Hi all,
FYI - reminding you about the things we have coming up soon:
Friday, April 1 -
7:30 a.m. - Lambuth Singers meet at the Ballroom - blues and khakis - community breakfast
7:00 p.m. - Faculty Recital - all music majors required, everyone else strongly encouraged!
Saturday, April 2 -
10:30 a.m. - Concert Choir - meet in choir room for Zuker Inauguration (11am)
formal black attire
Sunday, April 3
3 p.m. - Steven Whitson's senior recital!!!!
Wednesday, March 30, 2005
Tuesday, March 22, 2005
Good job Singers!
Great job on your outside work on the Beatus Vir! That's exactly what I was looking for - now we can go on to make music with it! Danke schön!
RCB
RCB
Monday, March 21, 2005
Thanks to festival workers!
A HUGE thank you...
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!....
to all of you who helped out with the WTVMEA Senior High Choral Festival before spring break. I really appreciate the time and effort you put in! Everything ran EXACTLY on schedule...no schedule delays...and the high school directors commented that it was the best-run festival they've attended. And your hard work is paying huge dividends in terms of positive exposure in the West TN music community and continued recruiting of even more great singers like yourselves! Our numbers are looking GREAT next year, and the quality of auditionees has been outstanding.
Onward and upward!
RCB
Thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you!....
to all of you who helped out with the WTVMEA Senior High Choral Festival before spring break. I really appreciate the time and effort you put in! Everything ran EXACTLY on schedule...no schedule delays...and the high school directors commented that it was the best-run festival they've attended. And your hard work is paying huge dividends in terms of positive exposure in the West TN music community and continued recruiting of even more great singers like yourselves! Our numbers are looking GREAT next year, and the quality of auditionees has been outstanding.
Onward and upward!
RCB
Bernhardt needs some Geritol.....
Hey Singers,
Sorry about my "senior moment" with "I Get a Kick" today. I think it's a manifestation of my lack of office computer over the past 2 weeks - it's been my best defense against the slippery slope of senility! (You know, my beard USED to be RED.....) :)
Good to have y'all back!
RCB
Sorry about my "senior moment" with "I Get a Kick" today. I think it's a manifestation of my lack of office computer over the past 2 weeks - it's been my best defense against the slippery slope of senility! (You know, my beard USED to be RED.....) :)
Good to have y'all back!
RCB
Sunday, March 20, 2005
Schedule for this week
Hi everyone,
No classes are scheduled at Lambuth on Good Friday. Since we don't have many weeks left before our April concert, we do need to rehearse both groups on Thursday afternoon. However, since many of us have Maundy Thursday responsibilities that evening, I'd like to shorten each rehearsal a bit so we can get done with both choirs by 5:00.
RCB
No classes are scheduled at Lambuth on Good Friday. Since we don't have many weeks left before our April concert, we do need to rehearse both groups on Thursday afternoon. However, since many of us have Maundy Thursday responsibilities that evening, I'd like to shorten each rehearsal a bit so we can get done with both choirs by 5:00.
RCB
Saturday, March 19, 2005
Solo assignments for Monteverdi Beatus Vir
Hi Lambuth Singers,
Here are the solo assignments for the middle section of the Monteverdi Beatus Vir. They're actually duet and trio texture for the most part.
Catherine Childs
Sop 1, m. 62-66, 77-80, 86-98, 159-162
Meghan Arnold
Sop 2, m. 62-66, 77-80, 86-89
join Catherine on Sop 1 m. 90-98
Sop 2, 159-162
John Wells
Ten. 2, m. 74-198
Steven Whitson
Ten. 1 m. 74-77, 83-86, 91-98
Steven Albart
Bass m. 89-98, 109-122, 168-198
Kendal Campbell
Sop 1, m. 106-109, 126-130, 136-147, 176-198
Christie Terreson
Sop 2, m. 106-109, 126-130, 136-147, 176-198
Dustin Walters
Ten. 1, m. 114-198
Drew Jones
Bass m. 142-151
See me to schedule some individual rehearsal time. We'll also get together as a small group outside of regular rehearsal, so check your calendars and let me know what times you might have free over the next couple of weeks. See you back at school on Monday! Hope you had a good break!
Dr. B
Here are the solo assignments for the middle section of the Monteverdi Beatus Vir. They're actually duet and trio texture for the most part.
