NDACDA Chorister - Fall 2022 Issue

North Dakota ACDA Leadership

Dean Jilek, president, University of North Dakota Connie Stordalen, president elect, Horizon Middle School Cheryl McIntyre, past president, Jamestown High School Sheldon Weltz, treasurer

North Dakota Repertoire and Resources Committee

Repertoire Specific Coordinator: Tom Porter University of Mary Men’s Choirs: Christopher Loeffler, Women’s Choirs: Lauren Brandenburg, Fargo South HS/Eielson MS Vocal Jazz: Mike Seil, Bismarck Legacy High School Showchoir: Connie Stordalen, Horizon Middle School

Ethnic/Multicultural Music: Phillip Voeller, Beulah Middle/High School

Youth Coordinator: Sarah Barnum, Discovery Middle School Children and Community: Brady Gudgel, Mandan Middle School Middle School/Junior High: Paige Bondley, Mandan Middle School

Rachel Schaffner, Bismarck Legacy High School Senior High School: Brian Saylor, Bismarck High School

Collegiate Coordinator: Chris Redfearn, University of Jamestown Youth College/University: Chris Redfearn

Student Activities: Melanie Popejoy University of North Dakota

Life Long Coordinator: Sara Lichtblau, Fargo South High School Community Choirs: Sarah Barnum Music in Worship: Traditional: Vicky Boechler, St. Mary’s High School, Contemporary: Sara Lichtblau

Brent Rogers, Dickinson State University Patrick McGuire, Sts. Anne and Joachim Editor and Designer, The Chorister Content Coordinator brent.w.rogers@dickinsonstate.edu

Contents

Excitement in the Air...

Dean Jilek, University of North Dakota

Sneak Peek

Connie Stordalen, Horizon MS

Vocal Assessment and Self Concept

Paige Bondley, Mandan Middle Schoool Games and Activities 11

Patrick McGuire, Sts. Anne and Joachim, Fargo

Excitementin the air...

Greetings colleagues! I hope this article finds you well-rested and with renewed purpose. For me, the summer went by faster than ever, and I was the slowest tortoise in the race getting started on the new academic year! But the energy and excitement of the new and returning students here at UND is at an all-time high. Being able to sing without masks, see each other’s smiles and not face so many “what-if’s” associated with the pandemic feels like a return to normalcy. And as a member and president of the NDACDA, I am looking forward to another great year in this organization! I would like to remind you of some things going on in NDACDA to help make that happen.

Get Involved

We are always looking for new board members and help with the NDACDA Conference, Surround the State in Song, High School and Collegiate Honor Choirs, Mixed Honor Choir, and the Show Choir Festival. If interested please contact me dean.jilek@und.edu

Sheldon Weltz, our treasurer, will retire at the end of the fiscal year. We ask anyone who is interested in this position to email me dean.jilek@und.edu. We would like the new treasurer to be mentored by Sheldon to help with the transition. Are you interested in presenting at the NDACDA Conference on February 3 & 4 at Bismarck High School? Please email our conference chair President-Elect Connie Stordalen connie_stordalen@bismarckschools.org.

Sing Up! Membership

The annual Sing Up! ACDA membership drive runs until October 15. Be sure to renew your membership and invite your colleagues to join as well. We encourage new teachers to make connections with professional colleagues through our organization. ACDA allows us to offer so many wonderful opportunities for our students and our music directors. Please email Cheryl McIntyre for new member sign-up at Cheryl.McIntyre@k12.nd.us.

Did You Know When You Join ACDA...

• During your first two years of teaching, you can attend our State Conference FREE of charge?

• You will receive a monthly copy of the Choral Journal?

• You will join a network of professionals to provide you with years of inspiration and support?

• You are invited to attend professional conferences that will greatly benefit your teaching and students?

• You will have access to numerable online choral & vocal resources?

Showcase Concert Performance Application

Please consider auditioning your ensemble for the showcase concert performance at the NDACDA Conference in February. Postmark deadline is November 15. Find the application directions under Documents on the NDACDA website.

