the song is more important than the performance. As musicians, we must make interpretive decisions that enhance the value of the music . . . music is not a vehicle for notoriety . . . it's not about us.

Thoughts?

Church Position for Interested Student

Students,

Got this email today--possible church job for interested student.

Dr. Copeland,

I am the current choir director at Wilson Chapel United Methodist Church in the Roebuck Springs area of Birmingham. I have recently acquired a position as choir director at a church closer to my residence in Vestavia and am assisting Wilson Chapel in acquiring a replacement. Wilson Chapel UMC is a traditional style church with an aging congregation. The choir is a very dedicated 12 person ensemble with very good skills. They need someone who is bright, energetic, and who wants to be there. This is a part time position. If you have any student(s) who may be interested, please forward this to them or contact me back so that I may contact them directly.

Contact me if you are interested!

Blog factoid

From the Pew Internet Something or Other:

• By the end of 2004 blogs had established themselves as a key part of online culture. Two surveys by the Pew Internet & American Life Project in November established new contours for the blogosphere: 8 million American adults say they have created blogs;
  
• blog readership jumped 58% in 2004 and now stands at 27% of internet users; 5% of internet users say they use RSS aggregators or XML readers to get the news and other information delivered from blogs and content-rich Web sites as it is posted online; and 12% of internet users have posted comments or other material on blogs.
  
• Still, 62% of internet users do not know what a blog is.

I think this means: If you are reading this, you are smarter than 62 percent of the other internet users.

Can't get it out of my mind . . .

Do you have anthems, songs, or hymn texts that just won't get out of your head?

Here is the one that I've had today--it's from this mornings choir anthem for the service at SHPC. I first found the Gilbert Martin (of When I Survey the Wondrous Cross fame) arrangement of Christ of the Upward Way when I arrived at South Highland. I've done the anthem so many times since then that I promised today to put it away for at least one year before I do it again.

Gilbert is an outstanding church choir arranger. He is smart enough to know that the choir needs to go into unison for the climax of the anthem instead of dividing into parts. That way, the choir can balance the organ/accompaniment, which is already increasinging in volume to support the emotion of the moment.

Anyway, it is a tremendous anthem. And the text, well . . . I find it profound and moving.

I provided the test below in case you are curious . . . and I found it here (in case you don't know about this resource, you future church musicians:

Whole choir, unison, warm key of Db major:
Christ of the upward way, my Guide divine,
Where Thou hast set Thy feet, may I place mine;
And move and march wherever Thou hast trod,
Keeping face forward up the hill of God.

Women only, two parts, Eb major:
Give me the heart to hear Thy voice and will,
That without fault or fear I may fulfill
Thy purpose with a glad and holy zest,
Like one who would not bring less than his best.

This verse is deleted in the Martin anthem.
Give me the eye to see each chance to serve,
Then send me strength to rise with steady nerve,
And leap at once with kind and helpful deed,
To the sure succor of a soul in need.

Whole choir, four parts, sung in F minor:
Give me the good stout arm to shield the right,
And wield Thy sword of truth with all my might,
That, in the warfare I must wage for Thee,
More than a victor I may ever be.

Entire choir, unison, G major:
Christ of the upward way, my Guide divine,
Where Thou hast set Thy feet, may I place mine;
And when Thy last call comes, serene and clear,
Calm may my answer be, “Lord, I am here.”

GMAIL FAQ

FAQ ='s Frequently Asked Questions.

Delia had a question about GMAIL so I'll 'splain it to everyone.

GMAIL is the email service started by Google. In the geek world, gmail accounts are one of the "in" things and most of the hard core geeks have had gmail accounts for a pretty long time. The best thing about them is that they hold an astonishing 1 GIG of information. You can also use the google search functions on your email.

FWIW, I've not deleted anything from my account since getting it in August . . . from Patrick Fussell, brother of Katie.

As a matter of fact, I promised to stop "abusing" Patrick for not singing in choir after he gave me one of his invitations for the GMAIL account.

Anyway, you can find out more about GMAIL accounts by clicking.

And I still have three invitations to give away.

GMail for UAB Choir members

A Happy New Year to you all!

