Welcome Class of 2012

Congratulations to all of you who have been accepted into the incoming 9th grade class of Cretin-Derham Hall! Everyone here is excited to have you as a part of this great community, and those of us in the Fine Arts Department and in particular the vocal music area are no exception.

We wanted to take this opportunity to invite you to get involved in the Fine Arts this fall - particularly choir, but there are lots of other opportunities as well: band, theater (at many different levels of involvement), art classes, music classes, improve, song writing, and the list goes on...

Being a part of choir is a great way to get involved as a student at CDH. Some reasons are:

• The choirs are a great way to meet new people - next year both of the "during the school day" choirs will be young groups with lots of sophomores and some upperclassmen leadership.
• The members of all of the choirs are fun, welcoming people who are involved in MANY other activities at the school - sports, JROTC, theater, student council, social justice, campus ministry, etc.
• Choir is a team effort and members get to know one another well and build strong friendships.
• The choirs are involved in a lot of activities at school and perform at the school and out in the community.
• Being a member of the choirs at CDH opens up opportunities to take part in trips, festivals, contests, honor choirs, and eventually maybe even All-State Choir.
  
• 2008-2009 is a "trip year" for the choir which means we'll be taking an out-of-state trip in early March 09.

Being in the choir is also good for you. Some of the things you get out of choir are:

• A place to express yourself - you get to be emotional and expressive with a great group of people without the scariness of having to do it on your own.
• A focus on excellence - just think, .500 is a great batting average but if a choir sang even 5% of their notes wrong would would that sound like? And that's just getting the right notes, not to mention all the other things in the music...
• An outlet for energy - we don't just sit still and read in the choir room!
• Better breath support and balance - singing involves your entire body and being a trained singer improves your ability to use it. Who'd have though choir is good for sports?!?
• Your ability to work as a team - everyone is important in choir, there aren't any "bench warmers" here.
• A chance to shine in the spotlight - there are solo opportunities for those who want them.
• Preparation for other areas both at CDH (musicals, campus ministry, theater, etc) and afterward (scholarships = money for college...)

So why not come give choir a try this fall? There are there choirs for you to choose from here and each of them could be a great fit for you. Remember you do not need to have any experience in choir in order to join. For boys especially, it can be fun to explore your "new" adult voice now that your voice change should be pretty much over.

If you are even remotely interested in choir at CDH you're encouraged to stop by and talk the director, Mr. Jacobson, at registration on the 4th. Everyone registering for choir for next year is encouraged to come in for a "placement interview" this spring. This short appointment is not an audition (unless you're planning on joining Pop Singers) but is rather a chance for Mr. Jacobson to get to know your voice and get the sections (soprano, alto, tenor, bass) of each of the choirs set before school starts. It's also a chance to meet Mr. Jacobson individually, get any questions you might have answered, and find out if the choir you want to join is the right fit for you - and there is a right fit for you, we just need to find it.

There are currently three choirs for you to choose from at CDH, each of which could be a great match for you:

The Choral Arts Ensemble is a mixed choir (men and women) for grades 9-12. The choir is categorized as "semi-select" meaning everyone is welcome but you are encouraged to have a "placement interview" before starting the course to make sure the group is the right fit for you. The choir will sing appropriately challenging music in 4-8 parts. As with the Select Treble Choir, Choral Arts Ensemble's repertoire will come from a wide variety of historical periods, styles, and cultures. That means, for example, that in one concert the choir might perform a jazz piece, something from the Renaissance, a Gospel roof-raiser, a contemporary choral piece from the past 25 years, and maybe something from a non-Western culture.

While a major focus of Choral Arts Ensemble is the preparation of music for specific performances, significant time and attention will be given to the development of musical and vocal skills. This will include studying how the voice works; healthful, relaxed, and supported vocal production; critical thinking about the music being performed; and music reading. Each student will also have individual vocal instruction outside of rehearsal. The choir will perform in a minimum of three concerts as well as festivals, competitions, and other performances. In addition members of Select Treble Choir are eligible and encouraged to participate in solo/ensemble, honor choirs, and All-State Choir.

Choral Arts Ensemble meets during the school day year-long for a total of 3 credits. Students with previous CDH choral experience may contract for honors credit. Students who are unable to commit to a year of membership may still be able to participate, see Mr. Jacobson with those concerns.

With the Choral Arts Ensemble, the Select Treble Choir is the other major "during the school day" choral group at CDH.

Select Treble Choir is the women's choir that has been a long standing choral group here at CDH with roots going back to the Derham Hall Glee Club. The choir is also a semi-select choir, again meaning that everyone is welcome in the group, but that a brief placement interview is requested before the beginning of the class. Select Treble Choir sings appropriately challenging music in 3-4 parts. The group's repertoire is from a wide variety of styles, historic periods, and cultures. There will truly be something for everyone.

