The end

Woah.  And just like that folks, it is all over.  Well, for all intents and purposes, that is.  Tonight was our Spring concert at my student teaching placement and it was an experience unlike any other.  I went into the evening a bit nervous because this was the first time I was going to conduct a high school mixed choir in a formal concert for hundreds of people.  But I realized during our final rehearsal beforehand that I had nothing to be nervous about.  They knew the music, they knew stories to tell, we knew what to do together, so all that was left was the making music and enjoying it part.  These students executed one of the most inspiring concerts I have ever attended, and I am blessed to have been a part of it.  My thoughts right now are flying in hundreds of different directions as I think about the last five months and the impact it has had on me as a teacher and human being.  More on this to come.

For now, I will say that it has been a remarkable experience, one I would not have traded for anything.  I anticipate posting videos from the concert on this page soon, so be looking out for those.  Let me finish by saying thanks to all of those people who have encouraged me throughout this semester and helped me carry on.  This concert would not have been as successful, at least from my point of view, were it not for all of you supporters.  So thanks.  Look out for a more in depth reflection and some amazing pics and vids coming soon!  :)

Chanticleer...!!

This evening, the members of Patriot Singers (the top choral ensemble at Freedom) participated in a concert and Masterclass with the world-renowned choral ensemble Chanticleer.  No. Big. Deal.  For those who know about this ensemble, they are one of the most accomplished and widely recognized professional choral ensembles in the world.  They are made up of 12 men who sing all types of music from different time periods, styles and genres.  I have been a fan for years, and my kids have been obsessed with them ever since they heard their piece Cell's Planets a few months ago!

In this concert, Chanticleer performed about an hour of their current music, which was beyond words.  The different colors and sounds they were able to create with the same voices was outstanding and an illustration of what true choral artistry is.  My students could not stop talking about the entire bus ride home and I am sure they will continue to talk about it for weeks.  The impact these guys had on their singing and musicianship will be felt for quite some time.  To share with you a little bit of this, I have some videos and pics!!  Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NkNCQ2VCUZY  This is a recording of Chanticleer singing their hit Cell's Planets which is what my students got hooked on!  It is amazing! 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTEPSGOiOEU   This is the song we sang in the Masterclass before we received insight from the members of Chanticleer.  The piece is Irish Blessing.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oz5mBUYL6ac  This is the same piece, Irish Blessing, after receiving insight.  The biggest thing they commented on was diction, and I think you will notice a difference in the sound.

Patriot Singers in the Masterclass

Chanticleer in concert

Again

Again

This has nothing to do with Chanticleer or the Masterclass but is a picture of what happens when you put a bunch of busy high school kids through tech week in a musical!!  Good use of the time before first period!

Legally Blonde!

This past week, the music and drama departments at FHS put on the Central Florida premiere of Legally Blonde the Musical!  It was an absolutely outstanding production in all ways!  I was so excited and proud to see the students I work with everyday displaying their many talents on the stage and in the pit.  Having done no work on the show to prepare it and having never heard or seen it before, I had no expectation good or bad going in, and I am excited to say that it was by far the best high school musical production I have either seen or been a part of!  I could not stop beaming throughout the show as I watched my students in a different environment than the classroom I see them in everyday.  Part of me felt bad during the show because I could not contain my laughter at most of their lines and characters as I know them so well outside of the show.  Luckily several students mentioned that they heard my rather unique laugh and were encouraged by it throughout the show.  You could tell that the students were extremely proud of the work they put in to the production, and while last week was rather draining for them, the product was well worth it!

Now for an update on South Africa: if you read in my last post, I am teaching a South African song to the All-School chorus by rote.  By Friday, they were singing the first half of the piece in four-part harmony, something this group has never done before!  It brought me great joy to see them put so much effort into learning the piece and pride to see them doing it well and with passion!  They are clearly starting to enjoy even more the work we do and are connecting with it personally.  As part of this process, I am also working on body percussion so that when I teach them the dance, they will feel comfortable working with their bodies.  This has proven to be one of the best parts because they feel like they are on a step team or some sort of hip hop group.  They love mimicking my beats and are thrilled when I ask them to create their own.  The best part?  I keep them thinking by asking them to notate their patterns musically once we are done learning them, which they are perfectly happy to do since I let them "break it down" for part of class!

