Hi All,
As managing editor for news, I live in a kind of time warp much of the time. This week is a good example. I began work on news for the May issue of Music Educators Journal in early March and final tweaks for the magazine took place this week
The May issue was about to go to the printer, but in my world it was time to ready April Teaching Music news for online posting. If you are a member, the magazine probably arrived in recent days. You may have the April issue sitting on your desk or tucked away in a tote bag to read. An alternate-universe version I created for the Web site will pop up the MENC site soon.
Preparing print stories for use online is a little like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. This text fits there; those photos go there. I update and add information to stories, add to stories , add more photos. Then I hand all of that over to a very skilled colleague for the html coding. You will see it on the MENC Web site soon, thanks to DP’s hard work. The March news is still online as I post this. Click www.menc.org/news for March news that is now up, and the April news that will follow come.
Anyway, back to my time warp (Hey, any Rocky Horror fans out there? Yeesh, I am dating myself. Actually, my grandparents told me about it when I was a kid)
One of my favorite news photos in April TM is one I actually shot last July when the week long GAMA/NAMM/MENC guitar workshops were held at our offices here in Reston.
When I see the photo, I recall how much was fun it was having the music teachers at the Reston headquarters for a week. The teachers told me they enjoyed the learning process and interacting with peers. By the end of the week they sounded pretty good. I took the photo above at the final day “recital.” I enjoyed meeting several music teachers, all of whom are members.
I enjoy my blogging. And maybe it is just because I am posting, but it seems as if nearly everyone I talked with in the past week had some kind of music-related story to tell me.
Here is just one. I visited a friend in the hospital last weekend and she described how a patient in a nearby room routinely broke into song. After a tune or two, he would ask for chocolate pudding and one of the nurses would bring it. I will have to remember that little gambit the next time I have to don a drafty hospital gown. I love pudding.
That little slice of life reminded me of a vacation several years ago when my husband and I rented a Left Bank apartment in Paris for a couple of weeks. (Cheaper than a hotel and close to the Metro) We found ourselves falling into a rather pleasant morning routine. I would make coffee and he would go to the nearby patisserie for croissants and once we settled in at the kitchen table with newspapers, somewhere in the building an opera singer would begin rehearsing. First scales, then an aria or two.
Now, I am not exactly huge opera fan. However, there was something glorious about sitting there while this melodic voice drifted down the stairwell from a floor or two above us. For us, the daily recitals were as much a part of our trip as a day at the Louvre or our trek to Versailles.
I guess what I am trying to say is, music is such a wonderfully portable art form, one that is easily shared in unexpected places. As much as I love art, I don’t carry framed prints around with me on the subway to admire. I seldom go without my iPod Shuffle, though.
And I love to dance, but an airplane aisle leaves you no place to practice the two-step or encourage others to join you in the Electric Slide. On the other hand you can fly from Virginia to Kansas listening to Macy Gray www.imdb.com/name/nm0004975/ or Harry Connick Jr.,/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001065/ as I did recently to attend the KMEA conference.
On a closing note: Did you get a chance to listen to the March 24th “Weekend Eddition Saturday” on National Public Radio? It included a follow-up story about the Bentonville, Arkansas, choir, which performed at Carnegie Hall’s National High School Choral Festival? The group was one of four choirs chosen to sing at the March 19 festival.
I included the link for previous Bentonville story in my first “Interlude” last week. Scroll down.
For the follow-up story, click on the link below and you can hear the Bentonville High School Chamber Choir singing "Psalm 96" by Jan Sweelinck and "Worthy to be Praised" by Byron Smith at Carnegie Hall. Click for some stunning music
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9109686
You will also hear an interview with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Craig Jessop, who discusses why he helped create the festival, “making it about the music, not competition,” and how the young singers thrived on the strenuous rehearsals. NPR reporter Jeffrey Lunden also includes an interview with MENC Member Terry Hicks, who directs the Bentonville choir.
Around the Water Cooler:
How do your colleagues feel about American Idol? At MENC, the show counts both rabid fans and those who are utterly disinterested. I guess you’ve figured out I’m a fan. Starting to love Jordan, both her voice and her winning personality.
Many of us, though, were we excited when New Jersey music teacher Anwar Robinson made it to seventh place in Idol’s season four. Remember the velvety voice, the cascades of long braids and the shy smile? That's Anwar.
Curious about his career? Click here http://www.anwarrobinsonfansite.com/ for an update that includes concert dates and clips of his music.
