2017 mail and Secret Christmas RR#3

I haven't written much about mail since the new year. I have received some beautiful cards that I wanted to show off:

Secret Christmas RR#3

 From gzechanka in Ukraine

 From Rodzinka in Russia. I loved the stamps on this one too.

 From Liisa in Finland. Thanks for telling me about the traditional decorations with the Finnish flags. I didn't know that.

 From Alevtina in Russia Thanks for the great stamps too. Love the braid on the snowman!

Postcrossing:

This is from Jacque in Az. I love it.  Because she's awesome, she also sent me the next card.

 I love Nouvelle Images!!!

 Keeping with the music theme. She also sent an Elvis stamp and Edith Piaf too. That would be a really interesting duet, eh?

Naoko sent this yummy card from Japan.
    This next one made me giggle a bit. It's from Marilyn in Texas.  I have never been to Tx, but I've heard "everything is bigger in Texas," so I guess this fits. I'm right on the "Damned Yankee" and snafu border.  

Help with a music lesson?

Every rotation, in my 7th grade class, I try to do an activity where I play examples of traditional and popular music from different countries and ask the students to identify where it's from. I listen to hours of music every time I prepare for this lesson. I love that part. However, it would be a lot easier for me if I had a link to your country's popular music charts. I have searched many places but I'm not always sure I have the most legitimate list for the job. If you wouldn't mind helping me, would you leave a link in the comment section? Much appreciated!

PS. This week the kids are listening to music (traditional or on the popular music charts) of Australia, Bali, Brasil, Canada, China,   Egypt, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Slovenia, Spain, Thailand, and the US.

Snapshots of the life of a middle school music teacher

Random moments from 12/7-12/14

     Survived a concert I was nervous about. I went to set up, only to learn that our keyboard was broken. Spent 7 hours recording/processing accompaniment tracks. Trusted that the students could do it without hearing the tracks and having me at the piano. They did well and I was proud of them. We did have a fainter but things were okay.

    Yankee Swap with no tears or angry children. (I got a Dunkin' Donuts gift card.)


     I'm singing a song called Songs of the Wayfarer by Joseph M. Martin in chorus with my 7/8th graders. One of my 7th grade boys hung around after an audition toady to tell me that he was researching the song and jamming at his house to  some of the pieces I've introduced him to. Check out the versions he was listening to.
Ed Sheeran, Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Jack White and the Swingle Singers 
This also led to a conversation about why the lyrics changed from person to person, history of the song, and his opinions on the versions he heard. Music teacher win :) Which version did you like best?   If I've sparked your inner nerd, check out the history of the song and more versions here. 

        I straightened my hair this morning and wore makeup. 1 boy was confused and seemed to genuinely need an explanation to why I was wearing lipstick. 1 boy thought I was a substitute. Multiple students did not recognize me. A few students came in to tell me that I "look pretty." My favorite awkward moment was where one girl came in and said "Oh my gosh! I love your hair and your face!" Ummm... thanks?  (That's also when the boy realized I wasn't a substitute teacher)


      This week my students took recycled materials and made them into instruments. I have loved watching their creativity. They also composed a piece for their instruments, wrote down the music in non-traditional notation and had to learn someone else's piece. Multiple students have asked me to stay in class "for the rest of the day" or "through lunch."

      Auditions for my Chorale- so cool to hear each kid sing on their own. I'm glad so many kids are coming to try out. One of my 6th graders mentioned that he "doesn't care if he has to crush the heart of a 5th grader, he wants to make spring Chorale." The funny thing is that this boy is a kid who works hard but I couldn't tell if he actually enjoyed being there. I say auditions are cool but it's always hard when the list goes up since not everyone is accepted.

    I have received 3 videos from 2 7th grade girls who are kind of hilarious. The first one was a parody of Adele's "Hello."  The second was a bizarre, rap-like holiday video and the 3rd was a video about "Christmas Crumble."

 
     Had a kid who is considered to be "one of the worst behaved 5th graders" tell me that he was really excited because he went shopping for his Christmas tree and for presents. He was excited that his mom let him pick out a present for me. :)

     My son came to school with me on a day his school had conferences. He sat in all of my classes, took 3 quizzes, compared and contrasted West African vocal/instrumental music, watched my 8th grade operas and sang in my 6th grade chorus. He's in 4th grade. My kids (the students) were really welcoming and cute. They shared music, chatted, and included him in all the lessons. It was heartwarming.

     After bugging me to play Christmas music during class (in a highly Jewish community), I played a recording of the Christmas concert I played in last weekend. After initially complaining that he wanted to hear some "Bill Cosby.. no, wait, Bill CROSBY" (facepalm) a 6th grade boy said "Wait? Is this live?" Me- "Well, it was taped live, yes." Boy- "Woah.. you guys are like legit musicians! That sounds like what the real song sounds like." Me- "Uh... that's because we ARE all legit musicians."  Glad Tchaikovsky wasn't rolling in his grave though, thanks.

     I seriously wish I could post pictures with their facial expressions too. Good times.

