Grateful- Reflecting on 2023 and looking ahead!

I am excited.  I am nervous.  I am grateful.

2024 is almost here.  

I'm conducting my first Allstate chorus events early in the year.  

In early 2023, I was asked to conduct Allstate for Colorado and for Mississippi by the teachers who organize the events.  

I am/was so honored.

And honestly....I'm scared to death.  

For 30 years, I knew my students...I knew what they could do.  I knew how they were prepared going in.  I knew which music to choose based on where they were and how well I had prepped them...or not. 

I could deal with the results and learn...based on my work...my own failure or success in prepping them.    And I could learn.  

...Because it's always about those children who land before you...and not what you think/thought/hoped they were...or would be...

So, as usual...I'm obsessing...because I want the children who are about to land before me, and the parents who love them...the teachers who did everything they could to get those children ready to have an experience that will impact them in ways they can't know or understand.  

I'm looking forward to the challenges that I/we will face for these important events for the children.  

I hope I chose the right music based on your audition processes.  

I hope they enjoy learning the music.  

I hope you enjoy teaching it.

I hope they, and you, have an experience that will make your hearts sing.

Thank you for trusting me.

D

 

Remembering My Mom Each Christmas

Watch this first.

It was my 42nd birthday, March 24, 2006 when we got the news that my 68 year old Mom had stage 4 Pancreatic Cancer from the doctors at Duke in Durham.

I had just finished adjudication with my students, and I was in full musical production mode, but I got into my car and drove straight from Atlanta to Durham.  

I walked into the hospital room.  She was on the phone telling a friend.  She wasn't crying though.  She seemed relieved.  Her health hadn't been good for years.  She lived mostly in poverty.  My siblings and I sent her money, and she had disability, but she was simply existing and not able to really live a full life. 

She and my father divorced after 22 years of marriage.  My mother was a very smart woman in so many ways, but she never had the opportunity to get a college education.  When she left my father, I think she hoped to scare him into stopping drinking...from my child's eyes, that is what I saw.  

I was 11.  

But he moved on quickly, and within 3 months of separation, Dad was dating my future step-mom who ended up being the love of his life and a wonderful human for our family at that time.  She brought stability in what had been a volatile home environment.  

My mother and my father married 12/14/55 at the ages of 18.  Six days later, my father was in a hunting accident and lost his leg.  

Can you imagine?  Two teenagers with no means trying to cope with something like this?

2 years later, they had my sister, and a year after that, they had my brother.

And then...whoops...5 years after that, I came along.  

Because of the hunting accident, Mom never finished high school, and I think she always regretted that.  She always thought she was dumb...but she was not dumb.  In hindsight, she had some learning disabilities and speech issues that would have totally been dealt with much better in public school given the tools we have today.  

But she loved her three children...and she gave us the most incredible Christmas experiences.  We were a "one-government salary" family of five, and she did it on a minimal budget.  She worked so hard to make sure our Christmas mornings were special.  She decorated, cooked and she tried to make sure we got whatever special gift we wanted that year from Santa.

I was an over-achiever.  I got straight A's from grades 1-3, but in fourth grade, I came home with a "C".

I was devastated.  

I came teary eyed into the bathroom.  She was cleaning the mirror.  She kept going about her business.

"Mama...I have something to tell you."

"Ok baby...go ahead".

She looked at me and saw my tears.

"I got a C".

She looked away back at the mirror and continued her work, and she said..."Did you do your best"?

I said..."Yes."   

And it was the truth...I think I'd finally landed in classes with students who were naturally more intellectually gifted that I was/am, and I couldn't quite keep up.  

She wasn't mad.  She just supported her disappointed over-achieving son with a hug, and we moved on.  Later that year, I was back to getting straight A's.

She made huge sacrifices for me as all mothers do...especially during the march to the divorce.

Mom had no means.  Prior to the separation between her and my dad, her job had been to take care of the house and the children, and she was great at it.

But now she needed to work...without a high school degree.

She figured it out.  She was a cashier at the Tastee Freeze...and at Sears Cafeteria.  She LOVED it.  She loved the people.  She was so good at it.  

When the separation happened, I wanted to live with Mama.  

