Aurora University Choral Festival Post #8 Mashed Potato Love Poem

On October 21st at Aurora University Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh will conduct an excerpt (Mashed Potato Love Poem) from my three movement set Play With Your Food, written about twelve years ago. It's one of my most popular pieces and here are the program notes I usually provide.

Play with Your Food 

(published by Walton)

This set of three pieces is my most performed work. It's not too surprising, since I found three great, truly clever texts to set. May Swenson gives us a cornucopia of delicious summer treats, with the compound words all split apart and reconnected backwards; blueberries become “berries of blue”, Brazil nuts become “nuts of Brazil” and so on. My favorites are “rooms of mush” and “puppies of hush”! You might hear a bit of the music from the overture to “Porgy and Bess” toward the end, by the way. The text for “Mashed Potato Love Poem” is by Sidney Hoddes, a very cool guy who is now an elderly doctor still practicing in Liverpool--but wayback he was a friend of the Beatles and caroused with them in Liverpool before they became famous. The final movement, “Vending Machine”, about a hungry young lad and his happy to play-along Dad, has some lively musical hints of Bernsteins' overture to Candide popping up. Yes, I do like to parody or borrow from other composers or write in their general style now and then!

TEXT

If I ever had to choose between you
you and a third helping of mashed potatoes

(whipped lightly with a fork

not whisked,
and a little pool of butter
melting in the middle...)

I think
I'd chose
the mashed potatoes

but I'd choose you next

One of my favorite memories from when I led the choral program at the North Carolina Governor's School was surprising the cafeteria staff with a mini-concert each summer with this song featured. We would make the staff stop working and sing to them. You should have seen all the smiles!

Here's a nice performance of the piece (with a bonus track of Vending Machine and an interesting touch they added to that tune) by Oran, a wonderful Canadian youth choir which is part of the Kokopelli Choir organization.

Aurora University Choral Festival Post #6 God's Nature

On October 21st, at the Aurora University Choral Festival featuring my works, the Aurora University Chamber Choir, directed by Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh, will perform the final movement of my piece God's Nature. This piece was actually commissioned a couple years ago by another conductor who will be performing at the Oct. 21st concert, Paul Laprade.

Paul had asked me to write a celebratory work to commemorate the union of two historic churches in Rockford, where he lives. The two churches were the Second Congregational UCC and the First Presbyterian Church--combined now they are often referred to as Second/First Church. 

The entire piece, God's Nature, has a title with a dual meaning. It refers to God and his Creation, the earth we live on--it also refers to the nature of God's love for humankind. How do we know of his love, how can we sense God's purpose?  

The movements, and some ideas I sketched out as I worked on the pieces and finished them:

God Be in My Head: Our perception of God, and how God is within us. A bit of an introductory movement. The voices and strings mostly work together. The piano is a bit in another world, but eventually joins into the ensemble more. The goal was to achieve a slightly surreal setting and some mystery as the piece launches- get people to listen- draw them in.

For the Beauty of the Earth: Nature's beauty- a lyrical movement in a John Rutter sort of style- and actually a reworking of a setting (never premiered) I did in 2005 which I think I have really improved on by adding the string instruments and added writing quality from eight more years of choral composing/creativity/voice leading and voicing experience, etc. All is pretty and happy.

Lord of the Winds: A shift to doubt, worry, fear of abandonment- set up by the powerfully dissonant instrumental intro. A short, yet powerful text by Mary Coleridge, the great-grand niece of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. Click to read this fine text.

Shall we Gather at the River/Jerusalem my Happy Home. Shift to the joy and peacefulness of nature, the river symbolism, and then excited hopes of arriving in heaven/Jerusalem etc. Lots of nature images in the poetry. I like the shift to hope and the simplicity of joyous pentatonic melodies plus the rather Coplandesque harmonies I place with those pentatonic lines. 

The texts for the movement being performed on October 21st:

1. Shall we gather at the river,
   Where bright angel feet have trod,
   With its crystal tide forever
   Flowing by the throne of God?
   • Refrain:
     Yes, we’ll gather at the river,
     The beautiful, the beautiful river;
     Gather with the saints at the river
     That flows by the throne of God.
2. On the margin of the river,
   Washing up its silver spray,
   We will talk and worship ever,
   All the happy golden day.
3. 
   
