SCVA Newsletter (on-line version) – October 2003
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The Fall In-Service
is just around the corner, and this year promises to deliver something for
everyone in choral music education!
The beautiful campus of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa will be this
year's venue. Our presenters bring
a wealth of knowledge and experience to the day's topic: The connection of our classroom
activities to the California State Framework and Standards in Music.
Dr. Ricardo Soto
has extensive choral teaching experience at both the high school and collegiate
levels and is a well-known clinician and director. He currently directs the choral ensembles and orchestra at
Orange Coast College. After a
special performance by the Irvine High School Chamber Singers, directed by Rich
Messenger, Dr. Soto will present a open clinic with the singers, making,
connections between rehearsal technique and the standards.
Famed composer Eric
Whitacre will speak to us about his choral music, and his new opera premiering
in Long Beach next year. Greg
Ellis, a well-known and respected music educator, will speak to the specific
needs of middle school teachers, and the incorporation of the standards at that
level.
Our friends at
Pepper of Los Angeles will present Bruce Munson from Sibelius, with an exciting
new program designed for elementary music educators. In addition, there will be sessions on music for the special
needs student, a guide to hosting a festival , question and answer time with
all clinicians, and a performance and clinic by a middle school choir yet to be
selected.
A great day is
planned for all, so come to be inspired and motivated! Network with colleagues and friends and
support your professional organization - the only one dedicated to supporting
choral music education in Southern California for over 60 years! I look forward to seeing you there.
Schedule for
Friday, October 24, 2003:
8:30 Check-in,
Continental Breakfast
9:00 Welcome,
Announcements
9:10 Irvine HS
Chamber Singers
9:25 Dr.
Ricardo Soto
10:30 Break
10:45 Eric Whitacre
11:45 Lunch Break
1:00 Middle
School Performance
1:15 Greg Ellis
2:00 Break
2:15 Interest
Sessions:
3:00 In-Service
Concludes
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Greetings from
Torrance Unified School District.
I teach elementary vocal music at two schools in Torrance and am pleased
to be representing those of you who direct elementary school choirs. My
gratitude goes out to Betsy Hanger for helping educate me into this position,
as well as for coordinating a successful elementary season last year.
If your elementary choir
has not yet performed in a festival, I encourage you to introduce your students
to this unique learning opportunity. SCVA elementary festivals have been set up for choral
students to hear other southern California performing groups in a non-competitive
festival setting. All levels of groups, from those who meet before or after
school once a week, to others who rehearse three or four times a week during
the school day, are invited to participate. Each festival is designed to last around two hours, with all
participants present for performances and clinician's remarks. You will be
amazed at what your students will learn by hearing and seeing their peers
perform!
Finally, any of you
who are interested in hosting an elementary festival at your school, please
contact me. Besides giving your students an invaluable, musical learning
experience, hosting schools are invited to participate in the festival without
paying the entrance fee. The requirements are simply a performance space
(theater, auditorium, cafeteria), risers, a tuned piano, warm-up room, a few
volunteers (parents, teachers, etc.) to act as hosts, and a drop-off/pick-up
area for buses.
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With so many
opportunities for performance and clinic during the school year, we have
decided to combine the Young Men's Choral Clinic and the SPEBSQSA Young Men's
Harmony Festival into one grand men's event. On that day, over 250 men join together to become a large
men's choir and are proctored by the men of the "Masters of
Harmony." This eventful day concludes with a
gigantic concert featuring the high school men's chorus and the Masters of
Harmony chorus.
The question that
is usually asked is, "Do the boys that I send to the event have to be
enrolled in a men's chorus at school?
The answer is, "no".
You may send any interested male singers from your program.
This event will not
only reinforce the good vocal technique you teach in your classroom, but will
inspire your singers to be even more involved in choir. In fact, if you talk to Lori Marie Rios
(La Canada High School), having three of her boys participate in this event a
few years back became the base for the start of her wonderful men's
chorus. (If you haven't
heard them, sign up for a festival where they are singing!) Personally, I send about 20-30 of my
men from different choirs so that they will gain the experience of singing with
other men and learn what an exceptional male sound is like. Don't wait to send in your application!
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We are pleased to
announce another unique opportunity for your young male singers which we hope
will provide a positive boost for choral music at your school and throughout
Southern California. To build on
our successful choral programs during the past five years, the local chapters
of SPEBSQSA and the Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) are organizing
a Young Men’s Harmony Festival starting at 10:00am on Saturday, February 21,
2004 at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. The day-long event will consist of a morning and afternoon
clinic and rehearsal, followed by a public performance in the evening with the
Masters of Harmony, five-time International Barbershop Chorus Champions. In addition to providing an outstanding
musical experience for your singers, all of the proceeds from this event will
go to support choral music education programs in our schools.
About four weeks
prior to the event, we will provide sheet music and voice-dominant practice
tapes for several songs arranged in the Barbershop style.
The cost is only
$20 per singer. Local Barbershop
sponsors will cover the remaining costs for sheet music, practice tapes,
rehearsal facilities, guest clinicians, and special performance costumes. A commemorative T-shirt will be
provided to each singer. We will
also provide lunch and dinner for the singers, as well as a catered dinner for
any music educators who attend the rehearsal and clinic. We also request that you or a parent
accompany your singers at the event to help maintain discipline during the long
day.
Please complete the
enclosed application and parental consent/medical form for each singer and send
payment by cash, check or money order payable to “Masters of Harmony” to the address below NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 20,
2003. Any male student who is
currently enrolled in a school choral music program is eligible to
participate. There is no limit to
the number of students you can nominate from your choral program. We request that you select your better
singers to represent your school.
We can accommodate a maximum of 250 singers, so don’t delay!
The Barbershop
Harmony Society is dedicated to preserving and encouraging vocal music of all
kinds in our schools and our communities, through financial support and by
being strong advocates for the arts.
In partnership with the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the
American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and other organizations, the
Society is actively involved in the effort to help revitalize music education
and to “Get America Singing...Again”.
Support from local Barbershop harmony programs has earned the
enthusiastic endorsement of the SCVA.
We look forward to
receiving your applications.
Please contact me if you have any questions about the Young Men’s
Harmony Festival or any of our Young Men In Harmony programs.
Barbershop Harmony Festival Application Form
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Now is a great time
to start preparing your singers for the Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir
auditions. We're looking for
students who have beautiful voices as well as good musical skills. Practicing with your students every day
for just a few minutes will foster good habits and develop their skills to the
level the Honor Choir demands.
Our goal is to form
a balanced SATB choir. Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth grade members of your choral programs
are eligible to audition. (Sixth
graders who are part of junior high/middle school program may also
audition.) Ninth grade Tenors and
Baritones are especially encouraged to audition. These singers are often the backbone of the Honor
Choir. (Note of
clarification: All ninth grade
singers, whether part of a four-year high school program or a middle school
program which includes grade nine, are eligible to audition.)
Your next SCVA
Newsletter will have the specific audition sites and dates listed. Your students will select a site and
date that works for their schedule.
They should look at the rehearsal and performance dates very carefully!
THE AUDITION
APPLICATION FEE
The application fee
is $5 (Cash or money order only, please.)
PARTICIPATION FEE
The participation
fee for students who are selected for the Honor Choir will again be $35. This fee covers the cost of the
students' music and folder, the guest conductor, pianist, rehearsal/performance
facilities, and incidentals.
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Other Important Information
SCVA Membership Application
Festival Host Application Form