Observing CMS Young Women's (Week 1)

Yesterday, I observed Kyle Zeuch conducting the Young Women's chorus.

All of his interactions with the choir were very calm, collected, and simple.  All directions he gave were straightforward, and the kids were immediately allowed to implement the critique. I especially appreciated that every time he stopped the choir, he had a reason and a specific next step.  The lack of pauses kept the choir focused and listening.  But he also was never afraid to stop the choir; he spent no more time on a given section than necessary.  When he was finished working on something, he immediately moved on to the next section.  I found his calmness and efficiency really refreshing.  The efficiency is especially necessary because the choir has so few rehearsals.

The choir worked on a new song last night.  To begin, Kyle simply said, "Pull out Hands Across the Universe, beginning, read as best you can".  Again, no time wasted.   This was while they were combined with the men.  When the men started to struggle, Kyle started singing along with them.  I found his presence as a conductor quite interesting while they sightread.  His conducting became only a metronome, and very simple, easy to read.  Often times, he tapped beats on his sternum, and snapped on rests.

I found this approach to reading very interesting.  I usually mix sightreading with musicality, to keep the rehearsal interesting, however his approach totally worked.  They focused on accuracy, and learned very quickly.  Again, this approach could be very related to limited rehearsal time.  I suspect they'll start musicality on this piece next week.