   



   

Back to school- Mom

     I started back to school last week. The first day of school we had A.L.I.C.E training. It was intense, but I was glad it was introduced to us. This is the first time we've had the training. The 2nd day we had our normal "welcome back" speeches from the superintendent, the principal, school committee, etc. In addition to that, a colleague of mine whom I really respect, won Teacher of the Year. She is the computer teacher at the middle school and she is wonderful. The kids really learn a lot in her class and she does some innovative, engaging projects. On top of that, she's super nice and extremely helpful to anyone on the staff that might need technology help. I was so happy for her.  After our convocation as a staff, we all went back to our individual buildings to get our room ready, have team meetings, etc. I also had a mentor meeting. (I am mentoring a new teacher for the first time.)

     Our students started school on Wednesday. I teach 6 classes a day. For my general music classes I have 1 8th grade class, 1 7th, 2 6th, and 1 5th grade class. I will see these kids for a 52 minute period for 22 days in a row (8th grade has 18 since they have an extra specialist class.) After music is over they will have tech ed, health, gym, computers, art, communications/tv and then gym again. (8th grade will also have robotics this year. This is a new thing and I think it's pretty cool.)  I also teach 3 choruses- 5th grade, 6th and then a combined 7th/8th grade chorus. This is a year long class that is open to anyone. Lastly, I have an auditioned after school chorus that meets 2 days a week until 3:30. This is kind of like an honors chorus and I push these kids pretty hard. Because of that, they tend to be the leaders in my choruses. 

    So far the school year has gone smoothly. It has been really nice to reconnect with all the kids and to meet my new students. Chorus and Chorale get into full swing towards the end of the week so that's when I will feel like I'm really working hard. Honestly, I love my job so I feel very blessed. There is not a day that I don't laugh (at myself sometimes- today I accidentally flung a marker in my own face in one of my classes. I was proud of the kids for not blatantly laughing at me.)  The only downside of the year so far is that we are currently in a heat wave here in Ma. I believe that every day we have had school, the temperature in my room has been over 90 degrees. The students are doing their best to pay attention but I can see the sweat dripping down their faces. Being in the room all day, there have been times that I could barely concentrate because I was overheated. 

    When I talk to someone about my profession for the first time many people will make comments about how they couldn't deal with middle school students. I really enjoy working with kids this age.  Here's why:

1.  Middle schoolers really live on the edge between being a kid and wanting to be an adult. I can challenge them through my teaching and set high expectations. (Higher than you many people would think.) I have students who can hold a conversation about music using all the proper terminology or students who can play at a level that some adults cannot. However, many, many times the kid in them will slip out. My favorite example of that happened a few years ago. I had brought my Chorale to do a concert for the local Masonic Lodge. They graciously provided dinner for my entire group and ate WITH us rather than just sequestering us in some corner. They decided to treat us to Chinese food. The plan was that we would sing an hour long concert for them, have dinner with them and then we would leave while they had a meeting. 

      The concert went really well and we sang some challenging music. Since it was the spring chorale, I had students from grades 5-8. We sang a few songs that were marketed towards beginning high school choirs so I was proud of their success with the pieces. After the concert we had a delicious dinner and at the end of the meal we were served fortune cookies. Many students read the fortunes and didn't know what they meant. One by one they came to me for an interpretation of their fortune cookie wisdom. This little boy in 5th grade came up and said "Could you tell me what this means? I don't get it." So, I gave it my best shot and his eyes opened really wide. All of the sudden he yelled out "I didn't know you spoke Chinese!!!!!" Classic middle school, Middle school kids can be hilarious. 

2. The students (whether they want to admit it or not) are really looking for guidance. If you want an opportunity to be a good influence to a student- socially, emotionally, academically- middle school kids might provide that opportunity for you. They expect you to be firm but fair. 

3. Middle schoolers tell it as it is. They wear their hearts on their sleeves. A gem from this week so far was "No offense, but what time is music over?" (I did take offense..lol) If you get an ugly hair cut (or highlights- my highlights were a big world-changing event for one of my 6th grade girls), a new pair of shoes, sparkly nail polish, etc you will know what your students think. Sometimes they will directly say those opinions and sometimes they will say it in a more subtle way (usually by staring at you with a weird look on their face.)

4. I once read that you should think more about teaching the child than teaching the subject. I think it's great advice, though not always convenient or easy.  If they trust you middle schoolers will give you a lot to work with, Chorus and band are the only classes at the middle school that the kids can elect to be in. As a teacher this means that I can set expectations and "kick them our" if they don't meet those standards. Though it's pretty humbling to think about, many of the kids don't elect to take chorus, they choose to have more time with me. Students never run up and say "Chorus starts today! I can't wait!" It's always more like "I have YOU today!" or "What are we doing in chorus today?" I feel really privileged to know that they trust me enough to try new things (sometimes in front of hundreds of people), to do something they know is outside of their comfort zone (like singing way above or below their normal voice range) or to open themselves enough to sing with their hearts. When we work together it's pretty cool to hear the results. I have students who really look up to me and I really value all of them. 

