Thanks for the music!

The All-State concert is a musical gift! It represents years of work, practice, hopes, dreams, ideas, musical growth, frustration, and heartache. It is a gift to the directors, the parents, the audience, and to the participants. And for this gift I must say thank you! Thank you for all the hours of practice and dedication. Thank you for trusting me. Thank you for persevering when you wanted to give up. Thank you for using the talent God gave you to bless others. Thank you for creating a musical moment that brought tears, laughter, goosebumps, surprise, and JOY! Thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Hello from All-State!

We had three separate rehearsals today totaling 7 1/2 hours of hard work and amazing musical moments. The director has a unique style of bringing together all 600 voices for one purpose. At the end of every rehearsal, students are invited to stand up and give their comments and compliments to all or parts of the choir. One student shared, "When we all sing together, it's like nature calling."

We ate dinner at the famous Hickory Park Restaurant with some special family guests. We would like to thank the Music Boosters for their generosity in paying for our meals while we're at All-State. Becca McLeran from Exira is joining us in our All-State experience. She's the fist All-State Chorus member from her school, and a private student of Mrs. Nichols.

Tomorrow we'll have three more rehearsals, and a concert at 7:30 p.m. at Hilton Coliseum on the ISU campus in Ames. We're proud to represent CAM at the most prestigious selective choir in the state.

by Jenna Karas and Mrs. Nichols

Three Performances in 4 Days!

I'm so proud of my students. They did a wonderful job at the Variety Show- the culmination of months of creating, planning, rehearsing, waiting, and work! They had fun and want to do it again! And then, before they (and myself) were fully recovered from that big weekend, we were off to spend the day singing at the Conference Vocal Festival at Payton-Churdan! We represented our school very well. Besides the facts that we were among the best prepared and had one of the best individual school performances (even though they are entirely sick of "Rock This Town") there are at least two more things that make me smile: We had 9 students audition for solo spots, (5 were chosen), AND our entire bass section was moved to the back of the choir by the director so they could lead the rest of the basses. Pretty cool. Also pretty cool was what happened during a break when they were testing our accompaniment CD in the gym sound system. My exhausted, talented, heroic students (many of whom were relaxing by sitting or laying on the floor) heard "their song" and immediately jumped up and began singing and dancing!! I'm just so proud.

Ps.
In the pictures, you can see the blue-shirted bass section and the soloists.

Wow- Four in All-State

Unbelievable, really. And a testament to the hard work that all who auditioned put forward to be prepared for audition day. The commitment that these students show is amazing and it humbles me. They are juggling jobs, sports, cheerleading, dance, family commitments, variety show preparation, and I'm told they even have other subjects they are taking that require homework!! :)

Let me just give you an idea of what kind of practicing it takes to be ready to sing seven college level choral pieces PERFECTLY with beautiful tone and expressive musicianship WITHOUT the benefit of a piano or someone else singing your part: At least two All-State camps, some of which are in August before school even begins; practice at home with a part-learning CD; early morning practice; and DAILY practice with your group. Thanks, students. Thanks for sacrificing vacation, Saturdays, sleep, time, and personal desires. You make my job a joy. Most of the time. :)

Homecoming Soup Supper

It seems a bit early to be trotting out the High School Music students for a community performance but we are going to give it our best shot. We have a record number of kids in the program this year, which I attribute to the Variety Show we are creating. It's amazing that the students are so excited about this wonderful process and I'm glad because their energy gives me energy!
Bring your family and help the Music Boosters raise money for their projects (see article below). Homecoming Coronation September 24. Soup will be served beginning at 5:00. The HS Band and Chorus will perfom at 6:15, and the Coronation starts at 7:00. THANKS!



