October 2007

My paper-palooza

October 29, 2007 19:06

I am in the middle of scanning articles for that most special class of mine. Evening at Pops had about 12 pages of usable material on the symphony, what it is like to be a performer, auditorium acoustics, etc. Then, nyphilkids.org had a nice 3 page history of the symphony. Students get to read each article, fill out a graphic organizer and write a summary paragraph of each article. We started our unit on the symphony last week; however, since they all still think listening excerpts ("are all we going to do is listen to MUSIC") = do whatever, I thought some good content writing would be in order. All self-directed. I really don't need an excessively bossy 15 yr old to say to me again "you can't shush me!" and "you're standing too close". Let's see if she shows up for principal's detention. I still have a bunch of papers to grade. Hmm, will the server be working tonight?
And now I am running out of paper. Will the copier work?

Dont etudes just seem all the more attractive now.
Back to the scanner!

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when encores go wrong

October 27, 2007 20:13

Well, I just played a peculiar concert. Our soloist played her own arrangement of Paganini that included violin, singing (a bit like a Theremin) and playing the piano. She also played and a movement from Piazzolla's 4 seasons. Her encore was truly bizarre, as it involved singing "Summertime" while playing a viper and doing some oddball dance moves (including the splits). It was only missing a snake and/or pole. Anyway, I don't know that our typical audience was quite ready for that type of performance art. I know I wasn't!

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wobbly tooth #1

October 17, 2007 18:37

Our five year just got her first wobbly tooth. Must have been all those apples she has been eating for her morning snack. She was very excited until it started to hurt. Hopefully, it will fall out soon. I have agreed to write to the tooth fairy (who has email now) and ask that her tooth be left so she can bring it for show and tell.

OK. Back to planning for my favorite class!

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critters of the south

October 9, 2007 19:02

Besides infinite numbers of enormous BUGS, there are a lot of critters down here in Macon. The armadillos that are not currently on permanent roadkill duty have left numerous tunnels next to our creek, and Woody Woodpecker is now keen on rapping near the top of the house.

The school critters are vexatious as well. One of my string students who told me I couldn't give HIM detention. And now, not only do we have a "behavior matrix" for students, our leaadership has decided to implement one for teachers as well. There are many other things to say GRRR about, but it's the same old same old.

My musical events are quite varied for the rest of the month. A week ago, I played a quartet gig at a military college. Any time there was mention of "the southern states who decided to join together..." there was a sudden hush in the room. This weekend I am playing a concert with a newly formed orchestra about an hour away. Most of my $$ is going to the babysitter, like usual, but it's a new adventure. Then, at the end of next week, I am playing Ferdinand the Bull as it is being acted out by elementary students. Then there are two more gigs-a wedding reception and a freebie that helped raise money for my daughters' school. The end of the month is a regular symphony concert featuring a hodge podge of orchestra pieces and a violinist who plays violin, piano, and is a soprano.

Now, as my brain is totally fried, I am going to stare mindlessly at the tv and pretend that my day is not starting at 5 a.m.

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