SCVA Newsletter (on-line version) - December 2010
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Message from the President - Rodger Guerrero
By the time this message is published, two fantastic SCVA-sponsored events, the
Fall In-Service and High School Honor Choirs will have already taken
place. Both events were meaningful,
highly successful, and well-received.
The Fall In-Service was the finest and most valuable I have attended in
ten years. Christine Tavares'
Improvisation Techniques for the Choral Classroom presentation was creative,
incredibly valuable and brilliantly presented.
Dr. Andrew Crane's ideas about What Matters Most in the Choral
Profession and The Choral Director as Voice Teacher were compelling and
applicable. And boy does his choir at
Cal State San Bernardino sing beautifully!
Linda Nason's Bernardo Yorba Middle School Vocal Ensemble and Ken Tuttle's
Redlands High School Chamber Singers both performed wonderfully and helped a
new group of prospective SCVA Festival adjudicators "pass the test." Jennifer Stanley regaled us with hysterical
stories from SCVA past and amazed us with actual programs and other documents
from SCVA's first ever choral festival.
Finally, Greg Ellis and Ron Soderwald conducted us through a sample of
new pieces which have recently been added to the SCVA Suggested Repertoire
Lists (check them out today at http://www.scvachoral.org/music.html). All in all, Past President Sheri Nelson did
a fantastic job in setting up the series of workshops, and Past President Mark
Henson and Secretary/Newsletter Editor Karen Bluel were the perfect hosts!
The Southern California High School Honor Choirs weekend at Santa Monica
H.S. is SCVA's largest, most attended, and perhaps most singularly spectacular
event. Some 270 high school vocalists representing over 80 high schools perform
in three awesome choirs. The venue is the best high school auditorium around.
The singers are talented, musical, vibrant, and spectacularly
well-prepared. The atmosphere is
raucous, almost as wild as a rock concert!
The music-making is first-rate, and the singers' experiences are
life-altering. There is not a dry eye
in the house after the Men's and Women's Choirs sing, and the Mixed Choir
always seems to bring the audience off of its collective feet. Tammi Alderman and John Hendricks have
perhaps the toughest, most complex job on the SCVA Board. Nobody does it better.
Both the Fall In-Service and High School Honor Choirs emanate from SCVA's
core philosophy: the advancement of vocal music at all grade levels in the
schools of Southern California. SCVA accomplishes its objective by: 1.
Defining standards of effective vocal music education; 2. Promoting projects
and activities which encourage and further choral music education at all grade
levels; 3. Supporting appropriate legislation at all levels of government which
affect vocal music education; 4. Communicating accomplishments of these objectives
to the profession and public through various media.
Fine professional music organizations abound in our part of the state. However, only SCVA sponsors activities which
are designed to address the specific needs of Southern California schools. At a time when funding is floundering,
scheduling is problematic, and choral music programs are diminishing, it is
imperative that SCVA continue to augment its advocacy of the choral art both by
word and by example. Times are hard for
choral directors, indeed, but SCVA is here to lend a helping hand.
If you have not renewed your membership, do so today (http://www.scvachoral.org/membership_reg.html)! If you missed the Fall In-Service and High School Honor Choirs, try one of these events on for size: Vocal Solo Competition, Diva Day, Young Men's Harmony Festival, Jazz Festival, Show Choir Festival, Junior High Honor Choir, or one of the myriad of SCVA High School Choral Festivals. Most importantly, be an active SCVA member for the betterment of your students. They are the "you" of tomorrow. SCVA will still be here to specifically serve them too.
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VOCAL SOLO COMPETITION - WE ARE ON OUR WAY - Dr. Rich Brunner, VP Vocal Solo Competition
Please look over the following information and note what has
changed. It is the hope of the Board
that these changes will broaden our understanding of the solo voice, help
foster a more inclusive and supportive atmosphere, and encourage those students
who, in the past, have viewed this competition as exclusive and unapproachable.
APPLY ON LINE BY DECEMBER 10, 2010
Please use the online application and note the following:
- Auditionees must be available for all
REQUIRED dates.
- Participation is open to students in
Jr. High/Middle School (grades 6-8) and High School (grades 9-12).
- Auditionees must be ACTIVE MEMBERS of
a school choral program. REMEMBER: our
goal is not only to support and encourage fine, young singers, but also to
enhance the quality of our choral programs through solo vocal education. Chorus membership must be confirmed by the
choral director.