She had no place for us to live.  She wasn't assertive in business and with lawyers.  She just wanted out of the marriage.  We lived with her sister for a while.  Her sister had a lovely home with a space for us that was 30 minutes from my school.  Mama didn't want me to change schools, and neither did I.

I slept on the floor in front of Mom's bed each night.

We'd get up every morning.  She'd drive 30 minutes to drop me off (We used Dad's address so I could stay in the same school) and then 30 minutes home.  

Then, she'd go to work.

The school bus would drop me off at Dad's house and then Mom picked me up for the 30 minute drive back to our spot at her sisters house.

Later on, my Mom rented a trailer from another sister about 35 minutes away, and we did the same ritual for three years.

By the time I was 14, we were living back in town closer to my Dad, but it meant I'd need to switch schools for 9th grade but I'd still get to go to the same high school the next year.  Best of both worlds...new friends in a new school...and we'd all combine the next year.

That was a good year.  Apartment living was new...we had a pool...I made new friends.  Dad's house was closer.

Mom made a new friend at the apartment complex...a man whom she truly loved.  His name was Hank.  I'd never, in my life, seen my mother more radiant than this one night before they went on a date.  She was wearing a bright green dress.  She was gorgeous...and happy.

He took time with me.  We went to the pool together...to dinners together...He was a tennis player, and he taught me to play.  

He clearly loved my mom.  

He wanted to move to Arkansas to be closer to his children from his previous marriage, and he wanted her to marry him and to move with him.

My mom didn't want to move me from my school.  She had never lived anywhere other than the Durham area.

 She agonized.  I told her...Mom!  You're happy...GO.  I'll come.  It's fine.  You're happy.  

She didn't go.

And her life took a darker turn to men who weren't good for her.  

She had mental health struggles.

When I was 18, and I was forced out of the closet before I was ready, Mom never turned her back on me or betrayed me as others who were close to me did.

I will never forget her unwavering support of me at the critical times in my life.  

I struggled with some of her choices while I was in my 20's, and I wasn't in touch with her as much as I should have been.

I met my husband Joe when I had just turned 31.

Early in our relationship after hearing this journey, he said, "Your Mother never turned her back on you when everyone learned you were gay."

Many LGBTQ people don't work to maintain the relationships of family and friends who turn their backs on them because they are gay, but I did.  I understand why people think it isn't worth the effort.  It isn't always rainbows and unicorns, but for me, it was important, and I don't regret the effort. 

I had 10 wonderful adult years with my Mom thanks to my husband Joe who helped me see.  We went on cruises together...spent holidays together...we took her to New York together for the first time...and laughed and cried together about the joys and challenges of life.

So, this Christmas tree in the video...When Mom passed, I wanted it.  She got it at Walmart.  She loved Christmas more than anything.  My niece Josie, use to decorate it as a child when Mom wasn't able to get around as well.  She'd tell her everything to do...where to put this ornament or that ornament...and on and on.  I handle it so gingerly and respectfully every year I pull it out.  I love it so much.  The doll on the edge is a Radio City Rockette.  We took Mom to the Radio City Rockette show, and she was in HEAVEN.  So, we bought her one.  That's why the doll has prime spot in front of the tree each year.

You may see some items from students on there the tree that were for me.  I only included items that I received from children while Mom was still here with us.  Nothing new goes on the tree ever.  It's too sacred just as it is.

Mom's work continued after her passing.  

This is her Eulogy.

She only had 4-6 weeks to live.  She didn't want treatment.  

So, my brother arranged for a colleague to interview her about her life.  

About 4 weeks later, I asked my husband if I could send Mom's eulogy to his Mom...whom I'd never met (11 years after starting our lives together), and whom hadn't spoken with her son for 6 years after he came out to her....and he said yes.  She emailed immediately and said "I'll fix this.  I'm in tears."

And she did.

I love watching Joey and his Mom together.  

I will never forget my Mom's face when she walked up to me on my high school graduation day.  Her eyes were filled with emotion...her last of three had graduated high school.

I share this because it's a part of my journey.  

I share it because this stuff still happens to children now.  

I am so thankful for the time I had with my wonderful Mom.

Mom's do more than we know.  

And I can still hear Mama singing me "Happy Birthday" when I walked into the hospital room on March 24, 2006 for the final time.   ...Just like it was yesterday.

