October 2014
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BUSMEABUZZ Vol. 7 Ed. 1 2015 - BUZZ October 17,BUZZOctober 2014 BUSMEA R):Lischynski,MadelineDemond, Emily Tyler Kelsey Lowe, - R): Stevie MacPherson, Amanda Forest, SarraAmanda Dziver R):StevieMacPherson, Forest, - BUSMEA Council2014BUSMEA SecondRow (L Jocelyn BruceTurcott, Row (L Front Presidential Address Dear Music Educators, I hope that you enjoyed a relaxing we would like these opportunities more information about music ed- summer break and have had a to stem from your interests and ucation programs.We also hosted a great school year thus far! This ideas! Please feel free to contact “Clinic on Clinics” presented by lovely fall season always makes me us by email Brandon University’s Assistant Pro- fessor of Low Brass, Dr. Aaron Wil- excited to learn new things, meet ([email protected]) or talk to son. If you were unable to attend new people, and further explore any of our council members and thIS session, don’t worry! Notes my passion of music and music ed- give us your suggestions and ideas. from the clinic are included in this ucation. BUSMEA Council has been busy issue of the BUZZ. We are currently BUSMEA’s goal is to provide you preparing for the upcoming year! brainstorming fundraising ideas and discussing sessions for our with constructive, interesting, and In September we hosted a mixer ninth annual Da Capo Conference, inspiring educational opportunities and invited first-year music stu- dents to ask questions and get which will take place on Saturday, throughout the school year, and January 17th, 2015 at the Queen Presidential Address Cont. Elizabeth II Music Building at latest issue of the BUZZ, and school year. Don’t be afraid to Brandon University. Stay tuned handouts from sessions. You can take risks, ask questions, and get for more information! also “like” us on Facebook and involved! There are many ways to stay con- follow us on Twitter @BUSMEA Keep smiling, to get the latest “buzz” on what nected with us. We are updating our website, so check out our we’re up to. bulletin board in the basement of On behalf of BUSMEA, I would the Music Building for upcoming like to wish you an incredibly en- Emily Turcott events, council biographies, the riching and rewarding 2014/2015 Meet the Council BUSMEA Council 2014-2015 President: Emily Turcott is in her final year of the concurrent Bachelor of Music/ Bachelor of Education (A.D.) program and her teachable subjects are Choir and English. She is originally from Dryden, Ontario, but has quickly grown to love friendly Manitoba. This will be her third year on BUSMEA Council and she hopes that everyone has a de- lightful and productive year! Vice-President: Madeline Lowe is in her fifth year of music education. Originally from Winnipeg, Madeline plays the saxophone and guitar, and hopes to teach instrumental music in the province of Manitoba upon graduation. She has been a member of the BU Symphonic Band, Big Band, as well as the National Youth Band of Canada. Madeline is looking forward to working with the motivated and creative BUSMEA Council this year! Secretary/Treasurer: Stevie MacPherson is in her final year of the Concurrent 5-Year Bachelor of Music/Bachelor of Education program at Brandon Universi- ty. Stevie is a clarinet major and has played in the Brandon University Clarinet Choir throughout her degree. Stevie is originally from Thompson, Manitoba and has aspirations to teach up north when she is finished school. Stevie is very excited to be on BUSMEA Council as the Secretary/Treasurer. Media Relations Officer: Tyler Lischynski is a fourth-year music education student in the Senior Years Instrumental Stream. His primary instrument is tuba and he also plays bass trombone in the BU Big Band. He is originally from Winnipeg, MB. This is his first year as a member of the BUSMEA Council and he is looking forward to an amazing year working with this team! Events Co-ordinator: Jocelyn Bruce is a fourth-year music education student in the Senior Years Instrumental Stream. Her primary instrument is the piano, although she also plays trumpet and sings. She comes from a tiny town, Seven Sisters Falls, which is located up near the Whiteshell Provincial Park. This is her second year on BUSMEA and she is very excited to be involved. Corresponding Officer: Amanda Forest is currently in her fifth year of the Senior Years Instrumental Stream with clarinet as her major instrument. She has been in- volved as a member in many university ensembles such as the Symphonic Band, Clarinet Choir, and Orchestra as well as local and provincial solo opportunities dur- ing the course of her degree. Amanda is extremely excited to be a part of the BUSMEA Council this year and is looking forward to the experiences to come! Student