Dear CT-ACDA,
Thank you to all of who attended the October 3rd Session of THE HEALING VOICE, the first in our 2-part series of our 2020 Fall Conference. Dr. Thomas and Professor Buthelezi were incredibly inspiring, encouraging and challenging - Exactly what we all needed!
Next Saturday, November 7th is our 2nd Session, with clinicians Anne Guess, Megan Durham and Dr. David Astrachan - The conference schedule and descriptions of their work/expertise/sessions - as well as registration, are open and available at www.ctacda.net
Come and be inspired to more intentionally care for your community and for yourselves...body, soul and spirit!
MEMBERSHIP
The Annual SINGUP Membership Drive is active until November 15th PLEASE...if you are not up to date with your membership - RENEW TODAY! Our membership goal is a 10% increase and we need everyone to renew, ASAP, in order to achieve and exceed that goal!
Student Memberships are $5 and we also have a limited number of FREE memberships available - Interested? Please email Membership Chair, Dale Griffa at membership@ctacda.net
RENEW & JOIN: https://acda.org/membership-central/
You are so important to the CT-ACDA.
I am so grateful for the incredible and amazing work you are all doing during this unprecedented period of time. Remember - REACH OUT! Reach out to me, to the Executive Board, to the your R&R Chairs...to your district and workplace colleagues - to share great ideas, to ask for help, to find inspiration and connection.
We need each other.
I am looking forward to seeing all of you on November 7th!
With Love and Gratitude,
Amanda Hanzlik
President
CT-ACDA August 2020 Newsletter
Dear CT-ACDA,
It is August! I hope you are all well, feeling encouraged and ready to create art in new and innovative ways.
The CT-ACDA is here to help you in any way we can!
This newsletter features the work of our brilliant Repertoire and Resources Coordinator and Chairs.
This is the first in a series of conversations and ideas from our R&R chairs! Be on the lookout in the coming weeks for more contributions by our R&R Chairs, via email and Facebook for more!
The last section of this newsletter contains online resources, COVID-19 Study updates, curricular ideas/tutorials and more, from ACDA EAST, ChorAmor and The ACDA National Office.
The CT-ACDA offers our sincerest thanks to Joshua East for serving as an R&R Chair for the past year - and many congratulations to Joshua on his new appointment as a high school director in Kansas! We wish both he and his husband, Jake Narverud all the best with their new adventures and we will miss both of them so much. Joshua and Jake, thank you for being such wonderful members and contributors to our CT-ACDA family!
We are thrilled to announce the appointment of Brian Jones, Director of Choirs at Canton Middle/High Schools, to the position of R&R Chairs for T/B Choirs. Welcome and Congratulations Brian!
I hope you all enjoy these last few days of summer! There will be a Virtual Happy Hour and Fall Conference Information coming your way...very soon!
With Gratitude,
Amanda Hanzlik, President, CT-ACDA
LET'S DO BETTER - TOGETHER
Connecticut ACDA
“Do the best that you can until you know better.
Then when you know better, do better.”
- Maya Angelou
It is the desire of the CT-ACDA Repertoire and Resource Chairs to actively and collaboratively pursue the vital conversations and learning necessary to recognize and reveal areas where we can do better in our classrooms and communities - specifically in the areas of equity and representation.
By sharing resources that are supporting our own self-reflection and growth, we hope to encourage conversations, collaboration and ideas from our Connecticut choral community that will lead to action and change for those marginalized by our current practices.
We are listening and learning. Please join us.
“As choral artists, we understand that critical self-reflection is a part of the artistic process; at this time, we feel called to hold up a mirror to our own practice.”
- Black Voices Matter Pledge
Conversation:
Social Emotional Learning and Mindfulness
Many schools/districts, including mine, have spent time in recent years focusing on emotional intelligence and mindfulness with our students through a prescribed social-emotional curriculum. Learning skills with our students to be present in the moment, understand our emotions, show empathy for others and make responsible decisions seems like a slam dunk for classroom culture. In fact, the encouraged implementation during our school day has brought about many meaningful conversations with my students.
