SYLLABUS
Music 355 - CHORAL CONDUCTING
Instructor - David Otis Castonguay
Room 143 Powell Hall - 831-5260
A. Detailed Description of Content of Course
Music 355 is an introduction to the art of choral conducting. The course stresses the development of fundamental skills as well as the application of practical solutions to problems found in everyday rehearsals. Throughout the course emphasis will be placed on each participant developing a personal musical methodology based upon creative problem solving. In this way, the successful participant will develop cognitive skills and habits which should be of use not only in choral rehearsals; but also in many other arenas of endeavor.. Music 355 is what many universities call a capstone course, i.e., a course which uses the summation of knowledge and skills acquired in the student's previous course work. Just as in constructing a house, a weak foundation leads to an unsteady and insecure building, a strong, well-planned foundation results in a strong and secure house. This course provides a direct assessment of individual musicianship skills acquired in earlier core music classes such as ear training, theory and music history.
B. Detailed Description of Conduct of Course
Development of proficiency as a choral conductor demands the acquisition of myriad skills. Skills in rehearsal technique and vocal instruction, extensive knowledge of literature from both musical and related areas, history, the plastic arts and a fair bit of psychology are all necessary. This course is just a beginning in the journey towards this goal. In essence, it is the beginning of an apprenticeship. Time is divided between laboratory experience in conducting gestures/rehearsal techniques and lecture covering topics of vocal health, vocal techniques, diction, choral literature, performance practice and the place of the vocal experience within the context of the educational system of the United States. As outlined below under Assessment Measures, the successful student must acquire both physical skills and knowledge of the subject matter to achieve the specified grades.
C. Goals and Objectives of the Course
The primary goal of this course is to provide the student with the skills needed to choose, prepare, rehearse and perform choral literature in public school or church choir situations. While the successful student may not be able to perform all tasks at sight, an essential goal of this course is to familiarize the student with the available materials which could provide the necessary information to perform these tasks as they are needed. The ability to find the right answer is at least as important as knowing some of the answers off the top of your head.
By the conclusion of this course the successful student will demonstrate:
1. Ability to choose suitable choral literature, analyze and prepare the score for rehearsal including writing a cogent and efficient lesson plan.
2. Ability to develop an interpretive concept of the work, taking into account current views of historically informed performance practice.
3. Ability to generate suitable gestures both verbal and non-verbal to communicate the above to an ensemble,
4. Rehearse an ensemble effectively, detecting errors in pitch/rhythm/ensemble, teaching vocal technique and clear interpretive ideas during rehearsal which culminates in the development of an aesthetic experience for the ensemble.
REQUIRED TEXTS:
Grunow, Richard F. and Fargo, Milford H. The Choral Score Reading Program, G. I. A. Publications, Inc., Chicago. 1985. MT85.G78 C4 1985
Robinson, Ray and Winold, Allen. The Choral Experience. Prospect Heights, Illinois: Waveland Press, Inc., 1992. MT88 .R7 1992
Wall, Joan; Caldwell, Robert; Gavilanes, Tracy; and Allen, Sheila. Diction for Singers. Dallas, Texas: Pst...Inc., 1990. MT872 .W34 1990
Webb, Guy B., ed. Up Front! Becoming the Complete Choral Conductor. Boston: E. C. Schirmer Music Company, Inc., 1993.
assorted handouts as well as excerpts of books and journal articles.
RECOMMENDED TEXTS:
Fowler, Charles, ed. Conscience of a Profession: Howard Swan. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Hinshaw Music, Inc., 1987. MT85 .S898 1987
McKinney, J. C. The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. Nashville: Genevox, 1994.
Reid, Cornelius A Dictionary of Vocal Terminology, Joseph Patelson Music House, New York. 1983.
Thurman, Leon & Welch, Graham, ed., Bodymind and Voice: Foundations of Voice Education, Voice Care Network, National Center for Voice and Speech, The Voice Center of Fairview: Iowa City: The University of Iowa, 1997
REQUIRED MATERIALS: baton, VHS video tape.
Join the American Choral Directors Association: student membership $20.00
ASSESSMENT
A. Conducting Fundamentals (33%):
Technical fluency of non-verbal communication (patterns, cues, gestures) - assigned gestures: 10%
1. Chorale #37 from the St. Matthew Passion
2. Excerpt from liturgical music of the Viennese Classical Period.
Error detection of assigned music while conducting. 3%
Successfully detect errors in 2 examples of single lines from each of the above pieces (except the recitative). Note maximum grade for conducting fundamentals segments may not exceed the grade of each error detection assignment.
· Level I of The Choral Score Reading Program 3%
· Demonstrate proficiency to mark a score with Herford style analysis and Latin IPA. 7%
· Written test: 10%
1. Conducting gestures
2. Score preparation/Analysis
3. Baroque/Classical performance practice
B. Conducting Intermediate (33%):
· Conduct 1 selected work 10%
1. Technical fluency with non-verbal communication - student generated gestures.
2. Error detection of assigned music while conducting. (as before)
3. Write a cogent, and accurate lesson plan for introducing the selected work to a high school or church choir.
· Level II of The Choral Score Reading Program 3%
· Written test: 15%
1. Rehearsal techniques
2. Renaissance performance practice
3. Choral formations
4. Choosing Choral literature
· Conduct recitative excerpt from Messiah 5%
C. Conducting Advanced (34%):
· Conduct a selected work with University Chorus 20%
1. Technical fluency with non-verbal communication - student generated gestures.
2. Technical fluency with verbal communication (rehearsal instructions)
3. Error detection of assigned music while conducting.
4. Write cogent, and accurate lesson plan for three rehearsals of the selected work
5. Submission of analyzed, marked score.
· Level III of The Choral Score Reading Program 3%
· Final Exam (Cumulative) 11%
New material:
1. Vocal Pedagogy/Vocal Health/Categorization of Voices
2. Effective Choral Programming
Written grade scale: 90+ = A; 80+ = B; 70+ = C; 60+ = D; 50+ = F
By accepting admission to Radford University, each student makes a commitment to understand, support, and abide by the University Honor Code without compromise or exception. Violations of academic integrity will not be tolerated. This class will be conducted in strict observance of the Honor Code. Refer to your Student Handbook for details.