5. I also love that my job is challenging. I deal with hundreds of different personalities in 1 day (some all in the same kid in the span of 1 hour!) Sometimes I have 100 or more of them together at the same time.  I like that I have to figure out a way to reach each child 'where they're at.' Each day is extremely different and it is rarely boring. I laugh every day and I'm mentally engaged with my subject and with the students. Are there times where I have bad challenges like a defiant kid or a child/parent who is hurt if they don't get into my auditioned group? Yes, of course, but that comes with the territory. 

    

     Do any of you who are reading work with kids? Middle schoolers? If you work with middle schoolers, what made you choose that age group?

Great mail day!

    I was excited to see my mailbox full of personal mail today. (Plus one of my favorite magazines) No bill either. Score.

      I got 4 Postcrossing cards:

    This is a picture from the historic village of Shirakawa-go in Japan. It is located in a mounrainous region of Japan and was said to be cut off from the rest of the world for a long time. These villages subsisted on the cultivation of mulberry trees and the rearing of silkworms. Check out the thatched roofs. I think this is located in the Chubu region of Japan. The village is a UNESCO world heritage site- and I collect UNESCO cards. :) Thanks Yuki! As a huge bonus, her stamp was the Kanazawa-jo Castle, which is also a UNESCO site. Awesome. 

    Yuki also wrote about the Yoshida brothers, who are shamisen players. Here is a video of them from YouTube. I love all the music samples that Postcrossers send me. The Yoshida brothers are Yuki's favorite musicians. I have heard lots of shamisen music, but have never heard the shamisen play music that is not traditional music. Very cool.

Speaking of Japan:

    Welcome to the Tanabata Festival, which will take place in Miyagi August 6-8. It looks so colorful! Check this page out. Akko, if you're reading, have you ever been to this festival? Apparently it is tradition to write wished on paper strips and hang them from the bamboo. Maybe I'm nosy, but I would love to wander around and read the wishes. :) Thank you for the beautiful card Mimiko!

Off to the Philippines!

  In addition to the cool panda card (I've never seen a panda that was not black and white), Mao told me about El Gamma Penumbra. They performed on Asia's Got Talent and Mao says that they show a lot about Philippine culture. Watch this performance. It is beautiful!

     The last card I got was from the UK:

    One more musician for you to check out! Will Pound. He's on the harmonica. I loved this band and this set. Timmy has done some folk dancing in music this year and he loves it. He was excited to hear this too. 

   Another Goodreads win:

    Another nerd alert. This book is called "Thinking About Video Games" by David S. Heineman. This book includes interviews with people across the gaming industry about various topics. It includes information on game development, game studies, and the past, present and future of video games. I'm often the mom that doesn't let my kids play games that other kids their age are playing. I've read some fascinating/horrifying neuroscience about how the brain (especially in young men) processes certain types of games so I'm curious to read the perspectives of and studies done by more people. Gaming is not a topic I usually read about so I suspect I will learn a lot.

The Summer of Adventure

    Many summers I take time to take some classes for professional development, do some organization in my classroom, develop lessons and then I try to have some downtime. This year I have reorganized my priorities. Although I will still work (I actually enjoy working and having some time where other things are not due or not dealing with a few hundred children a day is really conducive to get things accomplished), I plan to take up some opportunities and to have an adventurous summer. This does not mean that we have to be busy everyday or to do giant events, but I will attempt to do something fun every day. We are planning a cross-country road trip in August. We are not going all the way to CA, but we've never taken a trip this large. I will keep you updated on the blog every week.
      So, the kids just got out of school today, which is late for MA. It was freezing this morning.

        Although today is the official start to our summer, I would say that we kicked summer off with a trip to Plymouth, MA. See the red, plaid blur up there by the lights? That's one of my old students. He is a fantastic musician and I was so excited to go hear him play. It was really nice for me to introduce him to my own children and to have them meet him. If I had to pick a favorite student of all time, Chris is up there. I have been so proud to watch him grow up into who he has become. On top of being talented, he's a super nice guy. So, check out his music!
   

(This picture is Chris'. He was using a much better camera :) )

  Sunday-
     We started off the day at church. Our pastor is preaching about The Prodigal God, which is a series based on the prodigal son. We also got to meet a new baby in the church this week. Super cute.
      After church the boys had a playdate with one of Tim's best friends. I wish I got a picture of Tim, David and Katie. David and I hung out and played a while then we left Tim for a few more hours. The family also took Timmy out to dinner with them, which was really nice.

Monday-
      Last day of school. After school we chatted with a few families to hear which teacher everybody has next year. (Our district puts next year's teacher on their report card. I love this since it gives the kids a chance to meet up with kids who will be in their class next year.) Both boys have some good friends in their class and they both got the teachers we had hoped for. Honestly, the boys will do well with any teacher if they work hard, but they were excited to be assigned to people they had thought about before.
     After school,we came home for a yummy lunch and some housework. A few hours later,  the boys went to a birthday party. The mom decided to try a homemade laser tag game with squirt guns filled with Kool-Aid. Everyone had a blast. She had given the boys a bunch of boxes and duct tape for them to build barricades, then the fun began. They also brought out a slip'n'slide. It was nice to see both boys really comfortable with their friends. David decided not to really join the water fight, but I think he knows himself well enough to know that he would've gotten overwhelmed. He wanted to get wet but he didn't want to be in the middle of all of the older kids.
      After the party, we came home for dinner. (Chicken stuffed with spinach and colby-jack cheese) Matt's ice cream shop has a promotion where the kids can get a free junior sundae by showing their good report cards. Of course the boys really were excited for that so we visited dad at work and the boys got sundaes. Now they're watching a movie before bed. Tomorrow will be another fun, exciting day!


