One of My Favorite Things!

One of my favorite things at Christmas time is the Christmas Concert at ISU. It was very special when my daughter was in one of the ensembles that performed in it several years ago. It's a different kind of special to see my former students participating! The picture is of the Men's Choir, one of four ensembles that performed at ISU last Sunday December 7. Paul Wedemeyer has been a member of this group since he was a freshman. I believe this is his third Christmas Concert. This is the second year for Amy Williamson to participate. She is in one of the women's ensembles called Lyrica. Her sister Sarah also sang in it when she was there.

Why is this one of my favorite things? I love C.Y. Stephens Auditorium, for one thing. It seriously has the best acoustics of any performance hall in the country. Secondly, I love the music that the directors choose. It is traditional, yet different in a very classic way. I love the fact that all four choirs fill the stage to capacity and join their voices together for the finale! But most of all, I love it that my students are still singing. What a gift to themselves, to their communities, to their families, and to me!!

Holiday Happenings

By the time New Year's Day arrives, most music teachers are in Christmas music shell shock. We pick out our Christmas music in September, begin preparing it with our students in October, perform it for you in December, and then we don't want to hear Christmas music again for quite a while! Throw in a couple church programs and those of our own children, and we definitely get enough Christmas spirit to last for several months. That's not to say we don't enjoy it, though. We love helping you celebrate Christmas! We hope to see you at one of the Christmas concerts coming up soon: December 8 (7:00 Middle School) and December 11 (7:00 High School).

This might be a good place to tell you about my philosophy of celebrating Christmas with traditional Christmas music. You might be thinking that I'm quite politically incorrect. Well, if you know me very well, you know that label doesn't bother me in the slightest. However, I plan very carefully to include a variety of music on our Christmas programs. You will almost always hear Latin, (Gloria in excelsis Deo!) some kind of snow or Fa la la song, and definitely at least one traditional carol that you will recognize. I think it is important to remember our traditional musical roots when it comes to Christmas, and if you want more information on this, let's talk in person.

Until then, have a wonderful, music-filled Christmas season!

Crazy routine- delightful and unexpected!

Two phrases stuck out to me when reading my daughter's blog last night:
http://www.foreignheart.blogspot.com/
(please excuse the shameless plug)

"....routine.......crazy"

"..delightful, unexpected, life things..."

So, because she was asking for guest writers for this week (and it's already Thursday), and because I am enjoying a wonderfully relaxing day while my students are at an honor choir, I am sharing this tiny space of ...space... with her.

At some point in everyone's life, if they are productive and passionate and purposeful, (please note alliteration- I worked very hard at that), they find out that, oddly enough, routine and crazy actually work out very well together. The key is realizing that each have their time and place, and knowing when to roll with routine and rock with crazy. Flexibility! Those of us who are control freaks have a hard time with this, but believe me it's one of the most valuable lessons to learn in life. Side benefit: aids in learning to trust our Heavenly Father!

Which leads to the second phrase rolling around in my head. If we are flexing, trusting, rocking, and rolling, we will discover "delightful, unexpected, life things!" Those serendipitous moments that push us out of our routine and into crazy. Those "out of control" things that happen when we least expect it, but we learn to cherish because of their infrequency. Things like unexpected compliments, deep conversations, touching compassion, random acts of kindness, surprise encounters.
Enjoy your crazy routine, my daughters. In it you will find the delightful and the unexpected.

Coaching

I've been thinking a lot about coaching the last couple of weeks for a couple of reasons.


First, my oldest son is in his first season as head football coach in a large school in Michigan. They are in the State Playoffs, and are 2 games from playing in the Championship game in Detroit on Thanksgiving weekend. We talk a lot about getting the most from our students, about preparing them to do their best, teaching them skills, about motivating them, pushing them, helping them to reach their potential when they have no idea what that is. We have a lot in common. Which is why the back of my musical shirt says: Coach.
We had a great conversation last night. He was telling me about the things he was doing to prepare his team for their big game Friday night. Things like: practicing at a school that has turf and setting a curfew and giving nutritional guidelines to parents. In the beginning of the season, the boys were unsure about their new coach. He had a lot of schedules and requirements. He was disciplined and organized and he expected them to be. He accepted no excuses and pushed them. Hard. But now they trust him because they have been successful. They will go to bed early, eat the food on the list, and show up ready to play because they trust him and they know that everything he asks them to do is important. Wow does that sound familiar.
As I think about Bye Bye Birdie, I remember the schedules and the requirements and the expectations and the discipline and the organization. And every one of those things are important for the success of the show. Every piece of the puzzle is calculated to culminate in a show that we are prepared to perform and can be proud of. Thank you, parents and students, for trusting me even when you weren't sure that what I was asking was all that important. Thank you for digging down deep to respond when I kept pushing you. Thank you for paying attention to detail. Thank you for helping each other. Thank you for making my job so enjoyable. Thanks for the memories of our oh-so-wonderful Bye Bye Birdie production. It was a joy.