Recently as I have been deeply reflecting on many aspects of my classroom culture and teaching practices, I am asking myself more pointed questions on the desired and perceived impact on my students as compared to what may actually be taking place in certain SEL and mindfulness exercises and conversations. I’m not yet convinced that each of my students feels that their life experience, cultural background and emotional history is truly honored and celebrated in the current practices of SEL in our classroom curriculum. Therefore, I have work to do.
Here are some of the questions I am asking:
How can I allow and encourage all of my students to participate, articulate and express in a way that is truly genuine to their identity and experience?
How do I become more aware of my own bias toward my experience and emotional vocabulary and actions?
I was recently introduced to the writing and research of Rhonda McGee, law professor and author of The Inner Work of Racial Justice. Her work and presentations have been helpful for me in making new connections to mindfulness in the classroom and validating the diverse emotional needs of my students. This particular panel discussion is especially focused on how mindfulness can help us to understand and navigate our own racial bias as we do the work toward inclusiveness together with our students. If this is a topic you are in which you are interested, I encourage you to watch A Mindful Approach to Race and Social Justice in America with Rhonda McGee, Jon Kabat-Zinn and Anderson Cooper
If you have found SEL practices that work toward honoring the experience of each of your students, or if this is something you’re also currently reevaluating, please reach out. I would love to continue the conversation with you!
Sarah Gleason, Repertoire and Resources Coordinator
Conversation:
Developing an Antiracist Classroom
Many music department traditions were shattered by the onset of COVID-19. Concerts, musicals, field trips, festivals, graduations—all gone. And with the future uncertain and the number of cases still high, chorus teachers are watching a semester of social distancing, limited class size, and distance learning barrel down at them, wondering “What am I going to do during a whole year of this?”
When faced with such an ominous dark cloud, it’s easy to lose sight of the silver lining. The refrain we hear from the George Floyd protests demands not just more incremental steps; the entire rotten system needs to be torn down and rebuilt from a place of equity. Why not consider a similar mindset for the chorus classroom? If COVID demands that we reinvent the wheel anyway, why not make a better wheel, a wheel equipped to meet the challenges exposed by the times? Or are we really to believe that the wheel we’ve been using for generations is fine just the way it is?
Consider this article about Developing an Antiracist Music Theory Classroom. Whether you teach theory or not, the text contains some significant ideas. Why do we do the things we do every single year? What are the origins of those traditions? What damage might they cause? With everyone’s routines now disrupted, could those traditions be reimagined in a way that is more just? How might we leverage our students’ strengths and skills to reinvent choral music to meet the challenges of our time? Why do we insist on asking students to embrace our music, when this pandemic gives us the opportunity to embrace their music instead? How can we meet the moment in our own profession, rebuild a system already torn down by disease into something better?
We have been forcibly freed from tired traditions and age-old ensemble structures. Will we hunker down and eventually go “back to normal”? Or will we craft a new normal that flourishes in this environment and brings all our students into the future?
Chris Wasko, Middle School Repertoire and Resources Chair
Conversation:
Implementing Antiracist Changes in your Classroom
As I write this post, my head is swirling with thoughts and ideas about what I could be doing to better recognize and celebrate contributions of black, brown, and Indigenous musicians in my classrooms. This summer I’ve been a sponge….trying to soak up as much information in an effort to realize what I didn’t know I didn’t know. I’ve been viewing many online presentations, reading, working with our school district’s anti-racism committee, and THINKING. Thinking about how it is my responsibility to become an even more informed teacher who is an active anti-racist.
Here are two wonderful discussions I recommend you listen to….
Black Voices Matter with Alexander Lloyd Blake (through A Cappella Academy): https://youtu.be/7MNekpwH-H8
Building Culturally Relevant Schools with Dr. Gloria Ladson Billings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr2monteBbo
After listening to those discussions, here are the changes I am going to begin implementing next school-year:
Focusing more on aural skills/traditions and teaching more tunes by ear.
