17:40 Just a matter of breaking habit! I can do it! Just leaning on my training wheels because they’re there, but I don’t need them.

12:50 The overall tempo was slow coming in to this section, so the ritardando being relative to the tempo that we had come out of in the section prior to Pg. 7 Letter D was slow, which led to this section seeming very slow. I have also listened to a handful of recordings for this piece, and all of them are taking tempi much slower than those marked in the score. How much artistic licence do we have as conductor to make changes to tempo that will work better for the group that we have in front of us? If it’s me making the decision, I’m choosing a tempo that still captures the essence of the piece, but that works for my pianist and my singers to sound their best.

8:03 So much individual voice coming out of the soprano section here that is not blended. Can you help or give me some guidance with voice placements for this section because you have known some of these singers forever and few years. I would like to rehearse this in some section circles and do some walking about to get a better sense of how to adjust them for a better blend. Again, I think we have some people with some definite choice patterns about where they are sitting that aren’t as open to moving around. I had this sense when I tried to move them last week and the week before.

2:43 Some really shrill sound coming from the Sopranos here. Need to address some strategies here for fostering the lightness that you are talking about. Can we analyze this sound a little more - what are they doing (or what are 2-3 key people doing) that are are creating this sound.

1:35 I have some different tempo ideas about Crossing the Bar that I got from Elroy and was taking a moment here to check them with Deb.

0:50 Heading in to last 2 rehearsals I think we need to be more conscientious about “flower arranging” for the SSAAs now, as we did with the TBs - especially for Crossing the Bar

FUTURE REHEARSAL GOALS AFTER OBSERVATION - Read this comment LAST. KZbin automatically organizes the comments from oldest to newest. Pitches and rhythms are all coming along now. There is some minor insecurity still, but after this rehearsal and the retreat the singers have a really solid sense of the road map for this piece. Moving forward I want to focus the next rehearsal around musical line and tonal quality (colours) (we may need some specific vowel instructions and experimentation to achieve this - hence my IPA study!). We will continue to spot check rhythmic or pitch/tuning insecurities, but as a secondary focus.

0:01 OVERALL REFLECTION Last week's ask from Dr. Lang: "Can I suggest that you begin the narrative with a few statements of an overall reflection starting with the positive aspects of your rehearsal? Then you can conclude with a few reflections on how this rehearsal viewing informed your vision of the next rehearsal and goals?" Evanne's Response: POSITIVE ASPECTS OF REHEARSAL There were significant gains this week with pitch accuracy, reading accuracy, development of rhythmic sense within the mixed meter. I can hear these things improving and these were the primary goals of my rehearsal plan coming in. Singers are starting to look at me more so I know they are feeling more secure. They have gained more familiarity with the transitional pieces that move us from one section to another and the sound tells me that they are anticipating the change now instead of confused or uncertain about the change. MY GOALS FOR THIS REHEARSAL WERE: 1. Making eye contact with a voice section at least 2 beats before they enter and consistently showing an open-mouthed breath with the singers during my prep beats POST REFLECTION: This is happening more often than not. Need to watch that the open mouth breath through the vowel does not result in continued mouthing of words for next rehearsal. 2. Not calling out verbal instructions once we are singing POST REFLECTION: This was much improved today. Quick to the point comments occurred between the sections we rehearsed most of the time. 3. Not counting aloud for entrances. POST REFLECTION: I X *I I I I I I I I I I I I I - I counted all of the entrances I gave through the course of the video and made a dash for every one where I did NOT count aloud and made an X for every one that I did count aloud. VERY HAPPY WITH THIS PROGRESS! 5:12 - I did not count aloud and they missed the entrance, I stopped and brought them in again still without counting aloud. 4. Use left hand to show longer lines, especially on held notes. 5. Use left hand to support arc of 4 bar phrases and continuous breath support. POST REFLECTION on 4&5: Still needs more work. There are a few lovely moments that I am showing on the long held whole notes. I don't think I am avoiding this because I don't know how, I think that rhythmic security and vitality needs me pulsing right now. I am avoiding focussing too much on shaping gestures because the response I hear is the rhythm getting mushy. How can I do both? Suggestions? 6. Maintain a tall grounded posture where intensity of expression or volume change does not involve leaning toward the singers or drastic changes in the position or movement of my head and neck. POST REFLECTION 3:25 - The choir sings a long note on bar, and then in my gesture and although I am holding them and supporting them with my left hand, my right hand does what I think is and over-reinforcement of Beat 1 of each bar through their holding. I don't think this is necessary, and in fact I think it gives a mixed message to them, because I am lifting and resetting beat 1 so hard that it could almost be interpreted that I might want them to put in a lift or rearticulate the note. I could try abandoning pattern all together here, or work on really pulling back my right hand and minimizing the pulse so that the visual and psychological focus of the singers all goes to my LH. THIS IS NOT THE ONLY SPOT that I am doing this - I think it's a habit that I have on long held notes - and I am doing it to try and reinforce the singers counting so they know where they are and know where beat 1 is, but it is disrupting the line and their support. AND THEN the head neck are still sometimes getting involved with a re-iteration of where beat 1 is. This still needs to stay on my list of goals for future rehearsals.