- There is a non-refundable application
fee of $20.
- Applications must be accompanied by a
school check or money order payable to SCVA, or a SCVA e-Payment receipt. NO PERSONAL CHECKS or CASH.
- Directors must be current members of
SCVA.
PRELIMINARY PRACTICE SESSION SATURDAY, JANUARY 15th 12-4pm
Northern Practice Site: Oakwood School
11600 Magnolia Blvd.
North Hollywood, CA 91601
Site Host: Dr. Rich Brunner
rbrunner@oakwoodschool.org
Southern Practice Site: St.
Mark Presbyterian Church
2200 San Joaquin Hills Road
Newport Beach, CA
Site Host: Richard Messenger
http://stmarkpresbyterian.org
(for directions)
This is something new. AND it is
NOT MANDATORY! However, it seems
that a great number of students might benefit from having a chance to work
through their pieces in front of an audience of other singers and get some
preparatory suggestions from a voice teacher or coach. This will help ensure that students don't
have to perform for the first time at the Preliminary Auditions. And though it is encouraged that you bring
your own accompanist, there will be one on hand to help out, if needed.
PRELIMINARY AUDITION SESSION SATURDAY, JANUARY 22nd
Sites: Bell Gardens High School: CLOSED
Fullerton Union High School: CLOSED
Matilija Jr. High School, Ojai
Oakwood School, North Hollywood
Redlands High School, Redlands
San Diego School of Performing Arts, San Diego
Valencia High School, Valencia
Walnut High School, Walnut
The following regulations are still in place, with a few changes and
enhancements:
- Each auditionee will sing a
classical art song or aria.
- Selections should be appropriate to
the singer's age and experience level.
- NOTE: Teachers should be very careful
about choosing repertoire. We are not
looking to hear Verdi or Wagner arias by 15 year olds. There is a master class component, so LESS
IS MORE – no five-minute arias, please!
We are looking for fine singers with solid technique, not pyrotechnics
or hysterical over-singing.
- Each auditionee should provide a
skilled accompanist. If a singer has no
access to an accompanist or needs some guidance in finding one, please contact
me and we will try and work something out.
If needed, we will try and have someone available to play at each site.
- Each auditionee must stay for the
entire day of auditions. NO EXCEPTIONS.
- One or two Jr. High/Middle School
students, and between 2 and 3 High School students from each site may be chosen
to participate in the Final Concert Performance.
FINAL COMPETITION AND CONCERT PERFORMANCE SATURDAY, MARCH 19th 7pm
On March 19th, all of the students chosen to move on from the preliminary
rounds will present a concert of their songs and arias. During the concert-style performance, each
student will be adjudicated. While the
scores are being tabulated to award the one Jr. High/Middle School winner and
the six High School winners, some promising young college singers will delight
us with their vocal acumen. The evening
will end with the awards ceremony and a short reception.
Any questions, thoughts or comments please contact Dr. Rich Brunner, VP
Vocal Solo Competition at rbrunner@oakwoodschool.org
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Junior High Honor Choir – Vanessa Ventre, VP – Junior High Honor
Choir
Dear Colleagues, Students, and Parents,
The Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) has been hosting the Junior
High Honor Choir for a number of years.
Membership in this prestigious choir is open to students who are
enrolled in their school choir and are currently in 6th, 7th, 8th, or 9th
grade. High school BOYS in 9th grade
are especially needed for a solid bass/baritone section. As its name implies, this is an HONOR CHOIR
and we are looking for the best and brightest singers in Southern California
who are responsible and dedicated.
I am pleased to announce that the director for this year's Junior High Honor
Choir is Mr. Lou De La Rosa, Director of Choral and Vocal activities at West
Valley College. Mr. De La Rosa has been
a guest conductor for CMEA and we are fortunate to have him conduct this year's
SCVA Junior High Honor Choir! This is
going to be a wonderful experience for your students and I hope that you'll
encourage ALL of your best singers to audition for this year's Honor Choir.
AUDITION INFORMATION:
Membership in the Junior High Honor Choir is based on a successful
audition. Singers must be able to
demonstrate that they can perform the following:
1. Sing a major scale up and down (a cappella)
2. Sing a major triad and a minor triad (a cappella)
3. Sing an octave (a cappella)
4. Sight read one melodic and one rhythmic example
5. Sing tonal memory patterns
6. Sing "America" / "My Country ‘Tis of Thee" (a cappella)
You will need to go onto the www.scvachoral.org website to fill out the
Honor Choir application and register for an audition day and time. There is a $5 audition fee. The easiest way to pay is using PayPal,
through our website, but you can also pay with a school booster check or money order. NO personal checks will be accepted!
