Strangely Intimate

I got a little uncomfortable watching this:

Oh Yeaah . ..

But, believe it or not, NO Lemon Fanta:

Welcome Troy University choir to blogging!

Choir,

Just found out about Troy's director blogging. Why don't you go say hello?

ht Ryan A Reese

Embarassing

Wow.

Advertising forms

Advertising forms for UAB Concert Choir

For Mercer's Music Faculty

Link to Mercer Music Faculty presentation handout

Concert Choir - Haec dies split

Concert Choir,

Please be prepared on Haec dies tomorrow. Here are the splits:

Top
Meredith Foster
Leah Hudspeth
Briana Moore
Elizabeth Wesson
Ariel Reid
Maegan Reid

Middle
Samantha Ashley
Madison Holler
Sadie Mason-Smith
Malorie Yance
Rhea Reuter
Lori Ayler
Bobbi Kirby

Bottom
Hannah Boyd
Emily Fledderman
Trinity Gilliam
Jessica Johnson
Victoria Gosnell
Nancy Lewis
Hillary Miller
Sarah Stevenson
Jennifer Thorp

Top
Shane Bloemetjie
Mark Kunkle
Brian Denton
Kiyoshi Scissum
Kuni Scissum
Micah Brooker
Jeremy Concepcion

Middle
Sean Fleischmann
Lincoln Parrott
Chris Barbee
Jordan Burcham
Charles Daniel
Adam Evans
Aaron Grayson

Bottom
Justin Beatty
Eric Harris
Will Sparks
Patrick Edwards
Alex Fecanin
Tyler Henderson
Tony Morse
Ryan Reese

registration for uab audition day

Register here.

Auringon noustessa - Toivo Kuula (1883-1918)

Auringon noustessa with spaces.
Auringon noustessa without spaces.

Nää, oi mun sieluni, auringon korkea nousu
See, O my soul, how the sun rises over the rooftops,

ylitse kivisen kaupungin kattojen, katuin,
Over the wide stony wilderness of this bleak city,

ylitse vuossatain valheen ja tuntien tuskan
Over the centuries of falsehoods and moments of misery,

koittava kirkkaus!
Bold dawning brightness!

Nää, oi mun sieluni, katoovan elämän autuus!
See, O my soul, see the bliss of our life frail and fleeting!

Niinkuni ääretön temppeli on se sun eessäs,
Like an infinite temple it stands before thee,

alla sen holvien on ikiaikojen
Under its somber vaults in ancient silence

äänetön hartaus mestarin hengen.
the soul of the master breathes never-ending.

Nää, oi mun sieluni, yössäkin korkehin kirkkaus,
See, O my soul, how the blackest of nights turn to dawning,

tuskassa tummien hetkien rauha ja riemu,
Moments of darkest despair to relief and rejoicing,

vuossatain valheessa, elämän valheessa valkein,
See how amidst ancient falsehoods of life

iäisin totuus!
Still the brightest truth stands eternal!

Esti dal

I first blogged about Esti dal here and then an inspired post here. Now I'm preparing resources to help us master the language.

Here is the pronunciation without spaces.
Here is the pronunciation with spaces.


Erdő mellett est vélëdtem,
As I lay down for the night by the edge of the woods,

Subám fejem alá tëttem,
I pull my blanket up to my chin.

Összetëttem két kezemet,
I put my hands together,

Úgy kértem jó Istenëmet:
Thus imploring you, my good Lord

Én Istenëm, adjál szállást,
My Lord, grant me a place to stay,

Már mëguntam a járkálást
For I’ve grown tired of wandering,

a bujdosást,
Of hiding,

Az idegën földön lakást.
Of living in a foreign land

Adjon Isten jó éjszakát,
My Lord, grant me a good night.

Küldje hozzám szent angyalát,
Send me your blessed angel

Bátoritsa szívünk álmát,
To give courage to the dreams in our hearts.

Adjon Isten jó éjszakát,
My Lord, grant me a good night.

NJ Teacher To Pay $22K Fine For Phone Call

It's true, read some of the story:

NJ Teacher To Pay $22K Fine For Phone Call
Asbury Park Teacher To Pay Large Fine For 4-Minute Call Made During Class

Her lawyer says a New Jersey teacher won't appeal a $22,000 fine for making a four-minute personal call in class. Attorney Stephen Hunter says Desley Getty acknowledges she made a mistake.

The 120-day salary forfeiture will be based on calendar days and will be deducted from a base salary of about $70,000.

A couple of thoughts:

• I made $19,000 in my first year of teaching in Clinton, Mississippi.  She's being fined more than I made that entire year.
• $70,000 is a great salary for a teacher.  no teacher makes close to that in alabama.
  
