Hi everyone,
Mrs. Porter here, with some CAPA Vocal updates!  This has been a busy year already, we have been working hard since our first day back.  We started with getting to know each other and then dove right in, learning the audition music for "Hairspray".  The other strands came in and joined us and they all sounded so good singing together!  Congratulations to everyone who auditioned, it takes courage.  You are all so talented and the selection process was very difficult for myself, Ms. Hillman and Mrs. K.  Keep growing and make sure you keep auditioning as well!

This past week, we were able to begin selecting music for our first concert, the Classical and Folk Recital.  We have been starting basic vocal technique, which includes focusing on breathing, posture, mouth shape, and support among other things.  Most vocal students now have a piece that is their own for the recital.  If they do not, they will get one on Monday.  Many students are trying a foreign language piece or something more challenging in regards to vocal range and flexibility.  I am very happy with the pieces that have been chosen and expect a lot of growth in the coming weeks.

On Wednesday, our resident vocal coach, Noelle Jacquez came in and talked to the classes.  She is offering private voice lessons during lunch and for the 5th & 6th hour vocal students for the price of $20/half hour lesson.  This is a very reasonable rate and Ms. Jacquez is extremely accomplished and qualified.  If you are interested in lessons, contact me for more details.  Ms. Jacquez and I also presented our "Special Studies in Voice" unit that we will be working on with selected students from now until March.  We will be choosing students to work on additional music in class that is more complex and involves part-singing with other students.  We will stage the scenes after school briefly periodically and are looking to perform them at the middle schools for recruitment.  We are also planning a short performance in March, perhaps at an outside venue.

CAPA Vocal has two accompanists that work with us every week, Ms. Cimarelli and Mrs. Navarre.  On Friday, Ms. Cim and I presented our annual "How to work with an accompanist" performance.  It is always entertaining to watch all the ways someone can be rude or inconsiderate to our poor accompanist!  Ms. Cim is a good sport and the kids in class got very offended on her behalf at everything I put her through.  However, keep in mind that almost all of the scenarios are based in reality! We then had a great discussion about how to properly work with someone and shared stories of handling nerves and audition situations.

We are off to a great start this year and I look forward to working with all of my students.  Stay tuned for more updates and practice, practice!
Mrs. Porter

Classical and Folk Vocal Recital:
Tuesday, Oct. 14 & Wednesday, Oct. 15th at 7:00pm in the Black Box