I love you Mama.

xoxo

Thank you Teachers of Olathe, Kansas-and every single one of you-

Back in mid-October, I did a one-hour Zoom training session on S-Cubed for the choir teachers of the Olathe, Kansas school district at the request of one of the teachers in their district.  

A couple of weeks later, one of the teachers reached out to me to say they'd decided as a district to all use S-Cubed Sight Singing Program district-wide, and they needed some input from me to help complete the paperwork (PAPERWORK!!!!  AHHHHH!) to gain district approval for the purchase.  Another week or two pass, and they emailed me the above picture because their request had been approved by the district.

I loved everything about this photo-  I am old, so it reminded me of the "Publisher's Clearing House" surprise squad which I always loved watching.  The impact of a surprise approval or surprise win makes the win/approval even more special.

And ironically, a couple of days after they let me know about the approval, this showed up on my television screen at home randomly as we listened to holiday music.  

There is so much positive "juju" in this story that it reminds me how grateful I am to every single teacher who has followed my work all of these years, helped to spread the word about S-Cubed online and in your district meetings, invited me to do professional development or to conduct your Allstate and Honor's Choirs.  

In this season of Thanksgiving, I had to let all of you know how grateful I am for all of you.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving with your family and friends!

Sincerely,

Giveaway for Michigan!

Click the link below (a Rafflecopter Giveaway), and then enter using one or both of the two options.  Make sure to include your correctly spelled email address at least one time so that I can ensure that you get the product!  Someone in this workshop today will win the entire S-Cubed Program that includes Levels 1 and 2!  That's a LOT of curriculum!  You must enter before 3 PM today.  Winner will be announced live at the end of the workshop day!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Lesson 3 of S-Cubed is now FREE on TpT

When I created S-Cubed a decade ago, I listed Lesson 3 - Ear Training, as a "stand alone" product because of the ear training ideas I included.  

So, I was thinking today...why not just make that lesson free so people can use those ideas for their choirs whether they use S-Cubed or not.  

So, today, I made it free.

https://www.teacherspayteachers.com/Product/S-Cubed-Lesson-3-Ear-Training-Successful-Sight-Singing-850014

Subscribe to my email list for all future offerings!  Send me an email at inthemiddlewithmrd@gmail.com and write "Subscribe" in the subject line.  Join us on Facebook at I Teach Middle School Chorus for support!

My New "Sound of Music" Unit

I love "The Sound of Music" movie...so much so that I went to Salzburg and took The Sound of Music bus tour, and I got all of the behind the scenes stories.

While there, I also took the train to the Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and walked through the town of Sachsenhausen to the camp and took a tour of the camp.

It is with that point of view that I created this unit for my middle school students.

I wanted them to certainly enjoy the movie, but I also wanted to give them a deeper understanding of the real life events that were happening during the time the Sound of Music is set. I wanted to help them connect the dots.

As you teach this unit, you will connect with your students during the discussions.

This Sound of Music Unit will work best with mature 10 year olds and up to age 15 who are in social studies and music classes. You will get a word find, a 60 question viewer's guide for students with teacher answer key, two 10 question quizzes with answer key, and a discussion guide that will help you link the events of the movie to real world history. This unit will guide you in discussions about the Holocaust, Adolf Hitler, the Anschluss, Nazi's and how it relates to the dramatization of the Von Trapp's real life experience during that time. Your students will enjoy watching one of the greatest movie musicals of all time while learning about one of the darkest times in World History.

I showed the movie every year to my 5th and 6th graders during my 30 years teaching public school, and I led these discussions with them after realizing many of the students didn't understand why the family was hiding after the Captain avoided working with the Third Reich. Even if your students have seen the movie before, this unit will give the students a greater appreciation for it, and and it will help them want to dig deeper.

You will start the unit with a word find that leads to a discussion before you begin watching the movie. Your students will use the 60 question viewer guide as they watch. During the days you watch, you will end with a discussion about the movie plot and relate the characters to real life events from that time period. You will administer two quizzes during the time of the unit. At the end of the unit, you can choose to watch the Oprah Winfrey interview with the actors in which they tell fun stories about the filming process and what that was like. You will also get links to reliable sites with other information about the Holocaust and the real Von Trapp Family.

