The Top of the Funnel

Today, Michael Goede & I met for brunch @ Black Walnut Cafe. Michael is the Choir Director at Klein Oak HS - which Krimmel feeds exclusively. We debriefed the year & began planning. We haven't had much time together in the past few weeks, needless to say, it turned into a 4 hr meeting. But it was so good to speak honestly to a trusted friend & colleague. He & I are very like-minded in our passion for teaching students music - it makes one conversation topic flow into another in one fluid motion. And sometimes odd, funny little tangents.

I shared with him my extra rehearsal & clinician scheduling ideas.

• I will be scheduling morning section rehearsals plus 1 afterschool rehearsal each week. Every 4-6 weeks, I'll extend that afterschool rehearsal in order to invite a clinician to work with the choir.
• We discussed WHEN to schedule those rehearsals. Either a Tuesday afterschool with a WThF sectional schedule OR a MTW sectional schedule follwed by a Thursday afterschool rehearsal.
• There is so much to consider in scheduling and being consistent - athletic practice/game schedules, church meetings, dance rehearsals, voice lessons, piano lessons, etc. This list is endless with a group of girls.
• We discussed a welcome back event in mid-August for the girls, then a retreat in late September/early October to dig into the music. He made suggestions for how to structure these rehearsals.
• We discussed possible clinicians - who I want to work with the girls directly and who I want to observe & take notes for specific feedback.  This area requires much thought & preparation. More discussion needed.

We discussed repertoire in detail.

• Gia il sole dal Gange is at the top of the list. Such a beautiful piece & possible opener. I want a string quartet accompaniment & have someone to transcribe it. I hear this setting in order to lighten the tone of the girls. The piano creates a plodding feel. I want it to float.
• He looked at Pourquoi for me. Possible.
• He looked at The Turtle Dove - we discussed pairing this piece with a folksong that I am considering. Not a medley, but a musically transitioned set.
• Programming - I told him my lofty goals, he thought they were accessible.
• A possible theme for the program? This is difficult for me. I don't find themes well unless they jump out at me. I could go with a "love" theme since we will be performing on Feb 14 or 15 - this is a bit cliche' though. Michael's suggestion is to pair 2-3 pieces that explore the theme of young or early love - this from my idea of young teenage girls singing about being in love. It is what their world revolves around & it creates so much energy!
• Possible composers to explore Nicolai Porpora or Joan Syzmko for treble music.

We discussed many other topics. But these are just a few.