Course Descriptions
ALL DAY SATURDAY COURSES
HC-1 Quartet Coaching Sat All Day 6 hrs
We
will once again be coaching quartets using the POD method. This means four quartets of similar ability
will be assigned to four coaches who will have responsibility for only these
quartets. The coaches will listen to the
quartets sing on Friday evening and will join together to come up with a
coaching strategy for each quartet, then implement that strategy at all
sessions on Saturday. You gain the
benefit of consistency from coach to coach.
Your coaching staff will include some members of Power Play, Realtime,
and Road Show plus renowned district coaches from our division HEP teams. WE HAVE SPACES TO COACH 36 QUARTETS. WE ARE WORKING TO ENGAGE 36 COACHES. WE WILL BE LIMITED TO THE NUMBER OF COACHES
AVAILABLE.
We first offered this course four years ago and it was a winner! So we decided to bring it back with noted arranger, Steve Delehanty as the teacher. Steve has done some great arrangements for many International competitors so is super-qualified. If you have some basic musical skills, then this course could be your gateway to arranging. This is an interesting approach to arranging using the clues that appear on a piece of sheet music to guide you through the process. If you can identify the notes on the melody line, and have a little understanding of the guitar symbols and/or the piano accompaniment, then come to this all day session of musical enlightenment. Plan to bring your own keyboard and headphones.
HC-3 Follow a
Coach Sat All Day 6 hrs
Here’s your chance to learn some of the inside stuff that goes on in
coaching sessions. Been through most of
the classes and looking for something new?
This is the class for you. If you
sign up for this, you’ll be attached to one of the coaching PODS and can be a
fly-on-the-wall at coaching sessions.
Plan to be an observer only but you’ll come away knowing more about
barbershop harmony than you ever thought existed. SIGN-UPS WILL BE LIMITED TO ONE PERSON PER
POD.
HC-4 Vocal Production Boot Camp Sat All Day 6 hrs
Come and learn the basic “blocking and tackling” skills of proper singing in this informative course developed by Steve Tramack, a district champion baritone and Musical Director of the Granite Statesmen Chorus of Nashua. Steve ran this class last year and it was a huge success. Steve’s “vocal boot camp” will educate singers about the fundamental vocal skills advocated by the Singing A’s program. The class will involve short lectures followed by small breakout workshops which provide individual singing instruction. Steve will be assisted by some members of our guest quartets for the weekend. Space is limited so register early please.
SATURDAY AM COURSES – THREE HOURS
HC-5A & 5P
Creating a Visual Package Sat
AM 3 hrs or Sat Pm 3 hrs – Material will be repeated in both classes
Explore
in a group how to design and create a visual package for a song. Your teacher
will be John Newell, the marvelously talented lead of our guest quartet,
Realtime. If you were in
HC-6A Want to Become an Assistant
Director - II Sat AM 3 hrs
Here is the follow-up class
to last year’s Part I. We’ve brought
Chuck Eaker, NED DVP for Chorus Director Development, on board to be your
teacher. Chuck will be taking his class
of Part I students and moving on to more refined directing skills, how to build
repertoire and create a show package, and how to confront a problem and fix
it. If you have taken Part I in previous
years, you should take this class to find out the rest of the story. PREREQUISITE - SATISFACTROY COMPLETION OF
PART I
HC-8A & 8P
Make ‘Em Laugh! Sat AM 3 hrs
or Sat PM 3 hrs
This class will explore the
elements of comedy, from structure to style. See some great comedic
performances in the barbershop arena (Chordiac Arrest, FRED, Freestyle, and
many more). Learn what makes a comedy routine successful...or not
successful! And who better to teach this class than the guy who has been
making them laugh in NED for decades…Mike Maino. This class is derived from a 15-hour class
that Mike taught at Harmony College/Directors College last summer. And,
Mike promises, there will be free gifts for all in attendance!
HC-9A Sight
Yeah, we’re stubborn! We’ve had the same teacher (Eric Ruthenberg) for this class for five years. Why should we change! It always has high enrollment and satisfaction. We secretly think Eric wants to keep doing it until everyone in NED can sight sing! Expect basic interval training, expect work on allowing your ears to help you sing to the scale, and expect lots of help on reading barbershop music. And, if you want to test out your new skills, Eric will be teaching an afternoon class that will give you a lot of practice. (See below)
HC-11A & 11P How to Earn a Standing Ovation! Sat
AM 3 hrs or Sat PM 3 hrs
One of the most successful programs we have ever introduced in NED is the Standing Ovation Program. One of the reasons for its success is its dynamic leader, Joe Kopka. We’ve asked Joe to teach this class, designed to give you the tried and true performance techniques that will make your chorus or quartet performance more professional. Your ensembles will come away energized when they find out what they can do to make them shine.
