[SCA-BMDL] Monthly Choral Conducting classes start next week

[Karen Kasper]

Attention aspiring conductors!

Starting next week, I will be teaching monthly classes on how to direct a
choral ensemble.

While the class came out of discussions in the Debatable Choir, it is open
to anyone interested in learning about the mechanics and psychology of
choral conducting. You do not have to be a member of the choir to
participate.

The first class will be on Tuesday, May 23, from 7:45 to 9-ish at She'erah
and Dani's house, 1767 Beechwood Blvd. Pittsburgh, PA 15217. Map here:
https://goo.gl/maps/iBTNVjZ5HbH2

Conducting classes will be on Thursdays each month going forward, that just
happened to prove difficult in May, which is why the first session is on a
Tuesday.

Please note: these conducting classes will be progressive; that is, the
first few will focus on learning basics, and then we'll build on those
skills over several months, so if you think you want to try it, please join
us now as it will be much more difficult to join later when we've gone
beyond the basics. If there's enough demand, I'll eventually start the
cycle over for new people who want to learn to direct. Here's a basic list
of topics in roughly the order I plan to cover them, though topics may span
multiple sessions and new topics may be added depending on interest:

- Conducting patterns and basic mechanics of conducting
- Entrances, cueing, and cut offs
- Using body language and breathing
- Indicating dynamics and emotions
- Warm-ups and vocal training exercises
- Hearing and fixing errors
- Balancing sections
- Crowd control, aka classroom management
- Considerations for music selection
- Working with music transcription software

Participants will sing as well as direct other participants' singing, and
may also direct recordings of familiar pieces. The music you'll direct will
get progressively harder over the course of the sessions. Instrumentalists
are welcome to bring their instruments and play instead of sing if they
prefer.

As you may have guessed, I'll be teaching modern conducting techniques, not
medieval ones. We will discuss some of period practice, but that won't be
the primary focus of the class; however, all of the music will be medieval
and renaissance.

Please email me privately with any questions at ariannawyn at gmail.com.

Arianna
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://lists.andrew.cmu.edu/pipermail/sca-bmdl/attachments/20170517/54691b8e/attachment.html>