While I'm updating, here was today's incoming mail:

 Postcrossing card from the Czech Republic

 Mail fatality. Beautiful envelope and stamp from China.

 I thought this was ironic given the condition of the envelope.

Inside the envelope I found these cute little lollipops. I'm waiting to hear the allergy info before I let the kids try them. Anyone from China reading?

Districts Festival from the perspective of the festival coordinator

    If you bring your child to a music festival, it should look like things are working seamlessly. There are many individuals doing set tasks and all are coordinated by the festival coordinator. The festival coordinator answers to the executive board of the District. The following people (and everyone under them) answer to the festival coordinator:
-Asst festival coordinator
-Manager and assistant manager of each performing group (10 people in our case) and conductors by proxy
-Staff at the host site for auditions, rehearsals and concert (usually includes security, janitorial, technology and the nurse)

Here are most of the behind the scenes things that have to happen for a music festival to be run successfully:
Preparation for auditions-
-Months of attending e-board meetings
-Communicating with each manager about choosing audition pieces, conductors, accompanists (if needed) and repertoire. Then, each of those decisions needs to be checked by the e-board.
-Reserving a host site
-Reserving a police detail for auditions
-Communicating with the host site about the logistics of the day. (Usually we are working with a school who has hosted for years, The staff has this working like a well oiled machine. By the time you are festival coordinator you have worked at the festival for at least 4 years so you have some experience and lots of people who are willing to help if you have questions, provided you're not a jerk.)
-Plan for snow day here in the northeast- just in case
-Schedule 3 minute auditions for about 1200 children based on instrumentation and grouping all students from 1 school together
-Find staff to work the audition day at check-in
- Communicate with collegiate ambassadors who will be helping bring students around
- Answer all questions about auditions from the teachers of the entire district.  Some days I received over 100 e-mails a day from the when the audition date was posted until the actual festival (Sept- March) You have to actually answer the e-mails too.

Audition Day:
-Prepare and bring all materials
- Work the audition day (Saturday, usually about 7 am- 7 pm actively)
- Make sure everything is running smoothly. If you have done a good job in preparation, audition day should go smoothly and you usually feel a bit of pride at your hard work.
-You are the "final call" on all questions? What if a teacher registered their student incorrectly? Can they switch the voice part they are auditioning for? What if I forgot a payment? Wrong audition piece? Missed audition time? What are the cutoff scores for each ensemble? Etc.
-Troubleshoot- One year I was coordinator, a pipe froze and burst and steaming hot water was shooting out all over the cafeteria. Luckily it didn't affect any children but it was very close to the instruments and ruined some music. We had to keep the auditions going, clean/fix the cafeteria and move all incoming band kids planning to audition to an area we had not prepared to use. Luckily for me, the custodial staff was fantastic and the site coordinator stepped up to help so I just had to get the rest of the stuff done.
-Collect all materials from all managers

Preparation for rehearsals/concert:
-Months of attending e-board meetings
-Communicating with each manager about  logistics of the rehearsals, needs of their ensemble/ conductor, program information, group rosters, needs at rehearsals
-Reserving a police detail for auditions
-Communicating with the host site about the logistics of the day.
-Plan for snow day here in the northeast- just in case. Our rehearsals/concert schedule lasts 3 days so we need to consider what happens in case of a really bad storm. Usually we plan for 1 day and then just pray really hard. Ha ha. Seriously though, I lost so much sleep the week of the festival because I worried about this a lot.
- Answer all questions about auditions from the teachers of the entire district.
- Hire a printer for the program and the tickets
- Choose a caterer for staff meals and for the hospitality room. Choose the food.
- Keep track of all receipts and paperwork for everyone
- Collect contracts from everybody working at the festival
-Define expectations of how you'd like everything to go
- Prepare schedule that includes rehearsal locations within the host site, schedule for rehearsals and meals, dress rehearsal on the stage and logistics of concert day
- Hire recording company to record concert and make CD/DVD

Rehearsal days-
-Work at check in to collect all paperwork from individual schools, etc.
- Communicate with all festival staff about locations of rehearsals, schedule, etc.
-Clearly define what you need help doing. Delegate much of this work to the collegiates, who are all future music educators. If you have decency and professionalism, you should also be grateful for this help and show this in your actions and attitude.
-Attend 1 e-board meeting
-Run a general membership meeting
- Make sure nothing is wrong. If something is wrong, fix it- or find someone who can help you fix it.
- Again, you are the "go to" person to answer any questions, address any problems. Sometimes you have to make a hard call (Ex.  if a  kid missed rehearsal and you have to tell them that they aren't eligible to participate anymore. Most time the student knows the rules but the family does not understand why we have the rules.)
-Keep a running list of things that are going well or need to be fixed
- If you can, check out the ensembles in rehearsals

