Semester Exams, Solo & Ensemble, and New Music

Howdy,

This is just some ramblings about this time of year. The end of the first semester is coming soon. That means writing choir exams, figuring grades and most importantly, that the school year is HALF OVER!!!! Yes, it's downhill from here folks! The nice thing is that the schedule is different, not the same old routine, which makes it a bit easier to deal with.

Secondly, exams break up the flow we were trying to achieve in rehearsals preparing for district solo & ensemble festival. Our is 2 weeks earlier this year, and I feel a bit more of the pressure. On top of this there are more entries this year, not really a bad thing, but it's work to try and help everyone be ready to do their best. I'm sure everyone will do just fine.

The time of year that follows Christmas break is the time to dig out some new music for the choirs, especially the ones that may not be going to festival; groups like the middle school kids, and beginning high school choirs. Of course trying to find just the right choral festival piece is a challenge too, it usually means concentrating on just two pieces for awhile instead of finding the five or six needed for the next performance. Having four performing groups means a LOT of music to sort through and pick out, and begin rehearsing.

We've been watching The Phantom of the Opera in 8th grade choir. We watch the original, silent movie version, followed by the 2004 musical version. We'll pick up the medley afterwards and prepare that selection for a March concert. I'm hopeful that by watching the movies it will bring more meaning to the rehearsal process for the kids.

Right now I'm hoping that we have no school tomorrow, due to the cold, below 0 windchill factor. I could use some extra sleep!