3/13/2017 0 Comments ACDA Day 3It is cold! 4 degrees outside when I left my hotel. I am a bit disappointed it wasn't 0. I mean, it was so close and I would have enjoyed that screenshot.
As cold as it is outside the sessions I attended today were hot! I spent the morning speaking and singing scat syllables and great jazz standards arranged for younger choirs. We read some great arrangements that I am looking forward to programming. We also learned some great techniques on teaching kids and adults to sing appropriate jazz styles. Next I attended a session on incorporating tech into choral rehearsals. While I was familiar with several of the tech resources, I was introduced to a few new ones that will be very beneficial to my classroom. The best thing is that we already own most of the equipment needed. Nearpod and plickers are two resources I can easily incorporate into my lessons. Concert, concerts, concerts! I have heard some of the most amazing music this week. Tonight’s Unity Concert featured the Cincinnati Children’s Choir under the direction of Robyn Lana. This may have been my favorite concert as I have a personal connection to this choir. During my graduate school days, I was the assistant conductor and studied under Robyn. This was the first time in close to 15 years that I have had the opportunity to hear them live. They are incredible and I am so happy to have had the opportunity to hear them sing. Reconnecting with friends, getting immersed into the choral community again is refreshing. There is a renewed excitement for all things choral music. #choirnerdsunite
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3/10/2017 0 Comments ACDA Day 2Yesterday was a long, but very fulfilling day. The day began with a reading session of music for children's choir. There are a few pieces that we may do in the next year or two. I ran into a friend of mine from college and she shared with me a group of pieces that will be good for my students. I am going to check those out at the exhibit today. Following the reading session was a forum on children's choirs and creating explicit inclusivity. Creating safe spaces and creating inclusivity is a theme weaving its way throughout the conference this year. Perhaps in 2017, it is more important than ever that we celebrate our differences and learn to bridge cultural divides with music.
I thoroughly enjoyed the first actual learning session of the day. The session was about recruiting and retaining middle school students. Although geared towards grades 6-8, there were many nuggets of wisdom that apply to my current students. One of my biggest takeaways from this session is to find out what the students are thinking. After our final concert the students are going to complete an anonymous survey that will give me insight to their individual choral experience at KMS. By gaining a better understanding of their individual experiences, I can make adjustments/enhancements to our program. Teaching musicianship through repertoire panel discussion left me with some new ideas about how to structure our rehearsals. Simple ideas from changing formation for different pieces to order of music can have a huge impact on rehearsal time and overall performance. The panel participants are co-authors of a book that I purchased for use at KMS. This session's topic flowed into the next session I attended about how a composer thinks during a rehearsal. It is important to me as an educator that my chorus students are as musically trained as instrumentalists. Over the years, I have found that all too often singers have trouble reading rhythms. From these session I gleaned some new strategies that I will implement and see how my students are impacted. Today I also had the opportunity to hear several amazing choirs. Just amazing. The evening ended with Carmina Burana. Wow! What a way to end an evening. 3/8/2017 0 Comments ACDA Day 1What a great start to ACDA! I am surrounded by amazing musicians creating beautiful music and teaching others to hone their craft.
Today’s sessions included a music reading session for middle school voices, a session on meaningful connections between warms ups and repertoire and a session on recruiting and creating safe spaces for boys. I also heard the Mongolian Youth Choir as well as several other choirs of various levels from around the states. In the music reading session today I found a few pieces that will work well for the KMS choruses next year. One pieces includes some African style drumming and is sung in Swahili, it is a lot of fun. I have already created additional warm ups for 5th grade chorus that will better connect to the current repertoire. By deconstructing the pieces students will learn articulations and phrasing for music before singing new portions of the song. The goal with each new warm up is to teach a small nugget in a quick manner that can be transferred to a piece of music. I know this will change how efficient and effective our rehearsals are. Recruiting boys can be a challenge at any age but especially at the middle school age. The key to success for these students is creating safe spaces that are comfortable for our students. Musical self image not musical ability has more impact on whether boys will want to sing. If boys haven't learned to match pitch and don't think they can match pitch as children, they are far less likely to sing in their later years. It is of utmost importance to get the students who do not match pitch to learn how. Additional thoughts on keeping boys singing involve choosing the right repertoire - by knowing your students; building strong relationships with your students; create safe environments that are flexible and accommodate the adolescent changing voice. A big piece of this pie involves gender identity which applies to all students not just boys. 3/6/2017 2 Comments ACDA Here I ComeIt is almost here, ACDA National Conference 2017. I am looking forward to learning new repertoire and hearing choirs from all over the world perform. I am also excited to discover new techniques for the teaching the awesome chorus students at KMS. Stay tuned for more posts about my learning and experiences at the ACDA National Convention.
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Ms. FoleyMy thoughts, my ideas and my words on how we can build a strong choral program at KMS. ArchivesCategories |