There are only two official weeks left in this student teaching before graduation, but luckily the journey does not end there as I will be finishing out the academic year at FHS!  I am extremely excited about the things to come for this program, starting tomorrow!!  Keep an eye out for a pretty amazing blog post in the next few days with info on a yet another life-changing experience for the kids!

South Africa and beyond!

This week, I began a new journey with the All School Chorus class!  Now that we are back from break, it is time to find something new to do.  The students have finished their project on a composer/artist, the music we have been singing is getting a bit pedantic, so it is time for a change!  For starters, I asked the students to submit titles of pieces they would want to sing that I will be considering to pick a new song.  Then I asked them what they wanted to do to make the class more enjoyable for them, not to say that it was heretofore unenjoyable.  The immediate response was they wanted to perform!  This ensemble, per the curriculum, is not a performing ensemble, but knowing that, they feel unmotivated.  Thus I decided to see if we could work out a performing opportunity for them.  It is still in the works, but they will most likely be on the schedule to perform in the Spring Concert which got them excited to work harder!

Then I tried to think of something that would be a change of pace and offer some exciting new musical experience.  The result?  A South African song!  In the past, I have worked with a couple of visiting artists at Westminster on South African music and performance and have come to really enjoy studying and performing it, and the students I have introduced to it have also enjoyed the different type of music!

I started by just playing an example of a South African song for them.  Immediately their interest was piqued.  The next day, we did a Know-Want to Know-Learned type of lesson to discover what the students already know about South Africa -- the culture, music, life, geography, etc. -- what they want to know, and by the end of the unit we will discuss what we learned.  Then I played more examples of South African music for them.  Their assignment for the weekend is to find out three things: 1) what kind of instruments, if any, are used in South African music, 2) what kind of movement or dance, if any, is used, and 3) how the music of South Africa similar or different compared to the music we listen to today?  Starting on Monday, we are going to sharing this information and learning a South African song I have learned and taught before, Ke Nale Monna.  I am extremely excited about this experience because the song has great meaning, is fun and offers the chance for them to encounter a different type of music that also incorporates dance!!  Yay for being interdisciplinary! :)  It offers another level of intrigue because I have to teach the song by rote, something I have done successfully in the past, but with college students.  I am excited to see how it goes with this group!  I will of course post updates along the way of how this unit/journey plays out!

For now, here is a Youtube clip of the song we are going to learn.  Though this quartet does not have the dance, the singing is the best quality available.  Hope you enjoy!  Feel free to skip to 29 seconds, where the song actually starts! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCkP14NVWCo&feature=related

Spring Break Transformations

Two weeks ago, Freedom High School broke for Spring Break!  I decided to spend most of the break back in New Jersey at school.  It was 100% exactly what I needed at this point in my student teaching experience: I needed a rekindling of that musical flame, a new bit of inspiration.  Visiting school, sitting in on rehearsals, and seeing friends reminded me why I do what I do and where I hope to end up one day in music.  The visit really inspired me to go back to Orlando and continue work as a strong student teacher.

Then upon returning to Orlando, we had an amazing, transformational experience set up for the students who had not gone off on a fancy trip or cruise.  On Friday, we met up with members from the choir departments at Timbercreek High School and Olympia High School to complete a workshop and concert with the Florida State University Chamber Choir under the direction of Dr. Andre Thomas.  The workshop took place at the First United Methodist Church in downtown Orlando which is a space near to my heart.  In my first trip to Orlando -- on tour with the Westminster Choir a year ago -- we performed at this church during our stay here.

