Spring is bringing more of the work I love.

With the change in the weather, and the oncoming end of year, it is time to be putting things in place for 2012. I have sent feelers out to rural radio stations, and rural education access branches here in New Zealand, and in Australia, for teaching singing to individuals, families, and groups via skype. I have one 'client' where the son has a 10 minute session, the daughter has a 10 minute session and Mum has a 40 minute lesson. They live on a farm, an hour's drive away form their nearest good-sized city. I have a student in Melbourne. He has his lesson at 10a.m. and for me it is midday.

I enrolled a new face-t0-face student this week, a lovely voice, very musical it is going to be such fun working with him. In addition I started the vocal techniques workshop series last night at Waikato University and it was over subscribed, (just by 1), so good for all the participants, as well as financially for me. What a blast! The workshop went very well, so much laughter, so many finding out that those who said they could not sing were wrong!! The workshop was due to finish 8.30, I sent them home at 8.40 and spent the next 15 minutes answering questions. Given that as soon as people sing they feel good, the euphoria was not just because of my teaching and empowering, I know that :-) Nevertheless extremely satisfying!!

Seven of the Hilda Ross Glee Club have expressed a desire to sing in the 8 - 80 concert, and the whole of the Vision Forest Lake Senior singers have done likewise. I have my 80 choir. Two days of auditions at Rotokauri Scholo resulted in 18 singers being selected, but at present it is almost all the young ones; 16 of them are aged 9 or younger, and the school has children up to the age of 12. I am back for a final audition time next Monday, then it will be preparation of music and CDs for them all to work on learning the music. I will be taking singing sessions with the children four or five times before the end of the year, working on vocal technique as well as learning the songs.

It is time to get back onto the retirement village companies about choirs for 2012. Watch this space.

8 - 80 Concert is on for 2012!!

It is now a fixture for the Hamilton Gardens Summer Arts festival. For the third year in a row, the 8 - 80 choirs will be performing. I have just sent a proposal to the Rotokauri School. Given my new status as self-employed, costs will need to be covered, so it will be interesting to see how they respond.

I intend to audition singers, and give them CDs and music to learn songs independently, before rehearsing every two weeks during the 4th term for 1 hr after school.

The Hilda Ross Glee Club are not yet aware of the approval for the concert, I will talk with them about that this coming week.

It is very exciting and also quite daunting as it involves a lot of work, but it is what I love doing, and showcases the amazing outcomes that are possible for both the children and the seniors

8 - 80 Showstoppers Concert videos now on Youtube!!

After quite a process, I have posted the songs to Youtube, and you can access them by clicking on this link

8 - 80 Videos

If your internet connection is slow, then let the clip download before you play it. I recommend the first song, and 'I'd do anything' sung to each other by the children and the women of the Glee Club.

Few of the songs are complete, I edited out the people who walked in front of the camera, and the section where a child at the feet of the person videoing, became voluble :-)

Women in Leadership presentation

I was invited to be a keynote speaker at a recent day-conference here at the University of Waikato. The topic for the conference was "Finding your voice".

I think that there was an expectation that I would give them a good singing session, to fire off the endorphins and give them a light vocal exercise to start the afternoon session. However I valued the opportunity too much to just do that, and talked about the use of voice and what effect it has on how we are perceived. I illustrated, gave them exercises to do, did some singing (good speaking voices use the resonation that is used in singing) and took questions. Along the way much laughter, especially at some of my demonstrations. This is strategic, learning is significantly more effective, when people are having fun. I left promptly to go and take a singing session with the Rest Home at Hilda Ross, and then returned to the conference.

Margaret Wilson (ex politician, and now law professor here at Waikato University) chaired the session, and shared stories of how she used her voice when speaker of the house, to keep order. In summing up at the end of the day, she enlarged on that, re-enforcing all that I had said and done. At the post conference drinks time there were many people who wanted to talk to me about working with them, their team etc. I have subsequently had an email from an Associate Dean to come and talk with engineering students about use of voice. Unfortunately I am not available any of the times mentioned, but this is a whole new area where I have future possibilities.

So many opportunities

I am now in negotiations with two retirement providers. I spoke with 60 final year MMP students (teacher trainees who do most of their study via the computer, but come on campus for block courses) yesterday about being available for: singing lessons, help with school choir, help with use of voice as teacher, face-to-face and via skype. I enjoyed socialising with them last night at the Sahara Tent, and had good conversations with interested students. My list of singing students for next year grows each month.

