Options include:
a. Use the piece "Jenny," by Nick Meyers (SATB).
OR
b. Choose a different piece of choral music to prepare and conduct. Guidelines to choosing:
SATB, SAB or SSA scoring
Can be a cappella or unaccompanied
4/4 or 3/4 time (simple duple or simple triple meter)
a. Check out the score marking resources linked below to get ideas on how to mark a choral score.
b. Sing through EACH vocal line (Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass) to get an idea of how each part sounds. Make note of where each part is most important (look for clues, including accidentals, faster passages, melody lines etc.)
c. Listen to a recording as you read your score. Do this several times. On each listening, choose one thing to focus on from the list below:
One voice part at a time (ex. only listen to the Tenor line)
Accompaniment only (this does not apply to a cappella pieces)
Dynamics
Phrasing
Text
Melody Lines
Harmonic Motion
Rhythm
d. Determine important moments in the music you need to reinforce. Mark/draw/colour in your score to indicate those moments. Examples include, but are not limited to:
Breaths
Starts of Phrases
Dynamics
Entrances in various voice parts
Phrase shape
a. Participate in online choir classes (we are learning various patterns, drills and gestures).
b. Check out the conducting resources linked below. Read articles and watch videos. Consider gestures you have seen used in rehearsal.
c. Practice conducting in front of a mirror.
d. Practice breathing and preparatory gestures. *NOTE: Keep your mouth open when you breath before an entrance!
a. Set your Phone or Camera up so that your entire upper body is in the frame. Check that your arms are always visible (ex. can you still see your hands when conducting beat 2 in a 4 beat pattern).
b. Play an audio or video recording of your piece, and record yourself conducting the music. Be aware of breaths, facial expression, dynamic gesture etc. Conduct the score markings you have written into your score.
c. Review your conducting video. Observe what is clear, and what you would like to improve. Make a second (or third) recording. Submit the video you prefer.
If you have questions, contact Mrs. Ciona
dynamics (where it’s quiet, loud, and in between)
where big breaks are between sections (e.g. if a verse just started, put a big line in front of it to divide it from the previous section)
where the choir will take breaths, and where I will take breaths to remind them they’re about to sing (yup, that’s a thing conductors do!)
what pattern I move my hands in weird bars (especially in this piece since some bars have 3 beats, some have 4 or 5 or even 6, and there are also lots of places that pause)
stuff around the text: consonants and vowels I especially want the choir to enunciate, words that should be emphasized more than other words
the mood! I like to add little notes like “playfully” and “as if exclaiming from the rooftops!” to make sure I’m reflecting that in my body language as I conduct that part of the piece
-above information linked from blog Evy Conducts, https://medium.com/@evyconducts
Publisher Recording
University Choir
Community Choir
High School Choir
Recorded at a Reading Clinic - the singers are all choral directors, reading this piece for the first time.
You can see the conductor as he leads the singers through the piece.