Brianna Brown - 3B - Centennial High School

March 22, 2017

Topic: Musical Performance/Education

Original Work and Product Proposal Calendar

Introduction and Statement of Purpose:

My product will be a performance that will be held in the rotunda of Centennial High

School as well as smaller performances and visits made to children's hospitals and retirement

homes. The performance will be a collection of solos and ensembles performed mainly by

students from the schools orchestra, but will feature some pieces performed by students from the

schools choir program. The purpose of the performance held at the school will be that it will

allow an opportunity for students to gain experience performing in front of a real audience rather

than performing for a judge. I will direct the performance in the sense that I will make the

schedule and oversee what is being performed, but I would like to give the musicians a chance to

choose their own music so that they may feel completely comfortable. This will also allow them

to play to the best of their ability since it will not be directed but an outside source. Music is a

form of expression, and it is my goal to express this through the performance. The purpose of the

smaller performances (at the childrens hospital and retirement homes) will be a way to give

back to the community. Many of the residents at these facilities do not get a chance to hear live

music, so performing for them and interacting with them will be a way to care and provide a

little bit of happiness for them. To finish off the product, I will also be composing my own small

piece to perform at the performances. This product was designed so that I may receive first hand

experience in all aspects of music: leading/directing, performing, and composing.

Review of Skills and Research:

This product will test my skills of leadership, as it will be my job to direct and coordinate

everything. First, I must review the students willing to perform to make sure that they are willing

to perform their best works. While this is meant to be a performance about expression, I will not

have to quality of the performance hurt by someone not willing to express their best. Secondly, I

must organize both the students and their music into a schedule that fits within the two hours

allotted to the performance. By reviewing the students first, it will allow me an opportunity to

also listen to how the music should be organized within the performance so that it may have a

good flow. Lastly, I must look deeper into the world of Music Theory. This will be so that the

composition that I write is the best it can be. By having a better understanding of Music Theory,

this will allow me to compose a piece that shows a mastery of understanding music itself while

also giving me an opportunity to gain more knowledge in a subject that will be crucial to my

field later on.

I will gain many things from this experience as well. My skills in leadership (as

mentioned earlier) will drastically improve due to the extreme involvement I must have in this

project. I will also gain experience in composing and performing, both of which are not my

strongest skills. Through this project, I will be given the opportunity to expand my knowledge of

music and increase my comfort of performing in front of live audiences alone. This will be

crucial to my future as a musician, because having a comfort of being alone on front of a crowd

will give me more opportunities to perform as a solo or a member of a small ensemble, rather

than just being restricted to orchestral performances.

Materials:
 The most important aspect of this product will be the people who volunteer their time and

energy into to product itself. I will need at least ten people (including myself) to perform in order

to have a long enough performance. I also need a place to have the performance, which I have

already acquired (the Centennial High School Rotunda). Lastly, for the main performance, I

needed a date and time to hold it, which I have officially decided to hold on April 21, 2017 from

6;00 - 8:00PM. For the smaller performances, I need to set up dates, times, and facilities to

perform at. Currently, I am waiting to call the Childrens Medical Care in Frisco as well as

Victoria Gardens (a retirement home located in Frisco) until the beginning of April. I decided to

wait a little that way if they ask how many will be attending, I can give them a solid answer

rather than an estimate. Also, it will be easier to establish a solid time and date for a visit within

the same month, rather than try to schedule something two or three months out. The

compositions material will include blank staff paper, which I have already printed an abundant

amount of and began working on.

Methodology:

In order to make sure that everything is prepared for within a timely manner (and to

ensure no last minute rushing), I must begin finalizing details. Currently, I have the overview of

what I need, and have already addressing and finalized some details such as the date, time, and

location of the first performance. My next step is to gather more volunteers/musicians. Currently,

I have obtained one student from the choir and another from the orchestra who are willing to

perform. On Wednesday, March 22nd, I will be conducting a meeting with the schools choral

director and asking if he would be interested in asking his stop group if they would like to

perform a piece. On Thursday, March 23rd, I will be making an announcement to the top

orchestral class, offering them a chance to perform before the state-level UIL Solo and
Ensemble. After gathering and finalizing the volunteers, I will then take note of what they will be

performing so that I may organize the performance in a way that allows for an easy flow. To do

this, I must ask both what they are playing and would like to hear them before the performance

itself. Having a solid account of everyone will allow for little to no discrepancies come

performance time. Next, I must gather volunteers for the smaller performances. These volunteers

will most likely come from the pool of volunteers performing at the school, or from those who

could not make it to the school performance, but would like to still have an opportunity to

perform. Lastly, I will be contacting the facilities and setting up dates and times to perform there.

Calendar

Week of March 21 - March 24:

Gather and finalize volunteers for the Performance of April 21st.

Begin to finalize the original composition.

Week of March 27 - March 31:

Review with the volunteers.

Gather the music to be played.
Organize the performers for the performance.
Begin to call the facilities and setup times and dates to perform for their residents.

Week of April 3 - April 7:

Gather and solidify volunteers for the smaller performances.

Finalize original composition and present to mentor for evaluation.
Review once more with volunteers.

Week of April 10 - April 14:

Possibly hold a mock performance/rehearsal (if necessary).

Finalize anything needed for the performances.
Announce the performance to encourage others to attend and listen.
Find someone willing to photograph/video the performance.

Week of April 17 - April 21:

 Encourage and announce the performance date to attract people to come watch.
Conduct the performance on Friday the 21st.
Begin the smaller performances.

Weeks of April 24 - May 5:

Continue to perform for various locations and facilities.

Begin working on preparations for Final Presentation Night.

Week of May 9 - Final Presentation Night:

Focus on the presentation.

Gather any photos and/or videos of any performance to add to presentation.
Finalize the presentation and rehearse for the Final Night.