Today I go to speak at a Women in Leadership conference being held here at the University of Waikato. The Hilda Ross Glee Club is going to come and entertain at lunchtime, and then I am going to talk to the conference about use of voice, and I am sure the same things will come up with them as came up with the trainee teachers; how to preserve your voice, sound authoritative, affect display, and of course we will do some singing, because it will make them feeel good, and help them to remember my messages.

I am also going to talk with the professional studies people here in the Faculty of Education about me coming and guesting in one of the years of the student teacher's study, to give them these messages sooner. Anectodally, and from my own experience, so many of them do not understand how they sound, and how they can sound better, more effective, and be more aware of the tool that their use of voice is in the classroom.

Interview with Hilda Ross Manager

Today I went to interview the manager at Hilda Ross abut the Glee Club.

I asked her what she thought the effect of the Glee Club was in the village.

Her response was that she is fully supportive of the activity, and see the benefits to the participants as follows:

• Enjoyment is evident
  
• Companionship is apparent
  
• Health benefits (breathing, posture, brain function)
• A structured activity that they look forward to
• Cognitive skills are enhanced, through learning music (and the right-left brain effect of engaging actively in music making)
  
• The Hilda Ross Glee Club has a good profile in the wider Hamilton Community, which reflects well on the village
• The residents always greatly enjoy the Glee Club concerts.
  

Hilda Ross Glee Club winter concert

Yesterday 30 singers came to rehearse and then put on a 45 minute concert for their friends and family. It was the first time we have had 30 at a concert. Although there are 31 on the roll, there are always people away, on vacation, or at a funeral, or in hospital. This time they were all there which was great!

We were also able to sing some of our songs with parts of the Glee Club, so the men sang a song by themselves, and in another song they sang a verse by themselves. At the beginning of another song How are things in Glocca Morra two of the women sang the first phrase, and two other women sang the second phrase, and then all of the women joined in for the main part of the song; it was lovely.

Once again those listening said that they sounded better than last time, they are going from strength to strength. Their vocal range is increasing, the women can easily sing up to the G an octave and a half above middle c, (but not too often). Some tell me that they mouth when they think it is too high, but invariably they join in when they see the women sitting either side singing the higher notes.

Mike Downey, one of the residents, very kindly took multiple video clips of the concert, which will be used in my presentation to the CEO of Ryman.

Business proposal

I have just spent the weekend with a very helpful business consultant who has managed to direct me in the right ways to put a proposal to Ryman Healthcare, for them to take on my Glee Club model for their company and to roll it out into all of their villages.

My points of difference, and my data over the last four years are strong, comparing well with their current exercise programme called Triple A, and the business plan is that they pay for outcomes rather than taking me on staff. My consultant is also willing to accompany me to the presentation to Ryman CEO, when it is ready to go and I have the appointment. He has suggested that I need to make it by mid-September, so that it can go through the company's decision-making in time to commence in February 2011.

My current conundrum is that I think I am going to be working even more next year than I have this year, but it will all be my choice, and it will all be in areas where there is room for exponential growth. Is this truly a problem? I think not.

Btw my clever business consultant is my son Matthew, and he truly amazes me with his knowledge and and perception, both of my business, and business practice.

Matt Jackson

An amazing concert!!

Yesterday was the culmination of Project 1. The Hilda Ross Glee Club and the Rotokauri Tuis, performed together in the 8 - 80 concert as part of the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival. It was a very enjoyable event, as the audience swelled to nearly 500 people!! Given the venue, I am not sure how well the people at the back were able to hear the choirs, but the level of interest shown by the attendance is potentially indicative of people's interest in intergenerational activities.

Both choirs sang well, with one or two glitches, but they slid by with little notice. The technology worked on the whole, and we did manage to get them all together at the end of the concert. Our national anthem is sung in Maori and in English, and we used a backing track that had been prepared by our Ministry of Education for use in schools. Because there was about a 30-second haka in between the two versions of the anthem, the girls were able to come down off the stage and find their buddy and stand in front of them or on their chair, if the buddy was standing. The image above was taken during rehearsal. I was thrilled beyond words with the concert!!