• $22,000 seems a little excessive for a phone call during class, eh?
  

updating contacts

choir,

i'm updating contacts on my beautiful blue iphone. i'm adding pictures to my contacts via my google contacts. google may send you an email "suggesting a picture for you."

it doesn't mean i'm stalking you. yet. soon.

don't forget about auditions. lots of great singers this year.

Auditions for Concert Choir

Here it is again.

Sunday, August 16

4:00 for men
5:30 for women
8:00 callbacks if needed

We'll use #308 and #312 (theory room).

King of the world

Something new happened the other day . . . my daughter Caroline interrupted me and told me about a song she had just heard on the radio. Now . . . that may not sound so odd to you . . . but none of the girls had ever played with a radio until just recently . . and it was strange to have one of them tell me about something I had never heard of.

Anyway . . . she sang something about "daddy" and "king of the world." I was mildly amused and googled it. Here's what I found. And that was it! Caroline was so pleased.

We listened to it together - and I've got to tell you - I was amazed that my little girl got the message of the song and that it made her think of me. And then I was moved emotionally - the song became a profession of love from Caroline to me.

I'm still a little stunned . . . she found a way to reach me in the medium that means so much to me . . . music.

We found a YouTube video of it tonight and then a little children's story based on the song (or vice versa?). Anyway . . . guess what my new favorite song is?

uab welcomes und

Choir . . .

Why don't you go welcome the University of North Dakota to the blogging world?

For Washington ACDA

Here's the link to my presentation notes.

Someone is watching you - so always be nice here

Got this email today:

I have been following your choir blog for a time now and I really love how you use it to communicate with your singers. It seems great for the technical, logistical stuff, but even more so for the sense of community and esprit de corps it promotes. I am planning doing the same thing with my group on an experimental basis to see if it works for me (will I be able to post regularly) and my kids (will they read it).

I hope you don't mind me stealing your idea. I see a lot of potential, for a very low cost (basically free). If you have any tips for getting started, I'm all ears. I plan on using wordpress at this point.

Thanks. Have a great rest of the summer.

Joshua Bronfman
Director of Choral Activities
University of North Dakota

king's singers - esti dal

Transitional moments of beauty

A little more about my programming decisions for the ACDA conference - this one concerning the final two pieces.

Harry was right in his comment . . Nunc is a fabulous ending piece. However, it is the performance and transition from "Esti dal" to "Nunc dimittis" that is really going to be cool . . . we go from a children's lullabye into the historic Song of Simeon.

We'll use this translation for Esti dal:

As I lay down for the night by the edge of the woods,
I pull my blanket up to my chin.
I put my hands together,
Thus imploring you, my good Lord

My Lord, grant me a place to stay,
For I’ve grown tired of wandering,
Of hiding,
Of living in a foreign land

My Lord, grant me a good night
Send me your blessed angel
To give courage to the dreams in our hearts.
My Lord, grant me a good night.

and then we sing the Nunc dimittis . . . translated here:

Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace : according to thy word.
For mine eyes have seen : thy salvation,
Which thou hast prepared : before the face of all people;
To be a light to lighten the Gentiles : and to be the glory of thy people Israel.

There's more, though. I want you to get my personal story behind the "Esti dal." I "discovered" the piece while i was reading this blog, by composer Michael Kaulkin. I was reading it one evening while I was putting the girls to bed. Then - and now - we help the triplets fall asleep by staying with them in their room each night until they drift off to sleep. It is a very sweet time - one that is almost 'holy' to any parent - and I read this blog during that 'winding down' time with the girls. I was very moved by Kaulkin's story - and I still am every time I read it.

Here's what Kaulkin has to say about Esti dal:

Esti Dal is a very short and simple piece that offers its lovely melody three times. The first and third statements are given by the sopranos, accompanied by sustained humming from the lower parts. The middle statement blossoms with majestic counterpoint, and during this part Philo moves his hands expressively, much as a conductor does, and visibly moved by the slight ritard at the end of the verse. I, of course, am thrilled.

So . . . when we are performing Kodaly's incredible work . . . I'll be thinking about several things simultaneously:

1. the incredible beauty of the moment - my beautiful choir singing this beautiful lullabye.
2. the love I have for my three girls and the sweetness of our bedtime ritual
3. the wonder of technology - that I can be inspired and moved by a father's love for his son - a composer i've never met - sharing his love for music with his son
4. the tie with the Song of Simeon - the words are said to have been uttered by a man holding the infant Jesus - thanking his heavenly father that he had seen "God's salvation for the world" in the eyes of that little baby.

The translation that we'll use for Esti dal is Mr. Kaulkin's . . .

It will be his words that I meditate upon in the interpretation of Kodaly's music.