Dr. Thomas did wonderful work with each ensemble for an hour and then the students shared a pizza dinner together, interacting with peers from other schools and members of the chamber choir.  This was probably the best part as the students all got to get to know each other via the common thread of choral music.  The FSU students offered insight into what pursuing a career in music could be like while the high school students reminded the FSU students that choral music education is a huge asset to education.    To put a cap on the evening, the choirs all performed individually and then combined to sing a piece written by Dr. Thomas, "America Singing."  Afterward, the students felt more inspired than they had been in quite some time, and were eager to get back to school the following Monday to continue working on their music.

I had the pleasure of chatting with Dr. Thomas during the dinner break and after the concert and he gave me quite a bit of encouragement.  Making connections like this are one of the reasons I love what I do and being here: we are currently working on scheduling a time for me to come up to FSU to observe the choirs and conducting program and work more closely with Dr. Thomas.  I look forward to the opportunity as he is one of the greatest conductors and music educators of our time.

For those of you who have been reading these blogs regularly and thinking to yourself "why doesn't he have more pictures," never fear, I have decided to include some from this amazing experience!  Enjoy!

Warm Ups!

Some FHS students working out logistics

39 of the 154 person combined choir at FHS!

Group rehearsal with Dr. Andre Thomas

Final group performance of "America Singing," Dr. Andre Thomas

Birthday week

This past week was my Birthday week in Orlando.  My students were extremely kind and giving on my Birthday providing me with more than enough cupcakes, cakes, cookies, candy bars, balloons and well-wishes.  It was certainly a great way to head into Spring break which officially started yesterday, Friday, and will continue until April 2nd.

Besides it being my Birthday week, this week was full of new ideas and new opportunities.  On Thursday, my co-op announced that we will be doing a workshop and concert next Friday with the Florida State University Chamber Choir under the direction of Dr. Andre Thomas.  Dr. Thomas is a phenomenal conductor, music educator, composer and philosopher of choral music who not only teaches full time at FSU but also takes part in clinics and honor choirs all across the world on a regular basis.  He is one of the most sought after clinicians in the country.  It just so happens that Dr. Thomas heard about the choral program at Freedom high school and decided he wanted to do a collaborative activity with our students, so thus we have a workshop.  Next Friday, all of our students will combine with the FSU chamber choir at the Cathedral in downtown Orlando to share our choral music, combine on a couple of songs, give a final concert and complete a professional recording of our works.  Not only is this a huge experience and opportunity for the students, it is a huge excitement for me.  I have heard so much about Dr. Thomas during my stay in Orlando and am beyond excited to see him work and hear his ensemble.  It is the unexpected opportunities like these that make coming to Florida even more worth it and enjoyable than I ever expected it to be.

In my piano class, my students have finally discovered that the electronic keyboards they use everyday have greater functions than just a standard keyboard.  They have figured out how to make different noises, sounds, instruments and beats using the keyboard settings and have decided we should do some sort of project employing these features.  My response?  Why not?!  What better way to encourage individual creative practices while at the same time explore features of the keyboard?  When they return from break, we will begin a project where they will have to use the settings on the keyboard and the application Garageband that is available on their Mac computers (the keyboards are all hooked up to the Macs) to create tracks that we will then record and compile in a class mix tape.  While there will be some restrictions like duration and timeline, most of this assignment will be left up to the imagination of the students.  I am very eager to see what they come up with musically with their tracks as well as technologically with the software and keyboard.  Hopefully I will have some awesome tracks to share with you all by the end of the project!

Superior

Last Friday, the choirs of Freedom High School participated in the district-level music performance assessment that is required of every choral program in our district and, if I am not mistaken, throughout the state.  It is a way of measuring how well your program is doing at this point in the year.  The process consists of each ensemble singing a 15 minute set of music for three adjudicators and then completing a sight singing exercise portion that consists of both rhythmic and harmonic sight singing.  Freedom took three ensembles to this assessment and I am proud to say that all three ensembles received Superior markings from all three adjudicators on their performances as well as Superior markings for their sight singing completion!  Such markings are nearly unheard of in the state of Florida and certainly uncommon in our county.  For a school to be so daring as to bring three ensembles and then complete the assessment with such high marks is astounding, or at least, so said the adjudicators.

