Keeping Up

We're at the 19-day marker, y'all.

It sounds a little better right now to say "a little less than three weeks" — seems like that gives us more time to get everything in order for the BIG DAY. 

• We have collections of pewter dishes, ribbons, wine bottles, and Christmas decorations (from the Christmas Choir Kick-Off this weekend) lining our entryway. 

• I have about eight pieces of clothing hanging on my closet door (literally since the first week of August) to bring to the dry cleaner. 

• I am going to try on my dress this weekend for the first time since April. 

The pace of life is fast right now... and by fast I mean flying.

This week, that meant typing up grant applications for the WCMW while driving to VT for wedding errands, emailing schedules to the wedding vendors while sitting at the laundromat, checking emails on my Blackberry in between choir rehearsals, and writing out the seating chart for the rehearsal dinner on scratch paper in the car. 

Oh, and I downed my coffee/hot chocolate this morning in three minutes flat before running out the door to get ready for church.

The question, "Am I keeping up with everything?" is one that I ask myself at least five times a day. Can you relate?

Albert Einstein has some pretty great words of advice for people like us: "Life is like riding a bicycle: In order to keep your balance, you must keep moving." 

I think balance is a key word here. 

Forward motion is important, but it doesn't drive everything.  In order to get everything done that needs to be done, I need balance in my life.

For me, balance means:

• taking a breather from emails on the weekends (at least from my school account)

• spending less time on my laptop/Blackberry on the weekends in general

• taking time to cook dinner with Steve on weekend nights (last night, we made apple- and bacon-stuffed pork chops with a maple glaze)

• not lingering at church after the service — cleaning up the Choir Room can wait until Monday evening

• making time to do something on the weekend that I wouldn't normally do during the week (for instance, yesterday, I made fresh guacamole... up until the point when I sliced my finger open with our brand new tomato knife.  Steve had to take over on this one.)

• spending a few minutes at the end of each day writing down everything I want to remember in the morning

• taking a short walk to the Post Office after lunch (fresh air + exercise + no Blackberry = mental breather)

• sending more emails from my Blackberry during the day (in between things) rather than waiting until I am at my computer again

How do you keep up?  How do you achieve balance in everyday work?

Where I Work

Welcome to my home-away-from-home!

Thought you might like a little tour of where I work, practice, plan, and teach! We had a crazy but wonderful night of rehearsals last night - first night back for the children in Singers & Scholars and we even had a couple of new faces! Tomorrow is our Christmas Choir Kick-Off for the Sanctuary Choir (and friends joining us for the cantata - yes, I discovered a stack of cantata scores in the choir library during my Christmas planning this summer!) With rehearsal time, a potluck lunch, Christmas decorations, fellowship, and even a gingerbread house decorating contest, it promises to be a stellar way to begin the season. Pictures to follow...

Oprah Winfrey: Interview

"What are you really passionate about?"  "What would you do if you didn't have fear?"  "How can you use your life as a service to yourself, your family, and your community?" These are just a few of the challenging questions Oprah asks herself and those listening to this interview (from last week, September 8, by the way).  It's a message of authenticity and real-life experience.  Be you.  Be true and authentic.  Be the best you can be.  And don't let fear hold you back.

Watch the video here.

Daydreams

*Disclosure: I get commissions for purchases made through links in this post.

This was the name of the piece I assigned to Bobby last week. Bobby is a well-mannered redhead, autistic, and in the 8th grade.

Now in our third month of lessons, this piece from The Music Tree, Part I is four measures long with three 4-beat patterns total. Bobby immediately brought his hands up to the keyboard and played through the piece, aggressively. Looking at me briefly for approval, I pointed to the page and said, "What about this half note?" "Oh yeah," he said quickly, replacing his hands on the keys.

Again, he played through the piece, correcting his position when he realized he was off by a step. He began again. I could tell by his body language that he was just not in the mood to play music off the page. In a moment of hesitation, Bobby suddenly diverged into another register and musical atmosphere completely, though I recognized a few patterns from "Daydreams."

