PD Vocal Curriculum and Music Theory Program
Vocal Curriculum Goals - All Choirs
Breathing
- Posture: to develop proper posture for singing through exercises involving physical conditioning, active body positioning, and mental alertness.
- Breath: to develop the cycle of inhalation-exhalation through exercises involving active use of the major breathing muscles.
- Breath support: to develop the coordination to create an energized air column and control of the exhaled breath when applied to vocal production.
- Registration: to develop a healthily-produced lower voice, a free upper voice, and a gradually sophisticated blending of both.
- Freedom: to develop the technique of singing with an open throat, with vertical mouth opening, unhinged jaw (down and back), and relaxed and forward tongue.
- Resonance: to develop techniques of enhancement of vocal resonance, including spatial awareness, focus, and projection of the voice.
- Uniform vowel colors: to develop the five Latin vowels as the basis of true legato singing.
Objectives by Participation Level
- align and prepare the body as an instrument for singing for both sitting and standing positions, and with increased freedom of expression.
- demonstrate a deep-breathing motion.
- demonstrate increased awareness of breath support and control of the breath stream as a continuous flow of air.
- sing with increasingly balanced resonance and support throughout a gradually increasing vocal range.
- demonstrate correct mouth opening (vertical), jaw (unhinged), and tongue (relaxed and forward) positions while singing the five Latin vowels.
By the completion of Ensemble/Ecco/Ancora, students should be able to do the following:
- align and prepare the body as an instrument for singing, and with increased awareness of choral performance as an art of communication.
- demonstrate consistent awareness of deep-breathing motion needed for singing.
- demonstrate increased awareness of breath support as the beginning of a true legato line, allowing the presence of vibrato as an outcome of freedom of production.
- demonstrate an extended vocal range, developing agility and sustained singing.
- demonstrate the skill of a correct vocal attack.
- demonstrate the beginning of the skill of performing a “messa di voce”.
- sing with a consistently open, unconstricted throat, unhinged jaw (back and down), and relaxed and forward tongue throughout the range.
Music Theory
The study of music theory enhances all areas of a young person’s music education. However, music theory is a very complex study of language, mathematical relationships, acoustics, and ear training. While theory is important and a mastery of certain concepts is necessary for advancement and promotion, students should recognize that each one of them will progress in their own understanding, at their own rate. The theory program generally is designed to complement a young singer’s overall musical development and to enhance understanding of the repertoire.
All singers in the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir learn musicianship and theory in conjunction with studying new repertoire. During rehearsals they practice music skill building and ear training. In addition, the Choir has adopted the combination textbook/workbook “Music 2000 – Classroom Theory Lessons” (Donald Moore) for supplemental use in both the Training and Performing Divisions. It was chosen because it offers a self-teaching format that enables singers to study on their own. They may work ahead at their own pace. Explanatory text and examples accompany each lesson, followed by a series of written exercises.
It is expected that some theory work will take place at home. Parents may assist their student, and are encouraged to do so. Advanced theory students may be asked to mentor those who want or need extra help.
Students in Ensemble, Ecco, and Ancora should have completed all the workbooks satisfactorily and have a competent working knowledge of the music theory lessons contained in them. Concert Choir students should continue theory work until they complete the requirements.
Please check on your child’s progress in the workbooks just as you might check on their memorization of repertoire, and contact the conductor or the head of the theory program if you have questions or concerns.
Repertoire
Performing Division repertoire encompasses a full range of historical choral music styles and contemporary or avant garde compositions as well as world, folk, and pop styles. Repertoire is taught in foreign languages, such as Italian, Spanish, Latin, and Hebrew, and even sometimes languages such as Chinese and Polish. Performing Division conductors select each group’s repertoire, with the approval of the Artistic Director. All music is memorized for performance.
Different styles of music require different styles of performance and performance practice. In the Performing Division, students are expected to demonstrate a variety of vocal styles. Their deportment on stage also varies as a reflection of the type of music they are performing. Sometimes they are asked to maintain a dignified stage presence and to stand with good posture, arms at their sides, more or less at attention. This style of presentation, which may seem stiff or rigid, is actually the result of practicing good fundamentals of singing. Good posture and a quiet demeanor lifts and opens the ribcage, enabling good breath flow, solid support of the sound, and a pure tone. This vocal method is consistent with the high art tradition of choral music.
At times singers clap rhythmically and dance in place or move about on stage, as when performing folk music or popular songs or spirituals. Sometimes choreography is used to express or heighten the emotional content of a performance.
The music faculty chooses a wide range of repertoire for the Performing Division so students encounter and study music literature from various cultures and different historical styles and periods. Some of it is serious; some is fun. In the Performing Division all music is interpreted and performed with professionalism, regardless of its style or character.
Commissioned Music
It is part of the stated mission of the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir to support the creation of new music. The Choir has been fortunate to commission and premiere many new works by contemporary composers and has gained international recognition for its success in bringing such works to the stage. Some contemporary music poses great challenges to performers and audiences alike, requiring both singers and listeners to stretch the limits of their musical understanding. The mastery of new music is one of the tools the Performing Division faculty uses to promote a dynamic choral education.