Having students’ grades reflect their PROGRESS more than meeting external standards.
Changing the way I select students for my ensembles to be more inclusive and expansive. For example, "You need to be able to do X, Y, and Z to move up to the next choir. Unlike last year, where I looked at specific summative assignments to gather my data, this year you can show me you are capable of X, Y, and Z by either demonstrating A, B, or, C.”
Programming more repertoire written/created by black, brown, and Indigenous musicians.
MORE!
I haven’t created specific lesson plans and documents yet, but I’d love to engage in discussions around these ideas and more with anyone willing to chat! Let’s share what we create and find!
Lauren Verney-Fink, High School Repertoire and Resources Chair
Online Resources
ACDA Eastern Division
ChorAmor
ACDA National - Resources for Choral Professionals During the Pandemic
CT-ACDA June 2020 Newsletter
Dear CT-ACDA,
Happy June!
Thank you to everyone who attended our May 30th Spring Conference Webinar! Thanks to our presenters, Melanie Cometa, Leslie Imse, Cara Bernard and Frank Martignetti - and thank to our President-Elect, Matt Harrison for hosting the event.
Our June 9th Songwriting Workshop/Session with the incredible Jim Papoulis, was attended by over 100 choral directors from all over the country! This newsletter contains a wonderful tribute to the actual songwriting process with Jim, from our very own Ellen Gilbert. Thank you, Ellen, for contributing this article and for being such an inspiration for all of us and for your students. We love you!
ACDA has also released the COVID-19 Response Committee Report, which can be found HERE: ACDA COVID REPORT
Congratulations to everyone for your innovation, perseverance and determination to thrive during this time.
With Gratitude,
Amanda Hanzlik
President, CT-ACDA
A NEW DAY IS DAWNING
Ellen Gilbert - Mystic Middle School
“I’ll see you in a couple of weeks, Mrs. Gilbert”, Aiden said as he rushed out the front door of the school. “Don’t forget your chorus music - we have our concert coming up before you know it,” I said with a ‘loud enough for the neighbors to hear me’ reminder. “I got it”, he says....
That was before. That was before everything. That was before our colleagues got sick. That was before we wondered if we would see our parents and grandparents again.
That was before we found out we couldn’t sing.
I got online with Meredith Neumann and Leila Tofig Mustakos, trying to figure out how to run a rehearsal through this thing called ZOOM and laughing as we heard the delay and wondered “how the heck is this going to work…?” I got online with Melanie Cometa and Laura Gladd and Josh Cushing and others trying to figure out how to navigate recording for a virtual choir.
Then it hit me. How on earth would I make this happen with not-quite-actualized-Mrs. Gilbert-I don’t-know-what-to practice-MIDDLE SCHOOLERS.
This year was a perfect storm of our two middle schools in town merging, and with that, half of my students had not learned the same sequence of literacy and practice skills as those who had been with me for years. There were so many things we were working on as they tried to navigate learning aspects of two different teaching styles into one and we weren’t quite “there” yet when the pandemic hit.
I went through each week seeking out meaningful activities for my choral groups, but none of it, NONE OF IT, felt right. Pieces were just missing. The closeness, the community, the success of a student using the right solfa or singing alone in front of others and getting a round of applause from her peers.
I admittedly felt a little lost and guilty and unmusical and disconnected and just - not creative.
Then I saw what Jim Papoulis wrote on his Facebook page. He said, “Like you, I have been reflecting on this defining moment for all of us -- as a society, as a people, as global citizens -- and wondering how we can cultivate a space of healing and hope together through music.”
Yes, THIS was what I needed, what WE needed.
Jim went on to say, “In the spirit of staying connected and sharing our thoughts and music, I would like to invite members of youth choirs worldwide to take part in an interactive online songwriting workshop. I hope to create a song together that somehow brings a positive connection out of this unprecedented time in all our lives. (I could hear angels singing in the background!)
