perform without them. Being proactive does help, especially if you know your stu- dents well and can foresee that there could be a problem. If you fear that you bring this up to your students and you know that it will result in many students purposely drop- ping their shoes, then do not bring it up. In addition, shoe wear is discussed during the rehearsals or in classes leading up to the concert.


What the first row of girls must wear:


Now that I am a mom of two young girls, I realize more than ever how important it is for the girls on the first step of the riser to wear tights or leggings and to keep their knees together when not performing. Students falling from risers: This one


haunts me. Solutions: Beginning about two days before the concert, I check with the nurse to see which students have been there and sent home for illnesses. If that is the case, I will move them to the first two steps of the risers and not have them on the top step. I also tend to keep wiggly jiggly students on lower risers so that they have a successful performance. If you have railings for the back of the risers, use them. If you have no railings, do not use the top step of the riser. In addition, place mats behind the risers as an extra safety precaution. Using a recording for the accompa- niment and the students singing ahead or behind the recording: Recordings can add another sort of “ear candy” sound to the concert. There are times when I like to use a recorded soundtrack between many live accompanied songs just to switch up the sound. In addition, sometimes the record- ing has the sound that is needed for the type of song. Finally, sometimes accompanists are hard to find, cannot make the rehears- als, or cannot be covered by the budget, making recordings necessary. When I have had young students get ahead or behind the recording, I try a few things to prevent this. Solutions: Can the students hear the recording? If not, then monitors need to be set up, placed in front of them, facing them. That will assist greatly. In addition, if you are performing in a room that absorbs sound (hence, a gymatorium), you might need to move around your singers so that the strong ones are placed throughout the risers, but in close proximity to each other. If that is not working, one hopes that you have prepped them well enough to watch you so that


JANUARY 2018


you can silently conduct them back on track. Is that does not work, then find your strongest singers, stand in front of them, and sing at them. They will hope- fully hear you and join you. Once your strongest singers are back on track, then the rest will follow. Finding an accompanist: This can be challenging if your rehearsals are dur- ing the day. Solutions: I try to book my accompanists in the beginning of the school year so that they have it in their schedules early on. I look for musicians who tend to gig at night or retired music teach- ers who would enjoy the temporary daily rehearsals for the week. Another solution is asking an older student who is seriously studying piano to accompany a song or two. That can be a viable, but challenging solu- tion because accompanying is a skillset of its own. Finding repertoire: Where to find


repertoire? Music educators’ groups, Music Express, Music K8, pinterest, teachers pay teachers, reading through best sellers on JW Pepper, looking for reliable composers and arrangers such as Roger Emerson, John Jacobs, Mac Huff, Sally Albrecht, Jay Al- brecht, Andy Beck, Cristi Cary Miller, and so many more. Mental health day/sick day: Can’t


take the day, so what to do? Solutions: Stay hydrated. Use aspirin or cold remedies to power you through the day, if that works for you. Don’t hug other people. Try to take a sick day or a mental health day if you can. Sometimes, one day can mean so much for your body and mind. Etiquette for audience: Try this cute,


lyrical poem titled, “Concert Etiquette Rap” by Denise Gagne and Denese Od- gaard found at http://www.songsforteach- ing.com/articles/assessmentperformances- denisegagne.htm


The constant question of, “When


is the concert?”: This question can spur so many feelings because you have tried to get the message out in as many ways pos- sible. My theory is to send the date, time, and dress code out in as many ways possible: newsletter, website, bulk email, bulk text, remind me app, Seesaw Learning Journal (web.seesaw.me), etc. In addition, I post to their Seesaw Learning Journal the day before the concert with a picture of the risers and labels of where the class will be standing for


39


the concert. I have had parents thank me profusely for that picture. Transitions throughout the concert:


I have the best classroom teachers who as- sist greatly with this. In addition, I have learned over the years that transitions need to be rehearsed as well as the actual concert music. This might mean that those involved must be educated about the importance of rehearsing transitions and give you ample time and help to rehearse them in order for them to flow smoothly. Utilize any help offered to you and thank them profusely: I cannot pull off a concert by myself. I need help. If help is offered, I will happily take it and utilize it the best way that I can. In addition, I thank them from a simple thank you email, to a thank you note, to a gift card, to a few scratch off lottery games with a thank you note, etc. I try to let them know how much I appreciated their assistance. Finally, after concert season, I try to take a personal day to stop and reflect on the students’ successes, what worked extremely well, and what I could do to improve the experience for next year. I file those notes in my Google Drive and pull them up for the next concert. Those reflections are very helpful and well worth the time to write them down.


After all of this, I end with one of my


favorite quotes I read this year and it came from a music educator quoting her young student: “Stressed is desserts spelled back- ward!” – priceless!


Amy M. Burns (amymburns.com) is a PreK-4


general music teacher and directors of the Philhar- monic and Conservatory at Far Hills Country Day School. She is also an author and clinician on how to integrate technology into the elementary music classroom. Recently, she was awarded the 2017 NJ Non-Public School Teacher of the Year Award.


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