The Care and Feeding of the High School Men s Choir Presenter: Travis Rogers, Napa High School, Napa, CA trogers777@comcast.net (707)253-3705 February 2014 ACDA Western Division Conference Santa Barbara, California Beginning with twenty boys who met two- three lunchtimes a week to form the first Men s Choir at Napa High School thirty- three years ago, the Men s Choir program has grown to include three Men s choral ensembles with over 200 students. A school with an enrollment of 1,850 that typically involves over 350 students singing in at least one ensemble has, in recent years, actually had more young men than women in the entire program with this year s enrollment involving 205 young men and 160 young women. What s happened at my school, I am convinced can be replicated at many high school sites with time, hard work and effort! Hopefully, one or more of the suggestions given in today s interest session will be useful should you wish to start, build and/or maintain a strong, vibrant Men s Choir program at your school! Travis Rogers 1. Establishing a Men s Choir/Getting Started: Begin by teaching some fun, easy, novelty songs Use male students already in the program Rehearse during part of class time, lunchtime, early flight or late flight Find out if academic credit can be given Use credible, respected leadership students to recruit on campus Make it socially cool Feature on your regular concerts Get cool performance attire Recruiting enticements: free lunch, gift certificates for students who bring in others, sports outing, novelty literature Turn this page over... there s more on the other side!
2. Middle School Recruitment: Contact Assistant Principals, take print outs of incoming kids from their schools for recommendations Take a sales team to call in highly recommended kids, have your students sell the program to kids that are coming in to see you Sales Pitch: Meets the one year requirement of a Visual and Performing Arts class with no homework, Athletes like it: it s a college prep class with no homework to worry about doing after a game or a match, trip to Disneyland, not hard to get an A grade, it s cool the thing to do at Napa High Recruit warm bodies, it is not necessary for students to have previous musical experience Have a recruiting numbers goal how many 9 th grade boys do you really want to teach, who have no or little prior musical experience? 3. Starting as a Beginning Men s Choir Class: Advantage: What you teach them is their concept of exactly what singing is you are the authority and guide to this new adventure! Basic warm- ups, postures, basic music reading, unison singing, guy movies, individual appointment to place as tenors, baritones and basses, lots Discipline/Class management (pushups, lose spot)/seating First songs: fun and in one to four parts, at least one song having a solo, hopefully more (lunchtime tryouts) Shut de do a tradition (and it has three solos) Use illustrations (especially physical/athletic ones) frequently Stage presence Basic music reading skills 4. Placing and Challenging: Competition is built into young men it seems... Sing individually and place according to demonstrated ability Make a mistake? Allow singers to challenge each other or empty spots Praise improvement, allow applause, cheering, positive reaction Put singers on rows they actually earned, then even out prior to a performance, shake it up if top rows get complacent
5. Performance Schedule/Events: Singing In The Spotlight: Less than five weeks after school starts, outdoor/pop music, the Music Man effect, help from next higher choir, observe top a capella group and talent show acts from the top kids, community event, publicity The October Fall Concert first formal performance, observe Chamber Choir, perform with the Beginning Girls Elementary School Performances (December) A half- hour show has been prepared using music learned from the beginning of show through the December concert popular as kids go to the elementary schools they attended and sell the program to the kids listening Formal Auditorium performances: October, December, March and May Festival appearance and tour to southern California Singing with upper classman on the December and May concerts Canned food drive (November) National Anthem at a professional sporting event 6. Continuation in the Choir Program Student information forms Spring individual student appointments Automatically move up to the Chorus (10 th grade Choir) almost without exception, strongest students may try out for Concert Choir, Chamber Choir and Vocal Music Workshop it s a big deal for students to skip Chorus and move on to the other choirs 7. Advanced Men s Choir Ensembles Work separate Men s and Women s Literature typically twice a week 40% of class time) Combine 10-12 grade Men for formal concert performances and festival appearance (Men s Ensemble #2) Chamber Choir Men perform on formal concerts and festival appearances and several community gigs Sing/demonstrate for the beginning boys ( Big Game day, December concert, southern California Tour and final concerts in May) Not as much placing and challenging as students advance over the years Turn this page over... there s more on the other side! 8. Other details and some thoughts on caring for the boys and the program