Concert day-
- Make sure everything is prepared and ready to go. Again, if your preparations along the way were well thought out, this should be a day where you can be happy about your hard work
- Give a speech at each concert
- Be the "go to" person.
- Make sure all salaried staff people get paid
- Attend both concerts

     Once this is over, we usually go out to dinner and then start preparing for next year's concert.  Although it was A LOT of work and effort, I really enjoyed this position. I was told that I did this position well and I really didn't have many complaints, which I was grateful for. This was difficult to manage my tasks a few times since my boys were pretty young at the time, but I think I would consider doing the position again if the timing was right. I am still seeing high school musicians from other towns who know me (3 years later) because I held this position. They still express how thankful they are for the opportunities that were provided to them.
     Next post: Districts Festival from the perspective of a school music teacher.

"So, what do you actually do?" District festival from the assistant manager's perspective

     Quite a while back, I asked what people were interested in reading about on my blog. A few people mentioned that they would like to hear more about what I do as a profession. Many times, when I first meet someone and they ask me what I do, I tell them that I'm a music teacher and get "Oh! That must be fun!" (AKA- Either- "Cool, that sounds like it would be a good time!" but more often then not "I know what you do!:"
Yeah..... no. What about this?

Okay, this one is a little closer. Though anyone who truly is a friend of mine knows 1) I don't often have time/desire to just chill out on a beach and 2) let's face it... my pale skin is burned just looking at that picture.
    Here's how the rest of the conversation goes. "Oh! That's fun. So, what grade do you teach?" Me: "Middle school. I have students in 5th-8th grade." This is followed by a myriad of responses. Top 3:
1) "God bless you. Ugh. Middle school... " *shudders*
2) "How do you deal with kids that age?"
3) Silently slinks away or excuses themselves since there obviously has to be something wrong with me?
(Disclaimer: I actually truly love what I do. I also like working with middle school students. Also, I chose to work with this age group so you don't have to let me know that I am "good enough to teach at a high school." I am intelligent and I'm certified to teach high school too if I wanted to. It does take "a special person" to teach middle school and the job is not  for everyone. However, I think it's where God wanted me.)
       This past week I served as our Junior Districts Festival Boys' Chorus Assistant Manager. Have you ever wondered what really goes into putting on one of those festivals? I thought it would be fun (and educational) to tell you what goes on behind the scenes. I'm going to give you 4 perspectives. I might even be brave enough to ask my students to give me authentic student thoughts... gasp. Scared yet?
    Where to start? I guess I'll tell you about my official role this year.

A Districts Festival: Assistant Manager's Perspective

     If you are a music educator and you would like to help out at your state's district festivals, the assistant manager is the position that you would most likely start in. This job is not too overwhelming (even if you are a brand new teacher). It can be a great way for you to get to know students and teachers in your area, as well as serving your district. It is also positive p.r. for the district you work in since that is usually publicized with your name. The best thing about this role if you're nervous about jumping in is that you are working directly under someone who did this job last year.  This is more of a helper role than an administrative role.  The only negative thing that might matter to you is that, depending on where you are teaching, it is pretty much an unpaid position, other than your expenses. 

     The most important parts of this job occur at auditions, the rehearsals and the concert. These are my thoughts about my personal experiences this year. I will write about the boys chorus part of this festival but you should know that there is a boys chorus, girls chorus, jazz band, orchestra and concert band. There are 5 assistant managers and managers on the festival committee. 

      At auditions, we had 6th-9th grade singers from about 65 different towns.  The manager and assistant manager usually get to the audition site much earlier than the students in order to set up the audition rooms, talk to the festival coordinator, confer with judges, prepare the waiting area for the students who are auditioning and, if you're lucky, eat breakfast.  The auditions started at 8:30 am this year and ran until about 5, with a 30 minute break for lunch. Auditions for each student were 3 minutes long. When students arrived in the auditorium, I would greet them and check them in by school code. (This is a numbered code. Their school name or personal name are never used in anything having the do with the judging process) Students were sent to their audition rooms and it was my job to make sure that the auditions kept moving- that students checking in had enough time to warm up, that everyone in the room was checked in, that the audition rooms stayed on schedule and that none of the judges were getting a line of students waiting.

      This year the audition process was fun. I love it every year because you get the following privileges:

1) You hear what students from other places sound like

2) You are helping to provide an awesome opportunity for 100s of students

3) EVERYBODY in that room "gets" what you do and the importance of music

4) Most of those same people appreciate you being there.

5) Almost ALL of those people, especially the students, are grateful that you are there and actually tell you that. 

