Sigma Alpha Iota

PAN PIPES SummER 2014 Sai-natiOnal.ORg 4 For example, students had to guess where they wanted to pick up in the midi file while doing sectional rehearsals, as each recording had no chapter marks to choose from. However, for our intents and purposes, it was a wonderful tool. I was so pleased at the leadership and self- discipline that was emerging from my humble choir. e time had come to join forces with our partner school, community members, and collegiate members, guest conductor and accompanist. My colleagues and I decided to try out a "festival style" rehearsal for this project. We split rehearsals between two days during the school day, and community members who couldn't make the rehearsals during the day were still welcome to perform, as long as they attended the dress rehearsal ninety minutes before the performance. Fortunately, I was able to get music to those who needed it ahead of time, and again, Cyberbass was a great tool for them. Generally, I am both conductor and accompanist for my choir until a few days before the concert. So, you can imagine how my students felt to have a professional accompanist in rehearsal AND a conductor to show and guide them along the process of creating this masterpiece. e incredible sounds that Dr. Sherwin was drawing out of the ensemble were absolutely mind blowing. He turned this group of novice musicians into a truly musical group of conscious musicians. For students who wouldn't ever get the chance to sing in a select group at the county or district level, let alone state level, he helped show them how life changing it could be for a group of many strangers to come together to create something so beautiful. Cape Cod is a community that is rich is music and art. Between me and Sara Fachada, we were able to bring in fellow music teachers, outside musicians, and top notch collegiate students to play in our orchestra. ese performers also played pro bono, but they demonstrated how much they valued this opportunity for our students, as they immediately responded, when asked, that they would perform. One instrumental performer in particular was a treat for my students - the harpist. Most had never seen a harp up close, let alone heard one played live. is performance afforded the students a chance to listen and ask questions of the harpist, and have a quick lesson about that beautiful instrument. As music teachers, we're oen focused on the teaching portion of our lives with our students, and we don't get the chance to actually perform for them instead of with them. Many of us spent a great deal of time and energy practicing and perfecting our instrument in college, yet it's so easy to forget what a thrill it is to utilize those skills. Sara Fachada was overjoyed to be able to perform the soprano solo for her students, and they were truly an appreciative audience! Rehearsing with the orchestra was quite an experience for every single student there. Of course, there were bumps in the road that had to be fixed rather quickly, but, with the great guidance of Dr. Sherwin, the students were able to follow the music, and were prepared for the various things that would happen when the instrumentalists joined. A very simple, yet important part of the evening happened at dinner time, the evening before the concert. All of the students, community members, instrumentalists, and our conductor ate together and got the chance to share with each other their thoughts about the experience to date. My students commented to me later that they truly appreciated getting that chance to chat with the other members of the ensemble, as they were provided a chance to see what they could do post high school, and hear the various experiences of their peers. Concert time. e first chord. So strong, yet so scary. What was about to happen? Beauty. at's exactly what happened. Beauty. I still to this day can hear and feel how our students and community members came together to create this piece of music. e next day, I asked them to journal what they thought. "Mrs. Riley, I never thought choral music, particularly classical choral music, could be so amazing. For the first time, I was a part of something so much bigger than I ever expected, and it was absolutely amazing." Mission accomplished. Not one student said anything negative about the experience. e goals that I had outlined earlier, somehow echoed through many of their comments. In various ways they found a new love for the masterworks. In those comments, I realized something was going right, and I had made a great decision to expose my students to much more in the choral world than "pop" and "show tunes." I had no idea how great it would feel, until the last note finished. e pride I felt for my students, my colleague's students, our community members, instrumentalists, and our conductor, was something so new and so incredibly invigorating. I was immediately hooked, and now, we continue to do this project year aer year. So, the moral of my story is this: expose your students to some kind of masterwork. Entrust them with the responsibility to take charge of it, and practice their leadership abilities. Trust that if you give them the opportunity, they will find great love and beauty in it. Masterworks are not just for the masters-they are for the lovers of great music. Stephanie (Booth) Riley is an initiate of Gamma Delta at the State University of New York- Potsdam where she received her Bachelor's Degree in Voice and Music Education. She is a Sword of Honor recipient and current member of the Boston Alumnae Chapter. MusIc Medley 'For students who wouldn't ever get the chance to sing in a select group at the county or district level, let alone state level, [Dr. Ronald Sherwin] helped show them how life changing it could be for a group of many strangers to come together with a common goal and create something so beautiful.' Stephanie Riley, music teacher MEDLEY continued from page 3

• Cover