See you next Thursday
RF
As managing editor for news, I live in a kind of time warp much of the time. This week is a good example. I began work on news for the May issue of Music Educators Journal in early March and final tweaks for the magazine took place this week
The May issue was about to go to the printer, but in my world it was time to ready April Teaching Music news for online posting. If you are a member, the magazine probably arrived in recent days. You may have the April issue sitting on your desk or tucked away in a tote bag to read. An alternate-universe version I created for the Web site will pop up the MENC site soon.
Preparing print stories for use online is a little like putting together a jigsaw puzzle. This text fits there; those photos go there. I update and add information to stories, add to stories , add more photos. Then I hand all of that over to a very skilled colleague for the html coding. You will see it on the MENC Web site soon, thanks to DP’s hard work. The March news is still online as I post this. Click www.menc.org/news for March news that is now up, and the April news that will follow come.
Anyway, back to my time warp (Hey, any Rocky Horror fans out there? Yeesh, I am dating myself. Actually, my grandparents told me about it when I was a kid)
One of my favorite news photos in April TM is one I actually shot last July when the week long GAMA/NAMM/MENC guitar workshops were held at our offices here in Reston.
When I see the photo, I recall how much was fun it was having the music teachers at the Reston headquarters for a week. The teachers told me they enjoyed the learning process and interacting with peers. By the end of the week they sounded pretty good. I took the photo above at the final day “recital.” I enjoyed meeting several music teachers, all of whom are members.I enjoy my blogging. And maybe it is just because I am posting, but it seems as if nearly everyone I talked with in the past week had some kind of music-related story to tell me.
Here is just one. I visited a friend in the hospital last weekend and she described how a patient in a nearby room routinely broke into song. After a tune or two, he would ask for chocolate pudding and one of the nurses would bring it. I will have to remember that little gambit the next time I have to don a drafty hospital gown. I love pudding.
That little slice of life reminded me of a vacation several years ago when my husband and I rented a Left Bank apartment in Paris for a couple of weeks. (Cheaper than a hotel and close to the Metro) We found ourselves falling into a rather pleasant morning routine. I would make coffee and he would go to the nearby patisserie for croissants and once we settled in at the kitchen table with newspapers, somewhere in the building an opera singer would begin rehearsing. First scales, then an aria or two.
Now, I am not exactly huge opera fan. However, there was something glorious about sitting there while this melodic voice drifted down the stairwell from a floor or two above us. For us, the daily recitals were as much a part of our trip as a day at the Louvre or our trek to Versailles.
I guess what I am trying to say is, music is such a wonderfully portable art form, one that is easily shared in unexpected places. As much as I love art, I don’t carry framed prints around with me on the subway to admire. I seldom go without my iPod Shuffle, though.
And I love to dance, but an airplane aisle leaves you no place to practice the two-step or encourage others to join you in the Electric Slide. On the other hand you can fly from Virginia to Kansas listening to Macy Gray www.imdb.com/name/nm0004975/ or Harry Connick Jr.,/http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001065/ as I did recently to attend the KMEA conference.
On a closing note: Did you get a chance to listen to the March 24th “Weekend Eddition Saturday” on National Public Radio? It included a follow-up story about the Bentonville, Arkansas, choir, which performed at Carnegie Hall’s National High School Choral Festival? The group was one of four choirs chosen to sing at the March 19 festival.
I included the link for previous Bentonville story in my first “Interlude” last week. Scroll down.
For the follow-up story, click on the link below and you can hear the Bentonville High School Chamber Choir singing "Psalm 96" by Jan Sweelinck and "Worthy to be Praised" by Byron Smith at Carnegie Hall. Click for some stunning music
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9109686
You will also hear an interview with the Mormon Tabernacle Choir’s Craig Jessop, who discusses why he helped create the festival, “making it about the music, not competition,” and how the young singers thrived on the strenuous rehearsals. NPR reporter Jeffrey Lunden also includes an interview with MENC Member Terry Hicks, who directs the Bentonville choir.
Around the Water Cooler:
How do your colleagues feel about American Idol? At MENC, the show counts both rabid fans and those who are utterly disinterested. I guess you’ve figured out I’m a fan. Starting to love Jordan, both her voice and her winning personality.
Many of us, though, were we excited when New Jersey music teacher Anwar Robinson made it to seventh place in Idol’s season four. Remember the velvety voice, the cascades of long braids and the shy smile? That's Anwar.
Curious about his career? Click here http://www.anwarrobinsonfansite.com/ for an update that includes concert dates and clips of his music.
See you next Thursday
RF
