[MusicTlk] Choir Conducting

[Julie McGinnity]

Hi Kelby,

I'm also coming to this late. A few years ago I used to assist our
choir director at the church I attended. This was extremely stressful
in some ways because although my main responsibility was to work with
a small group worship team, I also led the choir when our lead choir
director went out of town or whatever. I had to lead the choir on
seriously short notice sometimes, and that was... well, exciting?
Anyway, I had a strong relationship with a Braille music transcriber
at the time who was amazing and worked with me to get me the music I
needed the most. The hymns and some of the easier scores, I did the
best I could with. I worked with our accompanist and asked her
questions occasionally. I also did not memorize every part, yes, in
part because I did not have the time, but also because I did not feel
the need. Sometimes if I thought there would be a trouble spot, I
would look at it ahead of time. I knew my choir though and trusted
them to learn the music well.

I used the gestures I had been taught in choral conducting, but I also
had the kind of relationship with my church choir that I allowed them
to ask for more or less of something. They understood that I was knew
at conducting a real choir, and I trusted them to ask for something
without being mean about it. It actually worked really well, and I
will always treasure the conducting experience.

If I could get Braille music on demand and a living wage, I would
happily conduct adult choirs for the rest of my life. Ah well... Maybe
one day when I'm rich and retired... Lol I hope you enjoy your
conducting experience.

Julie

On 5/5/22, Chase Crispin via MusicTlk <musictlk at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> Hi Kelby,
> I apologize for the very late response. I am a middle school vocal music
> teacher in Nebraska and am totally blind. I conduct choirs frequently. I
> know my gestures may look slightly different than other directors, so if my
> students don't respond to a gesture the way I expect, I show the gesture
> again and explain what I was intending. This helps them learn my gestures
> and respond appropriately in the future. I always use a braille score and do
> have an accompanist. I memorize the score form, entrances, dynamics, etc.
> But, I find that I don't fully memorize each individual part. I instead
> memorize the harmonies and tonality of the piece. If I have questions about
> specific pitches, I refer to the braille score which I always have in front
> of me on a music stand. I've found that fully memorizing every detail of the
> score is personally too much for me due to the number of pieces I teach at a
> time. I'm sure full memorization would be even more effective, but I have
> learned how to prioritize some elements to memorize to maximize my time. I'm
> happy to answer any questions you may have, so please feel free to contact
> me anytime.
> Good luck!
>
>
> Chase Crispin
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: MusicTlk <musictlk-bounces at nfbnet.org> On Behalf Of kelby carlson via
> MusicTlk
> Sent: Thursday, April 7, 2022 3:12 PM
> To: musictlk at nfbnet.org
> Cc: kelby carlson <kelbycarlson at gmail.com>
> Subject: [MusicTlk] Choir Conducting
>
> I may have the opportunity to begin conducting a choir in the somewhat near
> future. I took a choral conducting class many years ago, but will confess to
> have forgotten 99% of it, including the gestures—a real shame since the
> professor went to some effort to make sure I got a lot out of the class.
>
> I would like to know if anyone here has conducted a choir in any capacity.
> If so, what were your strategies? How did you obtain sheet music and use it
> effectively (e.g. did you end up needing to memorize everybody's parts?) Any
> help with this is very much appreciated.
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-- 
Julie A. McGinnity
MM Vocal Performance, 2015; American University Washington College of
Law, JD Candidate 2023