I had been fortunate enough to have worked with Jim on another project and emailed him right away to be a part of this endeavor. I decided to use my select choir students for this project. As much as I didn’t want my other vocalists to miss the opportunity, we needed to use ZOOM (not allowed in my district, but fine in an extracurricular capacity) and I needed students who I knew could read and would record the tracks successfully.
I met with the students the week before our meeting with Jim. We needed to all be able to get onto ZOOM and familiarize ourselves with the similarities and differences compared to Google Classroom (this is middle school - I take NOTHING for granted). I’m not sure the students knew what to expect. As one student said, “I thought it would be like a 20 minute class meeting like I have with our classes. It was nothing like that.
We met with Jim the following week. Just getting them to have their mikes “on” was a task. They had become so good at the online meeting etiquette that Jim and I were constantly reminding them to turn off the mute button. I found it very interesting that they were writing furiously in the chat feature and Jim actually had me monitor that (and page 2!) throughout the process.
Jim has such a way of talking to kids that he immediately put them at ease. The questions started simply enough - “How’s everyone doing? What are you doing during this time?” And evolved to more serious questions to “What do you miss the most? What do you think is a good thing that has come from us being together?” I watched for hands being raised and monitored the chat. The words just started flying. The students were so empowered and comfortable with the process that they then turned to musical decisions - what key did they prefer? Would you like a key change at the end? Yes, of course, please! They preferred certain rhythm patterns and compositional devices and soon, an hour and a half was gone.
In about a week and a half, Jim sent me a preliminary song. I suggested some edits (those things you learn about a middle school baritone line over the course of a lifetime of study - is it actually longer than a lifetime with middle school?) and the text was not quite there yet. So, I put out the call to my kids again, although I used a more select group to refine the lyrics. This second group of students worked for another two hours on subtleties and word choices. Finally, it felt right.
We sent the text back to Jim and he was SO excited. I think I read the word “perfect” from Jim - woohoo!!! I sent the music out to the kids, drove paper copies all over town (not everyone has a printer as we know) and we have started our fabulous “let’s embrace the lag time” sectionals.
So I asked the students what they felt about the experience. From the twins Courtney and Addy, “It was a very fun experience and helped us see what others thought of words and meanings in songs. Getting to come up with all the words and put it together with rhythms with everyone as a team was the best part. We will hold onto this experience together.” From Anna who had just moved this year from England, “I loved getting to know Mr. Papoulis and working with my fellow select chorus friends to create a fabulous song. I really, really love this song as there is no song in the world like it as it is unique.” Aiden, whose mom is battling cancer and has had so much on his plate “thinks it was really fun thinking of all of our different words to express our feelings about this global pandemic and all, that everyone of had to go through it was great to see all of my friends in select chorus cooperating and having so much fun in the process.”
Lastly, Leo, he’s my busy kid and yet so insightful said this, “I loved interacting as a classroom and getting to be involved in this composition shows how symbiotic our choir is. We bounced ideas and insight off of each other.”
And this is why I knew they would do such a great job. I feel that some small part of me has been restored through this process as only music (and kids) can do…
A New Day is Dawning
v. 1 Swept away in moments of darkness
Who am I in this changing world
Holding on to hope of what can be
CHORUS
A new world is dawning in our hearts
A new day awakens in our spirits
A new world is dawning in our hearts
As we all find our way
v. 2 Every moment writes a new story
Slowly we can see our old world is gone
Can this be a chance to start again?
CHORUS
A new world is dawning in our hearts
A new day awakens in our spirits
A new world is dawning in our hearts
As we all find our way
BRIDGE
We will carry on
Who are we in this shifting world
We will carry on
As we walk through our fear
CHORUS
A new world is dawning in our hearts
A new day awakens in our spirits
A new world is dawning in our hearts
As we all find our way