Capstone Project

Performing from Behind the Conductor's Stand

Project Proposal:

I will select a piece of music for a beginning level mixed ensemble. I will prepare the piece of music and lead the class in learning it. I will conduct the piece at our spring 2023 concert.

Repertoire Selection:

Under the guidance of Ms. Taylor, I decided to choose, and conduct a piece called “Sanctus” by Sally K. Albrecht for our beginning choir ensemble. The piece is in Latin, which is not a language the students have performed in previously. It has a easy difficulty, with an emphasis on use of canon and ascending 5ths and descending 4ths. There is a strong emphasis on Sol' to Do and Sol to Do. The piece also includes a high treble descant section.

Teaching and Learning - In The Classroom:

Before the concert, and before I taught this piece, I was pretty nervous since. I have never done a project like this before. Tt was a good opportunity for me to try something new and gained more confidence after being able to teach this piece to the class. I am not always the strongest singer and musician in my section. I wanted to challenge myself to be better and help students in the beginning choirs. Things started off good however, at times the nerves would get to me but at the same time I was very excited to be given this opportunity to lead. I joined this beginning choir midyear, but sang with another last semester. This allowed me to bond with some of the students that will be future advanced kiddos later. One of my greatest challenges was using the piano. I am not a proficient piano player. I can sing the parts for them but I wanted to add the extra support. With this in mind, I asked Ms. Taylor to serve as our "class time" part player. I also used part tracks and our speaker to help as well. I realized it is okay to not be the best pianist but you do need some skill if you want to be a choir teacher. In addition, have a backup like part tracks. One of my favorite parts of class was leading stretches and warm-ups. This is something I was already use to from being in cheer and it was fun to get the students up and moving. 

Performance Ready & Reflecting:

On the day of the concert, everyone was nervous, including myself but I made sure to reassure everyone that we were in this together. Beginning choir opened the spring concert. Our first piece went well but I was nervous. On the second piece, which I conducted, called “Sanctus” everyone’s eyes were on me. I tried my best to maintain eye contact with everyone. I would remind them to smile, sing out, and would cue for them to enter and cut off. The beginning and middle of the piece went well. In the section "pleni sunt coeli" they sang louder then I ever heard them in class. I was shocked and so proud. However, when we went to return to the "A" section after that, I miss cued the choir. It was only suppose to be part 2 singing. I also cued part 1 to come in. I was terrified. "Would the stop singing?", "Would they watch?", "How can I get us back on?". All these questions ran around my head. I took a breath and kept eye contact. It was a little rocky for about a page, but we were able to keep singing and get back on to end strong. I was so proud of my students for trusting me and following me even when it was wrong. I realized in that moment the conductors have to trust their musicians just as much and we trust them. As the conductor, you can determine the success and failure of the performers so easily, it is a lot of pressure. After all the performances ended, I was relieved and so proud. 

I am very proud of everyone and would also like to thank my instructor, Mrs. Taylor for supporting me though it. I would also like to thank my classmates for putting in so much time, effort, and being able to make this concert possible. The the love, bond, and support we all have for each other is wonderful. Choir has been a home for me for the last 4 years and I am sad to be leaving.