Burning the candle at both ends.  Workaholic.  Masochist.  These are not descriptions that I would apply to myself, nor are these descriptions that any of my close friends would use to define who I am.  However, I feel more and more that at some level these words are beginning to describe what I am.  I blame it on my students.

One word that I have always used to describe myself is procrastinator.  This term does not mesh well with the ones I first mentioned.  It also doesn’t fit in well with my current goals for myself or my students, so it must simply go away.  It will no longer define me.

If only it were that easy.  30+ years of training have made me into a world-class procrastinator.  That is not something that can be undone by so many pretty words, but it will be undone.

I came to this conclusion as I considered what I’d like to do with my students, my education, and my family.  Procrastination (and its ugly cousin, laziness) make what I want to do difficult at best, impossible at worst.  I have great plans for my students; some will love it, others, not so much.  The interesting part is that those who tend to be the workaholics are the ones who will get the most out of my plans (more on that in a future post).  I also want to finish my masters.  Let’s see…I’ve started my masters in one form/subject or another in 4 different schools now.  Hopefully the next one will be it (again, more on that later).  Most importantly, I want to spend more time with the family, although, some of them are already workaholics to the point that I’ll have to schedule family events.

So… it’s time to throw off the procrastination monkey, unbury myself from the mundane and start piling on what I truly enjoy because I’m not dead yet no matter how it may appear!

This past Saturday I had the privilage of judging 9th grade OPUS Honor Choir auditions.  For those that are unfamiliar, OPUS is basically Iowa’s version of All-State Choir for students in grades 5-9.  There are 4 choirs: 5th and 6th grade mixed, 7th and 8th grade boys, 7th and 8th grade girls, and 9th grade mixed.  I listened to over 200 basses but could only chose 45 (and 7 alternates).  There were a few decisions that were easy, but many more that were very difficult.  In the end I think we selected a choir that the state of Iowa can be extremely proud of and one that is sure to delight its audience.   I’d gladly put any and all of the young men that sang for me in my choir.  I wish I could have selected them all.

This week we recorded auditions for OPUS honor choir.  I’m very picky about submitting the audition exactly as it is recorded.  However, now that the recordings have been burned to disk and submitted I can have a little fun.  I took a soprano 1, alto 1, and an alto 2 recording and mixed them together.  Then I added a little reverb.  I was amazed at how well these three ladies blended considering they recorded at seperate times.  As these recordings were made using a human accompanist, they get out of sync part way through, but I kind of like the effect.  Let me know what you think.

TK

 

 Ave Maria [1:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

There is a tangable energy that can be felt in the hallways of the music department in the junior high. This is the week of show choir auditions.

So far we have had one day of auditions and I am excited by the level of enthusiasm and talent that I have seen this far. We have a lot of talent at Southeast Polk. My one regret is that I will have to turn away many of these fine singers. I can only hope that I can keep those singers encouraged and involved and that they keep trying.

To those that make it: Great job! We are going to have an outstanding season!

There is a certain satisfaction that comes from writing and arranging music for your own choirs.  Saving money is always nice, but even better is the feeling you get when students exclaim how cool a song is or how awesome your version of the song is to sing.  It’s almost the encouragement I need to send something to a publisher.

Almost.

Next week we have show choir auditions.  I love the excitement that builds around these auditions.  Too soon we will get into rehearsals and the nitty-gritty of getting things ready for our performances, but for now there is something magical as the tension builds.  Some will end up disappointed, some will end up ecstatic.  But for now, everyone is excited.

Ok, ok, ok. Here’s a new school year resolution: I promise to update this blog on a fairly regular basis.

We will have some new technology in the classroom this year that should make it easier to record rehearsals and post samples to this blog (the audio of which is availible on iTunes).

So, here’s to new beginnings and great school years!

Time to relax and enjoy the warm weather and the relaxed atmosphere.

 Yeah, right!

Time to worry about what we’re going to sing next year!

Meanwhile, enjoy a little of our music from last year.

 

 Veni Sancte Spiritus [2:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download