Strive for balance between the men/women in activities, treats, perks Having a lot of committed men improves the quality of your entire program, especially your mixed ensembles Build school and town community Improves grade point average, self- esteem, ability to work in and with a team, chances of getting into college and university Meets the four C s promoted in California public schools: creativity, collaboration, communication, and critical thinking Go for it the joy it has personally brought to me, our kids, their parents, our school and the entire Napa community cannot truly be expressed in words 9. Feeding the Men s Choir Start with milk that tastes sweet and is attractive Add some solid food gradually Put in some beef when ready Always, always have dessert with EVERY meal (novelty/fun song)! Stay physical by encouraging movement Picking the right literature (food) is perhaps the most vital component to growing and maintaining healthy high school male singers QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, and/or CONCERNS?! The following pages list many titles that have worked well with the Napa High School Men s Choir Program at the many different levels of expertise (from beginning to advanced). Many titles on the following page (front and back) would probably NEVER be sung at an ACDA Convention performance, but have worked in getting high school young men excited about singing! The final page (also front and back) lists more challenging, difficult and satisfying literature suitable for serious concert performance, festival or convention appearances. The Care and Feeding of the High School Men s Choir
Presenter: Travis Rogers, Napa High School, Napa, CA trogers777@comcast.net (707)253-3705 February 2014 ACDA Western Division Conference Santa Barbara, California Literature List To Begin ( milk a lot of pop and easy unison or two- part, but the even three and four part songs are quite easy with consonant and/or repetitive harmonies. Nearly all are dessert novelty/fun titles) Title Composer/Arranger Voicing A Teenager in Love Jay Althouse TTB Always Look On The Bright Side of Life Mac Huff TTB Bonse Aba Victor C. Johnson TTB Captain Fate Peter Schickele TTB Christmas In About Three Minutes Mark Weston TB Do You Love Me? Kirby Shaw TTB Dust In The Wind Roger Emerson TB Goodnight, Sweetheart, Goodnight Roger Emerson TTBB Grandma Got Run Over By A Reindeer Teena Chinn 2- part Grandma s Killer Fruitcake Roger Emerson 2- part I Walk The Line: The Music of Johnny Cash Alan Billingsley TTB Little Red Riding Hood Alan Billingsley TTB Little Saint Nick Jay Althouse TTBB Man of La Mancha Kirby Shaw TTB Mistletoe Phyllis Aleta Wolfe 3- part Purple People Eater Greg Gilpin TB Rockin Around The Christmas Tree Andy Beck TB(B) Rudolph, The Red- Nosed Reindeer Ed Lojeski TBB Shut de do NHS Choir TTBB Sweet Caroline Kirby Shaw TTB Takin Care of Business Audrey Snyder TTB The Gambler Ed Lojeski TTB The Twelve Days After Christmas Fredrick Silver unison Two too Wet! Jay ALthouse TB We Need a Little Christmas Mac Huff 2- part Wild Things Roger Emerson TBB Yakety Yak Roger Emerson TB Easy Literature (starting on solid food, but still some desserts )
Title Composer/Arranger Voicing A Child s Book of Beasts (Set 1 and Set 2) Jean Berger 2- part Barbara Allen Randall Gill TTBB Cripple Creek Emily Crocker TB Do You Hear The People Sing? Ed Lojeski TBB *Dry Bones Donald Moore TTBB He Never Failed Me Yet Robert Ray TTBB I m Gonna Sing When The Spirit Says Sing Howard Helvey TTBB *Johnny Schmoker James Rodde TTBB Jubiltate Deo! Laura Farnell TB Kate Ruth Morris Gray TTBB Little Liza Ken Berg TBB Muddy Water John Leavitt TTBB *Pirate Song Tim Y. Jones TTBB *Rhythm of Life Richard Barnes TTBB Shine On Me Rollo Dilworth TBB Shoshone Love Song Roger Emerson TBB *The Great Pretender Roger Emerson TTBB *The Kitty of Coleraine Daniel McDavitt TTBB They Call The Wind Maria Kirby Shaw TBB *dessert titles Intermediate Literature (adding some more solid food all TTBB unless noted)
Title Composer/Arranger Voicing *A Capital Ship Michael Richardson A- Roving Norman Luboff Ave Maris Stella Diane Loomer Betelehemu Wendell Whalum Blow The Candles Out Michael Richardson Brightest and Best Shawn Kirchner Bring Him Home John Leavitt Brothers, Sing On Edwin Grieg Come and See The King Ken Berg *De Mornin Come Wendell Whalum Dies Irae Z. Randall Stroope TBB Exsultate Justi In Domino Brant Adams Fergus An Molly Vijay Singh Finnin Haddie Vijay Singh Festival Sanctus John Leavitt TTB Gentle Annie Robert Shaw/Alice Parker In Taberna Quando Sumus (from Carmina Burana ) Carl Orff TBB Instrument of Peace Greg Gilpin Lift A Glass To Friendship Norman Luboff Marching To Pretoria Ruth E. Abbott Noel Brad Holmes O Captain, My Captain John Leavitt *O Susannah! Jonathan Crutchfield On Christmas Night All Christians Sing Howard Helvey River In Judea John Leavitt Tenting Tonight Andy Beck The Little Drummer Boy Harry Simeone The Star- Spangled Banner Val Hicks *There Is Nothin Like A Dame William Srickles Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day Howard Helvey Tshotsholoza Jeffrey Ames Vive L Amour Robert Shaw/Alice Parker Zion s Walls Aaron Copland *dessert titles Advanced Literature ( beef difficult, challenging for advanced ensembles)
Title Composer/Arranger Voicing Advent Craig Courtey America The Beautiful Marvin Gaspard Ave Maria Franz Biebl TTBB/TTB Back To Ethopia Paul Rardin Blow Ye The Trumpet Kirke Mechem Cantate Domino Hans Leo Hassler *Clementine Gwenyth Walker Crown Him With Many Crowns J. Harold Moyer Deep River Darmon Meader, Roy Ringwald Go Tell It On The Mountain Carolyn Jennings God Rest Ye Merry, Gentlemen Mark Riese *Hol you Han Paul Rardin Homeland Z. Randall Stroope I Saw Three Ships Mark Riese *If I Got My Ticket, Can I Ride Robert Shaw Listen To A Jublilant Song Tim Sarsany Double TTBB Choir Loch Lomond Michael Hanawalt Lux Aurumque Eric Whitacre *Manly Men Kurt Knecht *Marry A Woman Uglier Than You Leonard de Paur O Jerusalem In The Mornin Buryl Red/Linda Twine/Joseph Joubert O Lux Beatissima Howard Helvey Of The Father s Love Begotten David Childs *On the Banks of the Don (from Three Folksongs ) Michael Heard Plenty Good Room arr. Moses Hogan Saints Bound For Heaven Robert Shaw/Alice Parker Shenandoah Kevin A. Memley *The Rocky Road To Dublin Randall Johnson There Is a Balm Larry Fleming Think On Me James Mulholland Ubi Caritas Et Amor Mack Wilberg Were You There? Robert Scholz When I Hear Her I Have Wings Mark Templeton Who Is He In Yonder Stall? Robert Young Your Voices Raise George F. Handel *dessert titles