Teen Workshop at Smith

I haven't written for a long while. Writer's block, depression, disenchantment with blogging? All of the above most likely. My blog got me into trouble because I wrote something I thought was complimentary about another teacher at the college where I used to teach. And I am writing the words "used to teach" as a result of the maestrom of bad feeling that ensued. I love college teaching, and I am in mourning for my position. I got a little classroom teaching fix this past weekend at the Western Wind workshop at Smith College. I have been facilitating at these workshops for nine years. But this time I got to work with our teenage participants, which is a whole different feeling from a regular workshop group.

Our focus is on forming amateur singers into small ensembles and showing them how to work on their own, without conducting. The teens (seven girls and a boy with a changing voice -- what a good sport he was!) need a different level of involvement, and I was pretty much as happy as a clam working with them. OK, a clam who spent all weekend explaining things! Together we learned:

Alleluia ( a canon by Boyce)
Erev shel shoshanim (Israeli song, arranged by me)
Sigh no more, ladies (R.J.S. Stevens)
Lidia spina del mio core (Monteverdi)

At the seminar Saturday night I had my colleagues Laura and Michele hover behind to prop up the kids when they strayed from the key -- which wasn't too often. By Sunday's concert they were pretty much getting it on their own. The work was hard and repetitive but the results were rewarding.

Karma Balance

I got two emails in a row. One was a rejection for a conducting job I had applied for. The other was this (identifying info deleted):

"Hi, Richard! I'm in [name of hospital] with my Grandma [xxx], who studied organ in Julliard before leaving to work in intelligence in WWII. Afterwards, she was a piano teacher and church organist - classical music always playing in the background of her life. A couple of days ago, she started to hum and then sing the lyrics for Kashmiri Song and I'll sing These (sic) Songs of Araby, that she recalled from her 8th grade graduation. (Amazing, isn't she?) Anyway, I did an itunes search and found these songs on your album and we have been truly enjoying them. Just wanted to let you know and thank you for your contribution to her comfort during this time in her life. All the best on your life and your career!"

Measured in pure money the tradeoff is dire -- I did not get a steady part time gig with an income in the low five figures while bringing in exactly $1.98 in mp3 sales. But measured another way it felt glowingly good.