CAM MUSIC DEPARTMENT THANKS COMMUNITY

Miss Rudolph, Mrs. Nichols, and Mr. Berry would like to thank the Anita, Cumberland, and Massena communities for their generous support of our programs in the last year. Without your contributions that you place in the donation bowl or box at every concert, the music programs at all three schools would look very different. For example, at the High School the money goes towards costuming, set construction, scholarships, instruments, celebratory parties and field trips to encourage and reward participation, sound equipment, a digital camera, and food allowances for the All-State Honor Music Festival. T-shirts have been purchased at the Middle School and Elementary School for marching band and the summer musical, along with portable keyboards and other supplies. Last year, we purchased 2 ear piece microphones and sent the band on an overnight trip, among other things. This year, our first purchases will include a digital camcorder, some costuming for the HS Vocal Mixed Ensemble, and some band equipment. The music boosters (an elected board of 8 volunteer parents) collect and administer the funds and would like to join the music staff in thanking the community for supporting music in our schools.

Performing with the Stars!

The ideas are flowing and the creativity is kicking into high gear! I was stuck for a while myself, but now we are rolling! Here are just a few of the ideas kicking around. Our students may impersonate some of the following famous entertainers- rock star, rapper, dancer, rock and roll icon. We may recruit some students from the student body to be "guest performers". It is even rumored that the Spice Girls may make a guest appearance! We are currently negotiating with two former CAM'S Got Talent stars who may decide to reappear, and conducting auditions for the host and judges positions. There may even be some audience participation and who knows how many parents will find themselves on stage?
I love watching the kids take ownership of this amazing procedure and being surprised at what happens. Right now, they are a little nervous about it. But soon we will have more potential acts than we have stage time! Put the first weekend in November on your calendar- you are not going to want to miss this!

2009 Variety Show Theme Announced!

Performing with the Stars!!!

The hit show "Dancing with the Stars" has inspired us to create a variety show that will include many of the same elements. As the students create this show, they will be looking for "stars" of several kinds: alumni, faculty, and impersonators! These stars, along with their young partners, will sing, dance, act, and be funny. Our creative students will build their show around these "stars", their partners, and the drama that accompanies them. Mark your calendars now! You won't want to miss CAM's version of "PERFORMING WITH THE STARS!!!"

Awards Concert Highlights

Seniors Brett and Jessica enjoyed their last performance................Recent Broadway hit songs provided great entertainment...........The new girl in town (Tiffany) got ran over by a moving van.........Paige danced a solo during "The Lion King"............Colton was surprised by silly string!!

Great job everyone!

Solo/Ensemble Contest a Success

2009 Solo/Ensemble contest is but a wonderful, exhausted memory. But April 18 does merit a bit of reflection as I sort it's music and prepare for the end of the year activities.

Top Ten memories from 2009 Solo/Ensemble Contest (in no meaningful order)

No surprises: everyone got on the bus that we were expecting!!
Teamwork: The kids supported each other and worked together- heartwarming!
Helpful parents & students: who could see that their director was a bit overwhelmed at times.
Musical Growth: so much evidence of hard work and learning.
Perfect Scores: 2 of them- both on trios.
Continued excellence: 12 Ones, 8 Twos, 2 Threes
Chamber Choir: Beautiful, meaningful performance.
Musical Moments: A couple touching performances that communicated with the audience.
Exhausted students: who gave everything they had and more.
AND..............
Australia: the movie I watched when I was finally in my recliner with my cup of tea!!!

Answering Questions

Occasionally, questions come up that remind me that some of this might be new to people. While I am stuck in high school and the seasons pass without much variation in schedule from year to year, not everyone understands the method behind my madness. So what follows is a not so short explanation of MIXED ENSEMBLE!!! (pictured above is last year's group at solo/ensemble contest)

At the beginning of the year, I hold auditions for the Mixed Ensemble. It is totally voluntary, although the freshmen may not really understand what they are auditioning for. In a normal year (if there is such a thing), I usually have enough upper classmen that the freshmen have a slim chance of being chosen for obvious reasons. We do rehearse before school quite a bit, depending on the season of the year. Here are the main things that we do that are above and beyond the requirements of the class:

Christmas Concert- sing one number
Pops Concert- 4 songs (totally responsible for the vocal portion of the pops concert- whole class does not sing)
Contest- We will perform 2 songs not yet learned
Awards Concert- The mixed ensemble will perform one set (medley of songs) and the whole class will perform one set.