11:10 - I commented about the vowel here in the rehearsal, but I think the issue is more a lack of support when I listen back. Potential fix - the tightrope analogy, or getting them to draw the phrase with a sweeping gesture, or ask for a louder dynamic for a moment, and then ask them to keep the same feeling of support and phrasing, but now without the louder dynamic.

9:20 - I am really not liking the soprano sound here. It sounds pushed and tight. This would be a spot that I would work on making some tonal adjustments next week. The sound is thin and edgy and piercing. I want more warmth and richness here. Things to try here next time - Try a warm breath vs. a cool breath, sing on a dark vowel - maybe an OH actually because of what I hear when they sing "I Hope", or even do the passage on an "oo" or series of "doo doo doos" to get the sound freer.

2:25 - I talked about needing to get 3% lower in my body last week and did not think about the simple adjustment of the stand to make that happen!

1:28 The age old problem where singing quieter does not necessarily mean SLOWER. If I were to have another stab at this section I would have them sing it through on a forte once or twice to help find freedom in the rhythm and expression of the text, and THEN take that established rhythm and text emphasis into a softer dynamic. We are mentally seeing the pp dynamic and losing our rhythmic vitality.

Concluding Reflections - How This Week's Viewing Has Informed My Rehearsal Plan A catch phrase that stuck with me from my conducting workshops this Summer was: "Why do we study conducting? Answer: To save time." After observing myself use over 15 minutes of my total 38 minutes of conducting time to lecture about the music, instead of make the music, I am left questioning how much of that was really necessary or beneficial to share, and asking myself if I could've accomplished having the singer's create the sound, phrasing, and shaping that I wanted if I had relied more heavily on using gestures that reflected what I was talking about. Continuing in to the retreat and week 4 rehearsal I am going to experiment with the opposite extreme. I am going to try to communicate PRIMARILY through gesture and challenge myself to respond to what I am hearing by using gestures and sounds, rather than spoken instructions. My rehearsal plans will also emphasize learning notes and rhythms as quickly and efficiently as possible. Most of the singers are unable to watch for much more than entrances and releases at this point because they are still doing so much sight reading.

Overall Reflection of Sept. 16 Rehearsal One of the most positive moments of this rehearsal was the sharing and cultural exchange that occurred in learning more about Sherryl Sewepagaham, and the piece Yôtin. The choir responded very positively to learning a new Indigenous language and seemed very open to learning this piece in ways that Indigenous people would transmit and share music, rather than only discovering or learning it through a Western European lens. I am excited to explore more traditional ways of music making and learning and will attempt to research and explore this in future rehearsals. A specific goal as a conductor would be to embody shapes, moods, and pictures of sound in my gesture and surrender the responsibility of pulse keeping to the group. I can feel the sense of relationship that I have with this group of singers. There is a trust that's already been developed, and they are eager to watch, follow, and listen whenever I talk or work through a piece with them. A specific goal as a conductor is to stay with them longer and more often within the music with my face and my eyes. This is not me criticizing our rehearsals, but rather a commentary reflecting on and sharing my fear that I/we (Britni, Andrea, and I) are not giving this choir and these wonderful people what they deserve because we are three inexperienced conductors. I often find myself wanting to COMPLETELY change what I have planned for my rehearsal depending on what happens with the conductor(s) who go before me. I am feeling frustrated with my rehearsal arc, pacing, planning, transitions, etc. I think the WHOLE rehearsal matters when planning, and it's tough to find the right balance of challenge, enjoyment, lecturing, sight reading time, concluding with something fun that gives the singers a sense of accomplishment, etc., when we have 3 conductors planning individually instead of together. It's also so very hard to go beyond planning in 3 silos with the time, effort, and commitment that is involved from everyone, but if I am considering the long-term health of UChorus, I think it's important for us to not only consider how the choir serves our individual conducting practice and learning, but how we can benefit UChorus; make people LOVE rehearsals each week, make people LOVE new styles of choral music, LOVE languages, have them perform really strongly so that we attract new singers, attract more tenors and basses, devote ourselves to the choir in a way that makes the people invest more in the experience, and also be a proud representative ensemble for the USask Music Department. And then I wonder how much I should worry about that as a student who is only going to be able to devote my time and energy to this group for 3 more short months. But I do believe that every conductor should consider these things when working with a group, no matter how short the time period in which they are leading.

