9 Week Plan

Brendan Mead

WEEK ONE: Work on pronunciation of Latin in In Remembrance, as well as text painting. Talk about the accompaniment of the song as well as the relation of the horn part. The words really are important and are powerful. Work on the tuning in the song between the men and then the thick chord on, Light. Work Guadete Omnes on la to eliminate the language as a barrier. Work on style and different parts. Sectionals to work on the independence between the parts. Rehearse the entire group on the different themes in unison to work on tone and diction. Introduce the ideas of counterpoint together just to see where they are at. On Only Hope, listen to the song and determine style. Work in unison on the melody, and then introduce the harmony. WEEK TWO: For In Remembrance, by the end of the week, be able to perform the beginning without piano to get intonation within the men. Work through the entire song on sectionals. Work on Guadete Omnes, and introduce ALL of the words. Speak the language to make sure that they get it. Work solidly on the independent lines in sectionals and as a full choir. On Only Hope, work the entire song beginning to end to get the feel for the piece. WEEK THREE: Work hard on Only Hope, introducing piano in different sections to let the choir hear the parts. Work on proper vowel placement while still maintaining the style of pop music. Work very little on In Remembrance, but still run through the ending, including the solo section with the horn and the reentry of the choir. Also, work on tuning of the Light section. Talk about the difference between the 2 feel and the 3 feel sections of Guadete Omnes. Reintroduce language and start working the ending , working backwards through the three section. WEEK FOUR: This week will stress more on In Remembrance. Have a horn player come in sometime this week and do a run through of the piece with piano. Make sure the words are being heard since Lux Aeterna is kind of a difficult phrase to dictate together. Work more on style of the piece and work the entire song WITHOUT STOPPING. Touch on Only Hope to be sure that nothing is forgotten. Keep talking about the different harmonies and reviewing them. Work hard on transitions in Gaudete Omnes to make sure they are aware of dynamics and the difference between the 2 and 3 sections. WEEK FIVE: Focus this week on Guadete Omnes. Work really hard on getting up to tempo in the song and really getting the transitions down. Work on any additional challenges in the counterpoint, primarily with the men. Continue working with In Remembrance to really make dynamics happen. Work on attitude and demeanor and concert stance. Start talking about performances and how to walk on and off. Only Hope will need some polishing to make sure the women know their parts. WEEK SIX: Work on pieces in concert order to make sure the choir understands the demand on their voices and standing. Work on some theory work to make sure they are

9 Week Plan

Brendan Mead

learning something new. Introduce new song (?) to be performed at the next concert. Guadete Omnes, work on whole song with ONLY VOWELS to make sure the choir is aware of vowel placement. Work In Remembrance with piano through the entire piece. Fix any tuning issues that arise. Run Only Hope. WEEK SEVEN: Work on pieces in concert order again and really review Guadete Omnes and In Remembrance. Review Only Hope as needed to keep the choir in good performing shape. WEEK EIGHT: Concert week. Rehearse on stage and make sure all of the choir has appropriate attire, be it robes or suits. Run Guadete Omnes independently all the way through to make sure tuning stays in shape and to make sure all the parts are coming out. Perform In Remembrance with piano and horn on stage to address balance. WEEK NINE: Review concert recording and talk about things that can be changed. Start working on new songs for the next concert.