Hi Singers,
Rehearsal: Just a reminder that we will meet at 11:00 a.m. Thursday here in the Chapel to run through some things before going on tour. We shouldn't need to take long, provided you have everything memorized, and should be done by noon.
Tour: I've updated the tour itinerary to show some small changes to events on Tuesday and Wednesday. You can view it by clicking here. The Tuesday evening concert hasn't materialized; rather than try to schedule one at this late date, I'd like to schedule a late afternoon/early evening recording session in a church with a good acoustic, and then have the evening free. Jeanne Larson is checking on a good church for us, and hopefully she'll be able to get together with us that evening. On Wednesday we'll do the West End/Dealey Plaza sightseeing in the morning and sing at Hebron HS from 12:30-2:15 p.m. We'll be singing for their top choir of 30 singers, then they'll do their contest stuff for us, and I'll be working with them as well.
Dorm Checkout: For those of you wanting to wait until after tour to pack up your stuff to leave, Cameron Burton said just to be sure you have your stuff packed up and ready before you leave for tour; you'll then have until Sunday evening the 8th to empty the room and check out.
Monday, April 25, 2005
Times for baccalaureate and graduation
Quick reminder about Sunday, May 1:
Baccalaureate - Lambuth Singers - meet choir room 9:45 a.m., service starts at 10:00. Singing "I Sat Down Under His Shadow".
Graduation - Concert Choir - meet 12:45 p.m. either in gym or on Spangler steps, depending on weather. Ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m. Singing "Freedom Come".
Steven Whitson, Meghan Arnold, Dustin Walters: Thanks for all you've done for our department the past several years! I hope you'll be able to come to the Senior Breakfast on Saturday morning in Wisdom Parlor. I'm on the Social Committee that puts it on so will definitely be there to say howdy!
Baccalaureate - Lambuth Singers - meet choir room 9:45 a.m., service starts at 10:00. Singing "I Sat Down Under His Shadow".
Graduation - Concert Choir - meet 12:45 p.m. either in gym or on Spangler steps, depending on weather. Ceremony begins at 1:00 p.m. Singing "Freedom Come".
Steven Whitson, Meghan Arnold, Dustin Walters: Thanks for all you've done for our department the past several years! I hope you'll be able to come to the Senior Breakfast on Saturday morning in Wisdom Parlor. I'm on the Social Committee that puts it on so will definitely be there to say howdy!
BRAVO!
Thank you, thank you, thank you from the bottom of my heart for a wonderful Sunday evening of music!
Your performance last night was MARVELOUS! There were so many moments in the Faure where I was simply swept away in your musicality. The nuance and shape of your singing really captured the heart of the work. The First UMC choir was a great addition to your sound, but YOU led the way! Bravo also to the Lambuth Singers for a great performance of the Monteverdi Beatus Vir! That piece will just keep getting better and better as the week in Texas goes by.
You have really attracted attention from our administration and community this year, and I want to thank you for all your hard work in both semesters. You are rapidly becoming THE choral program of West Tennessee, and I'm really excited about our future together!
Best wishes for your final exams and projects. See you at baccalaureate and graduation!
RCB
Your performance last night was MARVELOUS! There were so many moments in the Faure where I was simply swept away in your musicality. The nuance and shape of your singing really captured the heart of the work. The First UMC choir was a great addition to your sound, but YOU led the way! Bravo also to the Lambuth Singers for a great performance of the Monteverdi Beatus Vir! That piece will just keep getting better and better as the week in Texas goes by.
You have really attracted attention from our administration and community this year, and I want to thank you for all your hard work in both semesters. You are rapidly becoming THE choral program of West Tennessee, and I'm really excited about our future together!
Best wishes for your final exams and projects. See you at baccalaureate and graduation!
RCB
Sunday, April 24, 2005
Game plan for dress rehearsal
Hi all,
If anybody sees this before this afternoon, here's the general game plan for everything.
After rehearsal, I'm going across the street to Dixie Castle to have steak for dinner if anyone wants to join me!
