How To Perform At A Concert

Transcription

1 STUDIO POLICIES, INFORMATION AND COURSE OUTLINE ( applied voice) From the Studio of Barbara Dunn-Prosser Studio 331, x Home phone: (Stratford) Cell phone: bdunnpro@uwo.ca barbara.dunn-prosser@sympatico.ca ATTENDANCE Please expect to attend all scheduled lessons. Attendance is factored into your studio term mark. If you have a serious conflict please give 24 hours notice and I will try to reschedule but this may not be possible. If you want to exchange your time with another student please also give 24 hours notice. If you are ill you may me or call me at home the night before your lesson until 10:00 p.m. If you wake up ill please telephone me at home before 8:00 a.m. or phone the university and connect to the studio and leave a message. ( x 84328). In the event that I am absent for whatever reason I will make up the lesson. Please ensure that I have all your contact information and advise me of any changes that occur throughout the year. LESSON FORMAT You will have 24 lessons of 50 minutes each, 12 in each term. The first part of the lesson will be devoted to technique and vocal production. In the second part of the hour you should ask your collaborative pianist to join us in the studio so that we may work on repertoire. Please bring 2 or 3 selections to work on in this part of the lesson. You are responsible for making these arrangements and payments with your collaborative pianist. I encourage you to record or video your lessons and coachings for your reference and to assist with learning. Please dress appropriately for the lessons. Be comfortable. There may be some stretching and bending as part of a warm up. Bring water.

2 Keep a singing/practise/listening journal Use this to monitor your observations and questions about what you hear or experience both in your lessons and at recitals or performances. REPERTOIRE Repertoire will cover primarily Italian, German, French and English art songs. You will be expected to learn about 16 songs throughout the entire year. I will make repertoire suggestions but you may bring songs to me and if they are suitable we can work on them. From these songs, we will choose a 20-minute programme for your end-of-year jury. (non-music majors sing a 15 minute programme) You must sing in two or three languages other than English. Translations of foreign texts need to be accomplished in three ways: phonetically, (IPA) literally, and poetically. IPA transcriptions should be put directly onto your music in pencil. Learning this pronunciation tool is essential for voice students. First and second year students should be prepared to show or submit at least one song (in either French, German or Italian) with IPA transcriptions written in, and a literal and poetical translation by then end of October. You may use the internet tool to assist with this. Memorize your music as soon as possible. At least one song should be off book for your lessons and for your coachings. You should plan to memorize 2-3 songs per month. The following is a guide to the expectations regarding undergraduate repertoire: Performance Programme: First year: 16 songs fully prepared and memorised Second year: 22 songs Third year: Oratorio recital (4 arias) minute recital Fourth year: Opera recital (4 arias) minutes of music in recital Education Programme: First Year: 16 songs fully prepared and memorised Second Year: 18 songs Third Year: 20 songs Fourth Year: 20 songs 30 minute jury Artist Diploma Programme:

3 First Year 24 songs fully prepared and memorised Second Year: Short recital plus 12 songs Third Year: Full recital plus 12 songs PERFORMANCE/MASTER CLASSES 10% of final mark There will be studio performance classes on Mondays in Room TC 131A from 5:30-7:00 beginning September 17th. Music majors must attend these classes whether you are performing or not. Non-music majors are not required to attend performance classes but your attendance and participation will be credited towards your final studio mark. These classes give you the opportunity to practise performing, hear other repertoire, observe and assess common technical issues and to support your colleagues. You are responsible for booking and paying your accompanist for these classes. Please provide your colleagues with photocopies of the text and translations of pieces that you sing for our studio performance class and be prepared to introduce and explain the meaning and context of your song. AUDITING (RECITALS, CONCERTS, ETC.) You will be required to attend 12 recitals or similar voice presentations throughout the year (e.g. Public master classes and Voice Friday events). You will need to have a faculty member sign a card that says your have attended each event. If you choose to attend something outside the music department you must bring either the ticket or the programme to confirm your attendance. You will also be required to write a brief review (approximately 200 words) of 6 of these recitals (preferably 3 per term) that discusses the merits of the voices, pedagogical issues, the repertoire and the overall presentation. For music majors this assignment is mandatory and will be factored into your performance class mark. For non-music majors this assignment is not mandatory. Third and fourth year students may substitute one review per semester for the 3 recital reports, of at least 500 words on an internationally acclaimed singer whose work appeals to you. Your research and report would include a brief biography, discography (at least 2 full length CDs that you have

