End of Summer School

I will begin this update with a resounding, yet very tired, " I am so glad to have a break." I just finishd two rounds of summer school, which means I have completed a little over one year of my three year degree. I actually think I learned more this summer than I did all last year, if that is possible. But then, it could be that I just forgot all that I learned during Fall and Spring. I certainly hope not! It was most certainly a busy summer! Work, teaching, and school! Each summer session was 5 weeks and used a block class format. I took 10 credits of classes: Analysis of 20-21st century music, Directed Study in Vocal Pedagogy, Two sessions of lessons towards my Spring recital, and Language Development and Communication Disorders. My theory class was full of compositions. I actually got to try my hand at composing 3-4 atonal pieces for various orchestral instruments. I officially learned how to use Sibelius. What a shock to my system to learn that I had not used any form of Finale since my freshman or sophomore year of college. These atonal pieces included serial techniques, twelve tone rows, hexachord/matrix composition, and such. As unappealing as some people think atonal music may be, I have to say that it is quite intricate, organized, and eerily beautiful. My teacher is a big name with the theory/composition/atonal music field. I felt rather honored to be in his class. He and his friend were actually composing music to the Lord of the Rings before it was thought into movie-dom/soundtracks. I am hoping to collaborate with him for my lecture recital on 21st century composers. We shall see. We are quite different. I am a Christian and from Bob Jones University, and he is an atheist. He has been very kind though! When he found out I was from BJU, all he said was, "oh, ok." :) I decided to take that as a positive! While I would never fancy myself a composer/theorist.....I do appreciate those who are. But, I must say, I thought performers were mouthy......you haven't heard anything until you hear music theorists talk. My directed study included one on one collaboration and observation with my voice teacher. She chose a text book from the famous pedagogue, Barbara Doscher, whom she studied with. Absolutely loved the book. It has done so much for my teaching.....and having taken acoustics, I truly understood what she was talking about! The opportunity to have my questions answered by a master teacher was a thrill! I am excited to start in teaching again this Fall! We started literature for my Spring recital. I will be attempting 9 languages--Russian, Danish, Norwegian, Czech, German, French, Italian, Spanish, and English. Rachmaninoff has been very good for me this year! What a composer! I have a hard time deciding who is my favorite--him or Puccini. My voice type has officially settled into a Lyric Soprano--and not the light kind. I have had a hard time merging from light soubrette/lyric coloratura to lyric, but my teacher is getting it done. The techniques are totally different. For anyone interested, I am happy to talk to you about it! I am so glad I had teachers that had me wait on literature. It really is true that lighter is healthier for the young voice. The big surprise for me was my Language Development Class for my Speech Pathology secondary. I cannot tell you how much I learned from that class--we discussed children (birth) to adults, language disorders, cognitive development, dialect differences, strategies for special education, etc. We talked about SLI, Developmental Delay, Delayed Language, Aphasia, Stroke victims brain injuries, articulation disorders, etc. I, again, loved the professor. She very uniquely related the content to the music field in each class. To now have the knowledge I have to work with children and adults with language disorders and be able to collaborate with ENTs and SLP's is amazing! She even let me do my research paper on Music Therapy. What an incredible field! I am trying very hard NOT to change my dissertation topic. Did you know how closely Language and Music are related due to brain connections and use. My paper specifically covered how singing could be used in Music Therapy to aid in Speech, Language and Communication Development/Disorders. In 26 pages I covered Speech, Language, and Communication and its connection to the brain; Music and its connection to the brain; music therapy';the connection of all these elements; and lastly how singing was a vital part of this process. Can I just say that this paper did SO much to enhance my biblical music philosophy---I can say without a shadow of a doubt that music is not amoral. It most certainly affects us in every way. The teachers in my secondary program have been very encouraging. They truly believe that the combination of my primary and secondary will be very marketable, as well as enable me to collaborate within the university and medical settings. I am very hopeful! And just a side note, I can officially tell you all that 18-21 year olds are NOT adults. It is a scientific fact that the brain does not reach cognitive maturity until early to mid 20s. During 18-21 years of age, their brains are continuing to develop skills enabling them to reason and are in need of collaborative adult effort to help them develop. So.......do with that as you think necessary. Summer teaching went very well. It is always a joy to see your students grow. And not singing for a grade truly helped them relax. I believe it was Mrs. Dunbar from BJU who once told me of the straw technique when working with students. I have never really had the opportunity to use it until this summer. I have a little freshman girl who took on the side. Very breathy tone. Sweet, light voice. When she left her lessons, I always asked myself if there was more voice in there. This summer we found it using the old straw technique. You all can do it! Feel the difference in sending a puff of air against your car window vs blowing that air through a straw.....let's just say her beautiful little vocal folds responded fabulously and we got a lovely, clear, round tone. I almost started crying. And you should have seen her face! Priceless. I also started a 7 year old girl. Very sweet. But interestingly, her last voice teacher told her to listen to pop music. So, of course, she likes Adele. Well, try being me and explaining to a 7 year old fan that Adele would want her to use her voice wisely and not hemorrhage like she did. Complicated, but thankfully, we were able to simplify and get through it. It sometimes pays to be up on all the goings on of the music world. But I must say, I couldn't have asked for more with the parents. They were very supportive of my teaching, philosophy, and school of teaching. They actually like classical music and have no intent of forcing pop stardom on their daughter. (Big sigh of relief). Another student, an older lady, has had a hard road of vocal recovery this past year. We started with McClosky techniques for the speaking voice, and by the end of this summer she has seen fabulous vocal improvement--extended range, clearer tone/speaking and singing, and some basic techniques allowing her to sing more freely! Her daughter also studies with me. She is coming from a belting background, trying to sing classically and wanting to get into graduate school. She started in January. She is now singing light, soubrette, CLASSICAL, literature--and very well too! I am hopeful that she will compete in NATS this fall. She actually is a very, very VERY, high soprano--but was never told or encourage to sing that way! What a shame.....but it is most definitely NOT too late for her. I am hoping that she will study with my teacher when she does got to grad school. So now I get 3 weeks of just work and teaching. Then I take a week off! After that classes start up on August 20. This fall has some big changes. I was awarded a full assistantship for the fall only due to stepping in for another graduate who needs time to pull their GPA up. My teacher asked me this past Friday if I would be interested in leading the voice class two days a week! I, of course, said yes! On the side, I will be changing jobs to teach at Indiana Wesleyan University in Marion as Adjunct Faculty. I am very relieved to be back in the Christian college setting. Two semesters of 12 credits will allow me to finish my coursework and head right into comprehensive exams. And I hope to do a few more competitions this next year. After that, who knows.....but I will keep you posted as to my last summer and year at BSU 2013-2014. I am already praying and looking into a couple of options for next summer......but.... Until then, I bid you a wonderful and restful end of the summer! I will most likely be spending my evenings reading mindless books and scrap-booking. But tonight, I plan on sleeping! Thank you for your continued support and prayers! On a serious note, none of this is of me.......God continues to give overwhelmingly to me according to His riches in glory. For those of you who do not know, I have a new nephew! Elijah James, but we call him Eli. Born in May. You are always welcome to look at pictures on facebook...... :) Oh, and look out, I have another nephew who is about to get his license. Just saying.......... Until Fall 2012, Shellie