Catherine Childs
Sop 1, m. 62-66, 77-80, 86-98, 159-162
Meghan Arnold
Sop 2, m. 62-66, 77-80, 86-89
join Catherine on Sop 1 m. 90-98
Sop 2, 159-162
John Wells
Ten. 2, m. 74-198
Steven Whitson
Ten. 1 m. 74-77, 83-86, 91-98
Steven Albart
Bass m. 89-98, 109-122, 168-198
Kendal Campbell
Sop 1, m. 106-109, 126-130, 136-147, 176-198
Christie Terreson
Sop 2, m. 106-109, 126-130, 136-147, 176-198
Dustin Walters
Ten. 1, m. 114-198
Drew Jones
Bass m. 142-151
See me to schedule some individual rehearsal time. We'll also get together as a small group outside of regular rehearsal, so check your calendars and let me know what times you might have free over the next couple of weeks. See you back at school on Monday! Hope you had a good break!
Dr. B
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Assignment for Lambuth Singers - reminder
For the Tuesday after we get back from spring break - have the final section of Beatus Vir ready, pitches and rhythms PERFECTED. I want to be able to listen to you as a group, be satisfied that everyone is up to speed, and move on to shaping the music, rather than taking time in rehearsal to listen to individuals or sections. The main purpose of outside preparation is to make maximum effective use of rehearsal time, not just to see how much you can learn on your own.
If you haven't done so already, I'd still love to hear your reactions to the memorization pro/con issue and the Men's/Women's choir idea. Click one of the "comments" links and let me know whatcha think. I'll see you all at the high school choir festival this week. Have a great spring break!
RCB
If you haven't done so already, I'd still love to hear your reactions to the memorization pro/con issue and the Men's/Women's choir idea. Click one of the "comments" links and let me know whatcha think. I'll see you all at the high school choir festival this week. Have a great spring break!
RCB
New music books in library
I ordered several new books and CDs for the Lambuth library earlier this year, and several have been cataloged and placed on the shelves as of this week. One book deals with the subject matter we've been discussing on the blog:
Stage Presence from Head to Toe - Karen Hagberg
Call no. ML3795.H13 2003
Take a look at it and let me know what you think. Another good choral resource just cataloged this week is:
Choral Performance: A Guide to Historical Practice - Steven Plank
Call no. MT875.P53 2004
Cheers!
Dr. B
Stage Presence from Head to Toe - Karen Hagberg
Call no. ML3795.H13 2003
Take a look at it and let me know what you think. Another good choral resource just cataloged this week is:
Choral Performance: A Guide to Historical Practice - Steven Plank
Call no. MT875.P53 2004
Cheers!
Dr. B
Monday, March 07, 2005
Two ideas on which I'd like input
Hi gang,
Some really great comments on the blog lately! There’s much fuel for discussion over the next several months. This is exactly the reason why I started this blog, and why I invited Alma to sing with us–to get some dialogue going about achieving even higher standards of excellence and what all of us can do to improve our ensembles.
Two issues to talk about:
(1) Visual presentation, memorization
Many of you have commented on the visual aspect of Alma’s performance, particualrly the memorization of their tour program. It’s an issue I’ve revisited several times over the years. While we do work quite a bit on visual presentation with our fall tour, we should do more throughout the year, whether or not we memorize a program. Here are some of my thoughts about memorization, as well as its history in the Lambuth choral program.
As I said the other day, memorization has historically been seen by many as a “high school thing” (although with a few notable exceptions–St. Olaf immediately comes to mind). For example, I spent 10 years in three of the best university choral programs in the country (University of MO, UNC-Greensboro, Michigan State), and we never memorized anything. We haven’t memorized in any of the professional choirs with which I’ve been involved either. While NOT memorizing a program is foreign to many of you because of your high school backgrounds, memorizing has always been foreign to me because of my background.
When I first came to Lambuth, the choir traditionally memorized their tour program. However, the level and quality of literature being performed was low, and the sound of the choir was below an average high school choir. (I have old tapes of the choir before I came somewhere if you’d like to hear them.) I decided that, unless I drastically increased rehearsal time, we would need to use folders on tour that year if I wanted to have a choir that was even close to sounding collegiate. There was a HUGE amount of resistance to this, but once the singers figured out that they sounded a lot better, they got used to it.
There are really compelling pros and cons on either side of the memorization issue. The pros of memorization are:
Improved visual aesthetic impact to the audience. A barrier is removed between the singer and the audience, and it allows you to express the music with your whole body. The visual effect of a completely memorized program can be quite stunning! The appearance of the singers can look more uniform.
More thorough learning of the music. To be able to retain pitch, rhythm, text, and musical nuance, you really become immersed in the music.
One less thing to carry on tour! You don’t have to worry about leaving your folder behind. If even one singer doesn’t have a folder on stage, they end up looking like a leftover appendage stuck to the rest of the group.
The cons are:
Every small nuance of the music has to be memorized. Not only do you have to remember the basic elements of pitch, rhythm, and text, but you have to retain an incredible amount of musical detail over a program that lasts more than an hour.