If anybody sees this before this afternoon, here's the general game plan for everything.
- Rehearse Requiem (choirs only) starting at 3:00
- Orchestra joins us at 3:45
- First UMC choir - rehearse Leavitt Te Deum with brass
- Concert Choir - Freedom Come and South African
- Lambuth Singers - Monteverdi
After rehearsal, I'm going across the street to Dixie Castle to have steak for dinner if anyone wants to join me!
Fall choir retreat?
I've been thinking that it would be valuable to have a choir retreat sometime in September -- Friday night and Saturday. We could do something like reserve the group lodge at Chickasaw, or go someplace else interesting, and combine singing with fun group activities. It would help build team spirit and make some headway towards doing a memorized fall tour program.
Whaddya think?
RCB
Whaddya think?
RCB
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Another great audition day!
I had several more prospective students audition today and heard some really wonderful talent! Another All-State tenor from Dyersburg came -- he's already coming here on full-tuition academic, since his ACT is in the stratosphere. I also heard a transfer soprano from Dyersburg State who has one of the best soprano voices I've had audition here.
You veterans may remember going to Wilson Central HS on tour last year. Their director, Joe Bullock, came to our TMEA clinic last week, and today he came over and brought an All-State bass to audition, as well as his own daughter. (Three cheers to the Lambuth Singers -- you guys really impressed him at the clinic!) She's a great mezzo and is going to Austin Peay right now but is interested in coming here to focus on choral conducting and composing. Another nice All-West alto from White Station HS came as well.
We have a HUGE influx of men in the fall and a lot of good female voices as well. Our numbers should be up around 60 in the Concert Choir, if all of them come. Woohoo!!!
You veterans may remember going to Wilson Central HS on tour last year. Their director, Joe Bullock, came to our TMEA clinic last week, and today he came over and brought an All-State bass to audition, as well as his own daughter. (Three cheers to the Lambuth Singers -- you guys really impressed him at the clinic!) She's a great mezzo and is going to Austin Peay right now but is interested in coming here to focus on choral conducting and composing. Another nice All-West alto from White Station HS came as well.
We have a HUGE influx of men in the fall and a lot of good female voices as well. Our numbers should be up around 60 in the Concert Choir, if all of them come. Woohoo!!!
Thursday, April 21, 2005
Singers: Post-finals, pre-tour rehearsal
Hi Singers,
Since we're going to spend most of the time in rehearsal today getting ready for the performance this Sunday, we could really use another rehearsal to go over the rest of the tour program and make sure everything is fully and accurately memorized.
The last two exam blocks next Thursday (10:30-12:30 and 1:30-3:30) are the ones assigned to classes in our Concert Choir and Singers time slots. How about if we meet at 10:30 that morning (April 28)?
RCB
Since we're going to spend most of the time in rehearsal today getting ready for the performance this Sunday, we could really use another rehearsal to go over the rest of the tour program and make sure everything is fully and accurately memorized.
The last two exam blocks next Thursday (10:30-12:30 and 1:30-3:30) are the ones assigned to classes in our Concert Choir and Singers time slots. How about if we meet at 10:30 that morning (April 28)?
RCB
Monday, April 18, 2005
Music majors - end of year stuff
Reminders to all music majors:
- You are required to attend TWO off-campus recitals each semester. The penalties are severe! See the departmental web site for details. Bring me programs from your two recitals NO LATER than Thursday morning of finals week!
- Juries are Tuesday afternoon of finals week from 1 to 4 p.m. Signup sheet is posted on the chapel bulletin board. Please sign up for as early a time as possible!
- Our final studio recital of the year is this Thursday afternoon at 1 p.m. If you are performing, be sure that you or your teacher let me know what you're performing so I can type the program.
Texas tour itinerary
Hey Singers,
Click the link below and you'll see the Texas tour itinerary as it currently stands. It's about 95% complete - just a couple of details here and there to iron out still.
The motel in Galveston is right on Seawall, a block from the beach.
Cheers!