Go CAM Cougars! Musical date changes!

There is only one reason why I would re-arrange the rehearsal and performance schedule for the musical because I am very committed to sticking with the dates that were published at the beginning of the school year. HOWEVER, when musical cast members and successful football team members end up being some of the same people, changes are necessary.

So I find myself in a good news/bad news kind of situation. I LOVE football. I have three sons who played football and our oldest is now a head football coach in a West Michigan town slightly larger than Atlantic. Our sons were also musical. They each had the lead in a musical during their senior year of high school. So the balancing act of keeping lots of balls in the air is very familiar to me. I am also highly committed to making sure no athlete or musician is put in a position where they must choose between the two. So the good news is: CAM Cougars are undefeated and are headed to the State playoffs, barring injury. And now for the bad news: We must be creative about getting in enough rehearsals to also make the musical a success.

Some background: The reason why we schedule the musical for the first weekend in November is because that is usually a week without any sports practices.....unless of course the teams are being highly successful and are going on in tournament play. This year is, of course, one of those years.

SO- here are the newly scheduled rehearsals and performance dates. I sincerely hope that we can have both a successful football team AND a successful, entertaining musical. Your support is needed and greatly appreciated.

Monday 10/27: 6-9
Tuesday 10/28: 7-10
Thursday 10/30: 7-10
Friday 10/31: 7-10
Saturday 11/1: 10-1 (new)

Monday 11/3: 6-9 if no football game
Tuesday 11/4: 6-9
Wednesday 11/5: 6-9
Thursday 11/6: 6-9
Friday 11/7: 6-9 if no football game
Saturday 11/8: 10-1 (new)
Saturday 11/8: Performance
Sunday 11/9: Performance (new)

and...........We're Off!!

The calendar propels us into the new school year, ready or not! I seemed to be in the NOT READY category for various reasons, but gradually I'm getting there. Between moving my children here and there (foreign countries, college transfers) and my own travels, it has been a very busy summer which I thoroughly enjoyed. But now I must turn my thoughts and energies to creative musical preparations (would you like to see a cameo appearance of the faculty barbershop quartet?), sequencing All-State music (how many times will it take me to get the counting right?), ordering music (what can we learn quickly for Homecoming?), and a thousand other details that seem to get lost in my foggy mind from time to time. Sometimes I think I have Hilary Clinton's disease: "I'm sorry, I can't recall........." (If you didn't get that, you are not old enough!!)
Here is some information you may be interested in: 1)I will be organizing a team of extras for the musical that will not need to be in vocal music and will only commit to coming to the last 2 weeks of rehearsal. To put it simply: I need more guys. Send them my way! 2)Yes, your kids will need to bring their computers to my class as well as the others. I have some activities planned that they will enjoy and will be delivering them on Moodle, which they should be familiar with unless they are freshmen. I'm also going to try to keep the calendar on Moodle so if you are unsure about a time or a rehearsal and the paper rehearsal calendar didn't make it home to the fridge, you can check it out on line.
There are lots of ways you can contact me: school phone, cell phone, email, blog. Please let me know how I can help you!

Off and running........
Mrs. Nichols

Bye Bye.........Summer

I hope your summer has been as wonderful as mine; filled with family, hard work, great play, and spiritual growth. Now it's time to begin to think about the new school year and the challenges it will bring.

What challenges, you might ask??
Well, the biggest one will be the production of our musical, which will be...................
Bye Bye Birdie!!!!! IF we get enough students enrolled in vocal music we will have a great time with this 1950's story involving an Elvis character. I really need each vocal music student from last year to bring along at least one friend so we will have enough people. Remember that students can join vocal for only one semester if they want to. The reason why we expect those who want to be in the musical to enroll in vocal music is because much of our rehearsal takes place during class until the last week in October. The last week of October and the first week of November will be filled with after school and/or evening rehearsals and this is where we pull the whole thing together. Of course, we work around football and volleyball when we have to. This schedule has worked very well for us for the last several years, and limits the amount of evening rehearsals we have. Auditions will take place shortly after the beginning of school, so recruit, recruit, recruit!!!

