Sorry so long...some personal discovery... Nashville, Day Three

Yet again, how did I fit all of this into one day!?

My roommate and I started the day by attending at 7:15 breakfast meeting, part one of the Leadership Summit. We were recognized again as Young Leaders, and as a current and future officer, I was glad to be there to hear the organizational-type discussions. If only it hadn’t been so early….!

After that, I attended Martha Elliott’s session on vocal performance practice based on her book, Singing in Style. She waved to me before the session began, and in the introduction to her presentation, she recalled our conversation from last evening about how I used her book as the starting point for my research, and then she thanked me by name. I felt special – not just a face in a crowd or just one reader out of many thousand. I know, I know… it’s the little things.

In the brief time between that session and the next master class, I visited the exhibition hall and was sidelined at the first booth to chat with my regional governor, who thoughtfully invited me (and some others from our region) to a gathering in her room tomorrow evening. We started chatting about some of the presentations we had seen, and as we were discussing a technique Shirlee Emmons introduced in her master class yesterday, Ms. Emmons herself approached us. I found her to be very natural and personable, very easy to chat with and quite down to earth. I had my picture taken with her and (as with Martha Elliott’s) will print it and paste it into my copy of her book, which is at home.

Elizabeth Blades, a colleague from my chapter, wandered our way as I was getting ready to head to the master class. We sat together at Dr. Thomas Cleveland’s master class concerning the occupational hazards of singing contemporary commercial music. It was an enlightening event all around, but I personally got a kick out of hearing some of his sound clips. He was talking about how it really doesn’t matter how well or how poorly you sing if your style of singing doesn’t match the style of the music. To demonstrate he played a recording of someone singing an aria from Handel’s Messiah… with a country twang. The person singing it did not intend it to be humorous, it just kind of came out that way, despite the fine quality of the singing itself. Then, he played another recording featuring the same singer… I recognized it instantly as The Gatlin Brothers singing one of my childhood favorites, “All The Gold.” Same voice, same style, same twang, perfectly at home in its style of music. Dr. Cleveland noted that a few of us had “the audacity” to move to the music; under my breath, I muttered, “and sing every word along with him, thank you very much!” He was being facetious, but as Robert Edwin said in yesterday’s master class that combined classical and CCM singers, “it’s kind of like getting the Lutherans and Roman Catholics together.”

After lunch, I attended a short publisher’s showcase featuring Joan Frey Boytim, a “household name” to any teacher of young singers. She just released some new books, and we received one of them as a gift, plus a book of Schubert songs. Can never go wrong with that!

Next was the master class with Sherrill Milnes. Perhaps it was because I was starting to feel unwell, but I didn’t get much out of this class, and was actually anxious for it to end. I didn’t learn anything new from the Marilyn Horne master class in April, but it wasn’t until later that I realized it because I was still gaining some new perspective. I didn’t feel that way this time. I felt like this one was more about him than about the young singers he was tutoring. I am not sure to what extent this is due to the fact that my roommate, who had seen him before, told me that he was full of himself, or whether it was simply the reality of it, but I didn’t come away from that class feeling I had gained much of anything.

I skipped the last breakout session of the day. I’d had some interest in attending the class about countertenors, but I really just didn’t feel well, so I went back to my room to sleep for an hour and a half so that I would feel fresh for the Dawn Upshaw recital this evening. Mission accomplished.

As we entered the Ryman Auditorium, I spied someone else that looked familiar to me, but I couldn’t place her. Just a couple minutes later, she approached me to say hello. It was Kitty Eberle, another one of my professors from the SVI in 2005. The world of voice professionals really is a small world. I am amazed now how many people I know when I look around the room at this convention. I have met so many wonderful people and reconnected with many others.

The recital was beautiful. It was a private recital. Our NATS membership filled less than half of the historic Ryman Auditorium. Had they opened it to the public, it would have quickly sold out. Ms. Upshaw was very down-to-earth and conversational. Like many singers whose performances I have greatly enjoyed this week, she made singing look incredibly, deceptively easy. I have been desperately wishing my students could see and hear the performances I have seen and heard this week because they epitomize the things I keep telling them about the art of performing – and to experience it for themselves would be worth more than a thousand words. The highlight for me was when she sang my all-time favorite German Lied, “Die Bekehrte,” by Hugo Wolf.

When we boarded the bus to go to the recital, it was the first time I’d been out of the resort in over two days. I felt like I was an institutional patient being let out into the “real world” for a sojourn. Walking back through the “outside” (not “outside outside,” remember), I couldn’t help feeling again like we were in a Martian biosphere. I actually really like it, but it’s still strange.

Another person approached me this evening when we got off the bus to say that she was impressed with my voice when I sang as an impromptu subject in Kittie Verdolini’s workshop yesterday. The farther we get from the time of that event, the more it floors me that people remember me from it and care enough to say something. She also said I was very brave. I had to laugh…crazy is more like it!

