"Sing a New Song"

Just thought I'd let you know about our upcoming SMCHS Concert Choir Performance. Here's the info:
St. Mary's Central High School Presents: A Christmas Choral Concert Thursday, December 10, 7:30 P.M. at Saint Anne Church in Bismarck.
"Sing a New Song" conducted by Vicky R. Boechler - featuring the concert choir including performances by the concert choir women, St. Mary's men, and the St. Mary's Blues.
Works by Rheinberger Gabrieli, and GF Handel along with Christmas favorites! Free and open to the public. A reception will follow the performance.

A life filled with sound

The Messiah, Cathedral Church Choir, Voices+, St. Mary's Central High School Choir, St. Mary's Blues, school liturgies and the choir tour... Wow! OK - So I know everything will turn out just fine, but I think I'll learn how to delegate a bit more. I think the toughest part of it is keeping everyone informed. My computer has become my other right arm with the audio files, lesson plans, spreadsheets for fundraising, posters and program preparation, grade book, liturgy slides and major form of communique. LOL! Well, if I can get a computer to do my workouts, I'll be set. I hope people are able to take time to enjoy all the beautiful music that the wonderful singers are preparing.

Our next big SMCHS Choir thing is November 20 out at U-Mary. It will be a great retreat day for the singers. On Sunday, November 22, the choir sings at 3:00 in the Cathedral for the Feast of St. Cecelia Concert. I get to combine my church choir AND my school choir. Should be fun! That evening at the Kirkwood Mall, the St. Mary's Blues will sing carols from 6-9 PM. They will be taking part in the "Season Premiere". We are selling tickets for admitance. $5 gets you into the mall and also registers you for a $1000 shopping spree. Let me know if you want a ticket.

We requested our performance at Ground Zero. This week we also pick broadway musicals to attend. Amazing fun and learning.

Touring is definitely a great experience. The Saints are working to pay for their trip. When I listed all the fundraisers they have already had, I was surprised. I thought I'd let you know what's up in case you're looking for a way to help. Tuesday, October 20th from 4:30 - 6:30 the students were planning to tailgate with baked potatoes. They will serve them at SMCHS since we are having unseasonably cold weather. Come stuff a potato. Proceeds go directly to the students. If you can't come, you can help by telling others. And, if you want to have a great coffee, just see any student to order your fresh roasted bean from them. They'll help you find the best type for your enjoyment.

OK - enough. The Messiah starts in a little more than a week. I know the 80th will be amazing. If you want to sing - check out the link for rehearsals. Join us at TLC.

For fun - I've included a clip of a really neat stairway. You'll see what I mean. :-) Enjoy. Here is the link to youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26-aZd4uv_o

Breakfast News and more

Today we served french toast, sausage, and fruit for breakfast to all guests at SMCHS. Our chair couple did a great job. The parents were awesome volunteers and the students definitely got the task done. It was a nice collaboration of music parents. I saw a lot of smiles and heard good things about the food and workers; (better than McDonalds-lol). So, I will be taking a class in Mandan for the next two days and I guess that means I'll tell you how we did financially on Wednesday. We did serve 384 adults and 74 children. The bake sale was a success. I hope everyone feels as good as I do about a job well done.

We start selling coffee on Wednesday. When I get back to class I will hand out forms and information. The link to the coffee company is here. All money will be turned in by October 26. Next week... We'll pick two broadway musicals from the many options available. You'll be voting for your top choice.

Congratulations to all 12 students that were accepted by recorded audition to be members of the ACDA Honor Choirs in March! Excellent work! Remember, North Central ACDA Honor Choir members, your forms are to be postmarked by October 15th. If you need the forms, here is the link. It's a .pdf file. I'll also have these available at school on Wednesday. Minneapolis and the Real Group will be quite an experience!

Have a great couple of days. I'm looking forward to continue my coursework, learning to be a better teacher.

Thanks for the kind acts!

