A Concert...again.

As a choral music director/teacher, I struggle with whether I want my choir to "know" music or just perform music. It is very easy to pick one road or the other yet I am not sure which one is better. I try every year to cram more teaching of the literacy/technical points of music while still trying to uphold a pretty rigorous concert/performance schedule. Usually the two collide many times during the trimester and my job becomes extremely frustrating.

Let me try to explain: In September and October, I focus on the very basics of tone production, vowel formation, and breathing--these all deal with the performance side of vocal music. I also spend equal amounts of time on Rhythm, Solfege (do, re mi's), note reading, and interval training--these would fall into the literacy part of "knowing" music. And then all of the sudden, we stop. We stop sight reading, rhythm reading, and ear/interval training because we have a concert to give. And then right after that concert (which is next week), we have about 25 class days to get ready for a Christmas concert. And the vicious cycle begins again.

Sometimes I wish I would have chosen to become a Math or Science teacher. (this is a joke because these are my WORST subjects). But honestly, those departments have teams of teachers that work together to align curriculum so that it works. Choir teachers are rarely found in teams but usually are singletons. So, who do we begin to align curriculum with? When we have monthly department meetings, I gather with the 4 gym teachers, 1 art teacher (who now is teaching at the elementary as well so she doesn't attend) and the band director (who teaches at the middle school during the meeting time!). It is called a "specials" team. Isn't it special that there are 4 gym teachers and 1 choir teacher that gather in one place to talk about things that they DON'T have in common? I don't think it is an extremely useful way to spend my time!

I now know why I am a special teacher. I am all alone. I teach in my own wing of the building. I rarely see another adult on any given day. I can go for days without communicating with any adult during work hours if I choose. I can actually get work done in my office (which I don't share with any other teacher) and not ever be tempted with idle chit chat. This makes me special. HELLO?? Does anyone know me? Do you know that I love to gab with anyone in sight? Sometimes, I walk up to the office copy machine (off limits to teachers) and make copies so that SOMEONE will say hello to me. So what is so special about this?

I teach my choirs to sing. I teach them to read music. I teach them to love music and respect each others gift. I deep down know this is why I am special. What math or science teacher does this? Oh, and have you ever heard of a "Math Concert"? Yup. Me neither.

And now onto a little plea. Would ANYONE like to direct my concert next week? My kids can sing an "O" vowel perfectly (when I convince them to and they are all paying attention) and they can count simple rhythms but they aren't really ready for this public performance piece of the curriculum. It is so hard to put my reputation out there every 6-7 weeks. I guess this makes me special too.

YUCK!
Heidi