4 listened to), analysis of the artist s vocal qualities and fach. Be very careful not to plagiarize on-line articles and cite any sources you have used. STUDIO RECITALS There will be one studio recital per term. You may sing one or two songs and perhaps a duet or trio. You may also be asked to be part of an ensemble number. Sometimes this repertoire is not part of your requirements for your jury. It is important to budget your learning and practising time carefully so that you don t get behind in preparing required repertoire for the juries. Our first term recital will be on Monday Nov. 5 th at 6:00 p.m. The second term recital will be Thursday, February 14 th at 6:00 p.m. These will be held in Von Kuster Hall and you may invite friends and family. These recitals are open to any music student or faculty member. They are considered fairly formal events and you should dress accordingly. Your performance in the recital is factored into your performance class mark or your studio term mark. Students presenting credit recitals (voice performance majors) should try to perform their recital in public before its presentation for grading. COLLABORATIVE PIANISTS (ACCOMPANISTS) We are fortunate at Western to have some outstanding pianists who coach singers. You must organize your practise times with them and keep them informed of any lesson changes and performance classes. They should be treated with great respect. They are paid by you on a private contract. Please never expect them to wait for their fee. Charmaine Fopoussi and Carol McFadden are recommended as they already play for my studio. GRADING Please read the Voice Jury/Recital Requirements document and the Department of Performance Studies Handbook very carefully. These online documents outline what the Faculty of Music requires of you. Jury requirements can be found at the link below. s.pdf

5 Your Applied Music grade will be calculated in the following manner: 50% - Studio work (25% per term) 40% - Spring Jury 10% - Performance Class and Class Recital participation WORDS OF WISDOM If you are experiencing difficulty either vocally, academically or personally please feel that I am here to listen. I may not always know the answers to questions or be able to help you directly, but I shall certainly do my best to find out who can. There are many human resources at Western to assist you with a smooth and successful study programme. Never be afraid to ask questions and remember, unhappy birds don t sing! Have a great year. Barbara Dunn-Prosser 50 Centre Street, Stratford, Ontario N5A 1E Being a singer and musician is one of life s rarest and most precious privileges. It also brings with it exacting responsibilities, which can be both exhilarating and humbling. When you stand before your audience you sing the hopes and dreams of other men and women and you sing the whole range of human emotions and understanding. To be a fit channel for this wonderful but awesome task requires that you do all you can to nurture and sustain your emotional, spiritual and intellectual lives. A vital part of your musical discipline is this readiness to communicate the caring for human values that give substance and understanding to your musical emotions..jan de Gaetani

6 BIBLIOGRAPHY For vocal pedagogy and clarification of terms: Miller, Richard. The Structure of Singing. New York: Schirmer Books, (MT825.M ) Stark, James. Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, (ML1460.S ) Bunch, Meribeth. Dynamics of the Singing Voice 3 rd ed. New York: Springer-Verlag, For ideas on interpretation and style: Bird, George and Richard Stokes. The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder, New York: Limelight Editions, Bernac, Pierre. The Interpretation of French Song, London: W.W.Norton, For performance practise/acting/presentation suggestions: Balk, Wesley, H. The Complete Singer-Actor, University of Minnesota, Balk, Wesley, H. Performance Power, University of Minnesota, Emmons, Shirley, Sonntag, Stanley. The Art of the Song Recital, New York: Schirmer, Linklater, Kristin. Freeing the Natural Voice, New York: Drama Books, For your amusement and intellectual curiosity: Hines, Jerome. Great Singers on Great Singing, Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1982.

7 Manley, Beatrice. My Breath in Art, New York, Applause, Morden, Ethan. Demented, New York, Fireside, Ristad, Eloise. A Soprano on Her Head, Utah, Real People Press, 1982