Artistry
Listen to all of your music, without singing (did I just say that?) and learn to see, hear, and appreciate the beauty through sound. Then it is important to work on your own beautiful sound...not just sound but phrasing. That is such a gift. Please don’t minimize or dismiss this—your work matters so much and it shows professionalism.
Artistic performance starts with three things: dynamics, balance, and breath.
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Dynamics in the shaping of each phrase, moving the sound forward, bringing out the character and emotion of each section.
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Balance between melody, other parts and accompaniment.
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Breath to create space between phrases, punctuation in rhythm, and communicate that music is a living, breathing thing.
Reflect
I encourage you to reflect on our concerts ahead. YOUR concerts ahead, and think about what you want them to look like and sound like. Your list of things or your definitions of each one may vary from mine and that’s how it should be. We’re always evolving as singers and as director.
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What one thing stands out to you the most from this list?
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Curiosity - Observe (what's going on in this song?), discover (How does your voice move on jumps. What does your body do to make legato. What happens within your body when you make a big K sound?), problem-solve (How can I make that octave jump easier? How can I find my note?), ask questions (within and of others) and study the results. Approach challenges with a sense of wonder and intrigue.
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Research - Explore things from multiple perspectives (What do the lyrics have to say?
Who has the melody here? What is my tongue doing? Is it in its bed?), and experience joy of creating beautiful music. -
Connection - Allow for stories of relatable experiences that connect to a song, to be shared by singers. Before and after rehearsal is time to talk with each other. You've heard me say, "Choirs need to be like a family." A loving family plays together, eats together, talks together, listens to each other. Let's all listen for our connection.
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Excellence - What does excellence look like in practice? Aristotle wrote: "We are what we repeatedly do, therefore, excellence is not an act, but a habit." Excellence is professionalism.
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5. Community - You've heard me say, "Choirs need to be like a family." A loving family plays together, eats together, talks together, listens to each other. Let's all listen to our "family."
I know of several very successful choirs...one is a professional choir. Another is a gay men's chorus and the last one is a community chorus much like ours. All three have at least one annual retreat. These retreats are to build the family, the community. They eat together. They play together. They talk together, dream together and of course, sing together.
When I was a church musician, I had annual retreats at the beginning of the fall when we started up for the season. Until we got too large to go where we had been going, we went for a weekend. It was a wonderful time and we all looked forward to going. Once we were too big, we had a day long retreat at another church. It was important to be away. It was a time to build the program, but more importantly, it was a time to build relationships, care for each other, eat together, see each other for who they were, and of course, we prayed together. I believe this building community was essential to making music.
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Did you find something that stood out to you on this page? I'd love to listen to you.
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Be professional when in ACFAC.
1. Be prepared
2. Be prompt
3. Attendance is expected
4. Outstanding work ethic
5. Be organized
6. Cooperate with each other
7. Sit up tall, preferably on the front edge of your chair, with both feet on the floor.
8. Do your best at all times, not just at concerts.
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