Mrs. Nichols
ps
You can read a synopsis of the plot at the school web site under Activities: Vocal Music

Hello CAM Vocal fans! I'm SO sorry that I haven't posted since April, for goodness sake!
I'm going to try to do better now that I have the World Wide Web in my very own little office at HOME.
I've been thinking about all the music that has happened since contest and even during the summer so far. Let's see--we sang ABBA songs, Joseph and the Technicolor Dreamcoat songs, prepared for Graduation, and Lucas sang at the Alumni Banquet. Students or former students have sung in New York City, churches in Cass County, and led music at Bible Camps. You'll see them at the Relay for Life and the July 4th celebration in Massena. We are just so busy spreading the joy! And I couldn't be prouder. One of my goals as a teacher is to help students be comfortable sharing their music in the community without me- taking their amazing abilities with them into their bright futures.
For right now, I'm taking a bit of a musical break, but you know how to reach me if you need me. I'll be ready to go at it again in August, but I'm not quite there yet. Let's see, I think I need about 40 more days of vacation! :)
Enjoy!
Mrs. Nichols

Another Contest in the Bag

I was wishing just now that I had some pictures of contest to show you, but that would mean that I remembered to take my camera last Saturday, and that I had time to take pictures.
But neither of those things happened. So you are going to have to use your imagination and picture 14 TALENTED kids singing their hearts out all day long and bringing home 9 I's and 4 II's- which is AMAZING. I love contest season for one very big reason- I get to work individually and in small groups with my students and I get to see how much they progress (which is relative, of course, to how much effort they expend!). I'm so proud of this group. You might notice that we are missing some faces in the picture, but they were with us Saturday: Riley Groves, Colton Carr, Jessica Thelen. We are also missing Erin Steele, of course. But some great news- she is being released from the hospital today!! We are so thankful that we will see her again soon. Special memories of Contest 2008: Jenna singing like a trooper through a sore throat; Mixed Trio getting totally lost in their difficult acapella piece but ending together and totally impressing the judge!; Shy Ellisa bravely singing a solo!; our FANTASTIC men's group; being the best Chamber Choir; Cassidy remembering Amazing Grace lyrics just in time :); Colton's introduction of his duet with Cassidy (you'll have to ask him); Brave Brett taking a solo for the first time as a junior; and the audience reaction when Riley finished his solo.
Unforgettable. Thanks, everyone. You make me smile.

Students travel to Everly

Six students accompanied Mrs. Nichols on March 28 to attend a production of "Guys and Dolls" which starred former CAM standout Scott Kruse. Scott played Sky Masterson, the gambler who gave up his wicked ways for a virtuous "mission doll." It was a long ways to Everly (think Okoboji), but we are so glad we went. Scott did a fantastic job! The sets were awesome! The acting was professional! The singing was exceptional! Wow- what a trip. We miss him so much, but it's so good to know that he is in a place where he is able to use his talents and abilities and where he is appreciated. Way to go Scott! Wonder what next year's musical will be at Clay Central-Everly!!

River Dance a Hit!!

River Dance exceeded our expectations Friday night- what a joy to be a part of something so wonderful. The dancing (how do they DO that?), the singing (breathtaking) and the instrumentalists (five men making so much music- incredible) were all top-notch and something we will remember for a long time. We also enjoyed dining at Applebee's in West Des Moines (see picture), and were joined by some CAM High School alumni and their moms.
The tradition continues! Funny things that happened: Thinking Miss R. expected me to have her ticket, emergency stop for CC, losing Mr. Berry, getting Regular instead of Decaf coffee, and trying to get out of the parking garage after the show. Ok, they weren't funny then, but seem humorous now! Thanks, everyone, for a great trip.

So Much Fun!!

Riley was chosen by audition to sing the National Anthem for one of the sessions of the Boys' State Basketball tournament, and he represented us all very well.
Thanks, Riley, for remembering that the song is about our country and not about you! Thanks, IHSAA, for taking such good care of us and for giving talented musicians this wonderful opportunity. Thanks, CAM Boys' BB team, who supported Riley by attending the day he sang.
I agree with Riley: "That was so much fun!!!"
You can see his performance by going to the front page of the school web site and clicking on the link in the article Mr. Giegerich wrote.

