I will hopefully be directing a high school show/concert choir. A huge part of the history of music is religion. That's really where some of the most famous pieces come from: sacred music, or music that was sung in a church or place of worship, generally dealing, content-wise, wich a God of some sort. Many people either have very specific beliefs dealing with religion, or none at all. When picking out concert choir music, it is easy to end up picking, without even realizing, three songs that all are about God or Jesus, or something biblical. Though most people in music have realized that by choosing to perform music, one is also choosing to have an open mind, there will undoubtedly be some unhappy people singing three songs about Jesus. I must be careful that my music deals with lots of different subjects, and doesn't favor one religion or culture. (This will be very educational and valuable, anyways!)
I think the most important part of my classroom would be a good work ethic. The students within my classroom must care so much about the music and their performance as a group, that they make the decision to not talk in class as much, to go home and plunk out their voice parts on a piano, to go home and practice their choreography. Passion and hard work can accomplish anything. Excellence is also something that will be emphasized. This does not mean always winning. This means performing every piece of music to the absolute best of their ability, everytime. THere is nothing more satisfying and fun than that!
Your situation is similar to mine. Not in the religious part because there isn't a lot of religious influence on physical education. The similarity I see is the culture of enforcing a good work ethic in the classroom. Like PE, music can very quickly turn into an unhealthy competition. Not only with religion but with performances and trying to compete for who's the best. Like PE, it is important for music teachers to enforce a good work ethic for the love of the music not because then the real importance is lost.
ReplyDeleteI really like your example of diversity you will have to be aware of. I too will be choosing repertoire, and I must be careful to avoid exclusively sacred works, especially around the holidays. But I think if you explain the context of the songs and explain that you're performing it for the musical aspects, not aspects of content. Over the summer, the festival chorus and orchestra performed Mozart's Coronation Mass. And even though it is definitely a religious work, I think the participants and audience enjoyed the musical aspects of it. Some of the best choral works come from sacred music, and I will certainly be looking for ways to include it in a public school curriculum.
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