Several years before I retired from teaching public school, I began getting invitations to conduct honor's choirs and be on adjudication panels. I was always thankful and honored to be considered for those opportunities, but running a chorus and musical theater program with 300+ students by myself took all of my energy and focus.
I almost always said no.
Back in July of 2021, without any intent to retire as of yet, I got an invitation to conduct Missouri's 2022 Middle School Allstate Honor's Choir. The timing of the event was perfect because it was in July 2022, so I knew I'd be out of school for the summer.
I said yes to the opportunity.
Because I was still fully engaged in my own teaching at the time and because this was my first Allstate Choir conducting opportunity, I didn't ask many questions. I just answered the questions I was asked and took care of the tasks the organizers asked of me.
Some context is necessary here....In August of 2021, when I started the school year with my own students, it was the first time all of the students had been back in the classroom since March 2020. We were still in masks, and I was in the midst of rebuilding my own choral program like everyone else. I was fully intending to rebuild and stay for some more years teaching at Henderson Middle.
The wonderful and patient organizer of the Missouri Allstate Choir asked me for my repertoire list for the Mixed Choir I'd conduct.
I didn't have the time or space to dig around and look for new material. So, I put together a set that came from literature I'd conducted for my advanced choirs over the years for our annual state assessment.
I played it safe.
She got back to me with a few song options I wasn't familiar with to change up the program a bit. I loved the suggestions, but I still wanted to play it safe. As I recall, I chose only one of the songs she suggested to complete the set.
Life happened- In December 2021, I made the decision to retire, and put all of my energy into finishing my career strong with one final "live" show in our lovely gym! That took pretty much all of my focus because we hadn't done a musical revue since 2019 so none of these students had gone through the process before.
Here is a video of it. It is not easy to do a show in a gym using portable sound equipment that has to be broken down and reset each time it is used, but we did our best that year after 3 years off.
I digress.
In early June of 2022, freshly retired, I started practicing and preparing to conduct for Missouri Allstate Honor's Choir. I sat at the piano and studied and learned the one song I wasn't familiar with so I could be ready for any pitfalls if the students weren't completely prepared.
I went to the event. The kids were ready, and we had a good concert.
But in hindsight, I realize I could have done so much more to ensure we all knocked it out of the park.
Now that I've been retired for 2 years, I have had the band with to really focus and prepare for these events, and I love doing it. With Colorado and Mississippi Allstate events and several district honor choirs under my belt, I've learned a lot about how to set everyone up for success to create incredible memories for the students and parents, and to send the students back into their chorus classrooms excited and ready to lead for their peers and their teachers.
Asking these questions is important because every state, district, and county has such different processes in place.
Here are some of the things I ask of the organizers and things that I do when I get these opportunities to help ensure success for all of us.
Allstate-
1) Obviously, Allstate Choirs should be filled with highly-screened students who are the top musicians in their states, but you still want to inquire about some things.
How are they screened?
What is the audition process?
How is it weighted and graded?
For example, do they value sight singing as 50% of the audition? If so, that means the quality of the voices, pitch accuracy/tone, etc., are valued less than I personally think they should be for an Allstate audition, and it is something you need to know before you pick the literature.
Do they take a test on music theory that is also a part of their score? Some states do that and that also cuts into the value of pitch accuracy/tone, etc.
We can debate how we think states should weigh their auditions all day long, but the important thing in this situation is to learn about how their students are auditioned and screened to make the choir. You'll be surprised at how different each state's process is. Having the information will help you as you choose the music.
2). Do the Allstate organizers give the students tracks to learn the music or is each teacher responsible for teaching the music? If they get tracks, how far in advance of the event do the students receive the tracks and the music? If the students get tracks, always ask to have access to the tracks as early in the process as you can. It will help you prepare. I listen to every single track (A1, A2, S1, S2, B1, with the part, without the part, etc.). How did they split S1 and S2 on this piece? The tracks help me learn the music and to know the tempos the students have been using for weeks/months as they prepare so I can walk into the rehearsals ready. For example..."On the track, the tempo is slower than I will be taking." Sometimes, I've found errors in pitch, rhythm, and diction for example. It's totally understandable, but finding those errors will help you anticipate and fix the issues quickly allowing for a better concert result!
3). Do the students get officially "checked" a week or two before the event in a second part of their audition to ensure they really know all pitches and rhythms? Or is each individual teacher responsible for making sure their students come in prepared? Obviously, having an official "second part audition" is ideal because students know they can be "cut" if they don't pass part 2 of the audition which means you can choose even more challenging music.