If any of you guys are interested in a GMAIL account, let me know. I've got three invites to share and I will give them to the first choir members who comment to this post.

Is anyone interested?

Congratulations! You are rewarded for visiting my choir blog . . . UAB choir members only, please.

Thanks!

Katie, Francesca, and St. Cecelia

School approaches!

I'm not ready yet, are you?

I've heard from two choir members today:

1. Katie Movelle: Sent me a St. Cecelia card with the note that if we prayed hard to her we would not have another mistake like we had at Christmas at the Alys.

I'm not opposed to any help from the patron saint of music, of course. However, I'm thinking we just need to practice getting our pitch more and never try to sing more than 100 yards away from the conductor again.

2. Francesca. I got a disappointing notification from Francesca that she won't be joining us next semester. I hate that, she's been an incredible choir member for alot of reasons. Besides her musical contribution, Francesca gave us her humor and her 5-point stance.

We will miss her.

First mention on another blog!

I've been on a search for other choir related blogs and found very few. One that I found, is the Fredosphere, managed by composer-musicians Fred Himebaugh. I emailed Fred and asked some blog-related questions.

Besides giving me excellent answers, Fred was kind enough to mention this UAB Choir blog in a posting on December 28. How nice of him!

He told me about two other choir related blogs, the first of which i had not heard of.

It looks as though we have one of the few choir-blogs out there, but I'm still hoping to find a few more:
VHK's Singing
Confessions of a Recovering Choir Director

Some more of his thoughts:

The most fundamental reason I blog is to promote my compositions, so my blog is a composer's blog as well as a choir director/church musician's blog. When I got started, I hoped to be connected to a network of choir bloggers. Like you, I was surprised to find nothing like that exists. Now, my goal is to be connected to the wider arts blogosphere (what Alex Ross -- with an assist from me -- calls the bløgösphère). I decided to write about a wide range of interests, like sci-fi, weird religious art, zeppelins, and anti-popes. Partly, that's just my personality, and partly it's a marketing strategy, based on the idea that a pure choir blog isn't going to get much traffic (at least one written by me).

I really appreciate his comments and look forward to any other insight he has on this medium. It is possible that we (uab choirs) have one of the first blogs of this typein an emerging medium. It is also possible that the blog world is just a flash in the pan. I have a feeling that it is going to be more significant than that, however.

At any rate, I enjoy this experience of keeping in touch with my choir via the blog.

Does anyone read it? I used to think so, but not according to a recent lack of comments!

Nevertheless, I persevere!

Pocket Blogging

this is a test from my new program ''Pocket Blog."

Im trying to see it I can create posts on the internet by first Creating them in my pocket PC. Will update on the success.,. or not.

UPDATE:

Worked very well. Post appeared immediately.

Christmas with Choirs

One of the best things about Christmas time is the great choir programs on television.

(Hey, this IS a choir blog, you know . . . )

I'm about to watch "Christmas at Baylor," a program I recorded last night (I think) on my Digital Video Recorder. The DVR is really cool . . . we've used it alot more than we thought we would. Most of our "recorded TV" programs are things like Seseme Street (for obvious reasons), Nigella Bites (one of Leigh's favorites), and Seinfeld.

Anyway, if you get a chance, these are the Christmas choir programs I've noticed and/or recorded:

Christmas at Baylor
A Belmont Christmas
Christmas with the Mormon Tabarnacle Choir
Christmas with Chanticleer
St. Olaf Christmas Festival
Sing We Now of Christmas: A Festival of Carols
Carols from King's

They are all very good. I caught some of the King's College special last night on the Jordan's HDTV and it was fantastic. HDTV is something I've never really experienced before and I loved it. When the price of this technology drops more I definitely want to invest. The picture was just incredible.

My favorite of the programs is probably the Chanticleer one . . I've not seen all of them yet. I saw the Chanticleer one live either last year or the year before. Some great music there and those guys are top notch performers.

Merry Christmas, choir. I look forward to seeing you again soon.

What a life

You've got to hand it to Francesca. Her posts are bizarre and hilarious. The most recent beginning:

"I slept on my left side last night just to change things up."

For more fascinating insights, go here.