Dr. B
Go to the Texas itinerary
Click the link below and you'll see the Texas tour itinerary as it currently stands. It's about 95% complete - just a couple of details here and there to iron out still.
The motel in Galveston is right on Seawall, a block from the beach.
Cheers!
Dr. B
Go to the Texas itinerary
Sunday, April 17, 2005
Music....a HARD major!
Christie Terreson posted a comment on the blog this afternoon which all of you (both majors and non-majors) should read. I've inserted the main points below:
Take music theory, for example. In most college courses, it's a given that only about 10% of material is retained after the class is over. Music theory, however, is cumulative. You have to retain ALL of it to be able to succeed in upper-level classes or in grad school. It impacts your success as a performer, conductor, and/or educator immensely.
Most majors have 3 or 4 hour credit courses, so a student can take 4-5 courses and have 15 hours in a semester. In music, however, most classes are 1-2 hours credit--and your music professors (who shall remain nameless....ha ha....) always tend to have more expectations than a 3-4 hour course in another major.
It's not just uneducated people that have this perception, either. I've had to battle perceptions here (with success, fortunately!) that ensembles at Lambuth are activities rather than academic classes. Hmm....let's see....required by the National Association of Schools of Music...studying vocal technique, music history, foreign language pronunciation, religion, poetry...sounds like academic content to me, how about you?
So, music majors, "fight the good fight, with all your might"!
"A few people said something to me this morning that really set me off and I feel compelled to write something on the blog about it. I was essentially told that being a music major is easy.
AMEN, CHRISTIE!!! And I'd love to say that it gets better....but this is still one of the biggest frustrations I have as a professional musician. There is a perception (unfortunately fueled by the popular music industry) that music is just something you do if you have talent--it doesn't take any particular training, knowledge, or intellect. I can't tell you how many times I've had people calling up asking, "We've got a women's group meeting tomorrow night - do you have some students that could come over and sing for 45 minutes for us?" They have NO CLUE about how demanding music is!
It really frustrates me that people view music as easy because it isn't. Not in the slightest. I would pay BIG money to see the girls who made the "music is easy" comment to me, sit through Theory or Musicianship Skills and UNDERSTAND the concepts or memorize the 8 page German Aria I have in voice."
Take music theory, for example. In most college courses, it's a given that only about 10% of material is retained after the class is over. Music theory, however, is cumulative. You have to retain ALL of it to be able to succeed in upper-level classes or in grad school. It impacts your success as a performer, conductor, and/or educator immensely.
Most majors have 3 or 4 hour credit courses, so a student can take 4-5 courses and have 15 hours in a semester. In music, however, most classes are 1-2 hours credit--and your music professors (who shall remain nameless....ha ha....) always tend to have more expectations than a 3-4 hour course in another major.
It's not just uneducated people that have this perception, either. I've had to battle perceptions here (with success, fortunately!) that ensembles at Lambuth are activities rather than academic classes. Hmm....let's see....required by the National Association of Schools of Music...studying vocal technique, music history, foreign language pronunciation, religion, poetry...sounds like academic content to me, how about you?
So, music majors, "fight the good fight, with all your might"!
Friday, April 15, 2005
Fantastic performance at TMEA!
Singers,
You all did a MARVELOUS job at the Tennessee Music Education Association conference! You sang well and for exactly the right people who need to hear you. I was really thrilled with your musicality, attention to detail, and poised professionalism.
You folks are really attracting a lot of attention from the choir directors in our state. I spoke to several directors after the clinic--not only are they impressed, but they are interested in sending more students to audition for us! Through all your hard work, you are making our program the premier college program in West Tennessee!
See you at 11 am at 1st UMC! (Blue shirts and khakis)
RCB
You all did a MARVELOUS job at the Tennessee Music Education Association conference! You sang well and for exactly the right people who need to hear you. I was really thrilled with your musicality, attention to detail, and poised professionalism.
You folks are really attracting a lot of attention from the choir directors in our state. I spoke to several directors after the clinic--not only are they impressed, but they are interested in sending more students to audition for us! Through all your hard work, you are making our program the premier college program in West Tennessee!