If you have a deep interest this period of history and want to teach your students about more than the surface value of this musical movie, this will be a great unit for you to use with your students!

Click here to view it in my TpT Store.

Team Building is so Important.... and Successfully Introducing New Music to your Middle School Singers

Calling ALL middle school teachers...not just chorus teachers!

Team Building Activities at the start of the year really help you learn about your middle school students, help them learn about you and each other creating connections from the start. The old saying "They don't care how much you know until they know how much you care" really applies to this age group.

When middle school students feel connected to you and to the other students in the class, they work so hard for you and for you class. Your class will be the safe, fun space they can't wait to get to daily if you take the time to build the relationships.

In this 17 page Google Slide presentation, you will get 10 games that you can use with your students. Several of them are perfect for the start of the year, and some can be used later and one of them is ongoing. The idea is to start strong connections early in the year and to keep them throughout the year. In this product, you will get games that will do all of those things.

Click here to see the product on TpT.

Some of the most common things I see posted on social media in I Teach Middle School! Facebook page are-

1). How do you introduce new music?

2). Why can't they follow an octavo? (Because we haven't taught it!)

3). Why can't they hold their parts? (Because we didn't teach carefully...habits are hard to break).

In this new product, I share an unlisted video I made just for this in which I take you through step by step, day by day how I introduced and taught a song to my beginners. It's me sitting at the piano in my living room talking you through the process.

I also give you some rehearsal techniques to use that allow you to give them the repetition they need to get the parts ingrained and to avoid having your altos sing soprano or having the baritones sing the soprano part one octave down. I share some reasons why students struggle at certain moments in the song with pitches...things you may not have thought about.

Successfully Introducing New Songs to your Middle School Singers

My Zoom Session with a Phenomenal Middle School Choral Director

People forget what you say.  They forget what you do.  But they don't forget how you made them feel.

Maya Angelou

This was one of the first songs I heard (and saw) when I adjudicated in Alabama in March 2023.

Paper Crane.  Do yourself a favor and don't read on until you've listened to it...and watched it.

-------

I will never forget how I felt each time the students of Alicia Moreno Mulloy walked onto the stage that day.  She had multiple groups.  

The way they responded to every intake of air, every crescendo/descrescendo, sforzando...all of it.  The energy in the tone.  The way they watched her.  The looks on their faces...they were so committed to the music and the meaning and to singing for her and for us...Their conviction was profound.  The feeling in the room as beauty of the what we were witnessing and hearing was unforgettable.  The heartbeats of every human in the room were beating as one.  

It's what we all strive for when we make art.

This was the work of an amazing middle school teacher, and I wanted to know what she was doing.

So, naturally, I stalked her on Facebook and sent her a message.

She responded.

And then, she agreed to be on my 2023 Zoom series "Ask Mr. D" as the final guest for the season.  I had hosted some of the greats of middle school music monthly since March (Emerson/Cari Miller/Crocker/Gilpin), and it felt right to finish with a teacher who is doing it now in the classroom with public school students....not at an Arts Academy...just a regular school...not that there is anything wrong with arts academies...it's just that I'm a big proponent of public school education and changing those kids lives who don't necessarily have many advantages in their lives.  

I am proponent of giving those kids passion for something they didn't see coming.

And that is exactly what Alicia Moreno Mulloy (Mrs. M&M) is doing...now.  

Once school let out, she sent me an email including links to some of her performances with the students as well as some fun videos she makes with the students similar to To Dos and NOT to dos of Middle School Chorus that I made almost a decade ago.  Students LOVE doing stuff like that, and it is a good bonding experience as you create projects like those.

After July 4th, I started sharing her videos on social media and with my email list, and the response was/is amazing...because the work she is doing is amazing.

Two weeks before the July 27th Zoom, I met with her one-on-one on Zoom to learn more about her work so I could plan for the Zoom.  

My first impression was that she was...just Alicia.  No pretense.  Here I am.  This is me.  This is where I am from.  

And middle school kids love that from us because they see through us anyway.

She grew up with 4 siblings, and they slept in the living room because her parents worked hard, but didn't make a lot of money.  As a child, her only goal in life was to not be homeless.  Her parents said, we don't have money for college, so if you want to go, figure it out. 

