Choral Warm-ups Handout - Myself and Emily Wright

Choral Warm-ups (Evan Harte & Emily Wright)

• Physical: (face-lift exercise)
  
  “Eyebrow situps” - This involves fully raising the eyebrows, relaxing them, and repeating continuously to create awareness of the extent of the eyebrows. Next, hold eyebrows in a fully raised position.
  
  “Lower jaw extension” – Keeping the jaw extended low used in conjunction with raised eyebrows while singing helps the performer communicate to the audience and makes the face look more pleasant.
  
  “Silent cheering” - Since shouting is bad for the voice, use silent cheering of letters of choice to practice this “pleasant face”.

• Breathing: (breath pulse)
  
  First off, take a deep breath. In staggered “sips”, let this breath out slowly while repeating the syllable “ch” (note: the entire breath should take about 10-15 seconds to release; the time interval between each “ch” sound should be quite short).
  
  Try rhythms on this syllable (“ch”): ta, ti-ti, ta, ta, etc.
  
  
  
  
• Diction: (forward tongue/tuned continuants)
  
  Place the tip of the tongue directly behind the teeth and say “oo, oh, ah, ae, ee” (note: remember to keep space in the jaw/mouth for resonance).
  
  To work on sustaining and emphasizing the consonances “m” & “n”:
  Say, “moo, mo, ma, mae, mee” ; then sing it on a single pitch
  Say, “noo, no, na, nae, nee” ; then sing it on a single pitch
  
  Sing the word “Amen” on a single pitch. Hold the “Ah” syllable first. Then move to the “Mmm” sound, holding at length. And finish by saying “men” but holding the “Nnn” sound at length.

• Resonance:
  
  Sing “do, re, do, ti, do” on syllables “oo, oh, ah, ae, ee”. Repeat with different starting pitches.
  With this exercise, one is looking for breath energy and for sound projection.
  (note: the extension of the lower jaw helps support this idea of sound projection)

• Flexibility: (broken triads up to an octave in range)
  
  (note: sing the following on “ah” ; solfege used to indicate intervals ; start on a comfortable pitch in mid-range)
  
  Sing the following triad arpeggios: do, sol, me, sol (x2)
  
  Once comfortable, add this to the above exercise: do, la, fa, la (x2)
  
  Then, combine the above two exercises with: do, ti, sol, ti (x2)
  
  Then, end on do just above ti in the last arpeggio. Repeat this vocal flexibility exercise on different starting pitches (recommended: C4, D4, E4)
  
  
  

Saskatoon Children's Choir (SCC)

Saskatoon Children's Choir (SCC):

Goals

1. To nurture our singers’ appreciation for fine music, and encourage them to approach their studies with intelligence, creativity and musicianship
2. To foster an understanding of, and appreciation for, music from Canada
3. To study and perform music from other parts of the world, extending through choral music our singers’ understanding of their role in a global community
   
4. To inspire audience members and others affiliated with the choir to support artistic and humanitarian endeavours
   
5. To communicate a message of promise in a world where children suffer from war, poverty and conflict
   
6. To demonstrate, with courage and conviction, that all young people have an obligation to take concrete steps toward creating a world of tolerance and hope.
   
   
   

Phoebe Voight

Founding Artistic Director of the Saskatoon Children’s Choir (1996-present)

• Is an accomplished choral clinician, instructor, and conductor of children’s choirs
• Received her initial training from the University of Regina Luther College and the University of Saskatchewan, pursuing further studies at the University of Alberta, the University of Manitoba and the Royal College of Church Music in Croydon, England
• Included in Herstory 2010, a Calendar featuring inspiring Canadian women, and Ned Powers’ 2011 book “Here’s to My Heros.”
• She is the recipient of the YWCA Women of Distinction in Arts Award, the Saskatchewan Music Educators Award for Outstanding Achievement, the Saskatchewan Choral Federation Pro Musica Award, and the Rotary Golden Wheel Award
• 2011: Was chosen as the Children’s Champion 2011 of the Child and Youth Friendly Saskatoon
  
  The Preparatory choir
  
• performs at SCC's two home concerts
  
• Have appeared in concert with the Barenaked Ladies
  
• Have been invited to perform at Meewasin “Plant-A-Tree” ceremony with the Lieutenant Governor in attendance.
  
• In October 2012, were invited to perform O Canada at the swearing-in ceremony of the new Saskatoon City Council.
  
  Apprentice Choir
  
  - Four-time recipient of the Isabelle Mills Award for outstanding children’s choir
  

• Represented Saskatchewan at the Kiwanis National Music Festival
• Performances: Moose Jaw, North Battleford and Prince Albert, for the Meewasin Valley Peace Assembly, The Lieutenant Governor’s Centennial Gala, with the Saskatoon Chamber Singers and with The Nylons.
• 2009: Recorded the theme song for the national “Yellow Fish Road” project.
• 2013: performed in the Saskatoon Opera’s production of Bizet’s opera Carmen.
• Can be heard on the SCC's CD “On Prairie Wings” and the latest choir CD “Cantus Populi”.
  Concert Choir