See you at 11 am at 1st UMC! (Blue shirts and khakis)
RCB
Tuesday, April 12, 2005
Reminders about Thursday
Concert Choir: reminder that there will be NO rehearsal on Thursday.
Choral Methods also will not meet Thursday morning.
Lambuth Singers: we will meet at 1:00 to leave for Nashville. I could use 3-4 pairs of hands at 12:30 to pack up and carry the digital audio workstation from the computer lab and the stereo system from the choir room.
We have the clinic space an hour before the clinic at 4:00 to set up, warm up, etc. TMEA won't let us perform in the exhibit area during College Night at 4:30, but I hope to get set up in time for us to go down as a group to meet and greet the All-State choir students who come through. Our Admissions staff will be there as well. VP Mullin reserved the "primo" spot in the exhibit hall for our booth - it's the first one by the entrance as people come in.
Choral Methods also will not meet Thursday morning.
Lambuth Singers: we will meet at 1:00 to leave for Nashville. I could use 3-4 pairs of hands at 12:30 to pack up and carry the digital audio workstation from the computer lab and the stereo system from the choir room.
We have the clinic space an hour before the clinic at 4:00 to set up, warm up, etc. TMEA won't let us perform in the exhibit area during College Night at 4:30, but I hope to get set up in time for us to go down as a group to meet and greet the All-State choir students who come through. Our Admissions staff will be there as well. VP Mullin reserved the "primo" spot in the exhibit hall for our booth - it's the first one by the entrance as people come in.
Tips for viewing the website calendar
A couple of people have experienced difficulty in seeing the most recent update of the calendar on the departmental website. The website calendar is current, and I think that the problem probably stems from the stored history on your web browser.
When you use Internet Explorer or other browsers, the browser stores a temporary copy of the page on your computer, so if you go back to it, the recall time will be faster. However, if you don't set up your browser to access the web site directly, you'll keep pulling up the old version from your computer, rather than the newest version from the website. Thus you'll not be able to view the most recent calendar.
To solve the problem, click the Refresh or Reload button on your browser taskbar. If that doesn't work, go in the Tools menu, click under Internet Options, and clear out your history and cache of previously viewed websites. If you still have trouble, let me know!
When you use Internet Explorer or other browsers, the browser stores a temporary copy of the page on your computer, so if you go back to it, the recall time will be faster. However, if you don't set up your browser to access the web site directly, you'll keep pulling up the old version from your computer, rather than the newest version from the website. Thus you'll not be able to view the most recent calendar.
To solve the problem, click the Refresh or Reload button on your browser taskbar. If that doesn't work, go in the Tools menu, click under Internet Options, and clear out your history and cache of previously viewed websites. If you still have trouble, let me know!
Choral methods: helpful new library book
Elise and Rebecca,
I ordered a book for the library that is now cataloged and available for checkout:
Music performed at American Choral Directors Association conventions,
1960-2000 / compiled by Sandefur Schmidt.
Call Number: ML1500 .M87 2002
You might find this useful in doing your concert program assignment.
I ordered a book for the library that is now cataloged and available for checkout:
Music performed at American Choral Directors Association conventions,
1960-2000 / compiled by Sandefur Schmidt.
Call Number: ML1500 .M87 2002
You might find this useful in doing your concert program assignment.
Monday, April 11, 2005
Calendar items for next year
Be sure to mark these dates on your calendar for fall:
Friday, Nov. 11 through Tuesday, Nov. 15 - FALL CHOIR TOUR
This pattern of days is different than what we've done in the past but is necessary to work around All-Southwest, All-Northwest, and Wesley's birthday. Right now I'm looking at singing in Memphis area Friday, going to St. Louis on the weekend for performing and fun, Missouri schools on Monday and West TN on Tuesday.
Thursday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m. - FALL CHOIR CONCERT - Chapel
Sunday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m. - Candlelight
Friday, Nov. 11 through Tuesday, Nov. 15 - FALL CHOIR TOUR
This pattern of days is different than what we've done in the past but is necessary to work around All-Southwest, All-Northwest, and Wesley's birthday. Right now I'm looking at singing in Memphis area Friday, going to St. Louis on the weekend for performing and fun, Missouri schools on Monday and West TN on Tuesday.
