Miss Fletcher 2014

Miller, Alyssa, Korin, Rachel, Hannah, Sarah

These beautiful ladies all belong to me.  Well, sort of....

They are members of the Fletcher High School Chorus and each of them competed in the Miss Fletcher pageant on Friday, March 7th.

If you recall, one of my guys named Roger was crowned Homecoming King last fall.  Now, one of my girls is wearing the tiara for Miss Fletcher.  It has been a clean-sweep this year for Chorus in the pageant arena!!

Congratulations to Miller who received the Director's Choice award for her dedication to the pageant experience; and to Alyssa who received the "Metamorphosis Award" for her transformation during the pageant; and to Korin for placing 2nd runner-up; and to Rachel - Miss Fletcher 2014!! I am so very proud of each of these beautiful, talented, intelligent, articulate women.  It is an honor to know them and a privilege to be their teacher.

Brava, ladies!!

Until next time...

Incredible Moment

For the past two days, I have been attending the Southern Division Conference of the American Choral Directors Association at the Hyatt downtown.  As part of the conference experience, we are treated to various choirs from around the country who perform a 30-minute program in a 2-hour block.  One of the highest honors a choral director can receive is an invitation from ACDA to perform at one of their regional or national conventions.

As I sat in Jakoby Hall this morning, I realized that I recognized the woman who was announcing the choirs prior to their performance.  It was Sara Lynn Baird.  She was working on her doctorate at FSU when I was working on my Master's degree and is now the Department Chair in the School of Music at Auburn.  The final performance of the morning was conducted by William Powell who was in the same cohort.  His wife, Rosephanye Powell, was accompanying at the piano.  Rosephanye has become a pre-eminent choral conductor, composer and arranger of African-American spirituals.  She is an amazing woman.  Our former professors were sitting in the box seats to my left and grinning from ear to ear as this performance unfolded. I was texting my former roommate who was also a doctoral candidate at the same time.  She couldn't believe we were all experiencing this moment together and she was teaching in North Carolina.

The "musical" stars aligned today and I experienced such an incredible moment of music-making.  I graduated 22 years ago and haven't seen these folks in as many years.  Chances are, they wouldn't even remember me.  (I was the only Master's student among them!)

I never connected the dots when I was in school.  It never occurred to me that the person sitting in class with me would one day be my colleague, my confidante, my fellow conductor.  What a weird and wonderful musical moment I enjoyed today.  It was absolutely incredible!!

Until next time...

Choral MPA 2014

Well....yesterday was another "round of firsts" for Mrs. Tamburrino.

My first cross-county field trip on school buses.

My first Choral Music Performance Assessment.

My first time conducting in front of my peers.

My first time as a director in a sight-reading room.

My first time wearing my new concert dress.

I was so proud of my students for giving their best effort last night at Mandarin High School during the Florida Vocal Association's Music Performance Assessment.  I took my top auditioned choirs to participate in this district competition and it was such a great learning experience for all of us.  I especially liked the sight-reading judge.  She was so positive and encouraging to my students.  Sight-reading can be a rather nerve-wracking experience, especially if you are not comfortable doing it.

The scores are in....Vocal Ensemble - Superior overall.  Ladies' Chamber - Excellent overall.  Not bad for a rookie's first run!

If we can swing it financially, I will take my Vocal Ensemble to Tallahassee in April to compete at the State level.  Road trip!! Can't wait!!

Until next time...

Solo and Ensemble 2014

On February 7th, a small band of singers traveled to Douglas Anderson School of the Arts for the annual Florida Vocal Association's "Solo and Ensemble MPA."  I had 14 entries this year (6 soloists, 1 octet and 1 large ensemble).

MPA is an acronym for "music performance assessment" and it is exactly that - an opportunity for a soloist or small ensemble to perform before a judge for a grade.  A "Superior" rating is the best you can get.

The students run the show at this event.  My job is to make sure we have originals of each musical score for the judge.  I wish I had had the nerve to take a photo of the music spread before me on the floor, complete with bright orange sticky notes with student's name, page number of song and song title carefully inscribed on each one.  My chair was in the middle of a half-circle of musical scores fanned out in front of me.  It resembled the layout of a Black Jack dealer's cards on the table in front of him.

Sitting on a chair to my right, was the list on which the students' performance order had been printed.  As each one sang, I checked them off the list and opened the next two scores for the judge.  While he was writing comments on his adjudication sheet, I was switching out music and preparing for the next performance.  I was like a sleek machine humming along until one student's music could not be located and he was next in line to sing.  Panic ensued and I put a parent on it so I could keep the machine humming until his music could be found.  We skipped this student and moved on the next one, hoping that the music would turn up prior to the end of our session.  I found out later that the music had been sent down with a runner who took it to the wrong classroom and it took the parent and the voice coach forever to track it down.

Overall, it was a good experience for all of us and I am happy to report that I had 6 soloists receive a "Superior" rating and my large ensemble received "Superior" also.  This group of students will now advance to the State competition in April.

Congratulations to each of you!! You are a joy to teach and I am very proud of your accomplishments!!

Until next time...