I think the other reason such praise has meant so much to me and struck me as so peculiar is because I have been struggling with my voice so much lately – not so much with the voice itself, as with my energy level and my limited amount of time to devote to singing when I have been so swamped with teaching. Therefore, the last thing I would expect from people who really know “good singing” when they hear it, is praise.

My personal goal for this trip, which continues to be brushed aside by more imminent concerns, has been to redefine the role of singing in my life because it has become such a source of frustration for me. I have been very busy as a music teacher and it takes a lot out of me, such that when all is said and done, the last thing I want to do is sing. Because singing is my career, it no longer qualifies as leisure; even though I still love doing it, it definitely falls into the category of work. Don’t get me wrong – I consider myself incredibly blessed to do something I love as my work, but work is still work, and it is tiring, and one needs time away from it in order to refresh.

I think the source of my frustration is that, while I have redefined my desired career path to be that of a teacher rather than a full-time performer, I have not adjusted my expectations of myself as a performer to accommodate that shift. I know that a teacher of music must continue to perform in order to remain in touch with the artist within, but it only makes sense that if one is now devoting a great deal of energy to honing the art of teaching, something else has to give. That time and energy doesn’t come out of nowhere! Sort of a “conservation of matter” kind of philosophy.

I feel a sense of peace, relief and accomplishment at having unraveled that persistent mystery, but now comes perhaps the hardest part… accepting the change. Lowering my personal expectations of myself as a singer feels so much like quitting or giving up, even though I know that’s not the reality. I will still improve and grow as a singer, just not as quickly or perhaps as fully. This part of the puzzle will take some genuine effort and struggle, but at least I feel like I have a better understanding of the situation, and that should begin to relieve some of my anxiety.

The remaining item of note for today was that my roommate’s niece was born in San Fransisco while we were riding “home” from the recital on the bus.

Peaks and Valleys

Eric and I seem to be at a peak in the cycle of our marriage, which is absolutely shocking given that he is working an odd combination of days and nights and is therefore sleeping very little. Sadly, I know that this peak will not last indefinitely. I always chant to myself, "this, too, shall pass" when things are going badly, but I think it is worth remembering when things are going well, too; then when the natural cycle in our marriage pulls us down into another valley, maybe we won't think of it as a crisis, but instead as just an inevitable bump in the road that truly will move on again to make way for another peak.

Poll regarding Christmas letters

I was reading something today about conserving resources, and it suggested sending Christmas letters electronically instead of using paper products to mail them. I am torn on this (pun not intended). On one hand, it saves a lot of time and paper to send them electronically, especially considering most will be thrown away. On the other hand, it's exciting to receive them in the mail and watch them stack up throughout the month of December. In the electronic age, the personal touch is particularly appreciated.

I have historically mailed a Christmas letter to friends and family who live far away, particularly those who only hear from me once a year. It has always seemed a little silly to me to send cards to people I see regularly. To those, I usually email the letter I have mailed to the others. I mean, I send 20 or 30 cards a year anyway - I can't imagine how expensive and time-consuming that would get if I sent them to everyone I know. And YET, I enjoy receiving these letters from certain friends I see regularly.

Of course, that's another thing... cards versus letters. Cards are pretty, but they don't communicate a lot to me. The thrill of getting Christmas letters is in reading about my friends' lives and putting myself back into their lives for that moment, remembering times we've had together and appreciating the ways God has blessed them. I'm afraid I don't really understand the tradition of sending cards that are simply signed with no personal touch other than the signature itself. What is the point?

So, anyhow, I am especially interested in hearing your perspective on this. Please share!

Look out.... political commentary!

This is an interesting case.
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/cheesesteak-shop-owner-defends-policy/20071215115009990001?ncid=NWS00010000000001

I agree with the business owner. It's not discrimination to ask patrons to order in English.

Someone commenting on this article posted the following quotation from Theodore Roosevelt:

"In the first place, we should insist that if the immigrant who comes here in good faith becomes an American and assimilates himself to us, he shall be treated on an exact equality with everyone else, for it is an outrage to discriminate against any such man because of creed, or birthplace, or origin. But this is predicated upon the person's becoming in every facet an American, and nothing but an American...There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American flag... We have room for but one language here, and that is the English language... and we have room for but one sole loyalty and that is a loyalty to the American people."Theodore Roosevelt 1907

I verified this quote on snopes.com, where they also provide additional quotes along these lines from T. Roosevelt. http://www.snopes.com/politics/quotes/troosevelt.asp.

Diversity is a beautiful thing - it is something that makes this country extra special, but for different peoples to live and work together, they must have something in common, too. Historically, we have shared similar values (i.e. the Bill of Rights) and a common language. Many immigrant families have held on to their heritage and language, and rightly so, but they also learned the ways and language of the land they chose to inhabit. They embraced certain things that unified them with their new countrymen. Our society cannot endure if there is no common thread binding its many cultures together. Human nature just doesn't work that way.

