Culver City Middle School

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  1. Voicestra Choir (Period 1)
  2. Assignments

Voicestra Choir (Period 1) Assignments

Instructors
Term
2018-2019 School Year
Department
Electives
Description
Welcome to Voicestra Choir! I am looking forward to an exciting, musical year. In order for our choir to sound its best, each of us needs to contribute to the best of our ability. The goals, expectations, and procedures outlined below will allow us to reach our fullest potential as a performing ensemble.
 

Course Description:

The goal of the choral program is to produce students who are knowledgeable about music, have developed listening skills, can perform successfully with confidence, and can operate and cooperate within a structured framework. Students are not expected to become virtuoso musicians. Students are expected to establish both short and long range goals for vocal improvement, and to develop the skills and tools necessary to become life-long independent musicians and learners. In choir, students gain knowledge and skills in proper vocal technique, unison and two, three, or four-part singing, music reading, notation, terminology, ear training, critical analysis, and music history. Students perform a varied repertoire of music in different languages, cultures, and stylistic periods. For further information, please see the California State Music Content Standards here.
 
Please mark our 2018-2019 Concert Season on your calendar:

 

Winter Concert:                Wednesday, December 12th       7:00 pm        Robert Frost Auditorium

District-Wide Concert:   Wednesday, February 20th           6:30 pm        Robert Frost Auditorium

Music In the Parks:           Saturday, May 11th                         All Day           Knott’s Berry Farm

Spring Concert:                     Tuesday, May 21st                  7:00 pm        Robert Frost Auditorium

8th-Grade Promotion:         Friday, June 14th                          10:30 am     Jerry Chabola Stadium

It is my goal to excite all students about music and singing, and to provide them with meaningful music instruction in a positive, supportive learning environment. If you have any questions about the class or your child’s progress, please contact me at (310) 842-4200, ext. 5001, or at [email protected], and I will be happy to meet with you. I very much look forward to working with all of you this year!

Musically yours,

Ms. Danielle Koplinka-Loehr, Music Educator, CCUSD

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Past Assignments

Due:

Assignment

Attached you will find your instructions for composing your song. Please be aware that your song must be printed out and/or shared with me by *next Tuesday, June 11th* by the end of class. Have fun!

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Assignment

Below you will find your part's practice track for "Sililiza." (Soprano 1/Soprano 2/Alto 1/Alto 2).
Please practice your track at least TWICE daily until it is correctly memorized, or until the concert, whichever comes first. Remember, ONLY sing your part when you hear the piano playing and ONLY speak when Ms. Koplinka-Loehr speaking. (FYI, if you are singing a part when the piano is not playing or you speak when she is not speaking, you are performing another part, not your own.)
Have fun!

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Assignment

to practice your part for "Laudamus Te." Pay special attention to vowel shape, entrances, and dynamics.
 
You may also find this video (the original version, with two soprano soloists and a string orchestra), useful to practice: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bfv8rqL5FVI
 
Finally, you may practice your individual part for the top line (Soprano 1) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6-r5DhwLVIU
And you may practice your individual part for the bottom line (Soprano 2) here:

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Assignment

Please use the following link to practice your part for "Elijah Rock":
This is the ASU women's choir performing the SSA version. Listen for their consonants and dynamics!
 
This is the Atlanta Master Chorale; they sing it SAB version but please still listen as it is helpful for dynamics, vowels, etc.

 

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Assignment

We have been invited to sing with Vox Femina on Sunday, April 28th! Please read the attached letter (passed out before spring break and emailed to families last week), and return the attached permission slip by Thursday, April 18th. We look forward to this wonderful opportunity to perform again!

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Assignment

Attached you will find your Music in the Parks informational letter about our upcoming Festival performance on May 11th. The permission slip is attached as well, and both the donation slip form and the permission slip are due to Ms. Koplinka-Loehr on her first day back on Monday, April 15th. Have a wonderful spring break, and can't wait to see you soon!

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Assignment

Attached you will find your pass-off list and explanation of the pass-off procedure! Your first pass-off is to sing a la minor scale, or a chromatic scale if it's your second year in Voicestra, before 9/20/18. This pass-off list serves as a check-in for you to challenge yourself and to continue working on your pass-offs at your own speed, remembering that you cannot pass the next pass-off until you have successfully passed the pass-off that precedes it. If you are in second-year Voicestra, please use the pass-off sheet "Year 2," and if you are in first year Voicestra, feel free to challenge yourself on Year 2, as well. Have fun!

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Assignment

Optional Homework: Designing a program cover for the Winter Concert!
 

Program Design Contest!

We are looking for program art for our concert. If you would like to design a cover, please follow these guidelines:

  • Use a black pen or fine-tipped marker
  • Draw your design in the blank space on the front of the attached page
  • Be sure to have a music-related image
  • Remember that both instrumental and vocal ensembles will be performing in the concert
  • Due by Tuesday, November 27th, 2018. Good luck!