While receiving high markings at an important event such as this is great for the program and for the school, there was something about this evening of music making that was more significant to me.  These students, all 154 of them, gave of themselves and gave their hearts to the performance of these pieces.  While the audience consisted of mostly other choral students from the district and their parents, the students at Freedom felt that this music had a story worth conveying to this audience, and they did so in an inspirational manner.

At the end of the Patriot Singer's set, the top ensemble, the audience burst to their feet in a roar of applause because the ensemble had done more than sing a pretty song, they had impacted lives.  Mr. Won, my co-operating teacher, has a phrase he likes to say around the chorus room that I think fits perfectly into this story.  He says, "We do not perform to impress, we sing to inspire."  Such is the culture of the Freedom High School chorus program.  These students do not need the accolades and the praise to know that what they are doing is pretty or good, they get that from their teachers.  But what satisfies them more is knowing that their musical product can and does change lives.

Last Friday night was a life changing experience not just for the kids singing in the ensemble or the audience members in attendance, but for me, a choir nerd from Missouri who never ceases to be amazed by the raw talent and selflessness his students convey each and every day.

Surprise!

Today I received a daunting, albeit exciting, surprise.  At the end of the day, my co-operating teacher, Mr. Wondemagegnehu (Mr. Won, for short), came up to me and said "alright, you gotta go be me."  I thought he meant he needed me to go make some phone calls for go pick something up in preparation for our competition tomorrow.  I was wrong!  He continued to inform me that he had scheduled to do a clinic with a local middle school choir after school today without realizing that he had to be our school's musical rehearsal.  Rather than rescheduling the clinic, he sent me in his place.

I was extremely nervous going into it, though I am not sure why.  I have taught middle school choir before and knew, for the most part, what I was going to need to do.  But something about not knowing the repertoire, not knowing the students or the teacher, and knowing that I was supposed to replace Mr. Won had me very intimidated.

I arrived at the school which is clearly from the early 70s and has not been updated since.  When I reach the choir room, I am greeted by shouting children and I think to myself, "strap in; it's gonna be bumpy."  I quickly found out that this group was the last class of the day and that the ensemble I would work with was coming as soon as the bell rang.  When they arrived, the students were very attentive and polite, which made the situation much less uncomfortable for me.  After hearing them sing through their two pieces, I began to "clinic," something I didn't feel extremely worthy of doing, yet had to do.

It was a spectacular experience.  The ensemble was quite talented; very musical, expressive, sang with good tone, articulate vowels and consonants, etc.  As I worked with them, I felt my nerves drift away as I realized that this was just like working with my high school students, only with a different sound coming back at me.  I ended up having a blast and realized that not all middle school choirs have to sound or be treated like a middle school choir.  I was touched when they asked me to come back some time to share more musical ideas with them.  I can only hope that their teacher enjoyed it and appreciated as much as the kids did, and that they will continue to work on and apply some of the concepts I addressed.  What a fun way to end the week, eh?

Where is time going...?

I cannot believe how quickly time is going by.  So much has happened in the last few weeks.

This past week, I spent one day observing at another local high school that has a stellar program going.  It has been unreal seeing how strong the arts are in Florida.  I have come to find that the funding and advocacy for the arts is huge here, more so than in any other state, for the most part.