4. Jerusalem, my happy home,
   Name ever dear to me,
   When shall my labors have an end
   In joy and peace with Thee?
5. Quite through the streets with silver sound
   the flood of life doth flow,
   Upon whose banks on e'vry side
   the wood of life doth grow.
6. O Christ, do Thou my soul prepare
   for that bright home of love,
   that I may see thee and adore
   with all Thy saints above.
7. Thy vineyards and thy orchards are
   Most beautiful and fair,
   Full furnished with trees and fruits,
   Most wonderful and rare.
9. Jerusalem, my happy home,
   my soul still pants for thee,
   Then shall my labors have an end
   when I thy joys shall see.

1. Under the leadership of Lisa Fredenburgh, the Aurora University Chorale and Chamber Choir perform both on campus and away serving the AU community and communities throughout the Midwest.  She has held previous conducting posts at University of Central Missouri, Meredith College in Raleigh, NC and with the Opera Company of North Carolina and Capitol Opera Raleigh. She holds a DMA and two MM degrees from the University of Arizona where she studied under Maurice Skones, Thomas Hilbish, Jerry McCoy and Kenneth Jennings. Her BA in music education was earned at Luther College, under Weston Noble.  

Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh

Fredenburgh often serves as guest conductor, lecturer and clinician locally, nationally and abroad.  She has conducted All-State Choirs in Tennessee, Georgia, New York, Arkansas, and North Carolina.  She has conducted and taught master classes in the Dominican Republic, Panama and in Bolivia.  She is a frequent presenter at national-, regional- and state-level professional organizations in the fields of Women’s Choral Music, and the Music of Latin America.  She currently serves as Central Division Chair for the Women’s Choir Repertoire & Standards Committee for the American Choral Directors Association and was formerly a member of the steering committee for the 50th Anniversary National Convention in 2009.  

Aurora University Choral Festival Blogpost #3 Alley Cat Love Song

At the October 21st festival concert at Aurora University in Aurora, IL a number of fine ensembles will be singing selections from my choral output over the last fifteen years. I am currently blogging about each piece that is on the program, giving readers some insight into how and why I produced these pieces. Today's post is about Alley Cat Love Song, a bluesy, jazzy setting for SSA/piano of former US poet laureate Dana Gioia's clever poem.

Dana Gioia

Alley Cat Love Song--See score and listen

Published by Santa Barbara Music Press Cat. # 737

TEXT

Come into the garden, Fred,

For the neighborhood tabby is gone.
Come into the garden, Fred.
I have nothing but my flea collar on,
And the scent of catnip has gone to my head .
I'll wait by the screen door till dawn.

The fireflies court in the sweetgum tree.
The nightjar calls from the pine,
And she seems to say in her rhapsody,
"Oh, mustard-brown Fred, be mine!"

The full moon lights my whiskers afire,
And the fur goes erect on my spine.
I hear the frogs in the muddy lake
Croaking from shore to shore.
They've one swift season to soothe their ache.
In autumn they sing no more.

So ignore me now, and you'll hear my meow
As I scratch all night at the door.


Windsong Chorus channelling their inner kittyness:

This piece was commissioned by Jim Yarbrough, the director at that time (now retired, and will be in attendance October 21st) of the fine Naperville North High School choral program, and one my earliest supporters. Since Jim has a jazz background (and he also was bass section leader under the legendary Margaret Hillis at the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Chorus!) I decided to write him something jazzy and bluesy. I found this wonderfully sly text by Dana Gioia and set about having some fun with it.

Musically the piece goes back and forth between a lyrical, “night music” quasi- Debussy stereotypical impressionist feel (hopefully pianists will smile a bit when they notice an actual Debussy piano prelude quote in the piano intro) and the jazz/blues sections. The ending plays around with different ways of saying the boy cat’s name, “Fred”, including purring/rolling the r sound. I even had an excuse to include one of my favorite Ravel chords in this piece (a pretty pungent V chord with a flat 9 and a sharp 11). It’s a chord Ravel uses in pieces like the Piano Concerto and his other jazz influenced music.