"Why don't you play this version of 'Daydreams' and then play me your version based on some of these patterns," I suggested. Forcefully, he again played the four bars, struggling to keep the rhythm going. "Okay," I said. "Now play your version of 'Daydreams.'" With no hesitation, Bobby brought both hands up to the keyboard in a fell swoop and began playing his improvisation. Both feet immediately moved to the una corda and sostenuto pedals and he experimented with the change in sound with unabashed confidence.

I listened intently to the layers of sound — covering the extremities of the keyboard — very carefully placed and intentional. In some cases, it was musical babble; in others, it was very much an embellishment of the original piece. Amidst the glissandi (yes, glissandi) up and down the keyboard, the cluster chords, the quick flourishes, and even a theme from the improvisation he played for me last week (I was amazed that he incorporated this), Bobby returned to the original "Daydreams" again and again. "He gets it," I thought to myself. 

Sometimes, the patterns were played softly in the upper register (above the wash of sound he created with the pedal) and sometimes he augmented them slightly in the middle register. I also noticed a few black-key motives from his improvisation last week making a reappearance in this new context. It was fascinating to see and hear his creativity.

After a couple of minutes, I thought to myself, "How long should I let this improvisation activity last? There are other pieces I'd like to get to in this lesson. How do I know when he's at the end?" At a seemingly logical stopping place, I interjected, "That's great Bobby! I love your interpretation of 'Daydreams,'" but he simply glanced up at me and continued on with his improvisation. I quickly realized that this was a valuable teaching moment and a perfectly appropriate way to spend our lesson time. I listened to Bobby's use of tonal patterns, rhythms, and repetition. I watched him play. He was into it. He was making music. He was incorporating things we had learned but he was making it his own. When he arrived at the end of his improvisation, I knew it was complete.

We finished the lesson with a few activities from the lesson book but I was struck by what I had just witnessed. I wondered if others would hear the things that I heard — the creativity, the sensitivity, the synthesis. I learned something new today about music as a language.

First Day of School

It's my first day of school today - second year as a professor!  What a different world it is to spend the last few weeks of summer checking enrollment, revising a syllabus, triple-checking all the technology in the classroom, and writing lesson plans.

There's something very exciting to me about this world of academia.  Students criss-crossing over the quad; tall, ivy-covered buildings; libraries full of books; the voices of lecturers drifting through the hallway.  The pursuit of knowledge can be a very exciting one if you put your mind to learning.  As I approach the academic world from "the other side," I feel like one of my primary goals as a teacher is to inspire learning.  I want my students to succeed and do well but I want them to truly desire learning most of all.  As I told a student today, I truly believe you can be as successful as you want to be.  How do you teach this level of commitment and strength of will?  How do you develop independent learners?  So you see, even professors have much still to learn.

This afternoon, I'll meet the five bright-eyed students currently enrolled in my class (as of 10:19 p.m. last night); dive into our thick, spiral-bound textbook; and pray for no major technology failures.  However, seeing as how technology is not always on our my side, the backup plan is to play "air piano" and play multiple rounds of "rhythm editing" - a sure crowd-pleaser.  Don't you wish you were in my class?!

Image Credit: personal

It's One of Those Days...

It's one of those days.  My feet hit the ground running this morning. Welcome to the fall semester, right?!

Inboxes (yes, three of them) full of unanswered emails from the weekend, staff meeting this morning, errands to run, studio lessons this afternoon, meetings to schedule, etc.  And then there are the unexpected things that come up... a reporter calling to interview me about the cultural council grant we received for the workshop this year, booking a hair salon for the wedding party, responding to student inquiries, a 2-and-a-half hour staff meeting, and dealing with a Blackberry that is constantly blinking for attention.  Grace, not perfection, my friends.  I likely will not cross everything off my to-do list today.  I will probably not be able to make all the phone calls I need to make before 5 p.m.  I will, however strive to be the best that I can be in accomplishing as much as I am able.  One thing at a time, one foot in front of the other.

