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MY MUSIC PROJECT

My IDEAS AND WHY I CHOSE THEM

For my project, I have chosen to complete it in two parts. Part 1 will be to complete work as stage manager/set up and tear down for the Creativity Unlimited Festival, and for the Art of Sound concerts on the 20th October. Part 2 will consist of me going into my old high school and holding a workshop for Year 11 and/or 12 students I am planning to start my masters of secondary teaching, and by completing these two tasks, I believe that it will give me some practical knowledge and experience in the classroom and on stage.

PART 1a: STAGE MANAGER FOR THE CREATIVITY UNLIMITED FESTIVAL

The first part of my music project was to gain experience as a stage manager and set up/tear down man for the Creativity Unlimited Festival, from September 1-2, and for the WSU Art of Sound concert on Thursday October 20, featuring the band Finely Tuned. In order to complete this part of my project, I had to volunteer as stage manager/set up man for festival in the Playhouse Theatre on both days. After putting my name down for both days, we had to wait until the 31st August for some of the featured artists, such as Michael Keirin Harvey and Timothy Phillips, and composers, such as Professor Akira Kobayashi, to arrive.

From Thursday, the festival began. The first act of the day was the HSC Band competition, which involved some HSC music students from around Western Sydney, competing against each other to have an EP recorded in our studios. From there, Michael Keirin Harvey gave an outstanding lunchtime solo piano concert, which ended with the Energizing Silence concert, featuring past graduates of the B. Mus. degree. Friday had some of the most exciting concerts of the festival. Performances in the playhouse began around 11am with the Sonic-Visual Interactions concert, again featuring some past graduates of the degree, before finally concluding with the Duos concert at 3pm.

Both days involved a lot of set up/tear down of the stage to make sure every performance went smoothly and with little interruption. The largest set up would have to have been for the Duos concert, as it consisted of many large percussive instruments, including timpanis, vibraphones and a drum kit. This was an interesting experience. It showed me some extremes of a concert set up, from the bare minimum instrument wise, to the absolute max (the duos concert), and everything in between. The experience has also taught me to be prompt and on time when setting up, to allow for any unexpected situations (such as busted microphones/wires, instruments broken or missing, no sound technician, or if they show up late, dealing with feedback etc.), to be patient, and to have somewhat of a stage layout plan, so you know where everything (or almost everything) needs to be placed and where each microphone is being connected to.

PART 1b: STAGE MANAGER FOR THE ART OF SOUND CONCERT (FINELY TUNED)

The second part of this part of my music project was to be stage manager for the Art of Sound concert on Thursday October 20, featuring Finely Tuned, a vocal group featuring third year B. Mus. students. This concert was two and a half months of rehearsals in the making. I approached Alyssa (one of the members, and who booked the Art of Sound concert slot) around mid September, asking if she needed assistance with stage management and set up for the concert, and she did.

On the 14th October, we held a full rehearsal in the Playhouse Theatre, where we set the stage up with all the microphones and instruments that were required for the performance. The band ran through all the songs they were going to perform in the concert with all members present, checking their positions on stage  to correlate with a smooth transition from one piece into the next, without having to much confliction between the pieces as well.

�  On the day of the concert, the stage crew (Mitchell, Mitch, Chris and I) arrived to begin setting up the stage for the concert. We received the stage plans from Alyssa (which she said she would give to us on the day, which we are thankful for) and began setting up the stage in accordance to the rehearsal the week before. we hit a few snags with the second tune that involved body percussion, worried that we wouldn’t be able to pick it up at all. We did find a solution in placing a condenser microphone above to help capture all the percussive sounds being produced.

Overall, the set up was relatively easier than the Creativity Unlimited Festival. There wasn’t as much to set up for this concert, as it was mainly vocals with a guitar DI, piano and drums. The band was very professional in the way they rehearsed, and overall, this was a very enjoyable experience. I did learn a few things, some of which I have covered in part a of this section of my project. Expect the unexpected to happen, whether its finding a long enough microphone cable, finding the solution to limiting the feedback, or adding more microphones to capture the authenticity of the performance. Have a lot of back up options as well, for example, another microphone in case one stops working.

This part of the project has taught me heaps in stage management and  set up. It has given me valuable experience in this part of the music field. In correlation to my proposal, I believed I have achieved the goals that I set myself in the proposal, in giving me experience in this field. (I want to go into high school teaching, and having this experience could help me if the school I work at has a performing arts night and need someone to do stage set up/tear down). Overall, I believe this part of my project was a success.

PART 2: HIGH SCHOOL WORKSHOP

The second part of my project involved me heading into my old high school (Arthur Philip High, Parramatta), heading into a Year 11 or year 12 music class, and spending an hour or two holding a workshop aimed at assisting them in their music studies now and in the future. If the class I was presenting to was a Year 12 class, I would be talking about mentally preparing themselves for their HSC performance exams, the best way to study for the written aural exam, and how to best prep for it. I would run through a few pieces with select students and give some feedback along with the teacher, and I would also discuss possibly taking up music as a career and completing an undergraduate course in music. I would talk about how to prepare for the auditions and how to register, what each university is looking for in a student and what they expect from each instrument, how to prepare music wise, as well as mentally, and why preparation is important.

If the class I was presenting to was a Year 12 class, I would be talking about mentally preparing themselves for their HSC performance exams, the best way to study for the written aural exam, and how to best prep for it. I would run through a few pieces with select students and give some feedback along with the teacher, and I would also discuss possibly taking up music as a career and completing an undergraduate course in music. I would talk about how to prepare for the auditions and how to register, what each university is looking for in a student and what they expect from each instrument, how to prepare music wise, as well as mentally, and why preparation is important. If it was to a Year 11 class, I would be discussing what to do for your HSC, performance, composition, or a mix of both (I did 3 performances and a composition) and why doing a mix can both benefit and harm your marks. I would discuss some expectations that are required by HSC students, and how to mentally prepare for the performance exam, as well as the aural skills exam.

I had initially planned to complete this workshop sometime in early-mid September, however, I have run into some problems. I ran into my old HSC music teacher on the 15th of September, and discussed the possibility of me holding a workshop for the students and assisting them with their studies. She stated that it is a great idea and she is all for it, but there are reasons for why it will have to be delayed. One, is that the school is very thorough on appointments made by outsiders visiting. Two, is that one of the teachers is out for the rest of the year, and my old teacher is planning on taking a few weeks off and not planning on coming back until the end of November. And three, is that it would probably be best to wait until early December to hold the workshop and present it to the year 11’s (those doing the HSC next year). I will go in and ask her in early December and see when a good time to hold the workshop will be.

WEBSITE LINK

https://robmoilersite.wordpress.com/

REFERENCES

http://music.anu.edu.au/future-students/apply/bachelor-music http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/capturing_the_stage_microphone_approaches_for_the_performing_arts/ http://cdn.shure.com/publication/upload/394/us_pro_al1532_theater_guide_ea.pdf Undergraduate https://www.uws.edu.au/humanities_communication_arts/hca/courses/music/applications/whats_the_audition_like