Here's Debussy Voiles, which I "borrowed" (sampled? stole? parodied?) at the beginning. When pianists first sit down at the piano with the score to Alley Cat Love Song this is a fun surprise for them. They can't help but grin at the unexpected quote from a piece they all know!

Performing Alley Cat Love Song on October 21st will be the women's ensemble from Aurora University directed by Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh:

Under the leadership of Lisa Fredenburgh, the Aurora University Chorale and Chamber Choir perform both on campus and away serving the AU community and communities throughout the Midwest.  She has held previous conducting posts at University of Central Missouri, Meredith College in Raleigh, NC and with the Opera Company of North Carolina and Capitol Opera Raleigh. She holds a DMA and two MM degrees from the University of Arizona where she studied under Maurice Skones, Thomas Hilbish, Jerry McCoy and Kenneth Jennings. Her BA in music education was earned at Luther College, under Weston Noble.  

Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh

Fredenburgh often serves as guest conductor, lecturer and clinician locally, nationally and abroad.  She has conducted All-State Choirs in Tennessee, Georgia, New York, Arkansas, and North Carolina.  She has conducted and taught master classes in the Dominican Republic, Panama and in Bolivia.  She is a frequent presenter at national-, regional- and state-level professional organizations in the fields of Women’s Choral Music, and the Music of Latin America.  She currently serves as Central Division Chair for the Women’s Choir Repertoire & Standards Committee for the American Choral Directors Association and was formerly a member of the steering committee for the 50th Anniversary National Convention in 2009.  

Read more: http://www.aurora.edu/academics/undergraduate/music/lisa-fredenburgh.html#.VhPZZ_lViko#ixzz3nnWkUsCv


Hey, if you've read all this way--here's your reward. The epic hit from last century (1961), The Alleycat by Bent Fabric (love that name!).

Check out the old school image here- an old 45 RPM vinyl record!

Aurora University Choral Festival- Blogpost #1

Coming up on the evening of October 21st my choral music will be celebrated in a concert by multiple high school and college choirs in Crimi Auditorium at Aurora University. For more information on this free, open to the public event visit concert details  Please come and hear the fine choirs singing that evening!

I am humbled by this honor-it's the first time anyone has thrown me a party and filled an entire program with just my music! Lisa Fredenburgh, the head of the music department at Aurora U, developed the idea for this event over last spring and summer and Lisa and I enjoyed getting together to discuss how to make it happen. She sent out invitations to various area choral ensembles and we were fortunate to have some great directors respond with interest (some others couldn't commit to the October date, but I hope that in the future they can do some work with Lisa in some way--she's a great musician and so enthusiastic when working with singers). The directors who will be conducting that evening are very talented, classy folks. I'm thrilled with who chose to participate!

Dr. Lisa Fredenburgh, Aurora University

The schools singing (and the repertoire they have chosen) at the concert will be:

Waubonsee Community College, directed by Mark Lathan

Loosin Yelav (an Armenian folk song)


Mettea Valley High School, directed by Nathan Bramstedt

A City called Heaven (an African-American spiritual)


Carthage College Women's Ensemble, directed by Peter Dennee

This Sparkle of the Day (world premiere, multi-movement sacred piece)


Rock Valley College Choirs, directed by Paul Laprade

Thou art the Sky

Life has Loveliness to Sell


Aurora University Choirs, directed by Lisa Fredenburgh

Shall we Gather at the River/Jerusalem My Happy Home (the last movement of God's Nature)

Melt the Bells (from A Civil War Requiem)

Mashed Potato Love Poem (from Play with your Food)

Alley Cat Love Song

Blood, Guts, and Arias: a Zombie Opera (excerpts)

Massed Concert-Ender: Go Down Moses (spiritual)

It has been interesting to me to see what pieces the directors have chosen. I didn't give them much input, as I thought it would be best to let them choose. At this point I am very happy with their choices, and in many ways they have chosen pieces that emphasize the trends in my output. For instance, I have a commitment to contribute to the legacy of the African-American spiritual and the audience that night will hear two very different spiritual arrangements. A City Called Heaven (in a rare setting for women's voices) is a mournful, desperate introspective cry for salvation, while Go Down, Moses is propelled forward by a very active piano accompaniment, eventually culminting in a great wall of choral sound toward the end. Lisa has noted my fondness for witty, droll texts. Mashed Potato Love Poem is a prime exmple, as is the tongue in cheek Alley Cat Love Song. Further humor (darker and more satiric) shows up in the exceprts from my Zombie opera, Blood, Guts, and Arias. Finally, a number of pieces have been chosen which exemplify my search for serious texts which probe the inner spirituality of the human condition. Thou art the Sky and Life has Loveliness to Sell would be prime examples of that type of piece.