Today I was the recipient of agape. Agape is the love of the bible - not the mushy emotional feeling we get from those that attract us. It's a VERB. So... I hope the people know who they are. How do you thank them without sounding silly? One student was so kind, she raised funds for my son to help with his tour costs. It will really help. Another decided to create the fun and not wait for it to happen, so he shared music and food with those around him. I sure enjoyed rehearsal more. I hope he felt the change in the others around him. An adult told me last week that she can't make a difference any more. She doesn't have the energy left to do this. I'm sad for her and those she would help. And, my mother-in-law has a roomate for six weeks. She is extremely kind and thoughtful. She's making changes and we can see the fruits of her labor. Just simple acts of love. We have all these gifts. I think we look to give the gifts that others have instead of identifying our own talents and sharing what God gave us. Each one has so much to share with another. One person CAN make a difference. We may not notice what effect we have had on the situation until later, if at all. But, Mother Theresa was heard to say "do it anyway".

I love teaching. I am gifted everyday with the blessing of being around the students. I pray I never lose that! As I continue to work on being a better listener, I also learn to receive from others. Thanks for reading to the end. Go show love! :-)

Well, I'm very excited to have this week arrive. I get to work with my St. Mary's Central High School & Cathedral students. I will spend Wednesday evening with the Cathedral Church Choir. Anyone wanting to join us, click on the informational link on the side of the page. A great thing to happen... Father James Shea will be installed, this week, as the 6th president of University of Mary. Sister Thomas Welder has been such a tremendous mentor. I'm lucky to have been a student during her presidency. More excitement... I am hiring soloists for the 80th Messiah production and my boys have soccer & football games to enjoy. Sometimes the business is filled with great energy and lots of joy. Anyone who needs something to do on Saturday, September 19th? The SMCHS Choir will have a food booth under the canopy at Eckroth Music. We'll be there from 10 - 3:00 PM. They're having a sidewalk sale. I think there will be an open mic. Come have some fun and support the choir on our journey toward our June 2010 Choir Tour to NYC. The picture I included is from Capitola CA. Just a great place to hang out. Travel is so wonderful.

Rest - Sometimes the best part of music is in the silence.

It's labor day. A day of rest after Sunday, another day of rest. It's funny. Sometimes, when teaching a new piece of music, the choir does very well, until they come to a section with rests. They let go completely and forget to feel the time in the rests. So, they don't come back in at the right time. I think life is the same way. What we do with our time of rest says a lot about us. Do we fill it with as much activity as possible? Try to fit in all the things we've just been waiting to do? Or, do we just enjoy being present with those around us? Just food for thought. I know that as Tuesday arrives, we'll have so much activity in our lives that we may even have to take time to breathe. How to balance the sound and the silence... Good luck to you with hurried lives. I will keep my students and their families in my prayers. I am extremely excited to start the Blues rehearsals this week, and to begin the Cathedral Church Choir next week. Apparently it will be quality rest over quantity. :-)

The year is here!

So, 62 wonderful students, an accomplished accompanist, and an eager conductor filled with creative ideas...

The students are going to have the time of their lives this year in our choir. I just had a meeting with their parents and a 7 minute mock class. I used to hand out folders, make them warm-up, sit in the right seats and sing something. The class was a bit longer back then. Now, we just push the information out and get everyone geared up.

This blog will definitely get used. I plan on linking enough stuff to it to keep the students in the know. I have a few tricks to figure out, so if you're a parent that is web saavy and isn't afraid to coach me, let me know. This is not old html.

The jazz choir auditions are coming up on the 31st of August. We're going to run jazz band and jazz choir both in the same evening for selecting our groups. The band gives up first Wednesdays each month. Ours will start with everyone at 6:00 PM and then individual auditions (bring any jazz/pop song) will be in timed slots until we are done. You can sign up in the choir office.

I'll write more often. Just wanted to thank all the great parents for the help with our lock-in and for showing up tonight in support of your son/daughter. Keep them practicing.

Peace...