For Allstate, District and County Events-
5). Use of time- How many "real" rehearsal hours will you have with the students? I'm not talking about the time the teachers are doing logistics like lining them up and getting them onto stage or time rehearsing onstage with instrumentalists. I'm talking about "your" time. Is the event packed into 2 days? 3 days? What time of day is the concert? How do "breaks" work? Are they scheduled? Or do you get the opportunity to choose when the students take the breaks? The way time is used is important. These events are "first day of school/rehearsal/concert/last day of school" all within a short time, and we want to avoid getting to the point of "diminished returns" from the students right before their concert. Once I have the official schedule, I write my lesson plan out. I divide it into segments-
a). 15 minutes- A capella vocal warm-up and physical exercises to "become one" with me.
b). Sing through the entire concert from start to finish and tell the students to pretend it's concert day. I usually record it on my phone. Know how long the concert you can schedule how much time to allow. During the run-through, do not stop no matter what happens. Yes...it's scary...sometimes it is downright awful. Other times, you are amazed at how well it went, and now you get to really help them soar. By doing this, you'll quickly learn about your collaborative pianist. Are they really following your tempo/dynamic choices? Do they always play loudly and overpower the singers? Can they find a downbeat? Seriously...that has happened to me before, and I decided to allow the pianist to pick the tempo, and then he did fine. This happened in an All County event. I didn't get upset. I just made the decision that was best for the kids so they could sing as well as possible. For Allstate choirs, so far, I've always had incredible collaborative pianists.
c). Decide immediately if you need to cut a song and don't think twice about it. Trust your gut, and don't make it feel like punishment because it isn't. The goal is to give the students, teachers and audience an artistically memorable concert that gives them the "feels" with the songs that are most prepared.
d). My lessons are usually divided into 20-minute segments per song. If remediation is required for pitches/rhythms, do it first. If you need a sectional, work together with the teachers and find a way. If that happens, I usually put myself with the section that needs the most help with pitches/rhythms because, after 30 years of working with beginners, I am really quick with identifying and fixing those issues.
If pitches/rhythms are in good shape, I focus on the most important artistic moments in the songs and get the results I want so they "feel" it. When they feel it, the energy in the room is palpable, and they get hungry for more in all of the other songs. If you can help them have a super strong artistic "moment" early in the rehearsal process, it is a game-changer for the rest of your rehearsal time.
They've "bought in".
e). After the first day of rehearsals ends, go home and listen to the recording from the run-through. Combine that information with what you were able to accomplish that day, and do your lesson plan for the next day.
Other helpful hints for middle school choirs-
f). Always find great performance examples of the songs you are performing. I place the links into the notes app on my phone so that when I powerwalk, I can easily listen to them. Sometimes, I send those performance examples to the organizers and ask if they can share it with the students a few weeks ahead. This can help the students see the "big picture" of the program.
g). Always know that when you are working with middle school SAB choirs or SATB choirs, you need to ask how many changed voices will be in the choir. In All County/District events, you are likely going to have octave droppers and young men who are in choirs in their schools with 2 or 3 other boys. It's very common. This means that these boys haven't yet had the opportunity to learn to "hear" their parts and will likely sing the soprano part/melody down the octave. Be ready to address it. Take them into a stairwell and have them sing the part a capella so they can hear themselves. It helps them gel really fast. They learn to self-assess and self-correct fast when surrounded by 20 or 30 other changed voices.
h). When you are working with treble choirs in middle school, you can usually choose more challenging music, especially for Allstate choirs. Whether you are directing an Allstate SSAA choir or an All County SAB choir, choose music you love. You have such a short time with the students and they will be more inspired if they can feel your passion for the music.
i). Ask if there is a video or audio of a past year's event that you can see/hear before picking the music.
Last suggestion regarding use of time...
For the final hour or so of rehearsal, I usually focus on discussing the meanings and background of the songs with the children so we can connect the technical aspects to the heart and to the eyes of the children when they sing. It is like putting icing on a cake.
"People forget what you say. They forget what you do, but they don't forget how you make them feel." Maya Angelou. I always use that quote during the final hour, and I talk about the incredible power music has to move people and how important it is to respect that power. ...And to revel in this very special opportunity to make art together in this space and time.
Once you are on stage with the children, it's the last day of school. You'll be out the door and headed back home soon...leaving them with an incredible memory of a very special experience.
Here is an audio clip of an Allstate Choir I conducted recently. It was magical. If you want to hear from from that performance, contact me directly video email. Inthemiddlewithmrd@gmail.com and write in the subject line- "I'd like to hear more of the Paper Crane performance". If you'd like to book me for your Allstate/District/All-County event, please email me. In the subject line, write "Booking".
