Judy Harmon moving to Florida; heartfelt thanks for service to WY ACDA; leaves treasurer position open for nominations
Message from President Nicole Lamartine
(June 23, 2010)
Greetings ACDA members!
Our longtime Treasurer Judy Harmon will be leaving Wyoming for Florida very soon. Judy, I would like to take this opportunity on behalf of Wyoming ACDA to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU for all that you have done to support the organization over the years. We will miss you!
With Judy leaving, we have a very important office to fill – and very soon. Here is the procedure:
NOMINATIONS: Self-nominations are acceptable. Please send name and email address of nomination to Nicole Lamartine (choir@uwyo.edu) by JULY 2
Nominees will then be asked to submit acceptance of nomination and a short (2-3 sentence) bio/statement to be posted on the elections website. (Deadline: JULY 7)
ELECTIONS: You will be sent a link to an anonymous online form (officers will have access to results) which will record your vote for Wyoming ACDA Treasurer. (VOTING WILL CLOSE ON JULY 17)
If you would like more information on this very important position in our ACDA chapter, please contact Wyoming President, Nicole Lamartine (choir@uwyo.edu or 307-766-2392)
Many thanks,
Nicole Lamartine
ACDA Wyoming President
Greetings Wyoming ACDA members!
Nicole Lamartine's June, 2010, message to Wyoming's choral directors
It has been an honor for me to be Wyoming President, although I have been slow to get the ball rolling! There are many exciting events planned for the coming year, and I hope you will make plans to join ACDA as it grows to become your resource for all things choral.
We encourage you to take advantage of the resources on the National ACDA website (www.acda.org <http://www.acda.org> ). There is a wealth of information and resource – all free, of course with your membership –including an archive of all back issues of the Choral Journal, a web store in which to purchase recordings from past conventions, repertoire resources and lists….the list goes on!
Please begin making your plans to attend the 2011 National Convention in Chicago, March 9-12, 2011. This will prove to be an energizing and enlightening experience with wonderful music, high-quality sessions, and valuable resources. I encourage you, too, to prepare our students for an Honor Choir audition. I am the National Chair for the Women’s High School Honor Choir, and I can tell you that it will be an out-of-this-world experience for these young people!
Congratulations to:
· Katrina Rooney (Kelly Walsh High School, Casper) who was voted by the membership at January’s luncheon as Wyoming President-Elect
· Beth Kean (Cheyenne East High School, Cheyenne) who was voted by the membership at January’s luncheon as Wyoming Secretary
· Judy Harmon (Treasurer) for many years of service to our state organization
· All organizers and participants in the Wyoming ACDA Children’s Honor Choir (Rollo Dilworth, conductor and clinician)
Don’t forget:
· Nominations for Treasurer must be received by July 2 (to me via email)
· Voting closes on July 17
· National Convention, March 9-12 in Chicago
· Washington ACDA Summer Institute, July 21-23, 2010
· National HS Honor Choir auditions
Ideas for the future:
· New teacher mentorship program within the state
· Wyoming Summer Institute and Reading Session
· Further collaborations with MENC and WMEA
· Collaborations with neighboring states’ ACDA chapters
With aspirations for an excellent journey ahead,
Nicole Lamartine
by Howard Meharg, WY-ACDA webperson
(guest article)
attended a 45th reunion for a class that graduated in 1961. Great fun and a wonderful bunch of “kids.” One of them was Neil Lieurance. (WA ACDA member who now teaches at SPU, Seattle)I was completing my second year of teaching in 1961. Didn’t know much but it was exhilarating and I was still feeling elated and a sense of “Wow! I’m actually being paid to do this!”
One guy , no, not Neil, but (as it turns out) his cousin, Bob Rockett, got up and said, “I still remember Mr. Meharg telling me just prior to the spring concert that he would give me a C as a final grade in choir if I would stay home during the spring concert, but that he would flunk me if I showed up.” I don’t know if he was playing for a laugh (he got it) or if this really happened. It could have happened. I wasn’t very careful in such matters back then.
A friend, Olaf, who is in the tech services business in Toronto, sent this message to me a couple of days ago…part of an online conversation we were having. Olaf, aside from his computer work, sings in a band called “Vile Richard.” But this is what he said about his long time girl friend:
I can't get Lisa to sing at all. When she was six years old she sang in a choir for school. Just before they went into a competition, her teacher pulled her aside and told her that while all the other kids were singing she should "mouth the words". She took it very personally and that was the end of her singing career. I guess it would be quite a blow to one's confidence!
It’s a story I’ve heard dozens of times! It’s a story I wish were not true. And, I’m so, so, sorry…but it may be a story a student of mine could tell. In my egocentric rush to have “my kids” sound good, I could easily have shushed a few like that, especially in my days of teaching elementary school music.
Not long ago I became acquainted with a fellow attending my church who asked me if I could help him sing better. He had acting experience, was not afraid to speak in front of crowds but, literally, was ashamed that he couldn’t “carry a tune.”
He, like Lisa, had been told a long time ago that he couldn’t sing. I met with him. At first I thought he was right…not even close. He had a low voice. I found his note on the piano and we experimented with moving on up the scale from there, and finally, with singing a familiar hymn an octave lower. With patience and practice, this man can sing. Even if he sings the melody an octave lower than most men, he’s singing.
