Once
again “The Art of Possibility” enlightened me. During Ben’s discussion in “Leading
from Any Chair", I began to think about my approach to my program. His
approach is very similar to mine as well as other directors I know. Our concept
is to mode students to understand the interpretation of each piece for any
performance. In no means am I specifying that this is a bad thing but I never
once thought about if I were enabling students from performing to the best of
their abilities.
I
don’t think I have ever been in a rehearsal setting that did not allow engaging
conversations between the director and ensemble. I make it a point to have
meaningful discussions about music my ensemble is performing and about life in
general. I always want students to have an enjoyable time learning about and
performing music. They will also be the first to tell you that I will
acknowledge any mistakes on my behalf and apologies without thinking twice. We
are all humans and no one is perfect (Even though my students try their hardest
to catch me on this since they think I know it all!). I did enjoy the
read about giving an individual with the precious knowledge of a particular
craft an opportunity to lead. I occasionally try this with students whom I know
are capable. And not just the leaders of the band; I’m referring to all with
the burning desire to achieve. I do get some that are too embarrassed to come
up to the podium, but those who accept are really appreciative. Maybe I will
use that line on listening to the music from the back of the theatre to get
more to participate. Oh, and the statement under the subtitle “Leaders
Everywhere” fit perfectly with my Capstone Project. The Youth Philharmonic
Orchestra had to “sight-read” a complex composition by a Cuban composer. If
they did not properly prepare to sight read advanced music, they wouldn’t have
been able to make it through the piece.
If
Rule Number 6 isn’t one needed within my facility then I don’t know what is!
One thing I can’t stand is friction in my program or in the building. I do like
the fact that Zander mentioned humor as the best way to “give over ourselves”.
As previously mentioned, we are all humans and we will make mistakes
regardless. Instead of becoming unprofessional and acting outlandish, lighten
up and laugh about it (Just venting). I can admit that during intense
rehearsals preparing for a performance I can become a very rude obnoxious
individual because I strive for perfection. It does somewhat stress the
students out because they do not want to make any errors. Very recently have I
begun to tell jokes and make a fool of myself to give them something to laugh
about and ease the tension. Doing so has actually allowed them to perform
better and enjoy doing so. I do appreciate the stories associated with the
chapters to give personal accounts on how they approached scenarios. I don’t
think I’ve been this excited about reading a book in a while.
In
the chapter “The Way Things Are”, Zander expresses the need find ways to
overcome negative aspects by introducing positive pathways. I try to bring this
example to the table when dealing with my program. You hear so much about the
Arts being underfunded; I can tell you that this statement doesn’t explain half
of how much funding our programs actually receives. It becomes frustrating when
we have to sustain a program with instruments purchased 3 to 4 decades before
you were born. Of course, instruments that old may be beyond repair. Instead of
concluding that those instruments would become doorstoppers, we find home
remedies to repair them to the best of our abilities. Even though they may not
be the best quality once repaired, students would still have something to use
in order to participate with the rest of the class. As an educator, we have to
find pathways to deliver us from certain negative aspects, which would prevent
students success.
My Response to Anthony
Anthony,
It takes guts to be
vulnerable with students. I have often allowed students to lead my music class
which are primarily steel drum ensembles. It really forces the students to be
vulnerable since they are allowing a peer to oversee what they are doing. The comments
that hit home were "The Way Things Are" comments. In the last four
years I have had to move to three different campuses in the same school
district. One of them was by choice. The final one was the consolidation of my
high school with another high school in the district. I could look at this move
as a less than positive situation since I am losing my band hall, and moving to
a building that I already taken by another band director and his program. I,
however, look at it as a positive move. The campus is brand new. I will have
half of the band load as previous years, as well as taking on three technology
classes. If we constantly seek the negative, we will find it.
Dave
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