{"id":1444,"date":"2015-08-03T01:41:01","date_gmt":"2015-08-03T05:41:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/?p=1444"},"modified":"2015-08-03T01:41:01","modified_gmt":"2015-08-03T05:41:01","slug":"choral-music-treble-choir-repertoire-and-theory-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/2015\/08\/03\/choral-music-treble-choir-repertoire-and-theory-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Choral Music: Treble Choir Repertoire and Theory"},"content":{"rendered":"

This summer, I worked with Professor Christine Howlett on researching treble choir repertoire, developing curriculums to teach said repertoire and music theory\/vocal musicianship to young musicians, and studying choir management software solutions. \u00a0I also had the opportunity to travel to two conferences at Yale University and Westminster Choir College to learn more about the ways choral music can transform lives. \u00a0The capstone experience of my summer was co-conducting and teaching at\u00a0the Cappella Festiva Treble Choir Summer Choral Festival, a one week music program for singers ages 10-18.<\/p>\n

Assembling a library of new treble choir repertoire was my first task. \u00a0When researching choral music, one must be diligent in ensuring that they are choosing pieces that are interesting, varied in terms of genre, time period, accompaniment, tonality, tempo, etc., and accessible for the ensemble that is being programmed for (four vocal parts vs. two, for example). \u00a0I logged\u00a0many\u00a0hours on the web and had great resources from\u00a0music websites such as\u00a0JWPepper<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0Graphite Publishing<\/a>. \u00a0Below are some of our newfound favorite pieces (many of which we programmed for the aforementioned Summer Choral Festival):<\/p>\n

\"A<\/a>

A small sampling of our favorites from treble choir repertoire research.<\/p><\/div>\n

Having lots of new music to program and perform is crucial to staying relevant and successful in music. \u00a0But, equally important is having a solid curriculum in place to teach the musicianship skills that are vital to achievement with\u00a0the music. \u00a0I compiled many methods that music educators employ in their pedagogies. \u00a0Professor Howlett and I then chose the strategies that we felt would affect most immediate change in young singers and created a curriculum centered around them to be used in the Summer Choral Festival. \u00a0The strategies that we chose included the use of body percussion (to help singers internalize rhythm and pulse), solf\u00e8ge scales and syllables, or “do re mi fa sol la ti do” as many know it (helps improve accuracy of pitch and tuning; part of the “Kod\u00e1ly Method”), and teaching rounds and canons (quickly develops independence of parts and aural skills necessary for accurate rhythm and harmony).<\/p>\n

\"Guide<\/a>

Guide to solf\u00e8ge hand symbols in Kod\u00e1ly Method of music pedagogy.<\/p><\/div>\n

The administrative tasks that a conductor must perform are fundamental in\u00a0directing a successful choral ensemble. \u00a0Professor Howlett and I researched multiple online choral management softwares that provide a portable platform for choral administration. \u00a0They included Groupanizer<\/a>, Chorus Connection<\/a>, and HarmonySite<\/a>. \u00a0These platforms are extremely complex and powerful, so we spent quite a bit of time analyzing and studying their functionality. \u00a0We compared their handling of event planning and organization, membership management, invoicing options, learning file upload capabilities, communication systems, and even visual representations with\u00a0riser placements of singers at concerts (which has a large impact in the overall sound).<\/p>\n

\"Landing<\/a>

Landing page of our favorite choir management platform that we researched, HarmonySite.<\/p><\/div>\n

In June, I traveled to Yale University to attend a conference featuring a symposium titled “Choirs Transforming Lives.” Hosted by the Yale International Choral Festival and the Connecticut American Choral Directors’ Association, the symposium featured many notable guest panelists that spoke about their experiences and successes in various choral music\u00a0fields. \u00a0One of the panelists was a music therapist who shared her methods of musical pedagogy in the context of young people with special needs. \u00a0Another was a music scholar who spoke about the implications of choral music in political and socioeconomic contexts\u00a0and the ways in which society is making use of the dissemination and teaching of song. \u00a0I also traveled to Westminster Choir College in Princeton, NJ to attend a workshop in choral conducting. \u00a0I was introduced to even more excellent repertoire and theory techniques and learned how vital the conductor’s pedagogy and methods are in the success of the ensemble.<\/p>\n

\"Fellow<\/a>

Fellow music students and educators attending the conference at Westminster Choir College.<\/p><\/div>\n

I had the privilege of being a part of an incredible\u00a0practical application experience during the final week of my Ford project. \u00a0I used all the knowledge that I obtained from summer research to conduct and teach music theory\/vocal musicianship at the Cappella Festiva Treble Choir Summer Choral Festival. \u00a0Along with Professor Howlett, I worked with a talented and driven\u00a0group of 27 young musicians over the week and saw immediate and inspiring change right before my eyes. \u00a0The students went from a group of strangers on Day 1 to a bonded and sonorous choir with incredible artistry by the final concert at Vassar on Day 6. \u00a0I had never worked with an ensemble in the age range of 10-18 nor one\u00a0with only treble voices. \u00a0But with the research and preparation I had conducted in the weeks prior, I was able to adapt to the singers\u00a0and provide them with\u00a0a fulfilling and fun experience both in and outside of rehearsals.<\/p>\n

\"Summer<\/a>

Summer Choral Festival banner group\u00a0project.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Nick<\/a>

Nick Ruggeri ’18 (me) teaching vocal musicianship.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"Daily<\/a>

Daily choral rehearsals – Professor Howlett teaching a new piece.<\/p><\/div>\n

\"A<\/a>

A group of campers posing with me at the final concert.<\/p><\/div>\n

There are many\u00a0facets of choral music that work together behind the scenes of the ensemble that sings beautifully at their performance. \u00a0Careful consideration of all of them is what makes the music happen on stage. \u00a0Being a part of a choir is being a part of something bigger than oneself – and that is magic.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Nick Ruggeri ’18<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This summer, I worked with Professor Christine Howlett on researching treble choir repertoire, developing curriculums to teach said repertoire and music theory\/vocal musicianship to young musicians, and studying choir management software solutions. \u00a0I also had the opportunity to travel to two conferences at Yale University and Westminster Choir College to learn more about the ways […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5175,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[44122],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ford-2015"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5175"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1444"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1771,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions\/1771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pages.vassar.edu\/fordscholars\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}