Representative: Sarra Dziver is a fifth-year music education student in the Choral stream. This is Sarra’s first year on BUSMEA Council and she has previously been on the BUMS council as President, Secretary, and First Year Representative. She is excited for the last year of her degree and BUSMEA this year! On council, Sarra is the Student Representative and hopes that she can be a positive voice on council for the music students. Student Representative: Kelsey Demond is a second-year music education stu- dent. Her main instrument is tenor saxophone, and she is from Brandon, Manito- ba. This is Kelsey’s first year on the BUSMEA Council and she is eager to start her education journey! BU Chorale and Baltic Europe: A Journey of Musical Discovery By Megan Eccleston On February 14th, 2014 BU Cho- rale made the trek to Baltic Eu- rope with a desire to explore an- other culture through music, and in the hope of learning more about choral music and music ed- ucation. Baltic Europe has a long Tallinn, Estonia Tallinn, held, important choral music tra- dition and it is extremely meaningful to the people The students we observed were in grade 4 and mem- from this area. Laulupidu (the Estonian Song Festival) bers of the “music-centric” program, which meant began in 1869 and has been held every five years they attended an hour-long music class each school since. During the 20th century Estonia was occupied day. The majority of the class time was solely devoted by the Soviet Union and singing became one of the to solféege (moveable do). The teacher began by lead- only ways the Estonian people could sustain their na- ing the class with Curwin hand signs and to convey key tionalistic pride. Eventually a revolution, which was changes she would visually replace one hand symbol largely fuelled by song, led the Baltic countries to gain with another. The students responded extraordinarily their independence to this work; they negotiated every interval with ease The teaching methods used from the soviet un- and moved comfortably between tonalities. Eventual- in this classroom were not ion in 1988. ly, the teacher moved to a staff drawn on the board foreign to me, but the and began asking the students to relate written notes Teaching is a revered strong proficient response of within a key signature (they were also responsible for occupation in Esto- the students was. identifying and building the key signatures) to their nia and a Master’s solféege name. This exercise was done with the aim of degree is required to teach in their classrooms. By the tying the students strong aural understanding of mu- time students graduate high school they are fluent in sic to an equally strong understanding of music nota- at least two languages (Estonian and English) and they tion. We learned an Estonian song that the class was are often fluent in a third (Russian, German, or currently working on and we sang it collectively near French). Schools in Estonia even offer a music-centric the end of the class. The students also provided ac- course load which begins as early as elementary companiment with kannels (Estonian Zithers) and vari- school. BU Chorale was fortunate enough to visit and ous rhythmic instruments with great proficiency. The observe students from “School No. 21” in Tallinn, Es- teaching methods used in this classroom were not for- tonia. eign to me, but the strong proficient response of the students was. The ears of their students we observed were developed to an extremely high degree. The sic within Estonia meant that the level of musician- work being done within their classrooms is remarka- ship that we encountered on our tour was phenome- bly effective. The reason this music education model nal. and the resulting musical proficiency is possible is because of how highly valued music is within their I found our experience at Tallinn School No. 21 to be society. People from many diverse backgrounds par- incredibly enlightening. The level of musicianship the ticipate within choirs in Estonia. In fact, one of the students demonstrated was unimaginably high and it choirs we collaborated with (The Estonian Technical completely altered my understanding of what skills University Choir) was solely made up of students children are capable of mastering. Everywhere we who aspired to be engineers and scientific research- went, no matter who we were making music with, it ers. The integral and ingrained nature of choral mu- became obvious how significant music was to Esto- nian people. Estonian people, Our tour of Baltic Europe was amazingly impactful. I truly believe that I will never for- get the musical experiences we shared or the many lessons we learned on our trip. I departed from Estonia with a renewed opti- mism about what choral music and music education can accomplish.