I've just returned from the International Peace Gardens where I had a great time working with vocal jazz students at the International Music Camp. It's on the border between the USA and Canada. I took this picture of the peace towers. They also have part of the twin towers from NYC. It was my second summer conducting vocal jazz with Jennifer Parker. I mention Jen in an earlier blog. She's at McNally-Smith. We had 2 groups - one SSA and one SATB, then combined them for a gospel jazz number. I hope to keep in contact with the awesome singers. It rained a couple days so we really appreciated the sun when it finally did peek out on Saturday. -------When I arrived home, I made it just in time to check out University of Mary's 50th year alumni reunion activities out at Buckstop Junction. Great band - Rift. They play well. All alumni of course. I got a chance to sing in the alumni choir this morning for their concert and the mass. Tom did such a nice job. We all came from a variety of conductors within the school's history, so we didn't have the same trainging. There's a video link up on facebook. Very nice. So, I'm definitely at peace. I'll keep praying for my colleage, Bill Schmidt, and for all the students & their families. Peace to you!

Independence Day - freedom to relax

Happy Fourth of July!

Summer is here. I can just feel myself relaxing. On Monday - Nick Schneider, Russ Kovash, and Josh Ehli were ordained. The music was very special. A lot of work went into the selection, by Nick and Bill Ruelle. The choir was made up of 38 singers from Saint Anne, Cathedral, and even St. Patrick's in Dickinson. We even had additional guests playing-singing with us. The singers were extremely dedicated and really sang well. Some music was not even available on recording for those who like to learn that way. I think they are starting to trust me and that will make a difference in preparation. Muriel was awesome, jumping back and forth between organ & piano with the blink of an eye. The choir had 3 trumpets, horn, trombone, tuba, and oboe for accompaniment. I really am proud of the singers and instrumentalists. We sang "Praise His Holy Name" as postlude and while the newly ordained were getting pictures taken with the most Reverend Bishop Zipfel and I think I caught him dancing with his crozier while we sang the last page. :-) Everyone really did their best and it paid off. Wow. So, now I'm filing music away - looking for all the lost music - and getting ready for my week at the International Music Camp. I'll be conducting vocal jazz and working with wonderful faculty. It's a real treat. The Singing Saints cleaned diamonds for the McQuade Tournament also this past weekend and we turned in 155 pounds of aluminum. We'll need some decent fundraisers this year if we plan on getting to NYC in June 2010. Some of my singers will be with me at IMC. That's always nice. Well, fly the flag. I'll have my flag out. Sing the national anthem at the top of your lungs. Make someone join you.

Technology? Today I spent hours with educators in various states of computer literacy. We are investigating Social Networking from all angles. Twitter was not cooperative. So, no account yet. I use facebook and email and texting and this blog, but I still have a lot to learn. Delicious was cool. You can see my bookmarks on the right side of the page now. That will eliminate the necessity to have an outdated page on the school's web site with broken links. Really, there isn't much for music technology. That's an entirely different game. Here's a note to my students about recording:

I’ll be at school from 9-11:30 and 12:30 – 3:30 on Thursday, June 11. I’ll be in on Friday, June 12 – similar hours, but I can stay till 5:30 if needed. If you’d like to record your solo for NCACDA go to: http://www.ncacda.org/index2.htm
And have the forms filled out along with the $20 check to NCACDA for the audition fee. If printing the form is daunting, I will have extras, however you will need to acquire the parental signature. I will be recording for the following groups: Men’s Honor Choir 10-12, Women’s Honor Choir 10-12, Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir 7-9, and Jazz Choir 10-12. You should use the solo you prepared during the school year. There are a couple of students that were going to switch solos. I would stick with what you know the best.

PLEASE PASS THIS MESSAGE ON TO THOSE YOU KNOW WANT TO AUDITION!

So - after the classes I took today, I think I'll put together a fan page in facebook for the choir tour. That way everyone will have access and noone will have to go through the trouble of becoming friends with the teacher. lol

Thanks to the comic strip artist for the graphic.

The creator of the Geek and Poke cartoon series is Oliver Widder.

Success is all in how you look at it.