HC-12A & 12P Can That Chorus Dance? Sat AM 3 hrs or Sat PM 3 hrs
What would happen if we brought in a high level district chorus and a top level International choreographer and put them in the same room for 6 hours? Well, we didn’t know the answer so we decided to try it. Joining us for this class will be Dave McEachren, the choreographer of International Silver-medallist chorus, the Toronto Northern Lights. Dave will work with the chorus all day and you can eavesdrop on either the morning or afternoon sessions (both if you really want to!). If my experience is any criteria, one of my highlights at every International convention is sitting in on the rehearsals of our very best choruses. We thought we’d give you a similar opportunity.
HC-13A & 13P Woodshedding and Tag Singing Sat
AM 3 hrs or Sat PM 3 hrs
Did you know that when our Society first started, it was against the rules to sing a written arrangement in a contest? You could get disqualified if the judges even suspected you were singing a prepared arrangement. We know that has all changed but the essence of how our hobby came about still remains. Barbershop harmony is ear-singing, pure and simple. We’ve brought back one of the best, Karen Rourke, to lead this class. Karen promises that, if you run out of songs to harmonize to, there will be tags aplenty to sing!
HC-14A Use Your PC to Enhance Your Barbershop
Life Sat AM 3 hrs
Do you sit at your computer every day for long periods of
time? Do you wish you knew some ways to
pass the time that would make your hobby more fun for you? That’s what happened to us. We kept hearing “digital this” and “digital
that” and MP3 files and
HC-16A The
Singing Sensation (what it FEELS like to sing with resonance and proper
placement) Sat AM 3 hrs
Mike
Gabriella, Road Show
SATURDAY
PM COURSES – THREE HOURS
HC-5P Creating a Visual Package See above
HC-7P
Want to Become an Assistant Director I Sat PM 3 hrs
This
class is designed for those men/women who aren’t sure they want to be a front
line director but could function very nicely as an assistant to a
director. Each year this class has been
offered, it has attracted many potential director candidates. Designed by Steve Tramack and Rob Mance as a
two year curriculum, we have brought in Chuck Eaker this year as the instructor
(See Asst. Director Pt. II above). The
class will teach you the very basics of directing. Chuck will show you how to teach vocal
techniques through the warmup, basic arm-waving skills, and how to be a musical
leader of the chorus. We have planned
this strand to cover two years to allow potential assistant directors to fill
out their musical background with other courses. Take Part I in the afternoon and another
class topic in the morning. Each chapter
should make every effort to send at least one chapter member to this class to
guarantee the future musical leadership of your chapter.
HC-8P Make ‘Em Laugh! See above
HC-10P
Sing a Stack of Songs Sat PM 3 hrs
This class is always a huge
hit! Sight singers love it. Newly trained sight singers like it a lot. Woodshedders are in another class doing their
thing so they don’t care. The bottom
line is you get a chance to sing through arrangements that are available
through our Society as possible additions to your chorus or quartet
repertoires. This is the first time Eric
Ruthenberg has taught it so it promises to be a smash hit because of his very
presence. Hey, we come to these schools
to sing, don’t we? Here’s the place!
HC-11P How to Earn a Standing Ovation! See
above
HC-12P Can That Chorus Dance? See
above
HC-13P Woodshedding and Tag Singing See
above
HC-15P Your Chapter on the Web Sat
PM 3 hrs
Does your chapter have a website? Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone could put your chapter name into the Google search engine and be able to find out all about who you are and where you are? Is your chapter getting everything it can from your website? Is your website interactive? What can you put on it and how can it help you? Rod Rodrigues and Fred Kingsbury will be leading this class and answering these questions as well as helping you determine what tools you can use to make your website become a more valuable tool for your chapter.
HC-17P Outstanding Performances (And what made
them that way!) Sat
PM 3 hrs
Plan to laugh, hold your breath,
swallow a lump in your throat, feel your eyes go wide with amazement. You
will experience many of our greatest contest and show performances and then
look under the "skin" to see how those wonderful performers were able
to reach your funnybone, your heart, and your gut! Relive old memories
and make some new ones. Steve Plumb
brings you this unbelievable experience because he was the guy who sat in the
judging pit and observed them up close…you’ll be blown away!
Revised 3/30/05