     After all of the students have auditioned, it's time to pick the group. I'll be really honest here. This used to take HOURS. We had to collect about 1000 forms, double check the math on each form-twice!, sort the forms by voice part, organize them by score, figure out the percentage of students you were going to accept and then do the math (again) to decide which students were accepted and which were not.  (I would say that this is tough sometimes if you see the names. It's all mathematically cut and dry but sometimes it stinks to know that your student would've been the next person accepted or other things like that.) So, last year our district switched to electronic submission of scores. So this year the process was more like- open excel file, sort, look for gaps in the score, figure out the percentage of # of students accepted by part, sort again, print. Once the group is chosen, the list is given to the festival coordinator and they send it to the music company who will then distribute the music. (Before, we put together the folders and did a mailing to each school. I'm grateful for technology in this case.) Once your auditions are done, you have a few months "off," meaning that you don't need to really do anything in the asst. manager role. (Which is fantastic since this is where your "music teacher" role picks up again.)

     The next time you are "on" is at the rehearsals. We did 3 rehearsals and then a concert. The 1st and 2nd rehearsals were after school for 4 hours each. The last rehearsal was 3 hours, followed by a concert after.  My main job at the rehearsals was to assist with the administrative parts of the rehearsal- checking in the kids, greeting everyone, answering logistical questions, doing anything the conductor needs, helping the manager and dealing with any behavior issues (this was not really a huge deal since all of these kids supposedly wanted to be there and had earned their spots. With middle school guys, if you lay down the expectations and they respect you, the problems often come when they're super tired or too hungry. lol). 

     Our first rehearsal was pretty good. The pacing was a little slow and the boys came a little less prepared than I was hoping. I mostly watched the conductor and his interaction with the boys. It's difficult to step in with kids who have never sung together or seen you conduct and then make them a cohesive group when you only have 3 days. The boys were fading a bit by dinner. After they ate, things went better. On a positive note, the guys in the group were very respectful, grateful and friendly. There were many different personalities and I think they all felt comfortable just being themselves, which was nice to see. Many of them introduced themselves to students from other towns and to me too, which I wasn't expecting. I was surprised by how many of them came to thank me at every rehearsal, to hold a door, offer help, etc. (Chivalry does still exist!)

     The second rehearsal was probably my favorite. I had been asked to run a sectional, which is a rehearsal with a smaller group rather than all of the voice parts together. When I had been asked, I asked which voice part they wanted me to work with. "Pros" and "cons" of each section (at least as a stereotype) in this group:

Soprano: Pros- usually pretty enthusiastic. Don't challenge things you say. Sound like little angels

Cons- They are usually the youngest so they can get really silly or really tired. Less experience

Alto- Pros- One of the more competitive parts in terms of getting in so they are usually very musical. Their music is usually in a comfortable range for them. Ask good questions.

Cons- Again, can be on the younger side of the group so they can get tired easily. Sometimes lack maturity. Some of their voices have started to change after auditions so they might be dealing with that.

Tenor- Pros- The most competitive. hard-working. Music is usually in a pretty good range for most of them. Want to be good leaders. Respond well to encouragement

 Cons- Sometimes the tenors want to be really cool... in a bad way. Will usually have at least 1 who will make side comments or challenge you about what you're teaching. Sometimes have voice change issues or strain vocally depending on their experience.

Basses- Pros- Usually are the older guys so they are usually have more experience musically. They also like being leaders. They also like thinking that they're the "men" of the group.

Cons- Sometimes they like leading boys to misbehave if they're not engaged. Are less concerned about pleasing someone than they are about having a good time. Sometimes can be rude. Potentially physically giant. 

     Can you guess which one I asked to work with? Tenors. (Another disclaimer- the Soprano, alto and bass sections were all really wonderful and other than getting tired, none of the negative things I said above were there.)  I asked the conductor what he wanted me to rehearse. Unfortunately, I wasn't told until 20 minutes before my prep time was over at school on the day of the rehearsal (with no more free time during the day). I was to rehearse specific notes, entrances and Latin pronunciation on 1 piece. Easy peasy. 2nd piece- 3 themes which were independent lines with lots of syncopation. No problem. I play percussion too so I love rhythmic pieces. Piece 3- Specific notes. Ok. 4 verses of French pronunciation. Huh? Au Sérieux? Tu plaisantes? Confession- I don't speak French. I began to panic and frantically sent my EEK! Help! e-mail to my friend the French teacher. 

     I rehearsed the French with the French teacher and practiced every second that I had free in the day. My poor 8th grade tenor laughed audibly when I told him that I would be teaching the French. (It's okay, he was just teasing.)  I was sick to my stomach.

     The sectional came after the warm-ups at the second rehearsal. As I walked to the classroom, a few gentleman took my music/folder, the keyboard, the keyboard stand and the music stand.. which left me holding the electrical cord for the keyboard- not bad for a group of guys I've just met. I rehearsed the first song. They had a few note problems but responded well to my teaching style. They moved fast and they treated me very respectfully. I had a few great questions and they were enthusiastic. I almost tried to avoid the French piece by putting it last but I knew that I wasn't going to miraculously learn how to speak French while I was teaching another song so I might as well be brave.