• The principal performing/recording/touring group of the SCC
• Has emphasis on classic choral literature, world folk music and Canadian compositions
• Have appeared on choral stages in Europe, Asia, the United States, South Africa and across Canada.
• Have performed as guest artists with the Canadian Chamber Choir, Prairie Virtuosi and the Saskatoon Opera Society
• Perform regularly with the Saskatoon Symphony Orchestra
• Appeared at the 2007 Juno Awards
  
  Notable Tours and Humanitarian Projects

• 2000-2002: Support for Canadian initiated International Campaign to Ban Land Mines (performances, education platforms, and signatures)
• 2005: Western Canada performance tour of the children’s opera "Brundibar" – opera premiered by the children of the Tezerin Concentration Camp in 1942 - SCC performance included speeches, study guides for school audience, readings
• 2006: The "Eternity Stone Project" - Bojesen's "Eternity" – Collected stones from around the world and performed in concert with stones in hand
• 2007: "Still We Rise!" - to honour the strength and courage of people living with, and affected by, HIV/AIDS - Commissioned "Yo Te Nombro Libertad" Arr. Peter Tiefenbach
• 2011: Concert Choir visits South Africa - benefit concerts focusing on children affected by HIV/AIDS - Documented by CBC
  

Awards Summary

• Twice awarded Kathaumixw’s Elmer Iseler Award (2000 and 2004) for best performance of a Canadian work.
• First Place (Folk) from the International Choral Kathaumixw (2000)
• First Place (Children’s Choir) at the Festival Internacional de Musica de Cantonigros (Spain, 2002)
• Second Place (Children’s Choir) and Second Place (Folk) from Kathaumixw 2004
• National Leslie Bell Award for Choir (2003)
• Both Apprentice and Concert Choirs have been awarded the Isabelle Mills Award for outstanding choral achievement.
• The choir considers their invitation to participate in Songbridge 2005 in Hong Kong their highest privilege

Recordings Summary                           Recommended Recordings

CD: "Cantus Populi" (2010)               “Bridge Over Troubled Water” - CBC music site
CD: "On Prairie Wings" (2005)          “Yo Te Nombro Libertad” - Cantus Populi CD
CD: "Fields Interrupted" (2002)          “Flying Colors” - youtube.com
DVD: "Flying Colors" (2008)              “African Sanctus” - on CBC music site

iPads in a choral setting - based on ChoralNet discussion post

Today, I stumbled upon an interesting post on the "Choral Discussions" forum of choralnet.org. The post asks if any teachers have used iPads in their choir rehearsals. Highly to my surprise, many of the comments had positive things to say about using iPads in classrooms. For example, one comment suggests using iPads for downloading and reading sheet music, instead of using a paper copy. Another comment shares other great music-related apps that can be useful in a classroom/learning environment.

It is not that I have anything against technology in the classroom, I am all for smartboards, overhead projectors, cd players, etc. Though, I think that in the hands of children, technology may not be the best thing, especially in school (where things tend to get boring at times). Though one might argue that this is a good reason to bring iPads into a classroom. And perhaps it may very well aid in some children's learning. However, I think that there are still going to be several kids who will not pay attention and continuously play games or browse the internet on their iPads. This of course is a distraction to themselves as it is a distraction to others. We all know how distracting cell phones were when first introduced to a classroom setting. Therefore I think that introducing and encouraging the use of these iPads in a classroom is a bad idea. How will the teacher know whether or not a student is reading the music on the screen or if they are watching an episode of their favorite TV show?

Feel free to comment and share any of your own ideas on this topic.


Evan H

TEDtalk, Itay Talgam, "Lead Like the Great Conductors"

There was one thing that really blew my mind upon viewing the video "Lead Like the Great Conductors". It is the concept that conductors need not give 100% clear instructions to their ensemble when conducting. Itay explains that in these cases, the ensemble will be more in sync with each other as opposed to feeling confident enough with the conductor's instructions so as to play "in their own world". As a percussionist, I come from a background of playing precisely on the beat. In order to be precise, my job is a lot easier if the conductor is 100% clear with his/her downbeats. Therefore, the idea that some conductors leave this interpretation entirely up to the ensemble somewhat scares/concerns me.

Along the same line as this, I was also slightly concerned about Leonard Bernstein's "facial expression" conducting at the end of the video. Though I did find it somewhat amusing as a viewer, I feel that I would be terrified to be at the back of that orchestra. Not that I am against facial expressions in conducting, don't get me wrong. I believe that conveying the character or the mood of a piece (or section of a piece) is necessary in order to get the desired sound out of the ensemble. Though I do feel that it is a lot easier to convey (and a lot easier to interpret) these things with hand gestures along with facial expressions, not just one or the other.


Anyways, those are my thoughts on "Lead Like the Great Conductors". Until next time,


Evan H

Welcome

Hello, and welcome to my blog for the ED 2520 choral methods course. I have created this blog in order to fulfill the course requirements. Though aside from this, I am also interested in expanding my knowledge of choral music and hope that this blog along with my classmates' blogs may help me do this. I welcome anybody who wishes to read my future posts on the topic of choral music and choral methods to this blog, where I will be sharing my thoughts, feelings, and interests on the topic for the next several months to come.

Thanks for reading. And don't forget to subscribe to my blog!

Cheers,

Evan Harte