Happy day before Spring Break!
For all music teachers, March is a whirlwind of events. All State and Concert Performance Assessment, to name a few!
While we did not participate in either of those events, we’ve still been fairly busy!
Cantus
On March 5th our honors choir traveled to Clemson University for a full day of singing and observing singing! When we arrived, the Director of Choral Activities, Dr. Bernarducci, did a choral clinic with the girls. He worked on some general choral technique with them and helped shape some of their music for our spring concert coming up in May.
After our clinic, we had lunch at the campus Chick-fil-A, and then returned to the music building to watch the Men’s Choir rehearse and have a master class with Cantus, the a cappella group performing that evening. The girls really loved watching the Men’s Choir, for more reasons than one. Haha!
Dr. Bernarducci then took us on a campus tour, and left us at The 55 Exchange, Clemson’s homemade ice cream shop. That was a huge hit! After some downtime, we watched a little more of TakeNote’s rehearsal, and then went to dinner at Chipotle!
Lastly, we saw Cantus perform that evening. They were INCREDIBLE! It was also very inspiring, as the girls will be putting on their own concert and decided to model it after the way Cantus presented their music to us. It was such a fun day!!!
Dr. Odom Vocal Clinic
The next week, Dr. Lisa Odom, the voice professor at Clemson, came to do a vocal clinic with both of our choirs. She sang for them (which I don’t think many of them have heard a trained opera singer before!!) and then she taught us some ways to improve our vocal technique. When I decided to switch my studies from double bass to choir and voice, I took my very first voice lesson from Dr. Odom, so I am a big fan!
Upcoming events
We will make our final trip to Clemson on April 11th to sing in the Men’s and Women’s Choir concert! We will sing 2 pieces by ourselves, and then one piece with the Men’s and Women’s choir (I would say between 100-200 students) that I will get to conduct! It will be an incredible experience! The Clemson Choral Exchange program has been such a great experience, and I am so grateful that they offered it to us this year!
On April 16th, the honors choir will be presenting their honors project concert. We are looking at the topic of beauty through song, poetry, art, and written reflections. The girls have had some great ideas, and I think it’s going to be a very informative and well-thought out performance. English teachers, we are hoping to do a preview during the school day, and I think you’d really enjoy it! Let me know if you would be interested in bringing your 3rd block class!
Finally, our spring concert will be on May 7th! Both of our choirs have been working hard on their music, and I think it will be a lovely evening for everyone!
Have an excellent spring break!!
Lindsay