Carol Pederson, Administration Curricular Office Administraion@wmea.org
Ensemble Relevance
O n November 22, our district had the pleasure of bringing back our high school Festival of the Arts event. Historically, this was an annual event that more recently turned into an
positive comments from teachers and students. Overall, it was the collaborative element of the event that I heard mentioned most frequently. While students appreciate making music with their school group, many commented that it was fun to compare their skills and work with other students from different programs. For the nearly three hundred high school musicians that were able to participate in this year’s event, inspiration was evidenced in each group. While rehearsing and fine-tuning their craft, they were able to learn from outstanding profes - sionals who have a heart for music education. One director commented that the students’ ability to work with guest conductors provided the opportunity to think and hear dif - ferently than they normally do. The chance to do fine de - tail work during the rehearsal made the difference between sounding good and sounding great. This detail which all our guest conductors were able to bring out is what made the music sparkle and shine at the evening performance. One overarching observation of note (that seems to be a direct result of the disruption due to COVID) was that each conductor struggled with “ensemble issues”. They spent an extensive amount of rehearsal time working on playing/singing together, listening to one another, and being aware of what was going on around them. The con - ductors did a great job of getting students to be cognizant of how their individual parts fit into the bigger picture. This focused work paid off in successful performances by each group. I have heard several directors express a certain degree of frustration with getting skills and technique back to “pre-pandemic” levels. While this is a reality for many it does not seem as difficult to address as regaining a certain level of ensemble awareness or working as a unit. This includes listening outside of oneself, focusing on the group process, and also having the grit and determination to per - severe through a long or demanding rehearsal. Is this due solely to the pandemic or are we also battling against the digital world of immediate gratification and short attention spans? Is being part of a music ensemble still relevant or is there something passe about how and what we do? Unequivocally, I would stress that the benefits of being in a music ensemble is relevant and perhaps even more critical to foster because of the isolation and lack of group awareness that seemed to diminish as a result of the pan - demic. Large events such as Festival of the Arts (as well as school performances) are a way of making sure we stress the importance of the ensemble development essential for the health of our programs. I would be interested to hear ways your teachers are celebrating ensembles and things you might be doing differently as you have had time to reflect on what is important and essential to the overall retention and growth of your music programs. I hope to see you at the Northwest Division Conference in February!
every other year occurrence due to logistics and cost. Fes - tival of the Arts highlights an honor band, choir, orchestra; features student artwork and includes a presentation by high school theatre groups. Festival of the Arts is an activity that has complete support from our district. It is a full day of learning and working intensely with guest conductors culminating in an evening performance at the First Interstate Performing Arts Center in Spokane. Planning for this event takes place the spring before. Each music group has a designated teacher lead chosen from our five high school music programs. They select guest conductors and then collaborate with them to choose appropriate literature for our student musicians. Getting guest conductors that support music education and who understand the various skill levels found in a large district is a crucial piece to the success of this event. This year’s conductors were a perfect fit our students and we felt so fortunate to have them take part in our return to this event after a four-year hiatus. Our guest conductors included: James Lowe, Director of the Spokane Symphony, Dahn Pham Director of Bands & Orchestras at Washington State University and Meg Stohlmann, Director of Choral & Vocal studies at Gonzaga University. Once the music and conductors have been chosen, I go into “logistical action” by setting up contracts, ordering mu - sic, reserving facilities, planning bussing, setting up equip - ment transfer from schools to the event site, and getting publicity set in motion. The teacher leads organize rosters for each group, assign parts and seating assignments and then organize a few large group rehearsals so that students are better prepared for the all-day event with our guest conductors. On the day of the event, each director is subbed out and participating students are bussed from their high school to the event site. We begin rehearsal at 8:30 AM, take a lunch break at noon and then round out the day with groups doing a dress rehearsal on stage. Students are responsible for their transportation to the evening concert, which is open and free to the public. As master of ceremo - nies, my role is to invite the SPS superintendent onto the stage for the welcoming address and from there the leads introduce each group and their conductor. During the rehearsal our high school directors had the unique opportunity to observe and learn from experts in their field. The students were able to experience the joy of making music with peers from other schools under the direction of a professional music director. Even though it was a long and sometimes challenging day, I heard many
Voice of Washington Music Educators Association January 2023
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