THE “WHY” QUESTION: CATALYST FOR INSPIRED TEACHING AND PERFORMANCE. PART 3: SYMBOLS AND GESTURES – IMAGINATION & REALIZATION: A GUIDE TO INSPIRED TEACHING CATALYST FOR INSPIRED REHEARSALS by Jameson Marvin For conductors, acquiring this “inspired revelation” is a complex process. In other words, realizing the symbolic notation, in sound, requires the mind’s ear, […]
GUEST BLOG: “The ‘Why’ Question (Part 2): Answering” by Jameson Marvin
THE “WHY” QUESTION: CATALYST FOR INSPIRED TEACHING AND PERFORMANCE. PART 2: ANSWERING THE “WHY” QUESTION: A GUIDE TO INSPIRED TEACHING by Jameson Marvin Today, if we understand why the composer did that we have begun to develop a consciousness of the expressive gestures that lie behind the symbolic notation of them. Attaining this […]
GUEST BLOG: “The ‘Why’ Question (Part 1): Asking” by Jameson Marvin
THE “WHY” QUESTION: CATALYST FOR INSPIRED TEACHING AND PERFORMANCE. PART 1: ASKING THE “WHY” QUESTION: NOTATION & GESTURE = EMOTION by Jameson Marvin If a choral conductor has studied a score carefully, and has given considerable thought to the musical meaning represented by the composer’s notation and vocabulary of expression, (s)he can not […]
Stick Time: Choral Wake-Up Call, part 2
In the first choral wake-up call on last week’s “Stick Time,” we discussed the importance of refocusing one’s ears for the coming choral season. We continue in that vein, just to bring our listening from the sounds of summer to that of our art. Last week we heard collegiate singers performing Bach with chamber […]
Stick Time: Choral Wake-Up Call, part 1
Without a doubt it is valuable for us as professional musicians to freshen our ears from time to time with a diversity of sounds, and the summer is a great time for a little “sonic sorbet” (Tito Puente, por favor!) But NEWS FLASH: summer is over. The time has come for all of us […]
Stick Time: Does Wardrobe Affect Sound?
To a degree, most people behave differently depending upon how they are dressed. Your own choir members are a living example to you of that phenomenon. Notice how they stand, walk, and act in their performance attire as compared to earlier that day when you rehearsed them while they were wearing jeans and t-shirts. […]