I'm sitting in my living room at 1:00 a.m. My oldest son is at an after prom party. Even with all of the craziness of our ND spring, parties and special events still take place. We had our State 'A' Vocal Festival yesterday. I brought 29 students to Minot for the day. They really grew between regional and state. 28 of the students will receive a medallion at our music appreciation banquet in May. We'll give out 52 of them. Wow! I am so happy for them. They know they did a great job and that means more than what anyone else could say. It was good to see that Valley City was able to pull it together enough for the students to participate. I think we all view success differently. Some use the stars as the end goal, some say state is the reward for success. I really always just want forward progress in the 'right' direction. It's all in how you look at it. Sometimes success is observing a student celebration in the form of spontaneous song on a school bus. Truly the Cathedral Choir experienced their own form of success when the sang for the Triduum. They were wonderful.

Who decides when you have success? We went to the gala event for Sister Thomas Welder last night. Now there is a success story. She is a beautiful woman with a heart of gold. Sister has touched so many lives. How can a woman be so strong, yet serve so many? 1400 people turned up to honor this humble leader. Thanks God, for the opportunity to have been within the reach of a true servant leader.

I have 9 big events left before relaxing into summer. Grandparents Mass, Art & Song, Cinco de Mayo w/ Voices+, Blues performance at Saint Anne, Music Appreciation Banquet, 2 graduations with choirs, Pentecost and Solemnity of the Body & Blood of Christ, and diocesan ordination of three young Catholic men. In the back of my mind I am preparing for teaching at IMC, getting the 80th Messiah performance ready, and planning the activities involved in touring to NYC with the HS Choir. I'm sure I've left things out, but they say the brain can only handle 7 things at a time. Oh, I remember another one, recording soloists for the NCACDA. Success to me? Finding JOY in each day. That's true success. Joy is found in friends and family, in making progress - not perfection, and enjoying God's gift of beauty. This picture is of the volcanos surrounding Lake Atitlan, Guatemala. Truly a place where you can see beauty and believe it or not... JOY.

Vigil is in View

Easter Vigil is around the corner - at the end of the week. What a journey we've taken. I think what I learned most this lent was to breathe. There's a time and a place for anxiety. Only when it will move things in the right direction should it be given life. In the last 4 days, the music in my life has been more than satisfying. The Cathedral Church Choir sang very well last night. They have so much potential and will be so amazing in a year, it will be hard to recognize them. I hope it continues to grow and that those involved are spiritually moved to a place that is truly bringing them closer to God. The choir will be singing for the Triduum.

We had a concert today at SMCHS. It's our annual "Text & Tone". Speeches by the speech club (3) and music by the vocal jazz choir. It's a really nice afternoon, and the performance was quality! But, we can't seem to get the audience there. I wish I knew how to change that. I think it's just the time of year. PR was done appropriately. Tomorrow, the SM Blues get to sing for Holy Hoops. It's in front of the entire school and we'll sing the National Anthem. Not a lot of pressure, but a big gig. So, little time to rest up, but that's life during the school year. I'm going to watch the news. The camera man was there today and took a bit of footage with an interview. Thanks Tom S. for taking such nice video of our St. Mary's Men when they were singing "Johnny Schmoker" on Thursday. Thanks also to: Aanders, Glenn, Don, Pat, Tami, Jim, Leann, Michelle, and all the others that helped with the concert yesterday and today!

I received a site suggestion from a colleague at school, so to see what you can create with Wordle, you can go to http://www.wordle.net/ . Today was a great day for our Singing Saints. The students really had to do a lot on their own for our West Region Vocal Contest preparation after I started them on the task due to our crazy March (musical march madness) and our unusual weather circumstances. After a short pep talk and prayer they were off to many adjudicators and performances. What we came away with was nice. Our choir starred in 18 events bringing home 62 stars and better yet, 31 of the 35 participants qualified to advance to the State Class A Vocal Contest to be held in Minot on April 24th. Way to go Saints!! I get to break the news to them tomorrow. There is abundant joy in knowing they worked hard and will be rewarded. Sunday we have a concert. The vocal jazz choir shares and afternoon with the speech club. Text & Tone... It's a nice afternoon, seated around tables, great friends, conversation, entertainment, and even original music by our students. Well, that's all for now. Later.