Choral Director and New Choral Director of the Year Nomination

Take time and nominate a deserving experienced choral director and/or a new choral director for the Choral Director and New Choral Director Award. Information can be found under Documents on the NDACDA website.

ND ACDA Website

For more information and director resources please visit ndacda.com.

Dean Jilek University of North Dakota NDACDA President

Musically,

Sneak Peek

NDACDA State Conference 2023

North Dakota ACDA conference will be in Bismarck, ND February 3rd and 4th, 2023! Honor Choir rehearsals and teacher conference sessions will be held at Bismarck High School. The NDACDA board and honor choir chairs are working diligently to organize this event. We are creating opportunities not only for your amazing students to learn and grow as musicians, but for teachers to share and spark new ideas.

We have several sessions lined up for our 2023 conference. Here’s a sneak peek into some of our session topics:

• Developing Elementary Choirs and fostering young singers to start singing at an early age

• Engaging the choral community

• Recruitment and retention in our music programs

• Music literacy switching from learning by rote to sight-reading new music

• K-12/Class B panel discussion

• The physical singer and how to get the whole body involved in the voice and choir

• Guiding students during the changing voice stage and grow into their new voice

• Music reading sessions highlighting music from Music in Worship – Contemporary Music in Worship – Traditional

Ethnic/Multicultural

Vocal Jazz

Senior High Choirs

Children’s Choirs

Show Choir

• More to come …

I have learned something new at every conference I have attended. The opportunity to expand and share knowledge is something we all look forward to and value as choral educators! I encourage you to attend the conference and take the opportunity to grow and collaborate with colleagues. If you have an idea you

would like to share or a topic you would like highlighted at conference, please reach out! Continuing education credit opportunity will be posted on our NDACDA website leading up to the conference and will be offered through NDSU.

See you in February!

Connie Stordalen

Bismarck Horizon Middle School NDACDA President-Elect/Conference Chair

Vocal Assessment and Self-Concept

in Singers

Iwent on a journey a few years ago with a group of choral students that has forever changed my perspective on teaching the nuances of the human voice. My very first teaching assignment was a K-12 role; we were small, and we were mighty. During my assignment, I noticed a significant disconnect between thriving student performance and low self-confidence. Students were eager and hardworking but lacked a positive self-concept and struggled to believe their vocal abilities and personalities were contributing factors to our success as a choir. This disconnect spoke to why our students' natural giftings coupled with their work ethics were not achieving superior ratings at group and individual festivals. As a choral educator this reality deeply concerned me and at the time, I was pursuing my master’s degree and learning how action research could help solve problems of practice in education.

The NDHSAA publishes a vocal adjudicator form every year that so many of us are familiar with; we have lived them, breathed them, reviewed them, and sought ways to help our students improve their performances. While looking for patterns in past and present vocal results and ratings, my students consistently had lower scores in vocal tone production and intonation. They also consistently struggled to maintain good vocal techniques in their day-to-day rehearsal practices, which was contributing to their lower vocal scores in tone production and intonation. In discussing these patterns with my students, they could honestly give accurate definitions of intonation and tone but could not articulate practical methods to improve these areas.

With the help of action research guidance, I designed a study to examine how rigorous use of vocal assessments in the choral classroom could potentially lend itself to a further developed vocal self-concept and an improved performance in students, while giving music programs relevance.

The research I conducted was with eight freshmen, four sophomores, five juniors, and three seniors. Four research questions were the guiding focus of the study which included: (a) Does the assessment of vocal technique further develop vocal self-concept and improve student performance? (b) Does the assessment of intonation further develop vocal self-concept and improve student performance? (c) Does an assessment of tone further develop vocal self-concept and improve student performance? (d) Can the use of targeted vocal assessments improve music

program relevance? Data was collected in many ways and consisted of a pre and post questionnaire that reflected self-concept themes, a voice placement rubric that students used to map out their own progress, assessments in vocal technique, intonation and tone, and journal prompts. The most fascinating part of the data collection, for me personally, was learning that students had a more positive outlook on the specific skill of vocal technique, intonation, and tone and were pleased with the direction they were moving to improve their skills when they could see their progress. Students also marked higher point values to questions such as, “I matter to our choir because of my singing ability,” and “I matter to our choir because of who I am a person” after experiencing assessments of progress.