After 22 years....

Twenty-two years ago, I was nearing the end of my graduate program at Florida State University.  Because I was getting married three months after graduation, I opted out of buying the academic regalia required to walk at graduation.  The Master's hood cost over $200 and I didn't have the money to spend on such frivolity.  My mom was disappointed, but I had no other options at the time.

Fast-forward 22 years....

I am now teaching at a high school whose new requirements for all faculty include participating in the graduation ceremony while wearing full academic regalia to the highest degree conferred.  That means that after all these years, I will finally get my hood and I won't have to pay a dime for it! AND...I get to keep it!!

God is good to those who love Him and who are called according to His purpose.  Celebrating with a grateful heart today!!

College of Music 

Until next time....

All-State 2014

January has been a very busy month for me and my students!!  2.5 days after our return from Christmas break, I accompanied three of my students to Tampa where they participated in the 2014 All-State Chorus. Rehearsals began at 8:30 a.m. on Thursday morning and they performed with several hundred of the top singers from across the state of Florida on Saturday evening.  It was a whirlwind trip, but well worth it!

Five students represented Fletcher High School at All-State this year.  We had 1 student in the All-State Women's Chorus, 2 students in the All-State Concert Chorus, 1 student in the All-State Symphonic Band and 1 student in the All-State Symphonic Orchestra.

Mr. Maerkl and I are extremely proud of these individuals.  They are great kids who are dedicated to their craft and an absolute joy to teach.  Congratulations to each of you!!  You are so deserving of this honor!!

Dining in downtown Tampa

Ellie, Mrs. Tamburrino, Sara, Jack

After the concert

Mr. Maerkl (Director of Bands), Jack, Sara, DJ, Ellie

and Mrs. Tamburrino (Director of Choral Studies)

Until next time...

Time to Reflect

I am now 5 months into my first year as a high school choral director.  We reached the halfway point last Thursday.  Grades were due for 218 students by noon on Friday.  Semester exams had to be graded and posted and I was at FMEA and All-State the week prior.  I hit a wall trying to register students for Solo and Ensemble on Thursday with the deadline looming at midnight the following night. If you know me, you know that I am not a "last-minute Lucy."  I am very linear (a blessing and a curse) in my approach to life.  My linearality (is that a word?) is great for teaching because I am usually planned out for days, sometimes weeks in advance.  Since I'm not a conceptual girl, I have a hard time visualizing and focusing on the 'big picture.'  I tend to get lost in the minutae of the moment.

So...I would like to take a step back and reflect on the big picture for the first half of the school year. Much has been accomplished which really should be celebrated, at the very least, by my faithful readers.

• In early September, I auditioned 12 soloists to sing the Star Spangled Banner at our home football games.  Five were chosen in a "blind audition" along with one alternate.  We enjoyed a "live" performance of our National Anthem at every home game during the season.  They did such a fine job, the basketball coach asked for our assistance as well as our ladies' soccer coach and we were happy to oblige.
• 81 students auditioned for the Disney Candlelight Processional 2013.  We were one of four public high schools in Duval County that made the cut this year.  Because Thanksgiving was the last week in November instead of the third, Disney cancelled 7 days of performances which drastically reduced the number of choirs who were invited to perform.  On December 17th at 5:00 p.m., we performed at Candlelight and it was awesome!! My first field trip ever - 2 coach buses, 2 bus drivers, 55 students, 11 chaperones, 26 hotel rooms and me.  I told my students that I would travel with them any day, anywhere.  They did such a fine job representing our organization, our school and our community.
• While we were waiting on the results of the Disney audition, I escorted 9 students to LaVilla School of the Arts to audition for the FMEA All-State Chorus.  Six made the first cut and three were left standing after the vocal quality audition. I spent 5 days in Tampa with them last week.  Their efforts over the past several months culminated in a fantastic performance with 200 of the top choral musicians from across the state of Florida. This experience brought back so many memories for me. I participated in the All-State Chorus from 8th through 12th grade.
• In October, we programmed a Fall concert and collaborated with the Band and Dance departments for our annual "Holiday Extravaganza" concert on December 10th.  I heard nothing but wonderful comments from attendees, faculty and friends.

Music Performance Assessments (MPAs) are just around the corner.  I have 25 students participating in 17 events including 12 solos, 2 duets, 1 trio, an octet and an auditioned ensemble of 14 students.  We will begin our journey through this process upon our return to school this week.

The Annual Talent Show is one of our big fundraisers in the spring and we invite students to audition who would like to showcase their talent but are not necessarily a part of our Performing Arts Department.

The FHS Spring Choral Concert is scheduled for Tuesday, May 13th in the Fletcher High School auditorium at 7:00 pm. Our performance will include students who made "Superior" on their entry at MPA as well as musical selections sung by all three choirs.  Please save the date!

Baccalaureate/Graduation will take place in June.  Stay tuned....

Overall, it has been a great learning experience for all parties involved and I am looking forward to what lies ahead over the next several months.  I'm working with great kids and am eagerly supported by my colleagues in the Performing Arts Department.  What a great ride!!

Until next time...