We also get requests during the year to provide music for different clubs, events, etc. When I get these requests, I usually turn to the mixed ensemble to provide it. In this way, we are ambassadors to the community for the music department and the school. We always go at least twice to the Colonial Manor in Anita.

I realize that the time commitment is huge and I do so appreciate the effort that they all make to come to extra rehearsals. The rewards are great! They sing harder music than the big group is able to sing- so gifted students are challenged and not bored. They grow together as a group- finding a safe peer group that includes classes other than their own age level. We create great memories as we go places! We learn about serving others through sharing our music beyond the school. We learn that hard work pays off!

Bigger schools have an auditioned group (and it is usually a show choir) that is scheduled as a separate class so that the rest of the students don't have to be idle while the select group is rehearsing. I have enough trouble getting my students all in one class for the day, let alone asking them to sign up for 2. So I have always had the select group come in before school.

There are other times when we have before-school rehearsals. The All-State Auditioners rehearse before school, and the SWI Honor Choir kids do also. Very often, the mixed ensemble kids are the same as the All-State and SWI kids, but not always. I also choose a couple of alternates who rehearse with us as much as they can so they are ready to step in when we need them because of illness or schedule conflicts.

Now the question: If the Mixed Ensemble rehearses before school, what goes on during our regular class period? Here is a breakdown of what the whole class is doing at any given time during the year:
Fall: Musical or Variety Show and music for Conference Vocal Festival
Winter: Christmas
Jan-April: Small Group Contest. We always take at least 20 events. Each event includes 2 songs.
Mar-May: Awards Concert. This is the closest we get to show choir. Everyone sings and dances!

This schedule has served my program well over the years.
If you have any more questions, please don't hesitate to ask!
Mrs. Nichols

It has been a rough couple of weeks. Our grandson was brought into this world and left it on the same day. Why do I share this here? Why did I show this picture to my students and tell them with tears about the short life of sweet Isaac? Because all life is precious, no matter how short it is, and it deserves to be celebrated. Because I want my students to share their lives with me, so I share mine with them. Because they are good at giving hugs. Because some of them have similar stories. Because I want them to know I'm human. Because I want to share with them the source of my strength for today and my hope for tomorrow.

On a musical note, all of our life experiences help give us a reservoir of emotion from which we draw when we are communicating a piece of music to an audience. I'm hoping to help my students to draw deep when we are performing, so that our music is more than notes and rhythms and words, so that our music communicates emotion to the audience. And thus we will celebrate life.

New Beginnings

I'm really trying to get back in the swing of things, but it's hard. Our family had such a wonderful vacation in Colorado, I got to see my daughter who lives in Honduras, only one person got sick, the weather was beautiful, we celebrated Jesus, ................and then school started! Which is great, because I do love my job. But this year more than most I'm having trouble shifting gears. Maybe it's because I'm older. My kids would say it is because I'm going to be a grandma. Part of it is that the semesters are so different in my class. First semester is musical, all-state, and Christmas. Second semester is solo/ensemble contest, pops concert, and Awards concert. So we really have to start over and that takes lots of organization and planning. So here's where we stand (in case you ever wonder what I do with my time).

So far this week, I have: chosen and ordered music for the chamber choir to sing at contest, sorted files and files of music looking for appropriate contest music, tidied the costume loft (something I wanted to do before Christmas), posted and partially graded a moodle assignment for this week, finished grades from last semester, ordered more music for SWI Honor Choir, made some preliminary decisions about music for the Awards concert in May, finished the Bye Bye Birdie picture collage (which hangs at the back of the room with the others from every production since I've been here), registered for honor choirs, checked dates for all spring events, tried to find an accompanist for chamber choir (any volunteers?), supervised band when Mr. Berry went home sick, prepared for and taught my classes, drove to Massena twice, and updated this blog!!!! Wow, now I'm tired.

On a different note related to planning: some of us are going to Des Moines to see the evening performance of Hairspray on March 20. I still have some tickets left if you want to go with us. Just let me know and bring a check for $28.50.

I hope you are enjoying your new beginnings!