Overall, the study revealed students indeed improved their vocal self-concept when vocal assessments were used to measure their growth and progress. It also revealed that teachers can be more confident in taking rehearsal time to implement vocal assessment practices to help their singers grow vocally and personally, while giving their music programs more relevance among the academic community.

Bondley Mandan Middle School NDACDA Middle School/Junior High Co-Chair

Paige

Games and Activities

Each new school year brings about an opportunity for all of us involved in education to refresh, renew, and re-commit to what we do, and how we do it. I thought it would be nice to poll a few teachers and ask about some of their favorite classroom activities K-12 in music. The following is a list of different games/activities you can try with your students this year!

“Charley, Charley Stole the Barley”

from Dr. Julie Hagen

Director

of Choirs at Choate Rosemary Hall

Charley, Charley, stole the barley

Out of the baker's shop, (snap snap!) The baker came out and gave him a clout, Which made poor Charley hop. (snap snap!)

The students line up in equal lines. There needs to be enough space for someone to get through so when they line up, they should only have fingertips touching. Then when they turn (all the same direction), the spacing should be the same with their new neighbors. The teacher calls out "Streets!" or "Alleys!" so that the students turn, effectively blocking "Charlie" and "The Baker." The objective is that the baker is trying to catch Charlie.

Musically, I teach the chant doing a pat-clap-pat-clap pattern. At the end of the second and fourth line, I add two snaps to make the rhythm complementary.

I typically have three students transfer those rhythms to instruments: one student on the pats, one on the claps, and on the snaps. They play, the students making the "streets" and "alleys" speak (thus assisting the instrumentalists), and then there's a baker and a Charley that get to play tag through the streets and alleys.

“Bungalow” from Kirci Wagner Choir Teacher at Central Cass Public Schools

Look up the song “Bungalow” to get the basic song pattern down. Teacher then

selects students or allows students to select other students to show how they “bungalow.” Selected students speak the rhyme and show a small dance move. I like it because it allows students to sing and be silly. Every student also gets a chance to have a moment. Even my high school students enjoy it!

“Sight Reading (Factory) Race” from Sarah Waller Choir Director at Mounds View High School

I assign students into 2 teams, and we will sing through a solfège scale (Do, Re, Mi…) I have them sit on opposite sides of the room, and I will show them an example of sight reading. The first goal of the game is to have the students run up one by one to write down a solfège syllable on the board. (I stand between so no cheating occurs.) Once a team has the correct line of solfège, we go to the next round. Whichever team can sing the solfège line correctly as a group, wins the round.

This activity brings the group together and encourages them to discuss with each other during the activity.

“Living Nametag” from Sarah Barnum Choir Teacher at Discovery Middle School

Students write their name in the center of a note card. Then you ask the students to write down the answers to any 4 questions, one answer in each corner. They partner up and get 2 minutes to memorize the info on each other’s cards. They then introduce their partner to the class WITHOUT looking at the note card. Depending on the size of the class, they can introduce their partner to everyone, or to a size group of your selection.

Example questions:

• What do you want to be when you grow up? (I always answer by saying “retired”)

• What is your most prized possession?

• What is your favorite sports team?

• Who is a role model for you?

• What is your favorite color?

• What is your favorite movie/TV show?

The best thing about putting this article together was witnessing the energy that

my teaching colleagues had in answering the question, “What is a game or activity that you really enjoy doing with your kids?” Their positive responses were a shot in the arm for me as well. Lesson learned then: collaborate with your colleagues! One of the great parts about being in ACDA is the community of our fellow directors & teachers. We have so much to learn from/offer each other. Never hesitate to ask a question and steal an idea from a friend in ACDA!

Patrick McGuire

Sts. Anne and Joachim, Fargo Content Coordinator, The Chorister

I don’t sing because I’m happy ;

William James

I’m happy because I sing .

Photo Credit: Sam Stukel/USFWS