Registration and payment must be completed and received by January 7th. The web application will close itself
automatically, so please make sure you register early. Audition assignments (location and times)
will be posted on the website by January 14th.
AUDITION SITES AND DATES:
SATURDAY JANUARY 29
Lincoln Middle School-Santa Monica
Arlington High School-Riverside
Bernardo Yorba Middle School-Yorba Linda
Manhattan Beach Middle School-Manhattan Beach
SATURDAY FEBRUARY 5
Mesa Robles Middle School-Hacienda Heights
McFadden Intermediate School-Santa Ana
*If you are interested in helping to adjudicate please contact me ASAP!!
Results will be posted on the SCVA website by FEBRUARY 18. Please note that there will be a
Participation Fee to help pay for your music, the conductor, accompanist, and
other expenses.
PARENTS: We have made every attempt
to make the Honor Choir rehearsals as "driver friendly" as
possible. This year there will be only
TWO rehearsals and one of them should be close to your area. We depend on your commitment to these two
rehearsals so that we are able to have a successful performance.
Students who do not attend one of the regional rehearsals will be removed
from the Honor Choir.
REGIONAL REHEARSAL (attend ONE near you)
- March 19 @ John Adams MS from
9:00 AM to NOON (2425 16th St., Santa Monica 90405)
- March 26 @ Mesa Robles MS from 9:00
AM to NOON (16060 Mesa Robles Dr., Hacienda Heights 91745)
APRIL 30th - FINAL REHEARSAL AND
PERFORMANCE
You MUST also attend the all-day rehearsal on APRIL 30th. The sessions will be from 9:00 – Noon and
from 2:00 – 5:00 pm. The Honor Choir
Concert is at 7pm that evening. Both
the all-day rehearsal and performance will be held at Lincoln Middle School in
Santa Monica. Students will be asked to bring a sack lunch from home that
day. SCVA will host dinner and snacks
for the singers.
STUDENTS: If chosen for the SCVA
Junior High Honor Choir, I agree to:
1. Attend and be on time for ONE Regional Rehearsal
2. Attend and be on time for the April 30th Rehearsal with Mr. De La Rosa
3. Be fully prepared with my music MEMORIZED for the April 30th rehearsal
4. Be polite and respectful toward everyone associated with the Honor Choir
If you have any further questions or concerns, please don't hesitate to
contact me.
Vanessa Ventre: vventre@smmusd.org /
310-393-9227 ext 73156
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ONLINE FESTIVAL REGISTRATION JUST A CLICK AWAY!
Jennifer Stanley, VP of High School Festivals, and Maria Fritts, VP of
Middle School/Junior High Festivals
WHY ATTEND A CHORAL FESTIVAL?
As music educators, we are in a very unique position for assessment
because of festivals. No other
discipline allows teachers to have their students assessed by experts in their
field and receive instant feedback.
Choral directors who attend festivals have positive experiences with
adjudicators who understand their teaching situations, and the adjudicators
actively work to reinforce their teaching.
Attending festivals is an excellent way to expose your students to great
choral literature, and for them to see other students working on the same
choral concepts you are teaching. Since
it is a positive experience for everyone involved, make sure that you attend a
choral festival this year! Many thanks
to our volunteer festival hosts for hosting 48 SCVA festivals in 2011!
APPLY EARLY FOR MOST FESTIVAL AVAILABILITY. Festival
availability is updated in real time. As soon as a festival is full, it will be
closed on the website. Each choir is
limited to one festival per season; please do not bring more than two choirs to
one festival. The registration deadline is March 1, 2011, and late
registrations will not be accepted.
Please check your school's testing schedule and spring break when
scheduling your festival. Please note
the location of your festival so you can begin planning for
transportation. We can't process your
registration unless you are a current member of SCVA; if your membership is not
current, please purchase it online or add $35 to your check amount.
YOUR FESTIVAL REGISTRATION WILL NOT BE COMPLETED UNTIL PAYMENT IS
RECEIVED. When you apply online, you will receive an email confirming
your initial registration. This email
will include the amount due ($75 for MS/JHS and HS choirs) and you can use this
email as an invoice to request a school check.