     Some teachers feel like they always have to look like they're perfect. I have seen teachers make up blatant lies because they don't know an answer to a question. I have seen teachers deflect questions in fear that they will look stupid. I'm not one of those teachers. I think you can learn from anyone- even awkward middle school boys. I figured I would take the honest route. I said something like "Ok boys, can I be really honest with you?" (Greeted by puzzled middle school boy faces) "I appreciate your hard work and I'm really excited to be working with you. However, I got really intimidated when I found out what I'm supposed to be doing in this sectional. One of my tasks is to teach you 4 verses of French. So, here's the confession. I don't speak French. I'm a singer, so I do know how to get around the language a bit, but I'm not confident about it. So, I guess I'm just trying to ask you to be patient with me and to tell you that I'm doing the best I can while being extremely out of my comfort zone. With that being said, if you're taking French in school and you hear that I'm making a blatant mistake, please feel free to politely correct me." (Greeted by smiles from all the boys who obviously take Spanish and feel my pain.) Then a really relaxed looking tenor in the back row raised his hand. In my head I anticipated "If you don't speak French, why are you teaching us?" but what came out was "Hi. I'm a native French speaker. We speak French at home. I'd be glad to help you out if you need anything." What!?! Score! 

     I put on my brave face and started playing the lines I was supposed to be teaching. I went through a few lines of text until I got a word that I doubted myself on. I looked back at the dapper young gentleman in the back and asked if I was correct. I was, except for the last syllable. Then I thought, I wonder if this kid would feel pressured if I put him on the spot. He looked comfortable. He knew French fluently. Why not? So, I asked after a few more lines of my teaching, if he would mind speaking the text syllable by syllable and having us repeat. "No, I don't mind at all." Hallelujah! I've never wanted to hug a middle school as much as I did in that moment.  To give you a sense of why this was so terrifying to me, listen to the song I was supposed to be teaching. This is not our group but I love their performance. I will warn you that this piece will be stuck in your head and the more you listen to it, the more you'll like it. Listen here. Patriquin- J'entends le Moulin Holy smokes!

      The rest of the rehearsal we spent on the last piece. The boys liked this piece and felt pretty good. I fixed a few things but they were really responsive of my advice. A few of them actually glanced over a few times in the full rehearsal when they did things correctly or to "own it" if they knew they messed up a section. I had such a great time in this rehearsal. Secretly I wish I could've stolen all of them and had them sing for me.. except for the 3 in the back who I anticipate would misbehave if they felt more familiar with me.  Their sound was glorious.

     After sectionals we returned to a full rehearsal where I spent most of my time as "page turner extraordinaire." Again, I just enjoyed listening and managing bathroom breaks. 

     Today was the last day. Thanks for still reading. You're a trooper!  This is where I could relax a little since most of the work is already done. I spent the beginning of the rehearsal page turning, answering questions, checking boys in, and being impressed by how many of them looked really comfortable walking around in a full suit. I ran a few errands for the manager. Oh, and as I was walking back to the rehearsal room, I found a pair of men's suit pants on the floor of the hallway. Figuring that they probably fell off the clothes hanger of one of my boys, I made the unfortunate mistake of announcing that I "found a pair of pants in the hallway and was wondering if anyone was missing them?" I walked right into the smirks and giggles I got. Again, they were gracious and didn't laugh as much as they could have. 

      After the full rehearsal, they had a run through on stage. Aren't they cute?

 Run through was alright, not the best they did but... okay. Then they had lunch- their favorite. After lunch, we had to have them wait in a few classrooms. During this time I awkwardly tied many ties. This comic shows what I was thinking in my head during this time:

 

    The rooms with the younger guys were either all playing games on their phones or acting spazzy. Most of my tenors hung out in the last room and quietly looked over their music or just relaxed. 

Concert time:

    They did great. I was really proud of them. Day over? Nope. After their portion of the concert, we led the boys back to listen to the girls' chorus (and pray that they continue to act like gentleman when they're in front of 200 girls- they did.)  Unfortunately, I spent a lot of this time trying to know where all the boys were since some parents decided they wanted to walk out in the middle of the concert since their child was done.FYI- I know that this is necessary at times but, in general, this is considered really rude concert etiquette. I would say at least 30 families left before the girls performed. When the concert was over, I led the boys back to the classrooms where they sorted their music, got their stuff, said thank you and left to meet their family. After meeting with my own students and making sure they met their parents, I returned to the classrooms to clean up (only a few scraps here and there) and return the music. 

     Next year, I will step up as the manager of the boys chorus.  I really hope most of these students had a positive experience and decide to try out again.  The last time I was involved in the festival, I was the festival coordinator. In my next post, I will tell you what this festival looks like from the perspective of the festival coordinator.  To keep it simple, this will probably be in list format. 

Ear worms.

   So yesterday I mentioned that I will share some of the pieces I'm listening to lately. There are either pieces that I have been listening to and enjoying or pieces that mean something to me. I hope you enjoy them too.  (Disclaimer- I'm not writing this from my music educator point of view, it's just music I have had fun with. Some of it is not serious at all.) One of my friends calls songs that get stuck in your head "ear worms" so that's why I used that as my heading today.