Thursday, Nov. 17, 7 p.m. - FALL CHOIR CONCERT - Chapel
Sunday, Dec. 4, 6:30 p.m. - Candlelight
Sunday, April 10, 2005
Lambuth Singers - Savannah reminder
Singers,
Remember that we're meeting this afternoon at 4:15 - I want to be able to leave at 4:16! Blue shirts and khakis. We will have to carpool, unfortunately--I'll have gas money for those of you who are driving. I'll have directions (trust me, these are really easy compared to Ripley!) and we'll caravan together to make sure no one is left behind. I'll give you the concert order when we get there. See you this afternoon!
RCB
Remember that we're meeting this afternoon at 4:15 - I want to be able to leave at 4:16! Blue shirts and khakis. We will have to carpool, unfortunately--I'll have gas money for those of you who are driving. I'll have directions (trust me, these are really easy compared to Ripley!) and we'll caravan together to make sure no one is left behind. I'll give you the concert order when we get there. See you this afternoon!
RCB
Friday, April 08, 2005
Baseball and midget wrestling....
One more reason to keep minor league baseball here in Jackson....
Even if the team loses (close game, though....3-2), you get more Friday night entertainment by watching two small people named "P.O.D." and "The Toad" in the ring fake a wrestling match for hundreds of cheering fans. Kinda makes you....um.....proud??.... to be an American.....
yikes......
Lambuth was well represented (?!?) at the game, by the way. A large group of inebriated Kappa Sigma brethren heckled the opposing team and flipped the bird for the "fan cam" big screen.
Hope your Friday evening was entertaining!
Dr. B
Even if the team loses (close game, though....3-2), you get more Friday night entertainment by watching two small people named "P.O.D." and "The Toad" in the ring fake a wrestling match for hundreds of cheering fans. Kinda makes you....um.....proud??.... to be an American.....
yikes......
Lambuth was well represented (?!?) at the game, by the way. A large group of inebriated Kappa Sigma brethren heckled the opposing team and flipped the bird for the "fan cam" big screen.
Hope your Friday evening was entertaining!
Dr. B
Arts awards night Monday - RSVP required
IMPORTANT NOTICE!
The annual School of Arts & Communication awards night is being held at 5:30 p.m. Monday night at the Aeneas building behind the Designer Showhouse. All students are invited--especially graduating seniors, since I give the seniors a little something each year.
It's being professionally catered this time, so if you plan to attend, please RSVP TODAY to our school secretary, Hollie Wood, at 425-3205. Hope to see you there!
The annual School of Arts & Communication awards night is being held at 5:30 p.m. Monday night at the Aeneas building behind the Designer Showhouse. All students are invited--especially graduating seniors, since I give the seniors a little something each year.
It's being professionally catered this time, so if you plan to attend, please RSVP TODAY to our school secretary, Hollie Wood, at 425-3205. Hope to see you there!
Monday, April 04, 2005
Expanding your listening horizons.....
Hello all,
I've been talking with some of you the past few days about iTunes and some of the other pay music services on the Web. In addition to these, there are a lot of radio stations streaming audio for free. I encourage you to check these out! Pull up something every day to listen to, even for a few minutes, some piece or category of music you're not familiar with.
There's a site called Classical Webcast that has links to a bunch of classical radio stations from around the world. One of my favorites is BBC Radio 3 from Britain. They archive their shows for a period of one week so you can stream on demand. Each week they broadcast a Choral Evensong service from one of the English cathedrals with great choral music. There are also shows with jazz, Celtic music, etc. BBC Radio has several different stations with varied music programming and great world news coverage.
Check it out - I think you'll enjoy!
RCB
I've been talking with some of you the past few days about iTunes and some of the other pay music services on the Web. In addition to these, there are a lot of radio stations streaming audio for free. I encourage you to check these out! Pull up something every day to listen to, even for a few minutes, some piece or category of music you're not familiar with.