Wednesday through Saturday, I was at the Southern Division ACDA conference in Winston-Salem, NC.  It was an inspirational experience.  I had the fortune of hearing some of the best choirs the South has to offer, networked with conductors, composers, teachers and singers from all over the country, and was reminded why I want to be a choral conductor.  I enjoyed seeing my conductors from New Jersey who were headlining; Dr. Miller conducted the high school honor choir, which was stunning, Dr. Jordan gave a session on conducting, breath, and body mapping, and Lynnel Jenkins conducted the junior high honor choir, which was also outstanding.  Seeing them quenched the bit of homesickness I had been experiencing for Westminster.  The highlight of the concert, without question, was a concert by a professional choral ensemble called Seraphic Fire.  They are truly one of the most outstanding ensemble I have ever had the pleasure to hear.  Here is there website, for those interested: http://www.seraphicfire.org/  I would recommend listening to their music either on Spotify or YouTube; it will probably change your life.  Also, Andrea Ramsey, a composer and music educator, gave a great session on the personal impact of singing in choir on students in 7-12 grade.  She presented some wonderful research illustrating how important a vocal music experience is to the overall development of people as students and citizens.  It reminded me of John Dewey's theory of Teacher as Social Servant, which is the foundation of my Philosophy of Teaching, so I was pretty stoked to sit in on this session.

This week, we have state competition for the top three ensembles.  It is going to be crazy doing final preparations, but I think in the end the students will recognize how worth it it is.  I am looking forward to hearing the other ensembles from other schools because this district is full of a lot of talent and skill.  It is going to be a treat.  I will also be having my second observation this week which should go smoothly.

The Vocal Jazz ensemble I started three weeks ago has already memorized one piece and is halfway through a second, so I find myself looking for new repertoire.  Ideas?  I came across a pretty great arrangement of Empire State of Mind by Alicia Keys while at this conference, and while it is not altogether "jazzy", I think they will really enjoy it and sing it well, so that is next on the docket.

Anyway, I will try to update more regularly.  Hope this is providing a nice glimpse into life at Freedom High School!

Week 4

What a week it has been... and it's only Thursday.  This week, my co-op and I have been splitting class time so that I do warm ups, sight singing and one piece for rehearsal and he would rehearse two other pieces.  My personal goal for this week has been to focus on direct instruction in rehearsal so that we can accomplish more tasks in a more efficient manner and keep the rehearsal moving rather than leave it feeling like little was achieved.  It has proven to be extremely successful and has made the pacing of the rehearsal much more energetic.  

Two days ago in rehearsal, I saw one of my students with his phone out as if he were taking a picture of me while I was turning off the metronome, and when I asked him what he was doing he quickly put it away and looked concerned that I would take his phone from him.  I let it go since he is not a student who typically has his phone out or is distracted in rehearsal.  Then yesterday morning I get on the high school chorus Facebook page and found that a video had been posted of me... I press play and all of a sudden I was squashed by a huge boulder!!!  At first I was concerned, but then I realized that it was done out of love and that they would never have wished such a fate for me.  Just one example of how great my students are.  Care to watch?  Check it out on Facebook here: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=369453189748800

Today, I taught the entire day by myself.  It went extremely well.  My goal of using more direct instruction went extremely well, especially in the Varsity chorus and Patriot Singers.  The most exciting part of the day was the voice lessons I got to teach.  There are three sections of voice lesson classes and so I taught five different students throughout those classes.  I have loved working one-on-one with students on their solo voice work because it challenges and stretches a different skill-set that I have not had the chance to use while at Westminster.  The role has completely reversed from being a student who receives lessons on a weekly basis to now giving multiple lessons everyday.  I love hearing from the students that something we discover together works well and is showing improvements for their voice.  

It has been a great week and while I am excited for the weekend to see my students in their first concert, I am definitely bummed that it is the end of the week tomorrow.

Week 3...? Where has the time gone?

I cannot believe it is week 3 of student teaching already!  The time has literally flown by.  Let's play a bit of catch up.  While there is much to mention, I will try to condense it and focus on writing more often from here on out...!

Week 1: I moved into my house and spent most of it filing music into my computer.  I realized I have arguably too much choral music for a college student, but so it goes.  My house is extremely nice and my roommates are very cool guys.  Above are a couple of photos to illustrate this greatness.  The first is my first Orlando sunset that I saw as I drove into the city at the end of a 15 hour drive...  The second is shot of one of my neighbors...  No big deal.