So much to tell you.....

At the final combined rehearsal, it was hard to get to the singing. Just 13 of the Tuis arrived at the Hilda Ross complex, it is harder for them to get: transport, parents' permission, and time out of school. But the girls who were there made the most of it. They went and viewed one of the villas in the complex and one of the serviced apartments, to see how the Glee Club live. Then we rehearsed our combined pieces, to the delight of our fan club, which swelled for this practice. Manager of the complex, Wendy, came and saw what was happening with the combined group, and was instrumental in getting the head office to print us programmes, a total of 200, which I thought was optimistic :-)

I called in at the venue two days before the concert to see that the risers were there and where the power points were for the children's sound system, and for the keyboard for the Glee Club. To my dismay there was a flat stage, accessed by four steps at one side, which meant that having th Tuis move in with the Gee Club for some of their combined songs was no longer possible. In addition there was the problem of how they were to all be seen. It was one of those late-night light-bulb moments. I set up two rows of chairs on the stage area, and one row on the floor in front. The front row of girls on the floor stood on their chairs, the second row stood on the stage and the third row stood on their chairs. It all worked, except the back row was too far away from the middle row, so the chairs were turned around to back onto the middle row, the girls stood on these to sing, and then had to 'perch' when the Glee Club did their own items, They coped remarkably well!!

The Festival organiser Sarah Beattie, did a sterling job. Helping with setting up the staging for the two choirs and then setting out the audience chairs. I don't know how it happened, but as people arrived, more chairs arrived. The helpers at the Festival are mostly volunteers, and they were fantastic! Chairs set out, and then after the concert, the chairs were all stacked and put away again, probably within 30 minutes of the concert concluding.

This coming week I will hold three focus groups: with the Tuis, with the Glee Club, and with parents of the Tuis, to see what they have said at home about the experience. I have a sense of regret now that the performance has happened.

Ageing and Society Masters paper

I handed in my last assignment today, asking myself over the last week as I have struggled with it why I keep doing papers. But the answer is simple, and two-fold. I wanted the knowledge, and I wanted to be accountable for the knowledge I was gaining. I have been grateful to Professor Bevan Grant who has been my lecturer in this course, as well as my colleague for the last fourteen years, as well as to my classmates, Leslie, Doreen and Steffi. We have learnt much about each other, and about the subject from each other as well.

It has also been intersting to tell my students about my study, and model for them the lifelong learner that I believe I am. I will tell you my grade when it comes through as well :-)

My final project was a profile of a person over the age of seventy. I choose Jean, who has become my friend at the Hilda Ross Rest Home. Jean is a highly intelligent, highly articulate, highly opinionated woman, who holds interesting conversations and is still very much a master of her own destiny. Having some health problems she nevertheless considers herself to be in quite good health. She is an avid reader, of newspapers and books, and is now learning to use a computer for the first time in her life. She turns 90 in November.

I shall have to show Jean this website so that she can follow my blog from now on.

The beginning of 2009

After teaching a summer school course in applied music, and going to catch up with my youngest grandson in Australia, I met up with the Glee Club for the first time last week, with three new members, including another man! On my Australian trip I picked on a digital video camera, with an in-built 30GB hard drive, which I will be able to use to collect more video data to include in this year's presentations.

My first presentation is on March 5th in Tauranga to the Waikato/Bay of Plenty Retirement Villages Assn Manager's forum. This was set up by John Collyns who is the Director of Retirment Villages Association. He contacted me soon after the article appeared in INsite, and with his own long background in choral singing, asked me to present to this meeting. I will be taking two of the Glee Club members with me, along with video material of the group in rehearsal, and perhaps some comments from those who do not go this time. I am interviewing the manager of the Ryman Healthcare Hilda Ross complex next week (Feb 25th) and her responses will be part of my March presentation.

My next presentation is on April 30th here in Hamilton, to the local Gerontology group. In July I present to the National Music Educators' Conference in Christchurch. I have also been invited to write an article about the Glee Club, their growing reputation, and the recently released c.d. for New Zealand Association of Gerontology national newsletter.

The Glee Club has been invited to perform at another retirement complex in Hamilton, Allandale. We are invited to take our c.d. to sell to the audience. The year is getting more and more involved for the Glee Club. It is both exciting and challenging.