I know virtually nothing about the brain, ear, vocal mechanism connection and how pitch discernment and tone matching takes place. I’m convinced, however, that virtually all people can be taught to sing. Some may take longer to develop the skill than others. Some may need friendly and oh so kindly help.
I urge us all to vow to never tell anyone…no matter what age, but especially children…that it would be better to “mouth the words” this time. We can’t control what family members or others might say to them, but how devastating to hear a trusted “professional” imply that “you can’t sing.”
I’d love to hear your story. How do you help a youngster (or oldster, for that matter) learn to “carry” that tune…and how do you do it without the slightest hint of injury or hurt? We'll publish your ideas if you give us permission.
ACDA, THE organization for practical help and friendly colleagues who share your desire for success in simple part singing to professional choral work
by Howard Meharg, Webmaster, NW ACDA
The American Choral Directors Association may seem like just one more professional organization...one more addition to a budget stretched a little thin.
Yes, it does cost $85 a year. What do you get for this?
Let's start with knowing that you're part of a network of colleagues who share your desire to do a good job with choirs of every type. Invariably, when members are asked to describe the greatest benefit of being a member of ACDA, they start with the people. By involving yourself in this organization you'll meet and form lifetime friendships with interesting, friendly, energetic, kindly, sharing, and genuinely professional musicians who will help you with literature selection, tips on fund-raising, ideas on dealing with those who can't match pitch yet...you name your issue, ACDA members are willing to talk with you. In short, we're all in it together!
So, make use of the network. Wyoming IS big and the next colleague in the business may be m
any miles away. That may be less significant than you think. That's the beauty of e-mail, blogs, and ACDA Web sites! And you don't need to limit your contacts to colleagues who live and work in Wyoming. One of the services NW ACDA will be providing soon is a list of experienced choral directors who can provide answers. We're calling it "The Answer Line." You'll find a long list of colleagues who have promised to provide answers when called upon. Watch for mail on this subject and keep an eye on both the Wyoming and the NW ACDA Web sites.
Your membership in ACDA helps support these Web sites and the information and practical help they can be. Sure, they're seldom passworded and you could get to them without being a member. But isn't it nice to know that you're helping pay for this valuable information! Further, you're on the mailing list as a member. You'll get reminders of new articles as they appear.
The Choral Journal is the national publication you'll receive as a member of ACDA. Articles in the CJ range from dissertations on the choral art, composers, etc., to practical reviews of literature, CDs, and books. You'll often find great lists (with descriptions) of songs that will work with children's choirs, middle school groups, etc. Many members write 'em down and contact their music distributor right away for sample copies...for they know that a capable and experienced person has recommended them and that the song will often be a winner.
We're not quite through with the Web as a source of improving your skills. Your colleagues are constantly writing helpful articles. Right now these articles are appearing on Washington, Oregon, and the NW ACDA sites. We're hoping, as the Wyoming site develops, to entice Wyoming members to write for your new site. Washington and the NW site, particularly, have an archives page that provides links to articles that could easily be a superb book with wonderful chapters of information that can help you become an even better choral director. Again, you don't have to be a member to get to this information, but your membership dues help pay for it being available. It's a little like PBS. Yes, you don't have to be a member to listen, but there is great satisfaction in knowing you're doing your part to make it happen!
You'll hear more of this one soon from the national office. In answer to the need for practical material for those who teach choral music in the schools, a newly revised national Web site is now presenting a new online magazine called "ChorTeach." You'll find some wonderful and helpful ideas there. Terry Barham is the Editor and he's doing a superb job on this new site.
The conventions are fantastic ways to network, to get inspired, to absorb yourself in choral sound that will become a part of you and your "inner ear," helping you with a concept of sound that will guide your rehearsals. Again, with some of the conventions you can attend without being a member, although it costs considerably more that way. But it's very satisfying knowing that, even if you didn't have to lift a finger to plan and implement a convention, that your dues are being used for such worthy events.
(As your state president is discovering, there are plenty of NW people who are willing to serve as clinicians in practical workshops. You live with the issue of distance and travel costs. I think you'll find Richard Nance, our current NW president, very interested in connecting with Wyoming and making the NW division more than a "convention oriented" group.)
What's even more fun is getting involved in the organization; becoming an officer or an R&S Chair (Repertoire and Standards). As part of your state's leadership committee, you'll develop lifetime friendships. You'll grow. You'll have input into state and regional planning. Of course it's a cliche, but true nevertheless. You'll get a great deal more out of your membership if you put a great deal into it.
Now, let me speak in the "first person" here for a moment. I've been a member of ACDA since 1961...almost from the time the group got started. My college director, Bernard Regier from WWU, called me shortly after I started teaching and said, "you really should join this organization!" "It'll be good for you and it'll be good for your career." I was barely making ends meet, but decided I could do this for I trusted Dr. Regier. It's meant so much to me. ACDA has provided personal friendships, professional growth, contacts with some of the nation's finest choral musicians. I've been president of WA-ACDA twice and on the board, off and on for many years. You can't find a finer group of people with whom to be involved. Frankly, I love this organization.
ACDA has plenty of room for growth and improvement. You can help so much with this. Join! It's easy. Click here and be taken to the national membership pages. It's almost painless...is except for parting with that $85.