In other news: Solo and Ensemble Contest will be here before we know it. (April 12, Coon Rapids) In order to encourage my students to practice and memorize NOW, we will again be having a Pre-Contest Recital during Parent-Teacher Conferences on March 17. My goals are to give the students something to work for that's a little closer than April, and also to give more parents an opportunity to see their children sing. All vocal students are required to participate in at least one event. (Most choose to do more than this.) In addition, all vocal students are required to participate in the Pre-Contest Recital. Thanks for encouraging them to practice and memorize their music!

Southwest Iowa Honor Choir a Success!

Eight tired CAM vocal students (and one exhausted teacher) reported for school Tuesday morning the 12th after a hard, but rewarding, day of rehearsal at the Southwest Iowa Honor Choir Festival in Council Bluffs on Monday, February 11. We had a really good day, led by Mr. Joel Johnston of Omaha. He had only four rules for the day, which he cleverly re-enforced as the day went on. His rules helped to establish his expectations for the group, as well as focus them when the energy level began to sag. Here were his "rules" for making music together yesterday:
1) Tonight we will have an "event", not a concert; 2) For today we will put our list of complaints, concerns, and problems AWAY; 3) Remember not to count Crayons (comparing your box to others' boxes), but just to draw; 4) We had his permission to be BRILLIANT! (instead of lazy, non-musical, bored, or inattentive). With these expectations, we embarked on a journey of music making for the day. (I say we, because as accompanist, I was right there with them all day. Sore back to prove it.)
What a successful day in so many ways. First, we participated in a music making event that we will remember for a long time. Secondly, we had such an appreciative crowd of parents and loved ones. Thirdly, we learned a lot about music, singing, and being brilliant! In addition, we were well-represented in the twelve "soloists" chosen by the director by four courageous students from our school (Colton, Daniel, Luke, Jenna).
Thank you! Thank you students for working hard. Thank you parents for coming. Thank you, Joel Johnston for helping us create a musical event.
Boy am I tired!
Mrs. Nichols

Riley honored!

After the teams are announced for the third session of the Boys' State Basketball tournament on March 4 in Des Moines, the crowd will grow quiet in anticipation of the singing of the National Anthem. And.......CAM Senior Riley will be singing it!! Chosen by audition to participate in this year's Iowa High School Athletic Union State Tournament series, Riley is one of a select few to hold this honor. Riley, we are all proud of you!
This is a significant event in my mind for a couple of reasons. The first one involves my own growth as a teacher. Looking for new opportunities for my students usually means that I also have to try something new and different. This is the first year that I have submitted singers to the IHSAU for National Anthem consideration. My hats go off to all the kids that gave this a try right before Christmas! And don't worry, we'll give it another go again next year.
The second reason that this is significant is the obvious inter-dependency that sports and music share. I love music and I also love sports. Many times I have stood with my hand over my heart, at attention for the singing (or playing) of the National Anthem at a sporting event. How wonderful to take the time to acknowledge our great country, say a prayer for our armed service protectors (and the son on the field), celebrate a beautiful voice or blend of voices, and raise the spirit for a good game! There's nothing better. Thirdly, I am so proud of the accomplished poise of my students. Because many of them have had character-building experiences like auditioning for All-State, singing the National Anthem at home games, participating in small group contest and singing in front of their peers, they can shout for joy when they get news like what I gave Riley last Friday instead of cowering in fear at the thought of such an audience. Riley almost did a hand stand when I told him. Pretty cool.
Riley- we're just so proud that you will be representing us in Des Moines on March 4. Sing your heart out.

Southwest Iowa Honor Choir

These students (plus Jessica Thelen) will be participating in the Southwest Iowa Honor Choir on February 4 at IWCC. Don't they look happy?
They are delighted, because they will get to spend a whole day with a distinguished director and 200 other choral students from all over Southwest Iowa! This is one of my favorite days of the year. Many Southwest Iowa schools, regardless of class, send balanced quartets of their best students to enjoy making music together. We get to eat at fun places, meet new people, sing our hearts out, and participate in a very special evening performance. I will be accompanying the performance, which is a treat for me on that gorgeous grand piano. We will also be treated to a guest performance by the IWCC show choir! We hope you can join us!