Why is it considered discrimination to ask restaurant patrons to order in English? The menu is written in English... he's providing the words. His ethnic patrons are there to eat American-style food. If they are willing to embrace that aspect of American culture for an hour or so, why not 2 minutes of speaking the local language to order the food? Presumably the restaurant owner would not have created the sign if this had not already been an issue his servers were facing.

I value cultural diversity, and I don't believe in discrimination, but I also don't think asking people to learn a little English to facilitate basic communication in public venues is discriminatory. Tourists do it; why not immigrants?

Perplexed...

Friday afternoon, I was chatting with one of my music education professors in the library. The conversation turned to the subject of comprehensive musicianship and how teachers choose to utilize the limited amount of class time they have with students....that is, on what aspects of music do we focus and for how long? I started talking about an improvisation/composition exercise I used to do with some of my younger piano students called the "Two-Minute Invention." (I say improv/composition as they have the option of planning the invention in advance or making it up on the spot.)

It's difficult to describe the conversation that ensued. The professor kept asking me questions about the activity that could conceivably be interpretted as wanting to better understand my idea, but they really seemed more leading than inquisitive - like he was trying to get me to stumble over a flaw in my thinking. I sensed that he disapproved of the philosophy behind it. On one hand, it is invigorating to be challenged and forced to reevaluate my philosophy, and I benefitted from that aspect of it. On the other hand, I didn't like feeling that I had been judged. I left feeling extremely unsettled about the whole interaction. And then on the other hand (yes, I have three hands...), I didn't like that I cared one way or the other what he thought of the activity or of me as a teacher. After all, the whole conversation began as one about the wide range of philosophical perspectives master teachers take on nearly every facet of educational practice. To have a philosophy is to be at odds with the inevitably-extant opposing philosophy.

Graduation is less than two and a half months away. I am really going to miss grad school. The experience has been so revitalizing for me, but it is unfortunately very expensive and inhibits my participation in many other important areas of my life.

Bilingual beef

I suppose that subject heading could be interpretted a variety of fun ways, but my beef is with everything being printed in two languages. My phone books are twice as thick as they need to be because they print the whole thing in English and then if you flip it over and start from the "back," you get the whole thing in Spanish. Well, this is the final straw. The quick reference guide for my notation software is written in PC/Windows, and then if you flip it over and start from the back, you get the whole thing in MACINTOSH! The inhumanity!!



Disclaimer: This posting is entirely tongue-in-cheek.... poking fun at recent immigration issues just for fun and not making any political statement. Heck, if I had studied Spanish instead of German, I'd probably get a real kick out of the bilingual phone book.

Music Education in America

I've been wondering about our system of music education here in the US. It's very competitive. We're always auditioning to get into the highest group (if not the highest chair) and competing against other schools. There is no question this encourages us to strive for the highest quality music-making, but to what extent does it discourage music-making altogether?

I've been reading about how music education has grown and declined repeatedly across history. Whenever music was a largely amateur activity that blended into every day life, it flourished as a core subject in schools. But whenever a culture began to emphasize professionalism in music, music education became less valued in the community - sort of a, "if they can't be expected to perform at a professional level, and thus cannot be expected to contribute to society with these skills, why waste time teaching it?" mentality. The purpose of education is to pass along skills and knowledge that people need in order to function effectively and contribute to society. In earlier times, knowing how to leisure well was a valuable skill. There are still those who say, "teach a kid to blow a horn and he won't blow a safe."

Historically, the role of music in the community affects music education, but can it go the opposite way? If we removed or lessened the competitive culture from music education, would it be more pervasive?

Consider a high school with four choirs. In today's schools, those would be a non-auditioned freshman choir and three auditioned choirs at increasing levels. What would it look like if there were no auditions, only freshman choir, sophomore choir, junior choir, and senior choir? Those students who intend to pursue music professionally can always find community choirs and private teachers. Would the others learn to appreciate music-making as an enriching leisure activity that brings people together? Or would we just lose those we already have? Would short-term losses ultimately yield long-term gains for the field?

I also strongly suspect that grade level participation in high school music fits a pyramid. More freshman than sophomores, more sophomores than juniors, and so on. If that is true, what factors are causing some students to decide that music classes are not the best use of their time?

There's a good chance that these ideas that are rolling around in my head will work themselves into a term paper by the end of the semester, so I greatly appreciate random thoughts and arguments to help me shake things down.

What is "Art?"

Interesting excerpts from an article entitled, "Classical music: Why bother?" by Joshua Fineberg:

"Art is not about giving people what they want. It's about giving them something they don't know they want. "

"Real art cannot be an act of manipulation or marketing, but only an act of faith. Faith that great art is something remarkable. Faith that someone, somewhere, sometime might make the effort to understand what an artist has to offer -- and not merely seek what is already known.

It requires a tremendous leap of faith to surrender control of our perception to someone else, on the off chance that they may offer us something we never knew we wanted but now would not want to be without. If we don't really believe in this possibility anymore -- in the inherent importance and transformative potential of art -- then why would anyone in their right mind take the risk?"

The full article:
http://dir.salon.com/story/ent/music/feature/2002/10/02/classical/index.html?pn=1