Image Credit: personal

Possibility

"Dwell in possibility..." - Emily Dickinson To dwell in possibility is to claim hope.  The idea of possibility strengthens the confidence we have in ourselves.   “You can and you will,” it whispers.  “Nothing is impossible.”  I think we often get caught up in the realities of life – we’re encouraged at some point to ground our dreams and ideas so they are more attainable and more realistic.  There are some things we just can’t and won’t be able to do.  Face the reality.  As it turns out, our reality is what we make of it.  Never be afraid to dream big, to set seemingly unattainable goals, to work hard, to take action turning new ideas into reality.  As Audrey Hepburn once said, “Nothing is impossible, the word itself says ‘I’m possible’!”

What is doubt saying is impossible for you?

For me, it’s achieving excellence in music performance where the most impossible task always seems to be overcoming myself – overcoming the intimidation of being vulnerable and completely exposed.  It’s learning to let go of situations that are beyond my control and keeping calm in my heart.  It’s setting work aside, turning off all of the creative ideas in my brain, and living.

Reality is what you make of it, friends.  Will you choose to dwell in possibility?

Christmas Planning

It's never too early to start planning for Christmas!  Such is the choir director's life, at least.  I love summer planning.  Recently, I've been perusing all the sampler catalogs that have come in the mail over the past month, listening to the demo CDs, searching Pepperfor inspiration, and writing down theme ideas.  In my search for old Christmas hymns and texts, I discovered this gorgeous poem:

"Light of the world, we hail Thee Flushing the eastern skies; Never shall darkness veil Thee Again from human eyes; Too long, alas, withholden, Now spread from shore to shore, Thy light so glad and golden, Shall set on earth no more.

Light of the world, before Thee Our spirits prostrate fall; We worship, we adore Thee, Thou Light, the life of all, With Thee is no forgetting Of all Thine hand hath made; Thy rising hath no setting, Thy sunshine hath no shade.

Light of the world, illumine This darkened land of Thine, Till everything that's human Be filled with what's divine; Till every tongue and nation, From sin's dominion free, Rise in the new creation Which springs from Love and Thee. Amen."

- Rev. J.S.B. Monsell, 1863 (from The Sunday School Book)

My current list of traditional hymns/carols:

• Coventry Carol
• Once in Royal David's City
• Break Forth, O Beauteous Heavenly Light
• O Sing a Song of Bethlehem
• Sing We Now of Christmas

As for other pieces, I love:

• Before the Marvel of This Night (Carl Schalk)
• Of the Father's Love Begotten (Jay Rouse - listen to it here)
• All My Heart This Night Rejoices (Leo Nestor - listen to it here)
• The Yearning (Craig Courtney - listen to it here).

And if you think I'm crazy now, just wait until next month!  Christmas folder assembly, Christmas decorations for the kick-off, and Christmas cookie-baking!  Merry Christmas, y'all!

WCMW Round-Up: Part II

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We're back with the rest of our exciting week at the Westminster Chamber Music Workshop!

Thursday, June 23- "A Game of Musical Memory: Thematic Connections in Music Through the Year" - Artistic Directors Ashley Danyew (that's me!) & Steve Danyew

Friday, June 24- "Mythology, Modernity, and Musical Theatre: Jacques Offenbach's La Vie parisienne" - Guest Artist Elizabeth Hebbard

Saturday, June 25 - WCMW Final Concert - WCMW Chamber Choir, Faculty, and Guest Artists

WCMW Round-Up: Part I

Last week, we had our first annual Westminster Chamber Music Workshop (WCMW) - a very busy but very fun experience for all who participated!  We had a chamber choir of 15 community members rehearsing each night from 6-7:45 p.m. and a free special event(recital, lecture, presentation, etc.) each night from 8-9 p.m.  We had a different audience each night and it was wonderful to see so many faces from Westminster and the greater community!  Here's a quick round-up of the week:

Monday, June 20 - "You, Me, and Whoever Wrote This Thing: Duo-Playing and the Art of Team Interpretation" - Guest Artists: Arthur Thovmasian & McMillan Gaither (trombone duo) Tuesday, June 21 - "Journey to Jazz Through Flowers and Summer" - Guest Artists Diane Cushing (Soprano) & Virginia Eskin (Piano)

Wednesday, June 22 - "Choral Folk-Song Arrangements in 20th Century Portugal and Beyond" - Faculty Member Dr. Gregory Brown

To be continued in Part II tomorrow!