by Rachel | Uncategorized
The end of the school year, that is! There are a few big events at the school where I work which signify that summer break is upon us. One of those events happened just yesterday and is my very favorite of the whole year.
It doesn’t get much better than having all of the students faculty, and staff gathered in one place, singing the songs we’ve been working on in music therapy all year. And better yet, I have a full band! With Mike on bass, Joe on guitar, and Jayne (who unfortunately is not pictured; she is to the right of me) on drums, our songs get quite the rock ‘n roll treatment.
But the fun’s not over yet. Tomorrow morning, our graduation ceremony will be held in the very same room. Graduation is always a bittersweet event; as happy as I am for the students, I’m still sad to see them go. This year I’ll be singing “For Good” (from the musical Wicked) during the ceremony.
Next Wednesday is our last day of school, and in the afternoon we’ll have our annual talent show. It’s always so entertaining to watch not only students and entire classes, but also various faculty and staff, get up on stage and show off their dancing, singing, and instrument-playing talents. A couple of classrooms will be performing music therapy “hits” – an awesome choice of repertoire, if you ask me :)
So that’s what is going on around here. Now I must get to something I’ve been putting off all month…creating summer song packets and CDs for each class. Although there will be a sub (not a music therapist, but a music teacher who is very skilled in working with my student population) taking over for the summer, I still like to leave materials behind so that the teachers can continue reinforcing the skills and concepts we’ve spent all year learning. Plus, I don’t want everyone to forget me while I’m away!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
One of the best decisions I ever made was moving my private practice from “the road” (traveling to my students’ homes) into my own home-based studio. This has allowed me to work with many more students on a daily basis, because no longer do I need to build commute time into my schedule. I can honestly admit that I don’t miss packing my car every morning with the necessary equipment, hauling it in and out of my trunk, and spending all of that extra money on gas.
I love that I have everything I need at my fingertips, especially when an idea strikes in the middle of a music therapy session. I also love that I can neatly organize my materials in advance of my students’ arrival, as evidenced in these photos taken before a recent session:
But as anyone who spends time with children knows all too well, neatness isn’t high on their list of priorities. I’m a self-admitted neat freak, but that flies out the window when I’m working with a child. Half the time, I’m creating most of the mess by bringing out different instruments, visual aides, and other items during our session. I was glad I captured the “before” shots on that particular day, because the “after” scene was just too funny not to document:
My favorite part is the opened drawers…I couldn’t have staged it this well! My student and I used every last one of those instruments and items, and ended up running out of time at the end of our session. Otherwise we’d have put everything back in its place while singing this song :) My next student was a few minutes late, which gave me just enough time to tidy up before his piano lesson. Good thing, because I doubt he’d have appreciated this mess as much as I did!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
A Fender Passport 500 Pro, that is, which will hit the road with me for gigs and performances from now on. I was so excited for it to arrive that I immediately took it out of the box and tried it out. My new sound system has completely taken over one of our spare bedrooms, as you can see:
The sound is a little overwhelming in this space, but it’s perfect for the bigger venues in which I perform around Springfield. The Passport is quite an upgrade from my little Ibanez amp (which I actually featured as my first-ever Friday Fave). Here’s my previous set-up:
It looks so very sad in comparison! But there really is no comparing the sound output of the two systems, not to mention the capabilities of each. The Passport has an eight-channel mixer, CD-quality .wav and mp3 file playback, and even a port that lets me record my performances with CD quality (.wav) straight to a USB flash drive. How cool is that? The best part is that the speakers attach to the mixer, which makes it super easy (and surprisingly light!) to transport:
I’ll be posting a few more pics on my Facebook page, so be sure to stop by and check them out. My next gig just happens to be next weekend, and I can’t wait to put my new sound system to use. Speaking of, I’d better go rehearse (in my newly converted rehearsal space). Ciao!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Yesterday’s post about Glee! got me feeling pretty nostalgic about the “good old days” of high school show choir. So nostalgic, in fact, that I went over to my parents’ house and dug out my box of photo albums. I graduated from high school in 2001, the days before digital cameras became the norm, but I did find a few snapshots of my show choir, Seven & Senators, in action. Can you find me in the picture above? (Hint: click the picture to enlarge it.)
We actually called ourselves a “swing” choir rather than a show choir, because we performed mostly jazz songs. In this picture, we’re doing “Moonglow” – that’s me in the back, getting dipped by my sophomore year crush. We never dated, but almost all of my high school boyfriends were musical types. So it surprised lots of people when I went and married a non-musical soccer player :)
My junior year, our choreographer taught us all how to tap dance. And by the end of the year, we were GOOD. At our spring concert, we performed this awesome arrangement of “Bill Bailey” and seriously wowed everyone with our dance skills. That’s why we all look so happy in this picture!
Part of what made being in Seven & Senators so much fun is that I was surrounded by my best friends. We spent a LOT of time together, so over the years we became very close. Two of my fellow sopranos were even bridesmaids in my wedding.
There aren’t many life experiences like being a member of a tight-knit performing group. Of course, we had our share of drama (questionable directors, upperclassmen jealousy when as lowly freshmen, my two friends and I made the group instead of them, arguments over solos and dance partners) but we were quite low-key compared to the hijinks that ensue on Glee. We might not have made for very good television, but we still had a darn good time!
by Rachel | Uncategorized
Who else is with me when I say that Glee just might be the most entertaining show on television right now? Judging from the response I received after posting about the return of Season 1 on my Facebook page the other night, I’m not alone in that sentiment. Hard-core fans of this show call themselves “gleeks” – and I just might be one of them!
There are so many reasons why I love this show. The first is that I’m a six-year show choir veteran, so every episode serves up a big heap of nostalgia (although thankfully, I never had to deal with teen pregnancy, sabotaging gym teachers, or blue slushies thrown in my face).
Next is obviously the amazing music. The variety of songs, from Lionel Richie to Wicked to Kelly Clarkson, keeps the show fresh and relevant. Not to mention the ridiculously talented cast. Lea Michele, who plays Rachel, is in my opinion the highlight of the show (and NOT just because I really like her character’s name). My husband, a closeted gleek, and I rewound and replayed one of Rachel’s songs from Tuesday night’s episode three times.
Another thing that makes Glee so appealing is that it’s hilarious. The absurd plot lines and one-liners are reason enough to watch this show. It’s definitely not for young children, but I do have quite a few teenage students who are big fans. We always discuss the latest episode at the start of our lessons, and I think the fact that I watch increases my “cool” factor with them :)
Speaking of cool, I love the fact that this show has made singing, show choir, and Broadway musical numbers cool. Too bad Glee wasn’t around when I was in high school! I never thought I’d see the day when “Tonight” from West Side Story and “Defying Gravity” from Wicked – the Glee versions, of course – would show up on my husband’s iPod (just don’t tell him I told you that).
What about you? Do you watch the show? If not, I think I’ve made it pretty clear that I highly recommend it. And now I’ll take off my Glee sandwich board (this post has made me sound like a walking advertisement for the show) and go to class. Happy Friday, everyone!