A faster way to guarantee your registration is to use PayPal on the SCVA
website. IF PAYMENT IS NOT RECEIVED WITHIN 30 DAYS OF YOUR INITIAL
REGISTRATION, YOUR REGISTRATION WILL BE CANCELLED.
Click here to view all of the Festivals.
For more information, contact Maria Fritts at mfritts@temeculaprep.com or (951)
926-6776; contact Jennifer Stanley at jstanley@emuhsd.k12.ca.us
or (626) 258-5292.
MORE FESTIVAL INFO ONLINE!
- Festival Schedule
- Online Festival Registration Form
- PayPal system for online payment of
festival fees and membership dues
- Festival Adjudication Form
- Adjudication Scoring Scale
- Festival Code of Conduct
- Festival Listening Guide
- Festival Host Guide
- A History of SCVA Festivals
- List of Recommended Choral Literature
(with new literature added this year!)
- Festival Music Suggestion Form (for
additions to List of Recommended Choral Literature)
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Young Women's and Young Men's Harmony Festivals - Mark Freedkin,
VP - Barbershop Harmony Festivals
This year's Barbershop Harmony Festivals for Young Women and Young Men
are filling up, but we can still accommodate additional singers who wish to
participate. Both events will be held
at the Robert B. Moore Theater on the campus of Orange Coast College in Costa
Mesa. The 6th annual "Diva Day"
Young Women in Harmony Festival, sponsored by the Harborlites Chorus, will be
held on Saturday, February 5, and the 11th annual "Young Men's Harmony
Festival" will be held on Saturday, February 12, sponsored by the Masters
of Harmony. Both of these events will
provide a unique musical opportunity for your singers and will provide a
positive boost to your choral music program.
Each event will consist of morning and afternoon clinics and rehearsals,
followed by a public performance in the evening with the respective adult
choruses. There will also be a clinic
for music educators who would like to participate in a hands-on demonstration
of how the barbershop style is taught and how it can be used to attract more
young men and women into your program.
Although the early-registration deadline has passed, the application fee is
still only $25 per singer. The
sponsoring choruses will cover the remaining costs for all sheet music,
practice CDs, rehearsal facilities, guest clinicians and performance costumes.
Each singer will receive a commemorative t-shirt. We will also provide lunch
and dinner for the singers, choral directors and any adult chaperones
accompanying the singers.
Please download and print the appropriate application forms from the SCVA website. Complete and return the applications and forms, along with payment by cash, check or money order payable to Harborlites (for Diva Day) or Masters of Harmony (for the Young Men's Festival). Each event will be limited to a maximum of 250 participants, so be sure to submit your applications early. Note that these festivals are separate events, and you must send the appropriate forms and payments to the proper recipient.
Young Women's Festival Only:
In order to accommodate more schools, we are limiting the number of singers
per school to twelve (12). Ideally we suggest 1-2 tenors, 3-4 leads, 2-3
baritones, and 3-4 basses. This will allow you to perform the music as a group
and use this group to help your other students learn the joy of singing
four-part harmony, barbershop style. Send applications for all students you
wish to participate, indicating those students beyond the initial 12 that you
wish to put on the Waiting List. We will try to accommodate as many as we can.
Young Men's Festival Only:
There is no limit to the number of singers from your school who wish to
participate, but please submit your applications early to ensure that all of
your singers can be accommodated. We also request that you select your better
singers to help maximize the musical quality of the event.
We look forward to receiving your applications. Please contact us if you have any questions about our festivals.
"Diva Day" (Young Women's Festival) Young Men's Harmony Festival
Karen Ridout Mark
Freedkin
Harborlites Chorus Masters
of Harmony
Home: (714) 847-0787 Home:
(949) 559-9621
Cell: (714) 319-2325 Cell:
(714) 357-1187
E-mail: kridout@socal.rr.com E-mail: mfreedkin@yahoo.com
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SCVA Vocal Jazz Festival – Christine Tavares, VP – Jazz Choirs
Tuesday March 8th, 2011
Include your students in an incredible day of learning and growth in Jazz!
With Guest Artists from Audio Radiance
South Western Community College
Jason Smith, Director
You may choose to have your performance scored (Superior, Excellent, Good).
Note: This festival is not a ranked/placement festival. It is adjudicated on
the same basis as all SCVA festivals.
At 7pm, Audio Radiance will close the evening with their performance!