Over the next week or two I am going to blog about each piece, give some background to how I composed the setting of the text and also why I chose to set it in the first place. I hope this will be of value to the singers of each choir (who, I hope, will visit the blog to read) and anyone else out there wondering what living choral composers are thinking as they compose. Well, actually, sometimes we don't know what we're doing- but we keep slogging on anyway!

NEXT POST: All about Loosin Yelav, a sweet and very expressive Armenian folk song about the moon (actually a red moon--cool that, considering we just witnessed the Supermoon!)

Here's a little teaser--this is a video put together by a parent of a student singing at a vocal festival I was conducting in Pennsylvania a few years ago. We performed Loosin Yelav and this is what they created-- some wonderful images of Armenia here!

Western Art Music: Is it more than just "pretty"?

Here’s a blog entry I have been meaning to write for over a year. It has to do with my gifted high school choir at the North Carolina Governor’s School (East) last summer (2009) in Raleigh, NC. As part of this six week intensive summer program, I brought in a number of guest teachers- one of them was the wonderful person who was instrumental in me getting the job in 2009, Lisa Fredenburgh (now the new director of choral studies at Aurora College in Aurora, IL).




(Lisa Fredenburgh)


As we began the second week of classes last summer, Lisa was in town and volunteered to come talk to the students on a topic of her choice. She chose to explore the question, “Is Western art music socially relevant and of importance in today’s society?” So, with that topic in hand, Lisa began talking to the students and trying to get their opinions. For awhile they were pretty timid, and I even had to challenge them out loud to get the energy of the discussion going (after all, Governor's School is supposed to be populated by strong thinkers with great verbal skills). So things picked up a bit but we kept getting painted into this corner with the opinion that the main thing about classical music is that “it’s pretty”. At this point Lisa and I were ready to gag, and started sending each other non-verbal cues that we both were disappointed with where things were going. So, Lisa started by challenging them more, and played the Barber Adagio for Strings in the “Agnus Dei” choral version, and we pointed out that this music had great emotional depth and had been used as music to commemorate Winston Churchill, John F. Kennedy and many other public figures. We then talked a bit about similar 20th century music which was used to enhance cathartic moments in news documentaries about the 9/11/2001 disaster, especially in scenes showing grief or bravery (music by Aaron Copland, Joan Tower, and others). We were starting to get somewhere, but hadn’t won over everyone. Many in the room still thought that classical music really just strove to be pretty, and that the Barber was still part of that- beautiful music which happened to have great emotional depth.

At this point, I took a chance and thought I could really shake them up; I was able to talk to Lisa really quickly without them hearing me, and she queded up Penderecki’s Threnody for the Victims of Hiroshima; we did NOT tell them the title, we just started the music. If you know this piece you are certainly aware of a number of things- the first most obvious thing is that this is not traditional music, it has no melodies and relies on extended, very noisy, string orchestra extended technique effects (we didn’t care that this was not a choral piece). Many of the students would have never hear d a piece of music like this before, and as long as they had no chance to tune the oddness out, I felt that it could overwhelm them with its visceral not beautiful soundworld. I myself had forgotten that the piece is about nine minutes, I thought I was only subjecting them to 4-5 minutes of this very stringent music. What immediately happened is that the room completely quieted, and heads went down, and you could sense peoples stomachs knotting, The emotional tension in the music was so strong that the students didn’t even need to know the title of the piece. And I fact, I was overcome with the power of this music and the horrific scene it paints, as I had not listened to it for years and simply was very vulnerable to its effect. Memories of photos I had seen of this terrible episode in our history flooded my mind and I had to leave the room and go out to the courtyard right outside as all of a sudden I felt I could not handle this in front of my students. It’s just what happened-- I had no control over it. I seem to be way more susceptible to emotional content these days and I suppose that’s a good thing- it means I have let down my walls but it also means that things can hit you pretty hard. Part of me wishes I had not left the room toward the end of the piece, that I had stayed there stoically, yet I also wanted this listening experience to be for them- not for me to have a breakdown and for that to distract them!