She didn't intend to major in music.

She wanted to get a basketball scholarship.  She got one to a school in Arizona.  She was scouting Alcorn State University and wanted to do the basketball thing there.    She took her Clarinet with her.  She was an instrumentalist.   After hearing her play, the band director said, "If you play in my band, we will cover you tuition...BUT...if you study music education, we will cover tuition, room and board.

And so she studied instrumental music.  

She started teaching band.

Later, her husband's job moved the family to Alabama, where she planned to be an Assistant Principal, but the reciprocity laws state by state didn't work.  

So, she got a music job...but it wasn't in band.  

It was chorus.

And THAT is why we have this incredible teacher in our area of music education.

Several twists of fate...

During our one-on-one meeting, she told me that we had met before.  I'm like..."WHAT?  When and how?"  She pulled up a photo of the two of us.  I had totally forgotten this, but I had presented S-Cubed Sight Singing Program for Beginners and other workshops at the Alabama ACDA summer conference several years ago, and she was there desperately looking for ideas to survive the transition from being a band teacher to being a chorus teacher.  

She told me that she had loved the gamification of learning sight singing so she purchased S-Cubed.  As a band person by training and not a singer, she was basically in need of someone to just tell her what to do, and to make it fun...and that's was S-Cubed is all about.  Over the years, I have heard from many band teachers who have been placed into the chorus classroom to teach that they've found S-Cubed to be a life saver, and it helped Mrs. M&M.

I don't know about you, but I am so thankful I never had to teach band.  I feel certain that I would not soar in a band classroom the way she is soaring in middle school choral music.

For her, it is first about forming relationships with the students...before the music.

And you can tell...And she shares of lot of things in the Zoom that will help you and give you ideas.

Do yourself a favor if you are looking for inspiration and listen to this Zoom session.  When you go to the YouTube link, read the YouTube video description I wrote.  There are links to her performances as well as some materials she shared with all of us.

I have pretty much decided 2024 season of Ask Mr. D will feature more teachers like Mrs. M&M.  During the fall, look out for a google document where you can nominate yourself or a middle school choir director who is killing it.  You'll share video links to the teacher's work, and we will try to convince them to come share their tips and tricks on Zoom!  Make sure you are on my email list so you don't miss out!  Write "Subscribe" in the subject link and email me at inthemiddlewithmrd@gmail.com.

I want to continue to help middle school choir directors be the best they can be for the students who land in front of them.

Here is the link to the Zoom on YouTube.

Does S-Cubed Work with High School Students? Matthew Sawtelle- Guest Blogger- July 2023

Today, we have a guest blogger-  Teacher Matthew Sawtelle-  Thank you Matthew!

Matthew Sawtelle

DIrector of Music for the Braintree Public Schools, k-12 (Braintree, Ma)

matthew.sawtelle@braintreeschools.org

Teaching Experience:

Braintree High School Choral - 2019 - present

Braintree South Middle School Choral - 2005-2019

Dudley Middle School Band - 2003-2005

Undergraduate Degree 

 Anna Maria College - Bachelors in Music Education - 2003

Master’s Degree

  Boston University - Music Education - 2007

C.A.G.S.

 American International College - Education Administration - 2015

 I came across S-Cubed when searching online for new ways to teach solfege to my students at the middle school level.  I went through college always thinking I would be a band teacher, and never had a focus on solfege.  I knew the basics, but it was not my forte.  I wanted to find a way to get the basics of solfege and sight singing instilled into my students.  I have always approached middle school teaching with the philosophy that students are only limited by what we think they are able to accomplish.  I saw the videos of Dale’s students at festival sight reading pieces with such accuracy and I was sold.  I purchased the S-cubed program the following school year and began implementation.  

Of course, there was some push back with trying something new, with my veteran students, but the outcome was the proof they needed.  I video taped the students working through the exercises in the start of the year, and then sporadically as the year progressed.  We finished the year with students sight reading 16 measure multi-part phrases, when they started off struggling on 4 measure unison.  I went back and showed the students the videos for them to see their own progressions, and they were sold.  I continued using this for the last five years or so that I was at the middle school level.  When I moved up to the director position, and was teaching high school, I thought my S-cubed days were done.  Then Covid happened….