Progress Evaluations and Reports
In Concert Choir a singer’s progress is evaluated at the end of each semester. These evaluations enable the conductor to report to parents regarding their child’s musical progress, attendance, and behavior. The spring evaluation serves in part as the basis for recommending promotion to more advanced groups. (See the following section on “Eligibility, Advancement, and Promotion.”) Written progress reports are sent home after the end of each semester.
For Ensemble members, progress evaluations occur at mid-season. The conductor’s report conveys information about a singer’s grasp of music theory and his or her conduct and attendance, as well as any special concerns or recommendations regarding vocal skills or other matters. The report is sent home after the end of the first semester.
Members of Ecco and Ancora do not receive progress evaluations or reports.
Vocal Coaching
Many Performing Division members take private voice lessons, and students who are preparing solos to perform with the Choir receive coaching during regular rehearsals. Otherwise, individual voice coaching is not part of the regular curriculum except at camp. The Choirs maintain a list of local voice teachers to recommend to students who wish to study voice privately. Contact the choir office for more information.
Student Leadership
The artistic quality of Performing Division choirs derives from the dedication of the members. Strong leadership from within the membership is an essential element of a good choir, and the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir has cultivated a student leadership program that enables students to be both responsible and accountable.
Members of Concert Choir, Ensemble, Ecco, and Ancora elect officers at the beginning of each choir season. Officers are nominated and elected by their peers. The president and vice president are responsible for taking attendance, sometimes leading warm-ups, and serving as the public representatives of the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir in various venues. This may include speaking on behalf of the Choir both at home and abroad, and engaging in other public relations and diplomatic activities.
Librarians keep the music library files and interact with choir staff regarding the distribution and collection of sheet music.
Section leaders represent another level of peer leadership within Concert Choir and Ensemble. From eight to twelve section leaders and assistant section leaders are selected by the conductor on the basis of their sight-reading ability and their seniority. Section leaders are responsible for leading sectional rehearsals, encouraging high standards within the section, and helping with organizational matters.
At the beginning of the choir season at camp new members of Concert Choir and Ensemble are also assigned to “mentors.” Mentors are experienced singers within each group who are responsible for showing new members how the group works. Their responsibilities include making new members feel socially and musically at home, helping them learn their music, and helping create an understanding of appropriate conduct both on and off stage. Mentors and their protégés or “mentees” sing the same part and sit together at camp rehearsals and from time to time during the school year. Mentors often share a homestay or room assignment with their mentees while on tour.
In Ancora, all members are expected to show superior leadership capabilities. All have had extensive experience in the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir, touring and performing, and many have served as section leaders and officers. Members elect a president and a librarian. These officers help the conductor and the choir office administer the group.
Members of Ecco and Ancora who are sixteen or older may apply for a position as a Teaching Assistant for one of our Training Department choirs, or as a Counselor in Training (CIT) at the Choirs’ summer music camp. Some positions come with nominal monetary stipends; all may earn community service hours. TA’s assist the conductors in teaching theory, work with individual students, help keep order, and generally serve as “big brothers” or “big sisters” to their younger counterparts. CITs assist with music training for both Training and Performing Division campers, provide recreation leadership, and assist with general organization and oversight. An important factor in selecting students to serve as TAs during the choir year and CITs at camp is consideration of the applicant’s on-going commitment to the Choirs. Choosing to participate in two groups (Ecco/Ancora, Ecco/Ensemble, Ancora/Ensemble) is one of a number of excellent ways to demonstrate that commitment.
Eligibility, Advancement, and Promotion
Each group has a certain set of criteria for membership. Most singers in the Performing Division earn their spot in a given ensemble through promotion from the ranks of the Training Division, or from a lower level Performing Division choir (though singers new to the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choirs may also be accepted into the Performing Division based on an audition and previous applicable experience). Eligibility for a given group starts with consideration of a singer’s age and voice type. Once general eligibility is confirmed, the members of the artistic staff carefully review each singer’s overall history with and progression through the Choirs to determine if promotion is developmentally appropriate at this time. Each student’s history with his/her most recent group, as measured via the annual student evaluation (charting the student’s musical progress, attendance, and attitude/behavior), is carefully examined. Finally, less quantifiable elements, such as the needs of the particular group during a given season (which may bring a singer’s vocal timbre and range into the equation), and the singer’s longevity with the Choirs, may play a role in the decision. The Choirs’ staff members take the promotion process very seriously, and each singer’s progress and placement are discussed and agreed upon each year by a group of several of the participating conductors, under the leadership of the Artistic Director.
Graduation
It is a goal of the Piedmont East Bay Children's Choir to have all members of the Performing Division remain with the Choir throughout high school and graduate from the program at the end of their senior year. Graduating seniors are recognized at the all-choir Spring Sing held each June.
Training Department: | Performing Department PD Overview |