Coming Down

I'm sitting in the living room after a long needed nap. The snow is really coming down and if we hadn't just been through the crazy week, I would dare say it's beautiful. Thick, heavy, swirling, clinging and covering all it touches. We still have our belongings in our living room. I attended the NDMEA conference on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and then on Wednesday as the Missouri river was threatening Fox Island and the homes along the river, I was taken by surprise. The roads around our home were being closed. The mobile home park by our neighborhood was being evacuated and the ditch by our street was FULL. The picture is from our local newspaper. I taught one class and went home to meet Patrick. We spent the rest of the day moving the downstairs up. So did the rest of our neighbors. The river is continually coming down and we are all relieved. The fight or flight really kept the Bismarck Mandan community in a good place. Our Saints sand bagged for 3 days until they called off the effort when the amazing ice blasting plan freed the river up just enough to lower the levels. I had a proud calming feeling watching our Governor, Mayor, and General S. go to work. They are all Cathedral Parish members. Many events have been postponed or cancelled. I even cancelled some rehearsals. That's not me. The Internet has kept people in touch with the vivid photos and quick links to alumni and friends. I read this morning that the wonderful Oak Grove Lutheran school had a breach in their permanent dike. So sad. I wonder what we can do for them. My heart and prayers go out for the Fargo area people. I know how much work Rebecca Raber at Shanley HS put in to their choir tour and can't even imagine how her students are coming down after the efforts of preparing and now the efforts of holding back all that water. As we get ready for Easter, and as the Red River continues to come down, and when all the sand bags eventually come down, may we keep up the connections we have with friends, family, and new relationships due to the predicaments that have been delivered to us.

I Love to Sing!

NDMEA All-State... and Educator's Conference - Educators from all over the state are gathered in Bismarck Sunday - Tuesday. We have 3 choirs: Mixed Chorus- Jamie Spillane, Women's Choir - David Brunner, and Vocal Jazz Choir - Jennifer Barnes. 8 students from our choir are singing. That's really nice considering we have 38 students in our choir this year. Way to go Saints! Anyway, I sing with the Dakota Chamber Chorale. It's a choir of adults (about 20 of us) conducted by Dr. Thomas Porter, conductor at University of Mary. I wanted the chorale to be called the Tom Porter chorale, but he's a humble man. You can see I've included a picture. This was taken last summer. We're doing a variety of choral music. That's an understatement. Mongolian, Latin, German, English, and Sousa. I love to sing. It's my favorite thing to do, barely in front of conducting lately though. Since taking on the position of conducting the Cathedral Church Choir, I've begun to look through different glasses. It's nice to communicate musically with adults. So, DCC sings for the conference attendees on Tuesday morning at 10:00 a.m. I really only have one complaint. No auditorium at all, for any of the choirs! It compares to taking a fine meal prepared by a great chef and rinsing the food off before you eat it. You just don't get the full effect. I don't have a great solution, though, so until I do, you won't hear that again. I hope the rest of my choir students show up for the 2:00 or 4:30 concert on Tuesday. The all-state students will really work hard to prepare the music and they'll make you proud by representing you so well. I pray they "connect" with the music, with the conductor, with the audience and with each other. :-)

Are you Irish?

St. Patrick's Day. What a wonderful day. We had mass at school today. The band played and the St. Mary's Men sang. We are doing the Latin mass parts. I think the student body is joining in. Hard to tell sometimes, but I look around and they are daring to make a joyful noise. After hearing the choir at St. Paul's Cathedral in Minnesota this past weekend, the students show a renewed interest in the beautiful chant. I took this picture in St. Paul on Sunday. Lux Aurumque, by Eric Whitacre, is our next challenge. The wind orchestra modeled it so well for us today. I have linked to a page that has a set of midi parts. Lux Aurumque midi parts. Hopefully students check their parts and come ready to learn.

A couple other things we have going on include the NDMEA All-State Choir on March 22-24 in Bismarck. Check the schedule out if you haven't seen one yet. Tickets are available for the concerts. They should be wonderful. Our Cathedral tri-school band is playing. The Dakota Chamber Chorale is singing for the teachers. I sing with them. Great adults that like to sing, conducted by Tom Porter.