As we have begun the rebuild, my students had lost not only their sight reading ability, they lost the continuity of classroom procedures.  We all have experienced it.  I went back to what worked with my middle school students.  From day one of position one, two, and three, to the forbidden pattern game, students were becoming engaged in class again.  They were asking for more sight reading examples, and forbidden pattern games.  At the high school level, I was able to progress much faster, since I was now seeing the students every day, instead of only three days out of a six day cycle like we did in middle school.

The basics that are instilled in the program were exactly what was needed for the high school students.  I did have to mark up the powerpoint presentations so they didn’t say anything about middle school on them, but the students were able to rebound as we pushed through each day.  Students who thought they weren’t able to sight read were suddenly getting their “lightbulb” moment.  I was able to rebuild and bring students to the state festival, had students being selected for All-State, as well as various choral groups across the south shore of Massachusetts.  

 I cannot praise Dale’s work with S-Cubed enough.  The simple approach to solfege and sight singing has been a tremendous help to my teaching.  It gave me a new confidence in being able to teach music, and also boosted the confidence in all of my students.  My students would not have progressed the way they did without the implementation of this program. I must say that in order for it to work, you need to buy in completely.  Do each unit as prescribed and work.  Don’t worry about how fast you progress.  As long as you are consistent, the process works.  It is proven.  If you don’t fully believe it from my own testimony, then try it out for yourself.  Own it!  Make it your own, and push your students beyond what they ever thought they were capable of achieving.    

The brain and singing- Remembering Tony Bennett

On July 21, 2023, the great American singer, Tony Bennett, passed away at the age of 96 due to complications from Alzheimer's disease.

What a voice....what a legacy...what a leader...what an incredible spirit.

If you aren't aware of this interview with Anderson Cooper, take a look.

Alzheimer's robbed Mr. Bennett of most of his ability to effectively communicate, but as we have heard so many times before, it didn't rob his brain of remembering the music.  The minute the music came on, he could still sing it...every single word...even in 2021.

Lady Gaga paired up with Mr. Bennett in 2014 for an album and that started a really special relationship that lasted until he passed away.  In 2016, he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.  She talks about their special connection in the links above, and if you do some digging on Google/YouTube, you'll find more than I have supplied here.  

I am not a doctor.  I am not a brain expert.  I haven't researched much about it at all...but as with everything I've ever written related to teaching, my research lab was my 30 years teaching middle school chorus and musical theater while teaching my beginning students to learn to sight sing.  

I taught ages 11-14.

Their brains are still developing at that age.  And as we age, many of us have the opposite issue...our brains decline.  

During my teaching career, I loved watching my students "brains" awaken when they slowly started to develop, step by step, the skill sets needed to figure out how to take the dots and symbols off the page and effectively read the music on their own a capella without any help from me.  

I could see it in their eyes...Their eyes looked different as they worked to figure out a sight singing example.  They were so determined to take the new skill set I was methodically teaching during any given week and adding the new tool into their toolbox...and bit by bit, they became more fluent in the language of music. 

Combining the kinesthetic, auditory and visual skills needed to figure out how a sight singing example happens does something to the brain...something good.

Same with crescendo's and decrescendo's in our repertoire...and the focus required to follow a conductor successfully and to respond to the cues.

All of it does something good to the brain that is so good for the children who sing in our choirs.

I am a Pickleball enthusiast and coach these days, and I play in Open Play events with a lot of people all over the country when I travel to conduct or teach teachers.  

I play with an 80 year old woman sometimes.  We will call her Shea.  I think Shea has some dementia happening...again...not sure because I haven't asked...but she forgets the score a lot.  She looks down at the ground for a really long time before serving the ball.  I wait.  And wait...out of respect...until she looks up at me.  Then, I say the score for her.

I have a theory that when dementia starts, people who have it sometimes become way more visual.  

It's no secret that I am older (59) and that I've had a bit of...let's say...maintenance...done.  Yup...and that includes some hair dye.  I see my hairdresser every three weeks.  Coloring isn't an exact science.  So, if you have your hair done that frequently, the result isn't always going to be just right.  So, every time it's not "just right", Shea's eyes light up and she says..."Did you do something to your hair?"   Every single time...because she has forgotten that just 3 weeks ago, she did the same thing.