Triplet pictures

I don't know if you guys are ever interested in viewing pictures of my girls, but here are some recent ones on my "family blog."

Leigh and I were wondering if any of you could come up with a creative name for a blog that centers around the triplets.

Something a little cute and referencing our 3 angels.

One thought:

"Heaven on Earth" (and it is, most of the time)
Three's Company?
"Trouble comes in three's?"

You get the idea. Any takers?

You never know . . .

I found this picture today of my former choir-mate, Shepherd Smith. You might know Shep and you might not--but he is now one of the anchors for Fox News, and hosts a show called the FOX Report w/Shepherd Smith.

When this picture was taken, Shepherd was running late for the return bus trip back to Oxford.

I'm always a bit amazed that I know a guy that is seen by millions of people every night. He was a great guy and a fine bass. He used to be the "holder of the pitch pipe" and always did a good job.

You never know what the person sitting next to you in choir might become.

Knowing what I do about the incredible people we have in choir---I expect tremendous things.

Blog Benefits Choir?

Ok, group. I need input.

I'm preparing a presentation entitled "Simplifying the Conductor's Lifestyle: Making Technology Work for You" to give at the National ACDA Convention and I'm going to spend a portion of the presentation on this blog. I want you to help me brainstorm it's benefits to us this semester. I'll start and you add your own.

1. Gives conductor a way to give feedback to the choir and elicit responses from its members. I thought that concert and performance reviews were important to us this semester. Whether it was congratulating ourselves on a job well done or a way of finding out what went wrong.

2. Builds community--I've gotten to know several of you much better by reading your comments and visiting your own personal blogs. I think that most of you started your own blog after reading this one, except for Francesca, who will soon be writing or doing radio for a living.

3. Rehash rehearsals and frame them in a proper context. Examining what went right or what went wrong in the rehearsal after one has had time to reflect.

4. Communicating praise from others: sharing emails with the choir and others in a public forum.

5. Informational: posting links to possible dress options for the girls, explaining where to get passports, directions to performances.

6. Sometimes, just to share. Some posts have nothing to do with choir. Posts about things to visit in Birmingham, radio shows, funny stories or pictures.

7. Motivational: my efforts to get you excited about long term goals, i.e. France Competition.

8. Gives choir members a meaningful way to interact with the conductor outside of class and away from the bustle of the rehearsal.

9. Online journaling provides a way to document and reference past thoughts and feelings--aspects of the year that will pass from memory without it.

10. Keep in touch with past members. Nick reads this often!

Found this paragraph online: The range of uses for Weblogs among other educators is wide. Hundreds of librarians have realized their power in communicating information about resources and in starting conversations about books and literacy. Students use Weblogs as digital portfolios or just digital filing cabinets, where they store their work. Teachers use blogs as classroom portals, where they archive handouts, post homework assignments, and field questions virtually. Clubs and activities, sports teams, and parent groups use Weblogs to post scores, meeting minutes, and links to relevant issues and topics. In other words, a Weblog is a dynamic, flexible tool that's easy to use whether you're creating with it or simply viewing the result.

Ok . . . that is a good start.

Can you help?

A Marvelous Madrigal Dinner

It must have been spectacular!
I'm hearing rave reviews from both students and faculty. Congratulations to Chamber Singers and Dr. Jeff Reynolds for bringing honor and glory to the music department and her choirs! Thanks to them for working a bit harder than the rest of us . . . rehearsing during exams, through sickness and other end-of-the-semester ills to put on a fantastic show. We are all very proud of you!

Advice for Students in my Next Class

.

Can you tell that I'm enjoying inserting images in my blog?

Ham Day

By the way, this is my third post in the same day. See below for new entries . . .

Ahh . . . the competition

Choir,

The stage has now been set for our May 2005 competition. We have received our official acceptance into the Florilege Vocal de Tours competition and have been approved to compete in categories I and IV.

It is impressive enough to just be accepted into the competition--the festival is known all over the world. Take note of its mention in these worldwide links:

Taipei: an article that talks about the Batavia Madrigal Singers from Indonesia which won three awards.

