Sept. 16, 2020
WELCOME BACK!!
I am so excited to get back to school this year! And I am not kidding! Things are still weird and strange and we are still not able to sing together, but there are a few things that I know about our time together this year!
- We are moving “in” and not “out.” Even though we are not singing together right now, we have shared a plan with the school department to move forward in small groups then larger groups then our full chorus! As soon as things are safe to do so, we will start singing together.
- We are “adding opportunities” instead of “cancelling them.” We have a full schedule planned for this year just like every other year. Concerts are scheduled. District 3 auditions will be happening virtually looking toward the D3 festival in April. The musical is chosen (but not ordered yet….) As we move forward and when it is safe to do so, we will begin to open up these opportunities and not take them away!
- I am better prepared as your teacher. I think I spent as much time learning during remote time as you did last year! Wow! Scanning music, copyrights, recording tracks, MusicFirst options, You-tube, Google everything! This summer I:
- Created my own You-tube Channel.
- Learned how to put a virtual choir together.
- Learned how to use i-Movie more than just dragging a bunch of pictures into it!
- Purchased some better recording equipment for teaching and creating rehearsal tracks.
- Developed 2 new units of study that will guide our repertoire and learning in chorus this year so we can be remote, together, recorded, live…. Pretty much any situation!
Ms. Anderson and I spent time this summer making plans. We are going to start out the year in chorus:
- Reviewing 1 song from last year. This will give us something to anchor us the first time we can be together. You will be voting on the song from the choices I give you!
- Technique! Those warm-ups I recorded last year are going to be available but I am also going to build more technique into the beginning of every rehearsal. The stronger we are the better singers we are!
- Learning 1 new song. We are going to learn 1 new song remotely. That means you will need to listen to your part – or learn multiple parts if you want to! I will be teaching these parts during our scheduled chorus time together. When we have the opportunity to be together, we will know our parts and we can just start singing it and work on the music! The music will be available digitally and in the form of LEGAL photocopies that I will get to you. (I am keeping the originals for now so I don’t have to worry about collecting them!)
- Music Theory – Yes, I know. For most of you, this is not the fun part of chorus. Reading the notes and rhythms and dynamics.. blah, blah, blah. But this is the foundation of what we do as singers and I am always irritated that I don’t have enough time, or take enough time to do it in class. So, we are going to spend some time on this. I promise I will make it as fun as possible! During our scheduled learning time we will play some theory games and participate in some challenges. The great thing about Theory is that we can do this together online!
- Virtual Choir! As I stated before, I am learning how to put a virtual choir together and you are going to be my final exam! I will have a Virtual Choir song to teach you. You will record your tracks and send them in and I will mix them so we will be singing together! I am so excited to try this and I am very, very nervous so we will need to work together to make it happen!
- Virtual Husky Howl! As you know, we have our annual Husky Howl and it is scheduled in November. We will be collecting your recorded performances and sharing them on my You-tube Channel. (The Channel is a secure Channel that is NOT public.) So start thinking about songs you can share, dances, magic, monologues, comedy, gymnastics, tricks on your trampoline….anything! We will have a watch party and celebrate your talent together!
- Schedule – We are still working on the schedule and I will let you know as soon as something is decided. I will pre-populate the Chorus Google Classroom so look for it on your classroom page and accept the invitation!
- Advanced Choir and Jazz Choir are getting started! We will be meeting at some time on Wednesdays. Ms. Anderson and I need to work out our schedule with Jazz Band and Wind Ensemble. Wednesday may be a very musical day for some of you! I will keep you posted, but I have a song chosen for each of these groups to start with. Remember: Jazz choir will start with auditions because this is an auditioned group. For Advanced Choir, all you need to do is join the Google Classroom.
- We are in the process of transferring the BJH Music Website to the new BSD website. I will let you know as soon as it is transferred. It is your best source of current information!
Can you see why I am excited to start the school year? To quote one of my favorite musicals:
Alice: How long is forever?
White Rabbit: Sometimes, just one second.
Alice: This is impossible.
Mad Hatter: Only if you believe it is.
I believe it is possible!
Mrs. T
Welcome to the Concert Choir page! At BJH, we have 3 concert choirs – 6th grade, 7th grade and 8th grade. All of these choirs are academic, graded classes that meet 2:4 days in the rotation. We work toward meeting the standards in vocal health, technique, literacy (sight singing) and cultural heritage while learning a wide variety of styles and genre.
Students in the Concert Choir are asked to provide a folio to keep their music in. (Music cannot be hole-punched.) Students should also bring a pencil to class and be ready to use it. All music will be provided.
We will have three concerts a year that are mandatory for chorus students. These are our summative (final) assessments and many of our standards – such as connecting with an audience – cannot be met without performance. Besides, they are FUN! Please see the calendar on the home page for dates and make sure you have them set aside for a night of great music! Concert attire for all of our ensembles is all-black from head to toe. Shoulders must be covered to the elbow joint. Ties are great for our gentlemen. (Bow ties are OK too!) It would be awesome if performance shoes could be black, but we are dealing with the middle school feet that have a tendency to change sizes every other month, so do the best you can. Please make sure your student can walk comfortable and stand comfortable and that the shoes will not draw undue attention, such as shoes that have flashing lights attached. Our concerts are free to the public and generally begin at 7:00pm in the BJH gym.