Her eyes look different...just like my students eyes change as their brains awaken with music...just like my father's eyes...He also has dementia.  Shea's eyes and my father's eyes light up when something visually stimulating happens...like my hair color change...or beautiful clouds in the sky...or a rainbow...And I love watching it.  

At least until 2021, and maybe longer, music continued to awaken Tony Bennett's brain, and it is/was magical to see and hear.  

What we do by teaching music and singing is so important.  Treasure it...and know that you are making a huge difference.

Why is this concert so LONG?

Time is our most valuable asset.

You can't buy it. 

It's not infinite for us mortal humans.

We all waste it on the occasion, for sure...and sometimes we just need to stop and not think about how we are wasting it.

How we use our time and the time of others says a lot about our priorities.  

For choir directors, it means respecting the time of the children and their parents during concerts.

Concert length is the topic...and how concert length impacts growth...or deters from it.

And my question is...Why do some choir directors feel the need to make concerts so long?

And why do some choir directors talk so much during the concert?  And often, they say the same thing over and over when audience members mostly just want to see and hear their children sing.  

It's not about us.  It's about the children and their parents...most of whom are working full-time and are just trying to be there for their children.  

If we set a standard of respect for time, the word spreads.

How can we economize the use of time when doing our concerts?  How important is the performance experience?  How long does a concert need to be?  How long should it be?

That's what we are addressing here: 

#1-  Start precisely on time.  People will soon learn that you do that, and they will get there on time...including time for parking and walking.  Make sure you tell your students that is what you do.  7 PM is not 7:10 PM.  "If your parents are always late, tell them the concert starts at 6:30"....They will giggle, and you will proceed with protecting their time and yours.

#2-  To start on time requires excellent planning on your part.  Dot the i's....cross the t's.  Plan.

#3-  How can you set up the situation using the circumstances you face (I had a gym) to minimize the amount of time used to move between the performances of your various choirs if you have more than one?  Do you have to file on and off?  Can you figure out a set up that doesn't require filing onto and off of the same risers?  So much time is wasted with filing onto and off of a stage or set of risers.  Can you break up the concerts?  

#4-  How can you keep the audience for the entire time?  If the 6th graders sing first, and they don't have anything else to do, then a lot of the people who came to see 6th graders will leave after the sixth graders are done, and that always feels disappointing to the students who are still yet to sing. Should they leave?  No...but some will if you don't set it up carefully.  How about a joint number at the end? 

#5- Talk less.  I've been to so many concerts when a teacher pats themselves on the back at the 50 minute mark.  They haven't talked the whole time...and then they do...and for too long.  "We just got that done in under an hour, and we have one more song."  Then, they talk for 10 minutes and say the same thing over and over.  Then, they sing what was supposed to be in the final song followed by another final song.  Less is more.  Leave people wanted more.

#6-  The impact of the performance experience for the children and for the community is huge.  So, why can't we just do a short one?  We can.   We should when it is appropriate.

"People forget what you say.  They forget what you do.  They don't forget how you make them feel."  Maya Angelou.  

That quote drove me through my career.

When you decide to do a short performance because you understand the impact the performance will have on the children, your program and their parents, just tell them ahead of time.  

Market it that way.

"This is a mini-concert".  

Then, they will know.  They will decide whether to come if they can.  

But the students will have a "live" audience.  They will hear the applause.  They will feel the experience.  And that is what changes everything.  

Do we need to wait until December to do a concert?  Should we?

No.

Do a small one in late September or early October.  Market it that way to your students and parents so that you can give a performance experience to those children.  Two or three songs.  It doesn't matter.  Just say to everyone that is what you are doing and give those students that experience...which will change them...and there outlook on chorus.  

Do a bigger one in December...but definitely not over an hour.

Focus on adjudication in the spring, but look ahead and start teaching the music for your final concert so neither you or the kids get bored.  

And then, don't make that spring event too long.  Make it fun.  Give people the feels doing the stuff you love because that will sustain you as you work to survive spring fever.  Then, they can revel in that all summer and think about how they can't wait to come back to chorus next year.  

Just a few more weeks of school.  Hang in there.