One memory slip-up can damage a performance. It’s easier to do than you think–even with people who are the kings of memorization!
Inevitably, there’s always a trade-off. Dr. Nichols from Alma looked at our tour program and commented that he’d like to be able to do a few harder things like we had on our program, but memorization takes them 3 extra weeks. Memorization takes time–and that time has to come from somewhere.
Having said all this, I’d be interested in trying a memorized tour program as an experiment, starting with the Lambuth Singers spring tour. I’m game if you’re game! Realize, however, that in order to make this happen, we would have to commit to one or more of the following:
Reduce the difficulty of the program: Not gonna do it! If anything, we need to do a more difficult program.
Reduce the length of the program: mmm.....maybe.....
Extra rehearsals on a regular basis: I’m certainly willing to do this within reason (although staying married is a priority with me!).
Spend more time individually or in small bunches outside of rehearsal working on music: This is the key, and this is what all professional choirs do. When I sang with the Desert Chorale, it was stated in our contract that we had to come to the first rehearsal with our notes learned perfectly. We then had 24 hours of rehearsal for each rep to work on musical nuance.
(2) Structure of the choral program
Particularly since our choir and university have both shrunk some over the past few years, there isn’t a big difference between Lambuth Singers and Concert Choir. Although it’s always ended up working OK, balance between men and women in the larger group has always been an issue (and will continue to be in the future). The choral program will be significantly larger next year, but we’ll still have a few more women than men.
What I’ve been thinking about over the past couple of years is this: What would you think about splitting the Concert Choir into a Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir?
There would be many advantages:
1) Less worry about balance between men and women. You can have two groups with perfect balance within each ensemble even if you have 20 men and 80 women.
2) More variety of literature. This is important in programming, but it’s also a good thing for our music education majors to be exposed to men’s and women’s literature.
3) Greater identity and purpose for those not in Lambuth Singers. Building two new groups that aren’t simply “Lambuth Singers Plus” may really help morale for some of the singers, in my opinion.
4) Better recruiting opportunities. In particular, a permanent men’s chorus would really help in attracting more men to the program.
We could still combine the two groups for special choral/orchestral performances, doing the Alma Mater and Irish Blessing, and other special occasions.
Please let me know your thoughts on these two ideas by clicking on the “comments” link right below this post and sharing your ideas.
Cheers!
Dr. B
Some really great comments on the blog lately! There’s much fuel for discussion over the next several months. This is exactly the reason why I started this blog, and why I invited Alma to sing with us–to get some dialogue going about achieving even higher standards of excellence and what all of us can do to improve our ensembles.
Two issues to talk about:
(1) Visual presentation, memorization
Many of you have commented on the visual aspect of Alma’s performance, particualrly the memorization of their tour program. It’s an issue I’ve revisited several times over the years. While we do work quite a bit on visual presentation with our fall tour, we should do more throughout the year, whether or not we memorize a program. Here are some of my thoughts about memorization, as well as its history in the Lambuth choral program.
As I said the other day, memorization has historically been seen by many as a “high school thing” (although with a few notable exceptions–St. Olaf immediately comes to mind). For example, I spent 10 years in three of the best university choral programs in the country (University of MO, UNC-Greensboro, Michigan State), and we never memorized anything. We haven’t memorized in any of the professional choirs with which I’ve been involved either. While NOT memorizing a program is foreign to many of you because of your high school backgrounds, memorizing has always been foreign to me because of my background.
When I first came to Lambuth, the choir traditionally memorized their tour program. However, the level and quality of literature being performed was low, and the sound of the choir was below an average high school choir. (I have old tapes of the choir before I came somewhere if you’d like to hear them.) I decided that, unless I drastically increased rehearsal time, we would need to use folders on tour that year if I wanted to have a choir that was even close to sounding collegiate. There was a HUGE amount of resistance to this, but once the singers figured out that they sounded a lot better, they got used to it.
There are really compelling pros and cons on either side of the memorization issue. The pros of memorization are:
Improved visual aesthetic impact to the audience. A barrier is removed between the singer and the audience, and it allows you to express the music with your whole body. The visual effect of a completely memorized program can be quite stunning! The appearance of the singers can look more uniform.
More thorough learning of the music. To be able to retain pitch, rhythm, text, and musical nuance, you really become immersed in the music.
One less thing to carry on tour! You don’t have to worry about leaving your folder behind. If even one singer doesn’t have a folder on stage, they end up looking like a leftover appendage stuck to the rest of the group.
The cons are:
Every small nuance of the music has to be memorized. Not only do you have to remember the basic elements of pitch, rhythm, and text, but you have to retain an incredible amount of musical detail over a program that lasts more than an hour.
