Hello choral friends! I must give a shout out to Dr. Scott Dorsey who invited me to be a weekly blogger this academic year for ChoralNet. I will do my best to write things that inspire, motivate, and reassure you that we are a part of the most honorable profession. I am a university choral music education professor and church musician. I have experience teaching in the public schools as well. Those days are in the past, but the lessons I learned about how to be a good life teacher, coach, and conductor still resonate within me from those early days. It is amazing to see that some of my public school students are now teachers and professors in music!
My plan for this blog is to give you something to think about for just a few minutes each Thursday. We are very busy individuals, but we hold a common thread as we love choral music. My husband, a computer geek, reminds me often how jealous he is of my love for my work and how lucky I am to have a career that is my passion. He often teases me in the summer months that he can tell when it is time to get back to school and begin making music… The love I have for my choir members and our collective process seems to grow each year.
As a Certified Laban Movement Analyst (more about that later in a series on Laban) I can see the joy in the faces and bodies as choir members come back to the rehearsal room. As many of you are greeting your choirs in the coming days remember to greet each member of the ensemble! I have a large university choir and I make it a goal in the first few weeks of school to greet everyone and check in as they are coming in to the rehearsal space. My section leaders take turns being a greeter as well, so that they are also learning names, majors, and can answer questions about procedures and campus life. I found the following article helpful in my search to be a creative greeter. http://www.teachers.net/wong/OCT13/
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