(Penderecki around the time of the composition of Threnody)

When the piece ended I came back into room. We discussed what we had heard, and the students’ comments were very emotional yet also very strongly intellectual as well. They were overwhelmed by this music and experiencing it changed them for life- many of them said this to us straight out. We eventually told them the title and then it became even more powerful for them. For the rest of the summer, we all recognize4d that this was the breakthrough day that changed the attitude of all of them toward Western art music-we all now agreed that much of it is “pretty”, but some if it is the most powerful, emotional art capable of making dramatic commentary on society. When Lisa and I looked back on where the conversation with the students had started and then where it ended up we were both astounded. We had not really intended winding up where we did, b but it happened and we were so pleased that we had gone on this journey with these students over 75 minutes time.

A few weeks later we started singing an incredible piece by Robert Jager called I dream of peace, about the genocide in 1990’s Yugoslavia. Exploring the history of that extended piece and creating a stunning, memorable performance of it was really not too difficult for these young singers, for they had already experienced looking at music like this with new eyes, ears, and souls.

So that’s what happened in early June in 2009 at NC Governor’s School:32 bright young high school students discovered for themselves that Western art music is amazingly profound, alive and well in the 21st century.

Thanks Lisa!

[Also a big thank you has also to go out to dear Mary Alice Stollak, who exposed me to the Robert Jager I dream of peace, which she programmed for her MSU Children’s Choir farewell concert in Spring 2009 which I attended]

Guest Clinicians at N Carolina Governor's School East choir

Things have been crazy busy here at the North Carolina Governor’s School East choir program. It’s been hard to keep up with everything and still find time to blog. In addition, I have received two wonderful new commissions in recent weeks, so I have been trying to find time to work on the one I have already started, and at least start mulling over the other.

Anyway, I would like to relate stories about all the guests I have had in to talk to or work with the students. This has been extremely valuable in two ways; one, they gain valuable insight from skilled, experienced adults on a variety of topics that pertain to their singing, vocal health, and music-making, and 2) it allows me to not be stressing their voices with too many hours of rehearsal per week (we technically have anywhere from 150-195 minutes of rehearsal time per day on the school calendar, but obviously that would cause really ragged voices in HS students).

Our first guest, way back in week one, was my good friend Lisa Fredenburgh who will start a new job as director of choral studies at Aurora College in Illinois. Lisa volunteered to work with these students for a day and a half in group vocal tech lessons. About 60% of them had never had a private voice lesson, so this day and a half from Lisa was great for them. She really stressed posture and breathing “from the back”, which really was a great image for them. She also worked a lot with them to envision a shape to the sound within the mouth and how that sound would project out. this was great instruction from a wonderful, positive person.

Our next guest was Leda Scearce, from the Duke Vocal Health Clinic. Leda presented all the facts any young singer should know about their voice and how to take care of them. She showed photos of damaged larynxes, videos of vocal folds in action, and imparted great wisdom about how to treat your “instrument”- one of her biggest concerns was that young singers should plan vocal rest into their day. To me, this was important, as Lisa Fredenburgh had already told me she felt that in our environment here, Susan Fetch (my assistant ) and I are already treating their voices with respect in rehearsals (full, well-planned warm-ups, no extra stress in the AM, de-emphasis on pressing down with the voice) and that any tired or strained voice issues are happening out on the quad, through too many hours on cellphones, and so on. Leda emphasized over and over that singers need rest, water, good nutrition, a better approach to their vocal use throughout the day, and many other things.

Our next guest was a young tenor who caught my eye at the Longleaf Opera aria competition, Jonathan Blalock. Jonathan placed second in that competition which we all attended, and I was able to get him in for two days to do even more vocal tech with our singers, and I was especially interested in him working with the guys (the ladies did get his attention as well). Jonathan stressed the importance of breath and breath management. He really helped many of the singers find more breath support connected to the sound and the ability to move air in appositive way. Of course I didn’t want these teenagers trying to sound like Jonathan and that was said out loud to them. What we did want them to emulate was the connection of all the elements in his vocal production, and developing an ear for when things feel right and sound right. Jonathan has a great live voice and a wonderfully engaging personality- so he was an excellent role model for them, since he is only about ten years older than they are. He is now off to Israel for some great opera roles.

