We did it again! Bay Section once again put together a wonderful conference. I hope you had as much fun as I did!

Conference Choir
Brava, Sharon Vela — you did a great job! From the first rehearsal to the final bow, it is apparent how much fun everyone had! Thank you for the love you put into the performance, I am sure the students will remember the experience for a long time to come.

A successful performance like this would not have been possible without the work of people who worked from behind the scenes. Thank you to all the directors for preparing the students and making all the arrangements to get them to the rehearsals and the performance. Special recognition goes to our accompanist, Betsy Wagner from Morrill Middle School. Betsy, you are awesome! Thank you to the directors who came to the December rehearsal, and especially to the following for directing the sectionals: Patti Wilmore, Kathy Boster, Linda Lovaas, Betsy Wagner, Paul Rataczak, and Lance Underwood. I could not have done everything without you!

A special thank you to Dr. Ed Harris, Diana Hollinger and their staff at San Jose State, who worked tirelessly, providing equipment for the sessions, setting up chairs and risers for the rehearsals and performances, and putting them away after the concert.
And last but not the least, thank you, thank you, and thank you to my Choral manager — Lucerne Mottaz. You are the best!

Conference Sessions

All of the choral sessions were very well attended. I have never seen the chapel with so many people. It was great! Victor Johnson’s reading sessions were a lot of fun. I’m sure that by now you have selected most of your music for the rest of the year, but it is always good to have music to select from for future performances. Victor’s session on Saturday gave us an insight as to how he composes and arranges music.

Thank you, Scott Grady and JWPepper staff, for providing the music for our reading sessions and putting together the Conference Choir folders. You do so much for Bay Section, I can never thank you enough.

Anthony Arnold’s session and demonstration with his Advanced Choir students was inspirational! It is evident that he has put in the time and dedication to build his program to where it is now, and even more evident is the joy and love his students have for what they are doing. Congratulations also for receiving the Choral Award, Anthony!

Lou DeLa Rosa’s session gave veteran and beginning choral directors and instrumental directors a lot of useful suggestions in dealing with different levels of choirs. His hand outs had so many useful items that I put it directly into my choir binder when I returned to school. I think a repeat of this session in the future is in order. Thank you, Lou!

Choral Festivals

With the conference out of the way, it is time to concentrate on festivals. My students and I look forward to these festivals, and we devote precious learning time preparing for them.

A few simple reminders for your festivals: Please remember to bring 3 original copies of your music, with all measures numbered. Plan ahead! You should already be arranging (or have arranged) for transportation. Provide adequate time for travel, parking, check-in, finding the rehearsal and performance areas, pictures, purchasing of medals, etc. etc. The last thing you need are frazzled nerves and a headache! So save yourself the trouble and avoid them by planning ahead. We want you and your students to have a wonderful festival experience!
A final thought as you prepare for your festivals, have fun!

I do hope your calendars are marked! Our annual Winter Conference is coming up on Jan. 12-13 at San Jose State University. I am getting excited at all the Choral events that will be taking place.

Choral Sessions
Both reading sessions will take place on Friday. The elementary reading session will feature songs appropriate for elementary and middle school, and the secondary reading session will feature songs for junior high and high school. We hope you can find literature for your needs from either or both reading sessions.

I am very honored to have noted composer Victor Johnson to direct the reading sessions. Victor is in his 5th year of teaching at the Ft. Worth Academy of Fine Arts, and is in his 5th year as director of the Children’s Choir of Texas. Victor’s works can be found in the catalogues of Heritage Music Press, Lorenz and Hal Leonard Publishing.

Also on Friday, Anthony Arnold will present a session entitled “Make It A Great Day or Not. The choice is yours.” He will share what he does to make his program work besides just looking at music catalogs for repertoire. Anthony has been successful in building successful programs in short periods of time. Featured performers will be Anthony’s advanced choir from Miller Middle School.

On Saturday, Lou De La Rosa, Director of Choral Activities from West Valley College, will present “Choir 101 for Instrumental Teachers.” This session is for directors who have vowed would never be caught dead teaching choir, and has to because choir is part of the teaching load. What does one do? Lou is a veteran teacher of 23 years and band teacher for 7 of those years. He will share vocal exercises, repertoire ideas, rehearsal techniques and ideas to achieve excellence with your choral program.

Conference Choir
Our Junior High Conference Choir will be conducted by Sharon Vela, who recently retired from 38 years of teaching. She had a superior program in Antioch, where her students actively participated in CMEA festivals and conference groups, and ACDA honor choirs. Sharon was also a former CMEA Choral Representative and presented various sessions for the Bay Section Conferences. She was perhaps best known for her workshop on “Juggling for Better Reading,” a technique she still uses with her private students. Sharon is looking forward to sharing this experience with your students.

