Singing Youth of Nebraska

So Danielle and I just got home from a short trip back West. Boy was it good to get back and see some friends and old students. Although we only lived in Ogallala for 4 years, we quickly grew to love the town and many of the people there. Leaving Ogallala was not easy, and it was great to go back and see the great friends we have their. Danielle had the opportunity to go run with a friend on Saturday, while I had the privilege of conducting the Singing Youth of Nebraska festival choir in North Platte.

SYN Festival Choir in North Platte; January 26, 2013

Every other year, the Nebraska Choral Directors Association (NCDA) hosts several Singing Youth of Nebraska (SYN) Festival sites around the state. On the opposite years they have a SYN Honor choir in Holdrege. The SYN choirs are for students in grades 7-9. NCDA also hosts Sing Around Nebraska (SAN) in the same manner as SYN, but for 4-6 graders. As many of you know, NCDA has become a very important organization for me, as it has helped me to quickly network with MANY wonderful choral directors in the state. I would go as far to say that getting involved in NCDA has made one of the biggest impacts on my career. I could never thank Phil Hesterman enough for asking me to the the Repertoire and Standards chair for Senior High Choirs, which has opened me up to many opportunities. Last year I had the privilege of conducting a SAN festival choir out west, and then this year the SYN festival choir in North Platte. Having the opportunity to direct at SYN really enlightened me on a few thoughts, which I decided to share below. You may or may not agree with them...but I passionately feel these are true.

1) Music Educators have a dedication to their field and their students that very few people will EVER comprehend. Few professions have individuals involved who give up evenings and weekends for their "clients"...which teachers lovingly refer to as their "kids." Many of us have invested many years in these children, and care for nothing but to see them succeed!

2) Kids CRAVE a place to belong. How awesome is it that 110 middle school kids can come together on a Saturday to make music together. Let me emphasis that again..110 MIDDLE SCHOOL kids. So many adults complain about "kids these days"....and I don't see it. The choir class is an amazing place that helps kids to feel invited, and comfortable with being themselves.

3) Children want to be held responsible. It was so reassuring to see this happen on Saturday. Numerous times we would be singing along, and there would be a mistake happen. Sometimes not a big mistake, but nonetheless...a mistake. I would promptly stop the kids, too which some would roll their eyes or whine because I wouldn't let them "karaoke" on. Then I would simply say..."Will you allow me to be pick?". They would quickly respond back with a yes. I would then explain the problem, and ask them to fix it. After they fixed it, I would then respond as so. "Thank you guys so much for making that mistake go away. The only reason I knew that I could stop you and fix that is because I know you are capable of it. Fixing those mistakes is what takes us from good to great." The look in their eyes, knowing that they could be great, was all I need to keep going.

4) Music connects. What other event or activity can you bring 110 kids together and in 6 hours of rehearsal give a final product. These were kids from different backgrounds. Some are poor. Some have 2 parents. Some aren't sure if they have a place to sleep tonight. And for those 6 hours...they were equal. That is what music does...it takes all of the uncertainty, and if even for just 6 hours...it gives these kids something to invest in and take pride in.

What saddens me the most about having the opportunities to come to these events, is knowing that some students aren't given these opportunities. The opportunity to belong. The opportunity to express. Whether you are a parent, teacher, child, brother, aunt...you can help provide this opportunity for somebody. I encourage you to continue to search for ways to be inclusive...because that is what it is about!

Blog Hiatus

It has been roughly 5 months since I have last blogged. I believe August 20th was the last day that I blogged. That roughly coincides with my first day at Burke...I'm sure there is no connection. In the past semester, there has been a lot going on. I am just going to use this first blog back to do a semester in review, and then HOPEFULLY blog more often. Honestly, the main reason I am back on the ol' blog is because I had the opportunity to see some old students this weekend, and one of them shared with me that I haven't blogged lately, and that I needed to get into a better habit. Thanks a bunch Micah...way to make me feel guilty. I also know that I will probably forget some key "happenings" from the past 5 months, so please forgive me if I don't include an event that you feel is important! Also, the organized part of me feels like this should be written in order of months...so here ya go.

