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.