Also, if you want to use edline, please go to the site and sign in.

Jazz Festival

Down St. Thomas Way, Two for the Road, and I Sing You Sing were our three charts for the Minnesota ACDA Star of the North vocal jazz festival. I am very proud of the SM Blues performance. The dedication and hard work that our students put in paid off. The adjudications were extremely educational and very worthwhile. I think we'll bring home a number of "games" that will help us swing the pendulum and get to where we need to be. We had 2 master classes and a performance by 2 college groups and the wonderful McNally Smith faculty. They were so enjoyable to see and hear. The facilities and faculty are top notch. Tonight we deserved a break and enjoyed the night off. It will be refreshing to get back with our new knowledge. It seems as though everyone has enjoyed the experience. We'll be home tomorrow evening - I get to take the students to St. Paul's Cathedral. We'll be attending 10 am mass. Hope you enjoy the photo.

McNally Smith Studio

Linus & Lucy and St. Thomas Way. Those are the two charts we recorded in studio #2. "Wow, we're better than I thought we were" was a comment I overheard this afternoon. I'll take you back through the day. The morning began with deluxe continental breakfast, followed by a visit to the mall of America. Rides in the Nickelodeon, the Bose and Apple stores, lunch, and quick window shopping were highlights of our MOA stop. Going from Bloomington to down town St Paul was a breeze for me. I am not driving. Michelle, Pat, and Aanders know how to handle themselves in the "big city" traffic. At McNally Smith, we were greeted by Jennifer Parker. What a treat. We had 2 master classes, a school tour, and then we spent time in studio #2. The sound board is state of the art. There are only 40 like it in the world. Wes & Steve treated us like money making professionals. The students got to listen to the tracks and make comments, suggestions, and then adjustments for the next takes. Our combo was treated with getting to record also. The photo is an inside shot of Steve supervising the session and the Blues in the studio. Great job guys! After the VIP day, we went to Dakota Jazz - downtown Minneapolis. Dinner was prepared quite well. I didn't have steak tonight. Just seafood. :-) ok... I also had dessert. It was a classy evening. Fat Kid Wednesdays opened for Haley Bonar. The jazz trio did some playing outside the box. Haley's lyrics were stimulating and her sound was free. You can check the club out on the web. We are now geared up to be the final group of the day for Saturday's festival. All is well.

Vocal Jazz in Minneapolis

The St. Mary's Blues & combo arrived in Minneapolis today. We attended a show at the Chanhassen Dinner Theatre. Dinner was tasty. I had steak. :-) We were served in the "attic" and then we were seated in the first 3 rows in the Fireside Theatre. Altar Boyz is a spoof on boy bands. A group of Catholic guys and one Jewish boy spread the good news. It's hillarious. Our students were laughing and having a great time. After the show, there was a "meet & greet" in the lobby. Someone shared that we were from a Catholic school. After a short conversation, the entire audience was enjoying a spontaneous performance of the Blues singing Java Jive. The performers loved it and the audience was anxious to find out who we were and where we were from. Nice job Blues. We are winding down in preparation for a super educational day at McNally Smith. I'll pen more later. Here is a link to the show we attended. Altar Boyz

Well, due to the advice of others and the necessity to communicate with my students after hours, I've decided to take the plunge. I'm feeling rather silly with how simple this is to accomplish. So, the goal and purpose of this blog is not really personal but for the purpose of letting everyone in to get what they need. I teach at St. Mary's Central High School and Cathedral Junior High. I have some awesome students. We just returned from the National ACDA convention in warm, welcoming, sunny OKC. The Memorial from the bomb site is so much more than I thought it would be. The photo is Christ weeping on the site of the former Catholic rectory. Kudos to Conspirare for the beautiful service at 9:02 on Thursday. If you want to see it, go to An Amazing Morning at the Memorial. Great convention all around. The next excursion includes the St. Mary's Blues (vocal jazz choir). We will be on the way to McNally Smith tomorrow. Life is busy and rewarding. I'm hoping to have the resources posted that my students need. I'm sure the learning curve is steep. So... hello out there.