Chamber Choir - 3/25/14

Today Dr. Evans had us get into mixed formation in a big circle around the room. This was really great for the group in multiple ways; for one, it gets us listening to each other and blending really well, and for another it got people to SHUT UP for the most part. I don't know if that was Dr. Evan's motive in mixing us, but it worked. There was much less talking today. He also said at the beginning of class, "Let's have no sound come out of our mouths that isn't beautiful, rich music. That means less chit chat." So I appreciated that he said something. We did some really great work. We worked on phrasing and dynamics in our Chilcott hymn, and then we added percussion to the medieval sounding requiem. We also spent a lot of time working on the most beautiful latin peice! Oh man I need to learn the titles of these pieces. It was a really productive rehearsal either way.

Chamber Choir - 3/24

Today we started by singing a Chilcott piece, the name of which escapes me right now. The women were warned that solo auditions for the beginning of the piece would be next week. The piece went very well until the end. The women had an ascending interval at the very end and were not maintaining the same space in the high pitches as they had in the low. Consequently they sounded bright and pinched on the higher note. Dr. Evans spent some time trying to get them to have a consistent, round tone through the phrase. He fixed the vowel and tried to model the sound he wanted, but they still weren't getting it. After several attempts to fix the problem, the rest of the class had gotten bored and were talking. Chamber choir already has a talking problem, so this opened the flood gates. The problem did not go away, although it did improve slightly. After that we divided into sectionals to work on Chilcott's Spanish piece. The woman remained behind. After fixing some articulation and rhythmic problems, Dr. Evans turned to the Sopranos again and focused on them for a long time. The altos began talking more and more until it became a really big problem and the section leader (me) snapped. Dr. Evans did not, has not, will not address the talking problem and it is driving some of us to the edge. I was very unhappy with today's rehearsal.

Opera Rehearsal - 3/18

This is a college level performing group, so not a lot of time is devoted to teaching notes or techniques. The students are expected to be independent musicians, so Dallas doesn't teach the music. But I have still picked up some important directing tips from watching him.
1. Don't waste people's time. Honestly. Plan ahead, and make a clear schedule of what you are planning to do when - especially in a situation like this where not all students are required to be there every day. Dallas is really good at this.
2. Dallas has a really good balance of humor and focus. We are able to joke around a little and have some fun, so the rehearsals stay light and enjoyable. But we also get a lot done and we don't get sidetracked from the task at hand.
3. Play the piano! Dallas has absolutely incredible skills as an accompanist. I will NEVER be as good as he is, but watching him play really helps me realize how essential it is to have competent piano skills when you're working with singers.

Chamber Singers Rehearsal - 3/19

Dr. Evans did something new and different today! Instead of giving us our starting pitches, he asked for us to give our best guess at what the pitch is. A few students in the class nailed it! It was really cool. I think he picked it up in England while observing a boys choir. It's a really good idea. I love it when teachers try new things! To me that's a sign that they still really care about what they do.
I've noticed that students in the choir raise their hands and ask questions about the music (where to breathe, what the vowel sound should be, clarification on pitches and rhythms, etc.) more often than Dr. Evan's addresses problems. I'm not sure why Dr. Evan's chooses to run things this way, but I think it's really important to have a class atmosphere where students are comfortable asking questions and making comments.