Our next guest was Shawn Copeland, a professional clarinetist and also an Alexander Technique instructor. We were able to work with Shawn for an entire day and it was amazing. He taught physiology to the students and dispelled all sorts of misconceptions they had about their body and its physique (ably assisted by “George”, Shawn’s full skeletal model). Shawn decided to work mostly on the body mapping element of Alexander Technique but he did get into hands-on work with almost every singer in the room. He was able to reinvent posture and carriage for almost every singer, in some cases drastically improving their posture and their awareness of how they habitually hold their bodies. Wow, this day was amazing.

Dan Huff, head of music ed at UNC, Chapel Hill, visited us and talked to the students about careers in music and how to choose a music college. Dan’s presentation was extremely valuable to these students.

We also worked with the multi-talented Tigger Benford, a percussionist who teaches musicians and dancers in a very creative way. For our one session with Tigger, I chose for him to work with them on body percussion. After a few simple things, Tiger stepped up the challenge, and the students were expected to be able to use their hands, arms, feet, and whole bodies to learn (by rote) a whole series of rhythms, many of which were outside their usual area of competence (cross rhythms you would not usually run across in western music). This was a great Governor’s School moment-- a few kids wanted to give up, but I told them just keep going. No one said everything was easy in life (right?!). And the fact that this was a bit of a struggle for some of them was a good thing. I was proud that the 2-3 kids who sort of wanted to give up stepped right back into the fray of what Tigger was challenging them with. Another pearl of wisdom from Tigger that they won’t hear in their HS classroom: beat one is not always the start of everything, in fact in much music , things lead into beat one (and back out of it) , so it is just an arrival point, not just a disconnected, blatantly strong beat.

Our final guest, via Skype, was the wonderful choral composer Joan Szymko. We are working on her 2010 ACDA Brock commissioned piece “All Works of Love”, with a very simple text by Mother Teresa. Over an hour-long Skype session, Joan answered some great questions from the kids, and gave them many moments of heartfelt wisdom about the meaning of music, how texts and music compel us to think deeply about who we are, and so on. The students questions were well thought out, and Joan’s answers were brilliant. This was an amazing opportunity for young people to talk directly t to a living composer about a recent work which has been premiered to great praise. We will be singing Joan’s piece July 23rd on our final concert, and I think this personal connection with the composer will make our performance so much more meaningful.

So there you have it, a bunch of all-star guests who shared their love of music and lots of the technical things they have worked so hard to discover in their careers. To be 16 or 17 years old and gain all these insights over six weeks time was truly invaluable for these students.

North Carolina Governor's School East- Wrapping up Week Two

N. Carolina Governor’s School East: The Rest of Week One and Week Two

Well I have fallen behind on blogging- forgive me as I have two rehearsals per day, meetings, consults, leading some informal chess electives, you name it- the days get filled to the brim for students and faculty a like here. That’s a good thing until the sleep deprivation starts happening, and that can become a big issue for these students who have never pushed through that sort of thing like an adult has.

So here we go- hit and miss on topics as I pick up where I left off. We had two wonderful days with my friend Lisa Fredenbrugh as visiting clinician. Lisa did a full day of vocal tech with the kids- a big eye opener for us was her idea of thinking of breathing from your back, not some more frontward breathing point in the belly/diaphragm.I think the reason this works is that it makes you more aware of your intercostal muscles being part of the whole breathing process.We also needed work on jutting/moving jaws, and even today a week later another visiting clinician was pointing out that issue to the singers.

My assistant Susan Hahn and I continue to keep working these voices through passagios and on and on into new tessitura territory. Today we had some “altos” singing healthy high B flats(!) as they worked one on one in vocalise with today’s clinician, the very youthful and very talented Jonathan Blalock.
I was glad to see Jonathan place singers on their back on the floor to vocalize. The change in gravity and the feeling in breath support are radically different in this position, and when a singer stood back up and sang again, wow- the sound popped. My first experience with this tool was when I attended a masterclass by Richard Miller (the guru of the scientific approach to singing) a few year ago and he had one of my singer from Vox Caelestis (my professional women’s choir in Chicago at that time) do it. This was a young lady who sure had a wide, slightly odd vibrato for her age which you could see Richard did not like and when he had her do the sing on the floor thing she really had to change her approach to support. And actually, it was the first time she let her guard down and trusted that someone else might know more than she did (Miller would have been about 70 at the time, she was about 25).

