Bellevue
Community College
Music Department
“Quality Music Education in
a caring environment.”
Thomas Almli
Office: A - 160D
Phone: (425) 564-2089
Email: talmli@bcc.ctc.edu
Office Hours: 10:30 AM or by appointment
COURSE DESCRIPTION
BCC's Concert Choir is a large choral ensemble that studies, rehearses, and performs a wide variety of choral literature. The literature studied includes major choral works and traditional choral music. This quarter’s program will be focused on “Choral Music From Around the World”. With enthusiastic participation, effective rehearsals and a strong commitment to practice, students will realize a multitude of educational and aesthetic rewards.
Due to an effort to provide a well-rounded concert presentation, outside practice and a few select – targeted additional rehearsals and sectionals will be needed.
The design of the curricula for Concert Choir is to provide members an enriching and expressive musical experience plus help them develop the tools to keep music in their lives for the rest of their lives. There are four aspects of this experience through which the course will focus and through which a member's success will be measured.
1. A Students Skill at Organizing Themselves for Performances and Music as a part of their lives
2. Quality of Performance as a Group and as an Individual
3. Vocal Skill, Musical Literacy, and/or Historical and Contextual Awareness
4. Teamwork, Group Interaction and Involvement (“Teamwork makes the Dream Work”)
A variety of resources are available to help each member develop their individual skills and talents, these include group rehearsals, sectional rehearsals, rehearsal CD’s, and individual help sessions. The ensemble provides numerous opportunities to build each member's talents and bring their efforts together in wonderfully musical and expressive performances.
GRADING
Grading for the Concert Choir follows the practices prescribed by the Arts and Humanities Student Procedures and Expectations as found at URL www.bcc.ctc.edu/ArtsHum/ and will be derived from students demonstrating growth in the following areas
3. Group Performance and Teamwork Grade
A New Attendance Policy will be applied to all grades as
prescribed by the Student Procedure & Expectations
Organization for Performance
BCC's Concert Choir is a performance based class, thus your organization surrounding practicing, attendance at rehearsals and performances, and timely preparation of materials is critical to your success in choir and to our overall success as a choir. The skills that we work on in class are sequential in nature, as is our approach to learning and preparing music, thus your ability to organize yourself for performance is demonstrated by our preparedness, attendance and punctuality. This year attendance will be taken at all daily rehearsals and all required events.
Daily Rehearsals
Our daily rehearsal time needs to be very important to all our members as we are working to produce the highest quality of entertainment as a team. You will be held responsible to organize yourself so that you are in class, prepared, with music and pencil, and ready to sing on time every day. If you are ill, or there is a serious situation that will keep you from a rehearsal, you are responsible for notifying us that you will not be present. On your return, you will need to make arrangements to learn what was covered in class and make up the missed time.
Special attention will be given to the ten rehearsals before all performances, as everyone is needed to put the finishing touches on the music.
Individual
Practice and Sectionals
Students will need to organize their time to be able to practice between 20 to 40 minutes daily and attend at least 3 out of class sectionals per quarter.
Performances and
Dress Rehearsals
Attendance is mandatory at performances and dress rehearsals.
You are responsible
to organize your time and schedule to be present at all mandatory events. An
unexcused or non-prearranged absence from a required event may result in you
failing the class.
Consistent Individual Musical Growth and Performance
Students will demonstrate individual and consistent musical growth during daily rehearsals, through the instructors direct observations during ensemble singing, students being asked to individually sing specific parts during rehearsals and/or sectionals.
Group Performance
The concerts performed by the Concert Choir take the place of the major exams for the class. Our aim is to make each performance the most polished and professional production possible. Each person contributes to the preparedness and presentation of the whole group, thus for this portion of your grade, the entire group's ability for early and accurate preparation is assessed. Grading for Group Performance will be figured on the following basis:
Each individual member of the Choir is expected to become actively involved in practicing and developing their vocal skills, their level of musical literacy, and their cultural/historical awareness behind the music being performed.
Musical Accuracy
Students will be expected to demonstrate on a tape and/or live teacher observation their knowledge and skill in singing their part for each of the pieces that we will perform
IMPORTANT SPRING
2008 DATES FOR CONCERT CHOIR
CHOIRPALOOZA TO
BE ANNOUNCED
InterCollege Choir Exchange Friday
5/9/2008 12:30PM – 6:00PM at GRCC (tentative)
FULL CHOIR REHEARSAL Monday
6/2/2008 – 6:00PM to 9:30PM – Carlson Theater
DRESS REHEARSAL Wednesday
6/04/2008 – 6:00PM to 9:30PM – Carlson Theater
*CONCERT* Thursday
6/05/2008 – 7:30 PM at Carlson Theater
(6:30
PM Call)
*CONCERT* Friday
6/06/2008 – 7:30PM at Carlson Theater
(6:30PM
Call)
* Please note we will
have our normal 11:30AM rehearsals on 6/5 and 6/6 as wel
Attendance Policy
Bellevue Community College’s Concert Choir follows the Arts and Humanities’ Student Procedures and Expectations which states, “attendance at all scheduled classes are mandatory and that the requirement is designed to prevent instructors having to adjudicate individual excuses”. It also states, that “for students to be eligible for a grade in a class they must not miss more than 10 classes”. As symphonic Choir grades are determined with a point system, 40 points will be subtracted from your score for each absence. This produces the following grading scale after attendance has been factored in.
Number
of Absences Highest
Grade Possible
1-4 absences A
5 A-
6 B+
7 B
8 C
9 D
10 F
*Don’t be late or absent. Please Do Not Compromise on this.
Up to 15% of a students grade can be made up through extra work outside of class. Included in the make up work and/or additional credit grading activities are;
· Attendance at any of additional events and concerts (i.e. Jazz Choir and Jazz Band)
· Extra Sectional work beyond the 3 sectionals required. (as recorded by section leaders)
· Music Lab Time
· Participation in the leadership and planning roles of the choir
· Help with the logistic and set up of events beyond the requirements of the class
Appropriate Concert
Dress
The visual effect of the ensemble is an important part of performance and as such we try to present a professional appearance. You will be fitted for and provided a robe for concerts.
· Men – wear: Black Slacks, Black Socks and Black Shoes (Shined)
· Women – Wear Black Hose and Black Shoes (Shined)
MUSIC: You will be provided music for the quarter and will be held responsible to return it at our final day for the quarter. The cost of any music not turned in or damaged will be assessed as a fine to the responsible person.
#2 PENCIL All
members are required to have a sharpened #2 pencil to make performance notes in
their music.
PRACTICE TIME: Most college classes require about 2 hours of study for every 1 hour in class, however I have designed BCC Concert Choir to require approximately a little more than 2 1/2 hours out of class per week.
20 minutes of daily individual practice (more time may be required for some members)
Attendance in at least three sectionals per quarter are required (more required for some members)
Attendance at all required dress rehearsals, performances
Involvement in the production aspect of our performance events
PART TAPES/RECORDING
Students will be expected to complete a part tape on assigned repertoire and due date(s). This may be completed in groups of two to three or alone. This will be announced in the second half of the term.