I am looking forward to working with you and your students as well. Letters of acceptance, rehearsal and performance schedules will be sent out in early November. Please note that there will be a mandatory rehearsal on Saturday, Dec. 8th at CalState East Bay in Hayward. The rehearsal will run from 8:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Please make sure your students are there. Students who miss this rehearsal will be dropped from the choir.
It is your responsibility to make sure your students learn the music before the December 8th rehearsal. It is my hope that the rehearsal will be a positive experience fo all, polishing music instead of teaching notes. Please order the music from JWPepper in Fremont (510) 796-1525, as soon as possible so that the learning process can begin immediately. Pepper has the music especially prepared for Bay Section. Thank you, Scott Grady!
I encourage you to attend the rehearsal with your students. If you can be of assistance in any way — leading sectionals, accompanying the sectionals, or simply sitting with the students and helping them with their parts, please contact me immediately at school (510) 293-8532 or (510) 293-8501, or send me an email at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it The more the merrier. I am looking forward to hearing from you.

Festivals
And if you haven’t done registered for our 2008 choral festivals, please do so. Remember that all festival registrations are now done through solochair.com.

See you soon!

 Welcome back! I hope you had a restful summer vacation. I always look forward to this time so I can spend it with family. The school year becomes very busy with all of our concerts, festivals and other performances.

In a few weeks, I will be testing for my 2nd recommended degree in taekwondo, and I can not help but compare what martial arts instructors and music directors do to achieve excellence. I have learned from last year’s testing that it is all about one’s personal journey, and it is something that is meaningful and long lasting. The journey is long, sometimes tiring, sometimes frustrating, but the end result is well worthwhile.

Preparing for a concert, testing, tournament, festival, etc. is a lot of work, so it is the instructor/director’s responsibility to set up a well thought out, sequential and systematic curriculum to help students achieve their goals. Th is curriculum must constantly build on what has been learned and work towards polishing and internalizing materials. When we select music for performance, we analyze it and consider the following: the ensemble’s abilities and capabilities, the difficulty of the music, the availability of voices in the group, adequate rehearsal time for learning, the message it is sending, and whether the music is appropriate for the occasion.

Mastering a technique takes time, in any discipline, so dedication is extremely important. Practice, practice, practice! Isn’t that what we preach? What if they don’t? Or don’t know how to? Although we expect them to, we must provide them with techniques to use, and we must keep reinforcing skills with other techniques. We must also take the time to monitor their progress, and keep giving them encouragement and positive reinforcement. Students must keep reviewing, analyzing, and perfecting every aspect of the performance. Constant practice leads to mastery, polish and internalization, then it’s time.

Then comes the day of the performance/ testing. This is it! This is where it all happens! Bodies tingling with anticipation, hearts beating like mad. Th e music starts, or the command is given to demonstrate a form, and suddenly, all the time invested in practicing and training is worthwhile. I always enjoy watching my students after they have polished and internalized a piece. Th eir eyes are bright, their facial expressions apparent, and their entire body is involved in the performance. I feel the same when I am demonstrating a form during testing. My expressions are intense, but my moves are fl uid and correct. Nothing else matters at that moment except for the performance.

Then it’s over — the piece is done, the concert is over, the new rank is achieved. Does it really mean it’s over? It is momentarily over, then it becomes the beginning of practicing and training for the next event.

In conclusion, students in music, martial arts, or any discipline, must be guided through a sequential and systematic learning process in preparation for the fi nal event — performances, concerts, rank testing. I am excited to get going with the school year. I can’t wait to see my returning students and meet the new students, particularly the 1st graders and transfer students. I enjoy watching their little faces light up when they start singing and learning about music. They are my energy and inspiration!

I wish you all a great year! I can wait to see you at the next Conference (more details to follow.) And like I always say, don’t forget the element of fun in teaching!

As I look back on this schoolyear, I can’t help but feel proud of how much my students have learned since September. By January, almost all of my 1st graders were singing in tune, and could sing in a 2-part canon. My 2nd graders started learning how to sightread very simple melodies as soon as they learned 2-meter and la-so-mi. My 3rd graders worked on sightreading pentatonic melodies, and could sing 2-part canons and partner songs with 2 or 3 different parts.My 4th graders could read extended pentatonic melodies in both solfege and absolute names. Partner songs and 2-part selections have become a regular part of their curriculum. Their tone is gorgeous, and are definitely ready for Chorus next year.