Wow, this week has been quite a growing experience for me! This week has been different than most first weeks because in two different classes I was coming to class as a teacher instead of a student. I mentor for a Basic Musicianship class (just like I did last semester) and I've been conducting the Collegiate Singers since Wednesday! I can't tell you how much the Lord has blessed me in those classes. I'm not normally a very out-going person (which would surprise many people). But when I teach, a different person comes out! I reach out to people, include them, and strive to get everybody thinking and doing.
My first day in Collegiate I felt a sense that I was being guided as what things I needed to help them understand. It was an excellent experience! I was able to keep them moving, we worked on getting the notes down, a little bit of diction, and just singing together instead of just one person. After Collegiate rehearsal I helped conduct the Women's Choir in their callbacks. That was enjoyable as well! I learned so much about how to listen for specific voices, but also how nerves can affect the sound. Along with the nerves, I learned something about myself: I'm able to recognize if it's nerves or if it's just their voice! It was cool! I saw Brother Brower (conductor of Men's Choir) a little later and he asked me how Collegiate went (he knew I was nervous about teaching them). I told him how I felt it went and he seemed very happy that things went well.
Yesterday's Collegiate rehearsal went really well too! We did a lot of talking about what the pieces are about because of something Brother Brower mentioned in Men's Choir (I sat in on their rehearsal). He gave three "keys" to help with memorization:
1. Repetition: repeating the words
2. Connection: making sure that you somehow connect the music to yourself. It could be abstract or relative.
3. Inflection: putting emphasis on the proper words and syllables. Singing it how you would say it.
I shared this with my wonderful new friends yesterday and asked them all throughout class to sing how they would say these phrases. It's different for everybody; but for the most part everybody emphasizes the same words and grows and what-not. It was amazing when they would do that! Today is my last day as the Collegiate director and I feel . . . well, I'm not sure how I feel. I've enjoyed so much being the teacher of a class and running rehearsals and having the students teach along side me. It's been an amazing experience. However, I'm excited to be able to focus on my studies too (*note: I haven't been neglecting my studies; but I have focused more on getting the Collegiate Singers ready for their callback on Monday). I'm so grateful for the opportunity Brother Kempton gave me to conduct Collegiate while he was away; it was definitely a learning and growing experience for me.
Other things that happened this week . . . not much! All of my classes are fantastic, but I can tell that it's going to be really demanding of my time. Which, I'm okay with! I love having things to do! Especially with this being my last semester, I don't want to waste my time. I want to make the most of it! Well, on to week two! :D
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