Kristian Stanfill- My Heart is Yours
Paul Baloche= To The Cross 
Jabberwocky- Lyrics by Lewis Carroll/ Music David Brunner. (My Chorale is singing this.)
Eli Eli! by György Deák-Bartok
Adagio for Strings- Samuel Barber ( I think this is the saddest song ever written)
Love is an Open Door from Frozen. My boys and I sing this around the house. I got a chance to meet         Santino Fontana (Hans) before and this song just makes me think of that day.
Symphony No 1- The Lord of the Rings, I. Gandalf- Johann de Meij
Paul Baloche- King of Heaven (I love to sing this)
Moses Hogan- Elijah Rock
Pharrell Williams- Happy
Almost anything by John Williams (Harry Potter scores if you really want to look it up)
Same thing for Howard Shore (Check out Lord of the Rings)
Maroon 5- Payphone
Jason Robert Brown- Moving Too Fast from The Last Five Years (the video quality stinks on this one       but JRB is an AMAZING pianist. I eventually would love to play those runs without tripping over       my fingers. Also, check out the musical Parade. A bit dark but one of my favorites.)
Stephen Schwartz- "For Good" from Wicked
A Great Big World& Christina Aguilera- Say Something (another one my chorus is singing)


 Wow, what a weird mix. I'm sure if you asked me tomorrow, I would come up with a bunch of other songs. What's the latest song that has been going through your head? I'm going to admit that "All About that Bass" has been in my head all morning. I dislike the song's lyrics but it is so unbelievably catchy.

Music

     So, as anyone who normally reads my blog might know, I am a music teacher. I teach general music and chorus at the middle school level. My students are 10-14 years old. Music has always been important to me throughout my whole life.
     I have always loved to sing, dance and play music. Neither of my parents were musical but they encouraged me to get involved. (My mom did dance around the house with me many times, much to the annoyance of my dad, who is much more serious.)  I have many, many happy memories of music within my extended family. My Bampa (grandfather on my mom's side) loved Irish music and both he and my Nana would sing Irish traditional songs to me. They also took me to many "concerts on the green," which I think developed my love of performing in some of these outdoor concerts as an adult. On my dad's side, my grandmother sang and played the piano with me. I vividly remember sitting at her piano and trying to plunk out tunes. She later bought us our piano when I was in 3rd grade.  My great-uncle Don also used to sing with me.
     In 3rd grade, I began flute lessons. They were okay. I did well. I also joined chorus in school. I loved that. On Christmas that year, my family was given a piano. I started lessons immediately and was asked to choose between the flute and the piano since it was a financial strain on my family.  I chose the piano, knowing that the knowledge I gained from piano lessons might be more transferable. I am so glad that I chose the piano. Every year at Christmas, my cousin Tom and I would play piano together (and have a little friendly competition at who was better!). It was a tradition in my house to have a big open house on Christmas Eve. Everybody was invited- friends from school, old family friends, relatives, neighbors, etc. It also became tradition to carol together. This was very special to me because I don't know too many families who would actually get together and sing as a group. (It wasn't always pretty, but 98% of the people sang.)
     Throughout my middle school and high school years music became on of my best friends.   By this point I was still singing in chorus, as well as trying out for festival choruses and any select choruses that I could. I played piano in jazz band and still took lessons. I had also joined concert and marching band and was mostly playing mallets in the percussion section. (I ended up playing xylophone, glockenspiel, double bass, bass guitar, and all the rest of the percussion section by the end of high school.) At home, I was playing the piano a lot. When I had friends over and felt like goofing around, we sang around the piano. When I was angry, I played the piano. When I was celebrating something, I played. When I was sad or upset I also played.  There were many things I had to say- but most I didn't want to share with anyone. Music was my way of getting those things out. Music in many ways became my refuge and my safe place when things were going badly.
     Music also gave me the opportunity to meet tons of kids my age from different places. I was lucky enough to perform with the Sound of America Honor Choir one year. We traveled to Austria, Italy, Germany, Switzerland and France. The tour had kids from 48 different states. I worked my butt off to raise the money to go. It was one of the best experiences of my entire life. I also realized that I was lucky enough to travel to all of these "exotic" places while neither one of my parents had ever even been out of the country and my dad had never been on a plane.
     When it was time to choose a career, I considered music ed or pre-med. I could talk until I'm blue in the face about the importance of the arts and what good things come out of learning music but for me, I get excited that I get to help my students develop their souls.  In school there are not many places where kids can express themselves emotionally in a variety of ways. (At least in an appropriate way). They are asked to individually contribute while still collaborating with others. They are asked to sometimes put the group first, but demand personal excellence at the same time. When I listen to my students sing, I can usually tell how their days have gone. I am happy to be giving them academic knowledge about the subject of music while also encouraging them to develop their own musicianship and expression. I love ending my day with my choruses and seeing the joy in their eyes as they sing. (It also helps to end my day with a bunch of kids who have chosen to be there.. lol)
     Ironically, in my personal life. I like performing music more than I like listening to music. To me, a lot of music feels "canned" since I'm so used to being in the middle of it while it's being performed.  As an adult, I appreciate seeing the effect my performance has on an audience or to an individual. I do not like being showy or performing for personal attention, but occasionally I'll see someone who is deeply moved by a performance and that is really special to me.
     Tomorrow, I will share some of my current "favorite pieces."  What are your favorite pieces? I'd love to check them out. Do any of you have similar experiences with music in your own life?