One memory slip-up can damage a performance. It’s easier to do than you think–even with people who are the kings of memorization!
Inevitably, there’s always a trade-off. Dr. Nichols from Alma looked at our tour program and commented that he’d like to be able to do a few harder things like we had on our program, but memorization takes them 3 extra weeks. Memorization takes time–and that time has to come from somewhere.
Having said all this, I’d be interested in trying a memorized tour program as an experiment, starting with the Lambuth Singers spring tour. I’m game if you’re game! Realize, however, that in order to make this happen, we would have to commit to one or more of the following:
Reduce the difficulty of the program: Not gonna do it! If anything, we need to do a more difficult program.
Reduce the length of the program: mmm.....maybe.....
Extra rehearsals on a regular basis: I’m certainly willing to do this within reason (although staying married is a priority with me!).
Spend more time individually or in small bunches outside of rehearsal working on music: This is the key, and this is what all professional choirs do. When I sang with the Desert Chorale, it was stated in our contract that we had to come to the first rehearsal with our notes learned perfectly. We then had 24 hours of rehearsal for each rep to work on musical nuance.
(2) Structure of the choral program
Particularly since our choir and university have both shrunk some over the past few years, there isn’t a big difference between Lambuth Singers and Concert Choir. Although it’s always ended up working OK, balance between men and women in the larger group has always been an issue (and will continue to be in the future). The choral program will be significantly larger next year, but we’ll still have a few more women than men.
What I’ve been thinking about over the past couple of years is this: What would you think about splitting the Concert Choir into a Men’s Choir and Women’s Choir?
There would be many advantages:
1) Less worry about balance between men and women. You can have two groups with perfect balance within each ensemble even if you have 20 men and 80 women.
2) More variety of literature. This is important in programming, but it’s also a good thing for our music education majors to be exposed to men’s and women’s literature.
3) Greater identity and purpose for those not in Lambuth Singers. Building two new groups that aren’t simply “Lambuth Singers Plus” may really help morale for some of the singers, in my opinion.
4) Better recruiting opportunities. In particular, a permanent men’s chorus would really help in attracting more men to the program.
We could still combine the two groups for special choral/orchestral performances, doing the Alma Mater and Irish Blessing, and other special occasions.
Please let me know your thoughts on these two ideas by clicking on the “comments” link right below this post and sharing your ideas.
Cheers!
Dr. B
Sunday, March 06, 2005
Bravo to Meghan!
Kudos to Meghan Arnold for an outstanding senior recital this afternoon! Meghan woke up this morning with a bad sore throat but put forth everything she had like a true professional! There was a high Bb in the Carlisle Floyd aria that was simply stunning - those of you not in attendance will have to listen to her CD. And wasn't it nice to have alum Casey Webber back to play guitar with her at the end?
For those non-Lambuth visitors to the blog who'd like to see Meghan's recital program, a PDF file can be accessed by clicking here.
And woe to those of you who weren't there! For those music majors who didn't attend, remember that for every unexcused absence from an on-campus recital, your grade is lowered one letter for EACH and EVERY music course in which you are enrolled! This policy was approved by the music faculty last year and is prominently posted on the interdepartmental website. Unless you were in a car accident or in the hospital, expect a much lower GPA this semester....
Your dept. chair,
RCB
For those non-Lambuth visitors to the blog who'd like to see Meghan's recital program, a PDF file can be accessed by clicking here.
And woe to those of you who weren't there! For those music majors who didn't attend, remember that for every unexcused absence from an on-campus recital, your grade is lowered one letter for EACH and EVERY music course in which you are enrolled! This policy was approved by the music faculty last year and is prominently posted on the interdepartmental website. Unless you were in a car accident or in the hospital, expect a much lower GPA this semester....
Your dept. chair,
RCB
Wednesday, March 02, 2005
Comments
Folks,
I encourage the comments you have provided - there's some great material for discussion! However, I must insist that in the future you include your name in your comment, and that you refrain from comments that aren't courteous to other members of the ensemble. Constructive criticism and honesty are always welcome; comments to your peers like "get a life" are inappropriate, particularly when they're anonymous. I've changed the settings so that you must create a user name to post.
I'll be posting some responses to comments just as soon as I get done with setup for the Alma concert tonight.
Dr. B
I encourage the comments you have provided - there's some great material for discussion! However, I must insist that in the future you include your name in your comment, and that you refrain from comments that aren't courteous to other members of the ensemble. Constructive criticism and honesty are always welcome; comments to your peers like "get a life" are inappropriate, particularly when they're anonymous. I've changed the settings so that you must create a user name to post.
I'll be posting some responses to comments just as soon as I get done with setup for the Alma concert tonight.
Dr. B
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