This year’s GSE students are very enthusiastic, very smart, and really don’t want to stop singing when the bell rings. Even with eleven rehearsals per week, they would rather just keep going. Of course this becomes an issue in regard to their vocal health. Last Friday we had guest speaker Leda Scearce from the Duke Voice Care Center give them a presentation on keeping their voices healthy. Leda especially stresses the idea of personally planned vocal rest, and that is what I have been working with them on as well. We also are trying to stress to them that what they do in choir is pretty darn healthy- we give them well-designed warm-ups that prepare them for each rehearsal and the day, and we also work with them on connecting more to their bodies, trying to get rid of the Western trap of separating mind and body. What often isn’t healthy is what they do with their voice OUTSIDE of choir-too much cellphone talking, too much yelling on the quad, and too much Broadway or Glee belting when they have some free time near a piano. Many afternoons I ask for a countdown- I countdown from 10 as “my voice is in great shape” down to 1- “uh oh, I have a serious problem”. Anyone raising their hand when I am counting down into the 3-2-1 area is given vocal rest, yet they attend rehearsal and pay attention. Once again, this is a way for us to keep track of the endurance/pacing issue; we have to try to keep HS voices healthy over six weeks in an intense learning environment.

The last day of week one we attended the Longleaf Opera Company’s aria competition. This was an aria competition (hmm, I generally dislike arts competitions) for young artists. The nine semi-finalists we heard on Saturday afternoon were between the ages of 25- 34, i.e. singers just entering their prime. They were all quite good, but certainly some really grabbed your attention. It was wonderful for my 16-17 year olds to see where they might be in ten years. It was also very valuable for them to see storytelling going on, almost always a healthy vocal production (although there were two tired voices trying to compete), and for them to see that every not meant something. I was happy to see that a concept that Richard Miller always stressed, the idea that every note matters and that every note must ring and contain a natural vibrato, were apparent in almost every singer.

A valuable tool for us in week two has been count singing, especially for a spiritual arrangement of mine, Hear de Lambs A-cryin’. Since the melody is slow and has some sustained notes the count singing has helped teach the singers to keep those longer notes from becoming flabby, meaningless, and disconnected from the overall melodic line. For anyone unfamiliar with count singing, it’s a rehearsal technique championed by the late Robert Shaw in which the words are stripped from the piece and replaced by singing the subdivided pulse “1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and” all the way through a piece. By count singing all the eighth notes in a quarter note pulsed pieces (say 4/4) the whole line has meaning and shape, including any long notes. In addition, it becomes very apparent when chords are not tuning. My singers’ reaction to count singing was twofold; I think some of them weren’t that thrilled about it (kind of like getting them to eat their veggies!) but I did notice many of them picking up on the bit by bit benefits of it, as each time we went through it was a little better than the time before (“Baby steps” a la Bill Murray in What about Bob?).

So it’s Sunday morning the 28th now and it’s time to start wrapping up this meandering blog. Tonight the faculty here are presenting something called Lagniappe- which I hope doesn’t mean Long Nap. We each take five minutes to wow the students with whatever we want to present - a mini-lecture, a demonstration of research we might be doing, a work in progress report- underwater ventriloquism- you know, whatever we think might help them realize that the faculty here is smart and cool.

I am going to be talking about my setting of May Swenson’s poem Summer’s Bounty, a wacky poem which is a basketful of deconstructed summertime compound words. For instance morning glories becomes glories of morning, raspberries becomes berries of rasp, and one of my favorites- mushrooms becomes rooms of mush. It also contains a cool chord I stole from the opening of George Gershwin’s overture to Porgy and Bess (see George, at least I tell people where I got it).After I talk about the poem a little we’ll listen to a nice recording of the piece by the Oregon State University Chamber Choir directed by Steven Zielke.

Ciao for now!