Tuesday November 8th

My days are filling up.
On Thursday October 27th I started a 7-week singing workshop, through Continuing Education at The University of Waikato, using my old classroom. It is the first workshop I have run since 2005, prior to which I ran them annually. The demand disappeared, but this workshop series came because of requests to work with me, which is pleasing. Now a workshop is being planned for Tauranga, at the beginning of 2012

At the second workshop last week, I had one of those events which I value greatly, because of its effect. One of the women hardly sang. At the end of session, I asked her to stay, she said it wasn't important, I told her it was why I was here, and because she had enrolled in the w'shop it WAS important. Once again, a thoughtless teacher, decades ago told her that she couldn't sing. I showed her what she could do, and gave her the exercise to 'exorcize' that strong memory. The exercise is to sing 'you were wrong, you stole my voice, and now I am taking it back', to any made-up tune. I did this with her, and she sang more and more strongly back to me.

The Hamilton Chorale are enjoying the songs that I have composed which they are singing. Unsolicited comments in Facebook include: "I really like your compositions for our Hamilton Chorale to sing in these upcoming concerts. I am enjoying practising them at home.", "I am enjoying them too - the tunes keep going round and round in my head when I am not thinking about them!" I played them to my 32-yr-old son and he laughed, said he was surprised at the content, but loved it. Tomorrow night I will ask the choir for permission to video the Sunday performance of the pieces, so that I can post them on Youtube, and then sent the site to my USA contacts.

I have a contact who is going to take my skype singing proposal to the national managers meeting for REAP. Barry was a co-teacher with me at Tauhara College (1985 - 1992), so he can also speak personally about me, and my teaching and musicality.

This week I will finalise all of the music for the 8 - 80 concert for the Hamilton Gardens Arts Festival 2012. I have auditioned, and had the first rehearsal with the children. Today I will finish recording the songs for the '80' singers to have on c.d. to practice, and tomorrow I should receive the disc for the children's songs, and will do the same for them. Today and also tomorrow I want also to sort out who sings what in the combined songs and get that into a score for both of the groups.

When I want a break from that, I will record some backing tracks for my skype students (from last night's teaching) to practice along to :-)

Celebrating Age Singing Group

On September 10th a new singing group will be starting, based at the Celebrating Age Centre on Victoria Street in Hamilton, New Zealand. I cannot tell you what it will be called as the participants will decide that. They will also decide what style of music they will sing, and how they will be accompanied. The only conditions are that they are at least 60 years of age, and that they want to sing, whether they think they can or not. I also hope that the group will take themselves, i.e. leadership will come from within the group. I want to have a mentoring role, and also be able to research the group.

This morning (and yesterday morning) at 7:30 a.m. I met with a group of nearly 30 of our MMP students here at the University (mixed media presentation).(there are 126 in the whole group) They do most of their learning via computer, and are here on campus this week for an arts intensive, with lessons in dance, drama music and visual art for 6 hrs for each Arts discipline. This singing session was added on to an already full programme, but they came!

Last time they were on campus I had some voluntary singing sessions with the whole group, and got the message that some lacked either confidence, or thought that they could not sing. These students, who self-selected, made up this morning group. Do I need to write that of course they can sing, and they did sing, and as a group made a really nice sound. Average age probably late 30s. Two 25-minute sessions will not change decades of lack of self belief in singing ability, but they have started, and they have heard what they can do. It is certain that everybody can sing!! I do not mean singing solos, in the same way that if you can write you don't have to write novels or poems. The new group at Celebrating Age will be founded on that knowledge.

Hilda Ross Glee Club Spring Concert

This post comes with the ongoing euphoric feeling all performers experience, that comes with a performance. I have no doubt that the singers from today will be feeling it for the rest of the day. Today The Glee Club performed in front of their peers, and invited guests, an audience of 79, where extra chairs had to be put out three times!!

The seventeen women and men of the Glee Club sang well, their words were clear, their voices were strong, and the part singing was secure and most enjoyable in four of the songs that we performed.

A year ago there were twelve singers, and part work was not part of public performance. The repertoire of songs has also changed. Last year they were the songs that I considered might be old favourites, such as 'My grandfather's clock' 'Edelweiss' 'By the light of the silvery moon'. Today's concert included two ABBA songs, Mozart's Horn concerto with words by Flanders and Swann, and a song prepared for one singer's 90th birthday earlier this year: 'It is no secret', sung in three parts. I mentioned in another post that I have an expectation of improved singing technique and growing complexity of music in those groups with whom I work, and this group has shown the evidence of this expectation emphatically today.

The Glee Club is going to make a recording in early December, and today I was asked by members of the audience if the disc would be for sale... is this the beginning of a new journey for the Hilda Ross Glee Club? Rest assured I will keep you informed!

I have now seen the movie young@heart

I attended a showing of this movie last evening, and firstly let me say that I really enjoyed the movie. The absolute ebullience of the participant singers cannot be understated. Their enjoyment of the camaraderie, the performances, and the learning new things was refreshing and a joy to see, but not surprising for me, having seen such enthusiasm among the Glee Club, the Rest Home Singers and the Hamilton Chorale, with whom I work.

The videos that were designed for certain songs, using the participant singers, were very clever and entertaining: from the bowling alley to the fairground. Their team of instrumentalists is also fantastic, and give great support to the singers and the shows. Instrumentalists are part of the choir community rather than session musician brought in, the movie had an elderly violinist. The movie music track was, for me at times, too intrusive in the setting of mood for what purported to be a documentary.

What is also apparent from their website is that they have been producing shows since their second year of the formation of the group from members of an elderly housing project called the Walter Salvo house in Northampton, Massachusetts. New members have been attracted to the group as they have presented sell-out performances, initially in their own town and then in other towns and countries. They were linked early on to the No Theater and their expertise to put on that first show, and from there it grew 'like topsy' The story is delightful.

The young@heart story

A very moving event was the choir's performance at the local jail, where approx 40 men were being held in a minimum security setting. There were very real bonding moments between the two groups, instant grandparents for many of the men.

I note also that there is a big time commitment to this group, with 2-3 hr rehearsal once a week and three rehearsals a week when a show date is close, along with rehearsing at home with discs to learn the music off by heart. The final product is very entertaining, and very American.

The Choir of Unheard Voices

This is a wonderful interview with singers and the conductor of a choir in northern Australia. Thank you to friend Brian Livings in Sydney for sending this site to me. While the singing is 'unique' as far as best practice is concerned, it is great to hear what the participants say, and what singing is doing for people in a different context. I wonder if this choir in a year's time will still be singing with 'flexible' intonation. If so I would see that as unfortunate. I have personally found that, in every setting, singers can improve. It's a bit like riding a bike, you keep doing it, you get better.

The Choir of Unheard Voices

Text from the above website:

Singing for Soul

Using the regional arts development fund given by the Mackay Regional Council the Mental Illness Fellowship of North Queensland have set up a unique way to cope with mental illness.

Known as 'The Choir of Unheard Voices' ABC reporter Daniel Hamilton went along to find out about the power of music.

The Hamilton Chorale joins my research

I have been conductor of the Hamilton Chorale now for nearly two years, a community-based non-auditioned adult choir. In looking at my new direction I examined where this fitted in. In fact there is a good synergy, because many of the choir members are retired, and I know there is at least one 80-yr-old. I think that they have become used to my expectations and it will be interesting to compare and contrast the fully independent Chorale members and the Glee Club members; their motivations, their back stories and what singing in a choir does for them. In addition I want to contact the people who have left the Chorale recently, to hear their story.