There's a site called Classical Webcast that has links to a bunch of classical radio stations from around the world. One of my favorites is BBC Radio 3 from Britain. They archive their shows for a period of one week so you can stream on demand. Each week they broadcast a Choral Evensong service from one of the English cathedrals with great choral music. There are also shows with jazz, Celtic music, etc. BBC Radio has several different stations with varied music programming and great world news coverage.
Check it out - I think you'll enjoy!
RCB
Lambuth Singers Texas tour rep
Hi Singers,
I've created a PDF file of the tour repertoire order for our upcoming trip. Click the link below to look at it, and let me know what you think. Thanks! - RCB
Click here to pull up the tour rep PDF
I've created a PDF file of the tour repertoire order for our upcoming trip. Click the link below to look at it, and let me know what you think. Thanks! - RCB
Click here to pull up the tour rep PDF
Sunday, April 03, 2005
Bravo Steven!
Congratulations to Steven Whitson for a fabulous senior recital! Very musical, poised, and professional. And what a great audience! Maybe we should put him in charge of publicity for all our concerts? Thanks to Steven's mom for the great food at the reception too!
Saturday, April 02, 2005
Wonderful inaugural performances!
Hey everyone,
What a fantastic job you all did at the Inauguration ceremony this morning! You looked and sounded SO professional and polished...I heard numerous comments at the reception afterwards. And kudos also to Lambuth Singers for a great job at the earliest performance we've done in a while--and I hope it'll be a while before we sing that early again! I really appreciate the time and energy you all give to make our ensembles the best they can be.
And thanks to those of you who attended Il Quatro Professore Friday night! I was in better voice on Thursday before the weather changed for the worse Friday morning. The Brahms songs are hard on the voice and I was a little nervous about whether I'd have the high notes or not, but they came out OK and I got through it. Thanks for your support!
And what a great job the other faculty did! You know, it's quite common in university music departments to have faculty with inflated egos fighting with each other all the time. Life's too short to put up with that crap! I'm really blessed to work with colleagues who are not only world-class musicians but also great friends. It makes Lambuth a much better place to work, and I think you students benefit more from a friendly environment like ours.
The Jazz Band did a great job at the Designer Showhouse tonight too! I only wish it had been warmer outside and that you had more people come around to hear you. I was really pleased that President and Mrs. Zuker came over to listen to you.
See you at Steven's recital tomorrow afternoon! (Don't forget to "spring forward" your clocks - otherwise you'll get there after it's over!)
RCB
What a fantastic job you all did at the Inauguration ceremony this morning! You looked and sounded SO professional and polished...I heard numerous comments at the reception afterwards. And kudos also to Lambuth Singers for a great job at the earliest performance we've done in a while--and I hope it'll be a while before we sing that early again! I really appreciate the time and energy you all give to make our ensembles the best they can be.
And thanks to those of you who attended Il Quatro Professore Friday night! I was in better voice on Thursday before the weather changed for the worse Friday morning. The Brahms songs are hard on the voice and I was a little nervous about whether I'd have the high notes or not, but they came out OK and I got through it. Thanks for your support!
And what a great job the other faculty did! You know, it's quite common in university music departments to have faculty with inflated egos fighting with each other all the time. Life's too short to put up with that crap! I'm really blessed to work with colleagues who are not only world-class musicians but also great friends. It makes Lambuth a much better place to work, and I think you students benefit more from a friendly environment like ours.
The Jazz Band did a great job at the Designer Showhouse tonight too! I only wish it had been warmer outside and that you had more people come around to hear you. I was really pleased that President and Mrs. Zuker came over to listen to you.
See you at Steven's recital tomorrow afternoon! (Don't forget to "spring forward" your clocks - otherwise you'll get there after it's over!)
RCB
April Fools!
We had a few pranksters that had fun playing an April Fools joke on me by rearranging the choir room somewhat. Thought you might be interested in this photo which shows something you'll probably never see again - a clean choir room! :)
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