Turkey: trumpets the achievements of the Bilkent Youth Choir, which received runner-up position at the 33rd Florilege Vocal de Tours, "one of the most important choir competitions in the world" hosted between May 28-31 in Tours, France, out of 20 choirs from 18 countries.

Germany: discusses their performance and award from their 1995 appearance at the competition.

USA: The USC Chamber Choir won the grand prize in 2002. Their website entry describes the competition as a a "prestigious international choral competition. " The group is conducted by William Dehning, a very well known choral conductor in the USA. He lists his groups grand prize victory as one of his major achievements in his biography, which can be seen here.

Sometimes choirs just mention the fact that they competed at the competition (without winning), such as the Concert Choir from Mansfield University.


By the way, do you like their picture? Here is a larger version from their site: interesting choir picture Perhaps we can find a way to do something like that with our group if you like it.

My point in all this:

To achieve things in life, you have to place yourself in the right place at the right time.

Without risk, there is no reward.

We are stepping out into the international choral scene in May. Get ready to put forward your best effort--of your life.

Christmas for Musicians

At my house, we listen to music whenever we are doing something with the girls, especially at feeding time. My father-only feeding time is the morning meal, commonly known as breakfast. (At this point, I feel as though I am slipping into Franceska-type blog language . . . but I digress).

Anyway, we are listening to some FM station that plays Christmas music all the time. Today they had a testimonial type segment that featured some woman talking about how she looks forward to the holiday times "when things slow down . . . . "

I guess that is true for most people, but the statement was a bit shocking for me. Nearly all of my time is spent with musicians and we think of December as a time of immense stress because of the increased performing opportunities/obbligations. When that is coupled with exams and additional church services, life does indeed seem difficult.

After each performance, I typically have these thoughts:
1. whew, I'm glad that is over.
2. wow, my office is a mess.

and then this one:
Is this what life is like for all those people without music as a driving force in their lives?

I've got to admit, life without concerts and continuous performing pressure is sometimes appealing, like a cold and delicious diet mountain dew on a very hot day.

But after awhile, it just looks boring.

Viva la musica!

Update: Christmas for Musicians, part 2

I told you it was stressful.

Conductor kills self inside Crystal Cathedral

Pray for God's blessings to this man's family and friends during this time of sadness.

A Glorious Gloria and A Couple of Bad Starts

It was a great concert.

Even though we didn't sing to our potential with our three solo works. My quick review:

Sing We Now: Rehearsed the least, came off the best.
Ave Maria: Bad start, but the work never really came together in rehearsal either. It had moments of beauty at times but I don't think we arrived at the place we needed to be with it.
Have Yourself: Another bad start--similar thoughts about not finding the piece in rehearsal before performing it.

Lessons from the concert:
1. Passing the Pitch is a crucial part of our preparation. We will take more time from this point forward.
2. The work we put into the Gloria paid off in huge dividends. There were outstanding moments and the REX was magical and fulfilling.
3. I wasn't too surprised at our performance--the time we put into the Gloria and when we rehearsed it each day ate into our energy and normal preparation. We've had an extremely active semester that has included more singing than I've done since arriving at UAB. Overall the semester has been a huge success.

We will recover from a not-our-best performance on Saturday.

• We will remember that we must prepare for every success and experience it first in the rehearsal before we can expect it in performance.

• We will remember that the things that prohibited us from arriving at 1:00 ready to sing also contributed to our effort during the concert.

• We will remember that great performances aren't a given, even from talented and hard-working students.

A few other thoughts:

1. Mortimer Jordan was simply outstanding, especially on the Whitacre. They proved that execution and confidence and risk and talent can result in something quite remarkable. The students from there were just incredible . . . but remember, the credit goes to their teacher for the superb preparation. And not just for that performance, but for the last six years. All of the UAB students that are MJ graduates are rightly proud of their school.

2. All of the high schools did an incredible job. Amanda Klimko's Hewitt-Trussville choir and Ken Berg's JCCHS Honors Chorus along with the previously mentioned MJ gave us an extremely strong showing for UAB's Christmas at the Alys. I was proud of every choir's contribution and glad that I had invited these groups.

I'm sure I'll blog more later . . . but that is the quick review. Any comments from others?