This will be a great gathering of vocal jazz students and teachers throughout
Southern California. For those
participating in competitions later in the school semester, students will also
get great exposure and coaching from our very experienced clinicians.
Applications are being accepted now, space is limited so do not delay! If you
have any questions please email me at cenns@hartdistrict.org.
Please put this date on your
calendar!!! The festival is open to all
levels, novice through advanced. The
fee is only $150.
Location: Valencia High
School, 27801 N. Dickason Dr. Valencia,
Ca. 91355
Time: 1:30pm – 6:30pm with concert beginning at 7pm (may change
slightly based on the number of groups attending)
Equipment: 16 microphones Provided: Piano,
Bass Amp
Cost: $150 per group: Includes evening concert with Audio
Radiance!
Application Deadline: February 11, 2011
Application is now available on
the SCVA website.
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AN SCVA HISTORY QUIZ – THE ANSWERS!
Each quote on the left is
directly across from its source and author on the right.
|
"You have sensed, as I have, the evident need of such an organization [as SCVA], where instructors in the vocal field may meet…for round table discussions and demonstrations of practical problems concerning…the choir." |
Ralph Peterson founded SCVA in 1939, and served as the first president 1939-41. Excerpt from letter inviting choral directors to the first meeting of the new SCVA. He was choral director at LA City College (1935-65). |
|
"We have music on our side to inspire and guide us. The approach must be to focus on the students…with the music acting as a means...to help them develop a sense of fulfillment and importance." |
Howard Swan's opening comments as conductor of the 1978 SCVA Honor Choir. He was discussing the challenges faced by the Occidental College Music Dept during WWII, and ways these experiences could assist music teachers after Prop 13. |
|
"California is known to have had music in the schools as far back as 1849. [In] 1920, the State Board called a meeting of the leading music teachers… ‘Standards' and ‘efficiency' were the chief concerns of educators…Note reading and the curing of monotones were the leading topics at the meetings." |
Halstead McCormac, SCVA President (1949-53). His master's thesis A History of the Southern California Vocal Association and its Choral Festivals was completed at USC in 1963. Mr. McCormac was director of choral and instrumental music at San Gabriel HS. |
|
"…Education in general, and we as choral directors in particular, are in the throes of difficult and negatively charged times...This is not the first crisis to arise in education… I am convinced that life is structured in such a way that both positive and negative experiences are necessary to provide the sense of ongoing purpose and vitality that we all seek." |
Donnelly M. Fenn, SCVA President (1978-80), SCVA Newsletter, April 1979. Mr. Fenn was choral director at West HS in Torrance (1962-84). This excerpt is from his President's column discussing the effects of Prop 13 on school choral programs. |
|
"...the music educator is concerned with the world of inner space: the development of man's resources within himself, the enlargement of his aesthetic and spiritual nature, and the release of his creative and imaginative powers." |
Jane Skinner (Hardester)'s master's thesis A Suggested Vocal Music Program for High Schools with Special Reference to El Monte High School, USC, 1959. Jane Skinner served on the SCVA board while she was choral director at El Monte HS in the 1950s. She then became choral director at El Camino College. |
|
"Never in the history of school music have music educators faced more serious problems, or been blessed with richer opportunities than at the present time." |
Dr. Louis Woodson Curtis, Director of Music, Los Angeles City Schools. Article in the April 1943 SCVA newsletter encouraging choral directors to pursue alternatives to SCVA choral festivals which were cancelled due to WWII restrictions on travel and electricity use. The first SCVA meeting was held in Dr. Curtis' office on December 17, 1938. He also served as MENC President, 1938-40. |
|
"We hope you will not conduct a chorus unless you cannot be happy without it. It is one of the most soul-satisfying, exasperating, exhilarating, discour-aging, thrilling experiences that a musician who loves choral music and students can have." |
Max T. Krone, The Chorus and Its Conductor. Dr. Krone was music professor and Dean of Fine Arts at USC (1939-68). He adjudicated the first SCVA festival in April 1940 at Occidental College; the other adjudicators were Howard Swan and Mae Nightingale. |
SCVA has overcome many challenges in its 71 year history, and I hope you
see connections between
these challenges of the past and those of the present. The network of support
provided by SCVA helps
us to find encouragement and wisdom from our past and present members. JS
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Other Important Information
On-Line SCVA Membership Application
California All-State Music Education Conference
Calendar of Events