the "broadway's best..."
okay...
random thoughts from the past couple of days...
i'm really glad that conducting's one of my "natural" talents... meaning, i can kinda BS my way through a song/conducting exercise... and conducting well really makes the difference with how the group responds to you... being a confident conductor transfers confidence to your group, and i really felt that on tuesday, when dr mitchell came to observe me teach band... i noticed that when mr gilley would conduct, his eyes would be glued to the score, and that wouldn't allow any sort of eye contact with the group...
PUCprep had their spring concert last night... it being 2 1/2 hours long, it was quite the tiring concert... that hall really improves their sound, since they don't sound as awesome in the band room... i conducted "the way we were" for choir, as well as "broadway's best" for band... mr gilley gave me the opportunity to conduct choir last minute, literally the rehearsal before the concert... choir didn't respond to my conducting as well as they normally did during the rehearsals, but band was really on their A game that night... i felt really good about how that song went, of course being supported by the loud cheers from the audience (mostly from my friends standing in the back), even from daryn, one of few words, who jumped at the opportunity to congratulate me during jazz band, saying that he noticed that they sounded better under my conducting... that excitement just really reminded me that this was what i was made to do, and hearing it from several parents and students really support that...
i've really underestimated kids this year... from my labs last quarter and this quarter, i've learned a lot about middle school kids, as well as high school students... with middle school kids, they really aren't rowdy, do-no-gooders, if you really give them something to be excited about... they're quite driven to do well, if you provide them opportunities to do so... with high schoolers, i used to think they lived off that attitude that "we're too cool for this," and anything that makes them look and feel stupid is not worth their time... after the concert, i got a lot of smiles, "good jobs," and handshakes from my students, most of which haven't spoken a word to me the entire quarter... even when mr gilley was announcing me afterwards, thinking i wasn't there, the majority of them noticed me come in, pointing back at me... this age group is so fabulous, and even though i remember being that age, with that same mindset, it's nice to step back and really put the pieces together... i think they felt that i really wanted them to succeed, and when i encouraged some discouraged band students, they really showed appreciation for it after the concert... the smiles and claps from the choir as mr hiday introduced me before i conducted was a nice intrinsic reward as well...
so that's that... several people asked me what i was doing next year, the inevitable "can you teach here" thought running through their head... i talked with dr davis for two hours after julie's recital (and linda gave an excellent one on sunday too) with young, krinstin, kara, and michelle... we're trying to find a way to better our music department, and we asked for advice... it came down to what we needed to do for ourselves, whether it be allowing natural events to happen and wait a couple of years, or genuinely take initiative ourselves... dr davis asked us what our passions for the department were, and i was the only one shouting out answers: quality education, weeding out less than mediocre majors, making classes harder and more challenging, nurturing teachers, as well as a common vision... i swore i'd never teach at PUC, following someone like doc, but now, it's something i'm willing to consider... of course, we'll see how the future unfolds itself...
talked with marisa for over an hour in the caf last night... it's been a while since we've really sat down and talked, so we've caught up somewhat... from other conversations throughout this week, i'm starting to think that i'm somewhat on the verge of depression... i haven't been motivated to do my homework, i sleep way more than normal, and when i really try to sleep at night, i can't... i've dropped my summer school classes b/c i'm way too stressed out... ::exhale:: this quarter has really taken a toll on me... i told myself that the moment i couldn't handle these 20+ credit quarters that i'd start to limit myself... and i'm starting to think that i need to...
well, that's that... i should probably do the homework i'm putting off... on a lighter note, chris just asked me to be one of his groomsmen... good stuff... the first wedding in which i'm involved...
random thoughts from the past couple of days...
i'm really glad that conducting's one of my "natural" talents... meaning, i can kinda BS my way through a song/conducting exercise... and conducting well really makes the difference with how the group responds to you... being a confident conductor transfers confidence to your group, and i really felt that on tuesday, when dr mitchell came to observe me teach band... i noticed that when mr gilley would conduct, his eyes would be glued to the score, and that wouldn't allow any sort of eye contact with the group...
PUCprep had their spring concert last night... it being 2 1/2 hours long, it was quite the tiring concert... that hall really improves their sound, since they don't sound as awesome in the band room... i conducted "the way we were" for choir, as well as "broadway's best" for band... mr gilley gave me the opportunity to conduct choir last minute, literally the rehearsal before the concert... choir didn't respond to my conducting as well as they normally did during the rehearsals, but band was really on their A game that night... i felt really good about how that song went, of course being supported by the loud cheers from the audience (mostly from my friends standing in the back), even from daryn, one of few words, who jumped at the opportunity to congratulate me during jazz band, saying that he noticed that they sounded better under my conducting... that excitement just really reminded me that this was what i was made to do, and hearing it from several parents and students really support that...
i've really underestimated kids this year... from my labs last quarter and this quarter, i've learned a lot about middle school kids, as well as high school students... with middle school kids, they really aren't rowdy, do-no-gooders, if you really give them something to be excited about... they're quite driven to do well, if you provide them opportunities to do so... with high schoolers, i used to think they lived off that attitude that "we're too cool for this," and anything that makes them look and feel stupid is not worth their time... after the concert, i got a lot of smiles, "good jobs," and handshakes from my students, most of which haven't spoken a word to me the entire quarter... even when mr gilley was announcing me afterwards, thinking i wasn't there, the majority of them noticed me come in, pointing back at me... this age group is so fabulous, and even though i remember being that age, with that same mindset, it's nice to step back and really put the pieces together... i think they felt that i really wanted them to succeed, and when i encouraged some discouraged band students, they really showed appreciation for it after the concert... the smiles and claps from the choir as mr hiday introduced me before i conducted was a nice intrinsic reward as well...
so that's that... several people asked me what i was doing next year, the inevitable "can you teach here" thought running through their head... i talked with dr davis for two hours after julie's recital (and linda gave an excellent one on sunday too) with young, krinstin, kara, and michelle... we're trying to find a way to better our music department, and we asked for advice... it came down to what we needed to do for ourselves, whether it be allowing natural events to happen and wait a couple of years, or genuinely take initiative ourselves... dr davis asked us what our passions for the department were, and i was the only one shouting out answers: quality education, weeding out less than mediocre majors, making classes harder and more challenging, nurturing teachers, as well as a common vision... i swore i'd never teach at PUC, following someone like doc, but now, it's something i'm willing to consider... of course, we'll see how the future unfolds itself...
talked with marisa for over an hour in the caf last night... it's been a while since we've really sat down and talked, so we've caught up somewhat... from other conversations throughout this week, i'm starting to think that i'm somewhat on the verge of depression... i haven't been motivated to do my homework, i sleep way more than normal, and when i really try to sleep at night, i can't... i've dropped my summer school classes b/c i'm way too stressed out... ::exhale:: this quarter has really taken a toll on me... i told myself that the moment i couldn't handle these 20+ credit quarters that i'd start to limit myself... and i'm starting to think that i need to...
well, that's that... i should probably do the homework i'm putting off... on a lighter note, chris just asked me to be one of his groomsmen... good stuff... the first wedding in which i'm involved...