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Assignment

Please complete your rehearsal self-evaluation rubric, and create two goals that will be achievable before our concert on Wednesday, December 12th, 2018.

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Assignment

Pass off #3: Sight-reading "takadimi" rhythms, with dotted eighth notes
 
Please use the following link to practice for your third pass-off:
 
Remember to scroll down to the bottom of the page to find the "ta-mi" dotted solfege rhythms. Also, remember that you need to use accurate rhythm syllables ("ta-ka-di-mi," "ta-di," "ta-a-mi," etc.) and pulse the eighth note pulse while you test in order to receive full credit. Have fun practicing!

Due:

Dynamics sheet music color coding key.JPG

Assignment

Please color code your sheet music for this semester (winter concert) using the following color-coding methodology for dynamics (see below, and attached). Please be sure to use colored pencils ONLY. Singers are expected to color code ALL pieces of music. Please complete by next Monday, 10/8.
 
f and ff = red
mf = brown
mp = green
p, pp and ppp = blue
crescendo < = red
decrescendo/diminuendo > = blue
 
Optional : ritardando (rit.) = blue
Optional: fermata (birds-eye symbol) = brown

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Assignment

Please read the attached study guide of "Satyagraha," to familiarize yourself with the background and the plot, before Monday, 10/8/18. If you want to look ahead at some of the video clips we will be looking at in class, you can click on the following links below:
 

New York Times mini-documentary (5 minutes) on the new staging of Satyagraha:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PCGmbzRz9Ws

39 minute explanation of Satyagraha: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0GzcJd_UhYk

Olympic Games music as an example of Phillip Glass's compositional style: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WCvhAAJwdtY

Act I, Ekaterinburg State Academic Opera in Russia, beginning of the opera:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RfqQK-ZVMG4

Act 1 "Tolstoy", Scene 1, “The Kuru Field of Justice,” as performed by Staatsoper Stuttgart:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sMtDI539bvI

Act I, Scene 2 and Scene 3 "The Vow." Staatsoper Stuttgart performance of “The Vow”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VsU7wczwbNI

Act II, wherein Gandhi gets rescued by the mayor’s wife with the umbrella: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxGCwSD4Gj8

To see the umbrella rescue, start at 16:11: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1zLEcVokkNQ

Act III, Gandhi’s relationship to Martin Luther King, and Evening Song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKFFP2wySb8

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Assignment

Pass off #2: Reading F major Solfege cards
 
Please use the following links to practice reading your solfege cards (remember to scroll down to the bottom sections of each page):
 
 
Remember that "do" is on the first space. Also, remember that you need to sing accurate pitches, accurate syllables, and use accurate hand signs in order to receive full credit. You will be tested on two randomly selected solfege cards from the sample cards above. Have fun practicing!

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Assignment

We are thrilled to be preparing for our first field trip, on Thursday, October 18th, from 9:45 am- 5:45 pm. We will be attending L. A. Opera's Satyagraha, an opera about the life of Mahatma Gandhi, written by Phillip Glass. Please see attached letter for additional information. Students should turn in their permission slips that were passed out in class on 9/27 as part of the field trip packet by Thursday, October 4th. Remember to wear nice clothes on 10/18 and to bring a lunch, a water bottle, and a snack or two for the very long day!

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Assignment

Your first assignment is to subscribe to this class! Please follow the directions below. Welcome to CCMS Choir!
 

To subscribe:

1) Go to ccms.ccusd.org

2) Hover over the word “Students” in the top banner. A drop-down menu should appear. Click on the first word in the menu, “Classes/Homework.”

3) Once you are in “Classes/Homework,” click on “Electives.”

4) Once you are in “Electives,” scroll down and click on “Voicestra Choir.”

5) Once you have reached the Voicestra class page, please click on the button that says “+Subscribe” on the right-hand side.

6) A pop-up window will appear. Please enter your name, email, and if your parent is subscribing, please enter your name as a student. Thanks so much for completing your first assignment on time!

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Assignment

Welcome again to CCMS Voicestra Choir! Your first assignment after subscribing to this class is to:
 
1) Read the Voicestra syllabus
2) Mark down all of our concerts on your personal calendar and on your family's calendar
3) Return the last page of the syllabus to Ms. Koplinka-Loehr. Again, be sure to note ALL concerts on your calendar!
 
Ms. Koplinka-Loehr will hand out hard copies of the Voicestra syllabus on Tuesday, 8/28 during class, and it is also uploaded here electronically in both Spanish and English.Thanks so much for submitting your first assignment on time!

Due:

Assignment

For all Voicestra students: if this is your second or third year in choir, and you are interested in being a section leader this year, please turn in 1-2 paragraphs by Tuesday, September 4, explaining what would make you a strong, reliable section leader. Traits of a strong section leader include:
-Strong music-reading ability
-Strong leadership skills
-Positive attitude
-Ability to motivate peers
 
All students are encouraged to apply; preference will be given to 8th graders. Your 1-2 paragraphs are due to Ms. Koplinka-Loehr at the end of the day on 9/4. Thanks!