August: August was a BUSY month. I didn't realize that starting a new job would entail so many meetings! I believe we had close to two full weeks of new teacher meetings, and then building specific meetings to follow. Man was I nervous for the first day with kids, but everything went smooth and I survived.

September: I really can't think of anything important that happened in September. I spent September continuing to become comfortable in my new position. At this point in the year, I was concerned with how easy/quick the transition would be for my students at Burke. I'm a very relational type of guy, and teaching kids I didn't have relationships with was hard. My show choir came around real quick as I believe a few team building exercises broke down their walls and opened them up. We also had the opportunity to perform at our Open House, and this helped get the show choir into gear quick.

October: In October I had my first Burke concert. To be completely honest, it went okay. The groups sang decent...not to where I would like for them to be, but that is life. On a positive note, I feel like the transition to how I "do" concerts went well. At Burke, we always seem to share concerts with some group, and on the first concert we had the Orchestra play, as well as some small groups/solos to help with transition. The audience was not huge, but the turn out was good. I had heard horror of mixed choir kids not coming, but only had a few no shows for the concert. This concept was new to me...and I hope that as I continue my time at Burke, this situation will become less frequent.

November: I had my first opportunity to take kids to All-State for choir. This year Burke had 3 students representing Burke. The whole all-state preparation/experience at Burke was interesting for the first time. At Ogallala, we hosted auditions..and I was very comfortable with the whole procedure. I had a fair amount of kids audition when I was at Ogallala, and I always felt like I knew where they were at preparation wise. At Burke, I didn't feel this way. I actually had a few kids not show up for auditions...NOT COOL! One struggle I have had so far with my students is follow through. On numerous accounts, kids have said they were going to do something only to back out and often times not even tell me. As my students in Ogallala know, this is something that I don't tolerate! Along with all-state, we had our auditions for the spring musical, "Thoroughly Modern Millie."

December: This month was BUSY! Our show choir goes out and performs in the public for different "holiday" gatherings. I believe we had 8 extra performances during the 2 weeks before winter break. Although this made for some long days, I loved it. It reminded me of the wonderful Singing Valentines Day trips I had with my Ogallala Students. I am inspired by how much those kids love to perform, and it was so much fun watching them. We had the opportunity to perform in a plethora of venues, ranging from the Joslyn Art Museam to the VFW.

January: It truly feels like January has been going on FOREVER. The FIRST day back from break, we began musical rehearsals. The show choir also performed the first day back, which meant I had the opportunity to be with students from 6:45 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. Honestly, it hasn't felt like it has slowed down much since. We hit musical rehearsals hard, practicing from 3-6 Monday through Friday. On Saturdays I come back to school for 3 hours as the tech crew works on set design. Although it is a lot of time, I LOVE IT! The musical is February 28, March 1, and March 2...and I can't wait for this experience! This Saturday (January 26th) I had the opportunity to direct the Singing Youth of Nebraska Festival Choir in North Platte. This group consisted of 110 kids from 10 different schools in the North Platte area. What a blast! I was hesitant to follow through with the commitment, because for the 3 1/2 days leading up to the event I had NO VOICE! I survived through the day, and the concert was quite enjoyable. My only complaint is that the kids put in so much work, and then there is a 15 minute concert and it is all over. The kids performed well and I made sure to let them know that they were the best behaved festival choir that I have ever directed (and yes I have directed other festival choirs). Then after the concert Danielle and I went back to Ogallala to see some friends and stay the night. We caught up with friends, then went to McDonald's to have dessert with some of our old students. It was great catching up and hearing about all of their successes they have been having!

After writing that all down, I feel like I only talked about work...which feels like that is true. Adjusting to the new job has been an adventure to say the least, but it has been enjoyable. I will add another post reflecting on the first semester as a resident of Omaha...and what has been the biggest surprises and hardest things to deal with. Sorry for the verbal vomit of information, but I feel like I need to just get in the routine of putting my thoughts on page. Hopefully this is not a return blog that also becomes a blog that sits alone for another 5 months! Have a great rest of the weekend and a WONDERFUL week!