Week 2: I started teaching this week.  I spent the first day mostly observing, getting a feel for how things work in this program, meeting all of the faculty and administrators, and starting to interact with the students.  Right away I recognized how fortunate I was to be working with such a great program.  The first period is All-School chorus which has already proven to be my most challenging course.  This is the group of students who are not 100% interested or invested in being in choir but need a fine art credit.  It has been exciting to come up with ways to get them excited about coming to choir first thing in the morning.  One example is that we will be starting Katy Perry's "Firework" tomorrow in rehearsal as it is something they requested.  We'll see how that goes.  Second period is Junior Varsity Chorus.  This ensemble is the next level up from all-school.  They are extremely motivated and strive to be better everyday, which I thought would take a lot of work to instill, but they bring that attitude themselves.  These kids clearly want to work hard so that they have a chance to be in Varsity chorus next year.  Which leads to third period, Varsity Chorus.  This is the first auditioned ensemble that is a phenomenal example of hard work, dedication, and musical prowess.  The first time I heard them sing, I was inspired.   Fourth period I teach a group piano class full of beginners.  They mostly work through repertoire using the Alfred book for piano, but recently I have started teaching them lessons on scales so they can sharpen up their technique.  Fifth period is my "planning" period, but typically I teach students voice lessons who want additional work vocally.  Sixth and Seventh period are more voice lesson classes in which I teach which ever students who are eager private voice in about 20 minute segments.  The last period, which is technically after the school day has ended, is Patriot Singers, the top ensemble of 40 singers that meets everyday.  This is the group that originally inspired me to come to Freedom High School.  This ensemble is breathtaking.  Getting to work with them is the highlight of my day every single day.  There you have a daily rundown.  Typically, I hang out after school to work with students who may want assistance, help with the spring musical "Legally Blonde," or to work on lesson plans and practice my voice music.

That has been my life for the last three weeks.  I won't drag this post on with tons of stories and details, but trust there are plenty to share.  My co-workers are awesome, my students are inspirational, my roommates are great guys, and this entire experience so far has been beyond anything I could have envisioned!  Here are some more pictures to give you a feel for the school and my new life! :)

The first is the front entrance of Freedom High School.  The second is the sunrise the other morning as I walked into school... I could get used to this.

And we're off...

Tomorrow I head off to Orlando.  I will be leaving at about 3:00 AM and driving for a good 17 hours...  All of this after having just returned to Princeton from the Westminster Choir tour through the South.  Tour was one of the most rewarding and beautiful experiences of my life, and I could not have asked for a better way to end my time with the Westminster Choir.  The final concert was by far one of the most musically enriching experiences I have had.  Along with that, saying goodbye to the choir was one of the hardest things I have done in my life.  I have grown to truly love every member of the choir and it will be rough not singing and interacting with these people on a regular basis.  

But with all of that said, I am moving on to what should be a completely different but equally rewarding experience.  I have just over 1,000 miles to travel tomorrow before getting my fingerprints taken on Tuesday and then getting settled the rest of the week before beginning my first day next Monday.  

I thought it would be nice to let you all experience a little bit of the program I will be working with.  Here is a link to the choir's YouTube channel where you can enjoy several recordings of the amazing music these students have made recently: http://www.youtube.com/user/FHSChorusOrlando.  This will give you a taste of the caliber of singing present at Freedom.  

Just this week I found out some of the pieces we will be working on this semester with the choirs and I could not be more excited to get started.  Among them are Jefferey Ames "For the Sake of Our Children" and the "Lacrimosa" from Mozart's Requiem, two pieces that have had the pleasure to sing at different points in my life.  I am looking forward to now getting a chance to conduct these great works.  

For now, I hope you all enjoy listening to selections from the choir.  I cannot wait to start this journey in a few hours and will certainly keep everyone posted on how the trip goes.  In just 24 hours I will be unloading at the K-Life house in the beautifully warm Orlando!