Can I suggest that you begin the narrative with a few statements of an overall reflection starting with the positive aspects of your rehearsal? Then you can conclude with a few reflections on how this rehearsal viewing informed your vision of the next rehearsal and goals?

Need advice and strategies on how to approach memorizing entire scores. Many conductors say they are doing this, but they still have music and are turning pages.

Overall gesture needs to get low again in my body to support being on the breath and more supported in the sound as a whole, especially with older age singers that need to have that feeling of extra support in their bodies and from the conductor.

29:44 A significant goal that I had for today’s rehearsal was looking up at the singers, but I still have a tendency to look down as soon as their entrance happens. I cue the entrance, they come in for example on a beat 1, and then I am often looking down instantly at my music again. When is the best time or how SHOULD we look at our music - what are the best times and ways to look that aren’t going to abandon the support that the singers need.

29:44 If things are going wrong, in an instance like this - would stopping and restarting be a better adjustment to make than talking over them singing, or singing myself to make rhythm and pitch correction as we are going?

29:44 I was pressed for time here and didn’t want eyes and minds to go another week without thinking about this piece, which is probably one of the more difficult in my program package. It is difficult to play open score on this and I should’ve considered that when launching in. We would’ve had more success if I had broken into 2 parts at a time here for learning/reading, but I made a choice that worked with the time we had.

26:02 It felt like I was abandoning a lot pulsing and beating in this 2nd attempt, but upon looking back, it still looks very PULSED in my gesture. That being said, is this a construct that is necessary when learning rhythms, especially complex syncopated rhythms, for a choir ingrained in western music tradition? Or would music of this style with its rhythmic complexity be more easily accessed WITHOUT a westernized visual transcription getting in the way of our ears and bodies?

26:02 It felt like I was abandoning a lot pulsing and beating in this 2nd attempt, but upon looking back, it still looks very PULSED in my gesture. That being said, is this a construct that is necessary when learning rhythms, especially complex syncopated rhythms, for a choir ingrained in western music tradition? Or would music of this style with its rhythmic complexity be more easily accessed WITHOUT a westernized visual transcription getting in the way of our ears and bodies?

24:58 My overall gesture could be 3% lower in my own body. Too much tension in my shoulders.

22:54 #$&! HAPPENS! UGH!!! I was disappointed that we didn’t get to “taste” and explore the music ourselves as much because of this mishap - but it’s not like I’ve never had this happened to me with a photcopying mishap at school.

21:27 I was very encouraged by the reactions of the chorus. You can hear their audible approval here but you could also see some of their bodies beginning to move as they listened.

19:47 I made a point of stepping off the podium during this listening activity. This was an idea that Dr. Tse really invited us to consider as instrumental conductors. To save the podium for times of instruction. I could’ve maybe stepped down as well when speaking through things as well.

16:56 It’s hard to have tech set up for recording conducting, playing recordings, etc. in time for the choir rehearsal with lesson being right before rehearsal starts. I wonder if we could even just change lesson start time to 6:40 or 6:35PM so that we have a moment to take a breath before choir rehearsal starts. I think I also need that moment to internalize some of the concepts and guidance that Dr. Lang give me as we go into rehearsal.

14:30 More talking for at least another 4 minutes. I do value the information being shared here, but the pace of the rehearsal is not ideal. I would stagger this next time. I could’ve jumped into a singing activity after all of the previous talking with the Ave Maris Stella so that singers could engage in actual singing MORE often in the rehearsal.

12:14 Watching this back I don’t think that my gesture should be going above my head. My shoulders are high and my head/chin is doing a lot of bobbing or movement with my hands. I don’t like what this is doing to their breath and tension in the jaws or vowels.

8:52 I spoke about making circles in my gesture but this looks very north and south to me.

8:01 8 minutes total of talking before any singing in this rehearsal!

5:55 The transferable skill to take away from this lesson will be that no matter what genre or period of music our repertoire may come from, we need to use text ALWAYS to inform shaping and phrasing, and that scansion should be an artistic element considered in ALL vocal musics.

5:01 I have been talking only and not conducting or singing for 5 minutes. These are important skills to know…however…could we have done some singing in the middle of this.

2:38 5 vowel sound in Latin but I only went over 4 from the IPA sheet!