As a major choir at CDH, students in Select Treble Choir will focus on a variety of musical and critical thinking skills in addition to the main focus of repertoire preparation. Students will receive individual voice instruction outside of rehearsal and will be eligible and encouraged to participate in solo/ensemble, honor choirs, and All-State Choir. The choir itself will perform in at least three concerts, as well as competitions, festivals, and other performances in and out of the school.

Select Treble Choir meets during the school day year-long for a total of 3 credits. Students with previous CDH choral experience may contract for honors credit. Students who are unable to commit to a year of membership may still be able to participate, see Mr. Jacobson with those concerns.

Something totally new to CDH next year is Pop Singers. This smaller choir's repertoire will be entirely from the jazz, popular, and musical theater styles. The vast majority of the focus and time in rehearsal will be spent on preparation for performance (including facial expression, gesture, body language, and some choreography) with a small secondary focus on healthful and stylistically appropriate vocal production. The current vision of Pop Singers is neither a jazz choir nor a show choir but a hybrid of the two, some pieces will be choreographed for performance while others will be performed somewhat more traditionally. Performances of Pop Singers are expected to be high-energy stage shows.

Pop Singers will be a select choir meaning that students must audition to gain membership in the group. The choir is intended to be an extension of, and addition to the major choirs at the school. Because of greater time constraints in Pop Singers, as well as the benefits of the non-performance aspects of the other choirs, current membership in either Choral Arts Ensemble or Select Treble choir is required for membership in Pop Singers.

Pop Singers will rehearse two mornings a week (tentatively Tuesday and Thursday) at 7:15, regular punctual attendance and a year-long commitment will be absolutely mandatory. The choir will be a part of the CDH curriculum and members will receive one credit for the year, or students may opt out of receiving credit.

Honors Credit/Performance Make-Up Options

With the end of the trimester closing quickly there are still a few students in each choir that need to make up for a missed performance. And there are quite a few who need to complete the individual assignments for honors credit. Since some people still need this information and (and copies have already been handed out in class twice) here is what you need to do:

For honors credit each student needs to complete two of the following projects (it can be two of the same) and those needing to make up a performance need to complete one project per performance missed:

Project One - Extra Individual Voice Study (if you don't already have lessons scheduled for next week it's a little late for this one...)

• You will need to attend 2 extra lessons (6 total unless otherwise agreed upon) used primarily for studying music other than the choir repertoire.

Project Two - Outside Concert Review

• You will need to attend an entire concert somewhere outside of CDH, that does mean you can't leave early.
• The performance does need to be a choir "concert" - a formal performance by a choral group, if you're not sure about whether or not a performance qualifies, ask.
• Following the performance you need to write a 1-2 page paper answering the following questions:
• What group, when, and where, what music, etc?
• What did you like and dislike about the performance?
• Did the choir portray the meanings of the songs, do you think they knew the meanings?
• What did the choir do to engage the audience?
• What did this choir do that you would like to do and/or avoid?

Project Three - Research or Reflection Paper on a Relevant Topic

• You will need to research and write a short (maximum of 5 page) paper on a topic relevant to choir, the music we're doing, or topics we're discussing.
• You should use a minimum of 3 sources cited and documented correctly.
• Some possible topics include the following, there are more possibilities though you should ask for approval before spending the time researching and writing...
• Composers - one's we're singing or major choral composers
• Styles we're singing
• Cultures who's music we're singing
• Social issues reflected in the music we're singing - connect it to the music
• History of the music, particularly major historical pieces

• You may also choose to write a reflection (non researched, more analytical) paper of the same length, some possibilities, again get prior approval to ideas not on the list:
• Concerts are often themed, how do two or more of the pieces reflect that theme, compare and contrast.
• Connect a piece to your life experience or to common experiences of people your age.
• Examine the message of a piece or two, how is that relevant to society, why is music a good medium to spread that message.
• Examine an older piece, compare and contrast it's meaning and place in society when it was written with it's possible meaning and place in society today.
  

The National Catholic Youth Choir

Those students who will be in grades 10. 11. or 12 next year are eligible for membership in the National Catholic Youth Choir.

The NCYC is an honor choir drawing singers from all across the country. It founded in 2000 and Mr. Jacobson was on the staff as a counselor/head counselor and program assistant for the choir's first three seasons. The choir's conductor is Dr. Axel Theimer who is the Director of Choral Activities at The College of St. Benedict/St. John's University. CDH senior Elizabeth Gleich is a former NCYC member.

The experience is in the form of a camp followed by a multi-state tour. The camp portion takes place on the campus of St. John's University in Collegeville, MN. During the camp participants have intensive daily rehearsals, recreation and social time, and participate in liturgies and short performances on campus. Then the choir goes on the road giving concerts and singing at liturgies. Previous tours having included Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan,Indiana, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Georgia.

This year's dates are June 16-July 2. And applications are due March 31. The cost of the entire experience this year is $650 and there are scholarships available. For more information or for application/audition materials click here. Or you can see Mr. Jacobson also.