She thought she was all alone . . . While talking with a newly-minted choral music teacher about the initial couple weeks in her first job, it soon became all-too apparent that she was the only music teacher in that school. Sadly, she was already feeling lonely. Rather than being surrounded by other choral […]
Choral Caffeine: Fundamentals
Sing a child a song, and you’ve fed her soul for the moment. Teach a child to sing, and her soul will be fed for a lifetime. (With apologies for the paraphrase.) At the end of the day, isn’t that what we are, teachers of singing? With all the respect in the world for […]
Choral Caffeine: Start the Year Right & Sleep Well
Forgive me for being Captain Obvious, but it’s true: first impressions count. Whether it’s dressing for the job interview, meeting the future in-laws, or the first hit in a football game, the initial moments of any new experience create a long-lasting ripple effect (perhaps far longer than we want it to). For the […]
Choral Caffeine: Every Choir is Full of Kids
At one of the colleges where I taught, the full faculty gathered once a month for a (usually incredibly long) meeting. Of the many things I took away from those sessions was one item that has left an indelible mark: once away from critical gaze of their students and left to their own devices a […]
Choral Caffeine: It’s All About People
Isn’t it delightful when former students “check in” to let you know how they are doing? I simply adore those calls! Recently a colleague-who-used-to-be-a-student (there has to be less cumbersome descriptor) contacted me to share that she had taken a new job as an assistant principal. Bless her heart, she was concerned that I […]
Choral Caffeine: Terrific Teacher Tech Tools
Communicating non-musical information to choir members can be . . . well . . . let’s be nice and just say it’s a challenge. Of course, the responsibility for following instructions and maintaining schedules rests squarely on the shoulders of the individual choir members. But ultimately, it is the director who has to deal […]