Studio Policies, Information

and Course Outline:

·         To all students I commend the following two texts to your particular attention:

 

These works contain a general outline of vocal technique and pedagogy.  They also offer useful repertoire and vocal exercises.  For more explicit pedagogy the following two books are cornerstone texts:

 

Miller, Richard. The Structure of Singing.  New York: Schirmir Books, 1986.  (MT825.M646 1986)

 

Stark, James.  Bel Canto: A History of Vocal Pedagogy.  Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1999. (ML1460.S695 1999)

 

The following books have been ordered and are available for you to purchase at the UWO Bookstore. They are listed on the UWO book store web page under Music 000 Vocal Study, and found on the shelves in the Music Textbook section of the Bookstore:

 

Shirlee Emmons and Stanley Sonntag. The art of the song recital. New York: Schirmer Books, c1979.

Richard Miller. On the art of singing. New York : Oxford University Press, 1996.

Richard Miller. Solutions for Singers. Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2004.

Jerome Hines. Great singers on great singing. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1982

Joan Dornemann. Complete preparation : a guide to auditioning for opera. New York : Excalibur Pub., c1992.

Anthony Legge. The art of auditioning : a handbook for singers, accompanists and coaches. London : Rhinegold, 1988.

Thomas Hemsley. Singing and imagination : a human approach to a great musical tradition. New York : Oxford University Press, 1997.

Shirlee Emmons. Power performance for singers : transcending the barriers. New York : Oxford University Press, 1998.

Eloise Ristad. A soprano on her head : right-side-up reflections on life and other performances. Moab, Utah : Real People Press, c1982.

Lorraine Gorrell. The nineteenth-century German lied. Portland, Or. : Amadeus Press, c1993.

 

More advanced students are expected to study some of the works in the studio Selected Bibliography. (see http://publish.uwo.ca/~tchiles/bibliography.htm)

 

  

·         We are very fortunate to have Sanrda Mogensen and Christopher Morano as our studio’s Collaborative Pianists.  Sandra’s home telephone number is 519-275-2322 and her e-mail address is: smogensen@wightman.ca.  Christopher's phone cell phone number is 519-860-2504 and his e-mail address is chrismorano@hotmail.com.  Please book your collaborative pianist for the second half of your lesson, at least a half-hour rehearsal through the week and for all your juries and recitals.  Both Ms. Mogensen and Mr. Morano are very talented coaches, accompanists and répétiteurs.  You will want to prepare your repertoire and diction with them and work with them as extensively as is financially practical.  Please note that Western’s policy is that you are responsible for all financial arrangements and commitments with pianists throughout the year.  Therefore, you must discuss a financial arrangement with your collaborative pianist.

 

   

·         My telephone number here in London is:  951-6431.  Please do not call my home number after 9:30pm.  I generally require at least 24 hours notice to re-schedule a lesson.  If you wake up in the morning and find that you are “under the weather” vocally please call me at the studio at 8:30am or call the studio phone through the day at the top of an hour to let me know and to reschedule the lesson.   The studio phone number is 661-2111 ex84323. My e-mail address is tchiles@uwo.ca

 

“No shows” are inconsiderate and unprofessional and they may not be re-scheduled.  Please note that the “professional hour” shall be construed as fifty minutes.

 

·         We will have a Studio Web site again this year.  You will see posted on this web site the latest regular schedule, the Studio Policy Document, the Bibliography, Performance Class Schedule, Announcements, links and photos.  Please feel free to make suggestions as to how we can use this tool most effectively.

 

 

Our Studio Web Site can be found at:      http://publish.uwo.ca/~tchiles

 

·         Our first Class Presentation will be at the Grad Club in December and will be a Cabaret.  We will be "backed" by a small jazz combo (piano, bass and percussion).  You can begin looking for your favourite cabaret tune immediately.  Our second recital will be entitled Holywood Operetta and will be scheduled (close to Valentine’s Day) on Feb. 13^th at 12:30pm in VKH.  For this recital you will need a schlocky operetta piece written for a Hollywood movie.  We will also try to coordinate a recital of music specifically written for each of us.  This program will present music written by your colleagues here at UWO studying composition.  Ask your favourite composer to write a piece for your voice and artistry.  Please take careful note of the dates (when they firm up) and invite your family and friends to these concerts — our studio has earned an exciting reputation for these shows!
  

·         I have booked TC100 on Fridays from 3:30pm-5:30pm for our regular Performance Class.  This class may be cancelled before long weekends.  Please ensure that you sing at at least one half of the total number of classes this year.

·         Performance Class (‘masterclass’) and Class Recital time slots should be treated as lesson times with regard to your responsibilities and cancellation procedures.  You are welcome to invite guests and your colleagues from other studios to studio Performance Classes (and, indeed to any lesson).  I would also encourage you to attend the masterclasses of each of the other studios.

The pleasure of your company is mandatory for the full duration of our studio Performance Class each week — even if you are not performing for the class that week.

 

·         Please supply your colleagues with photocopies of the text and translations of pieces that you sing for our studio Performance Class.

 

 

·         For each piece of repertoire that you bring to a lesson with me, I will expect to see (before we work on the piece) a translation which includes an attempt at an IPA (or phonetic) spelling of the text, a word-for-word decryption and then a “poetic” rendering underneath the original text.  Here is a one-line example:

 

                           dov?          ma:j               kwestamor                dov?            spinz?mi          il         pjanto          su:o

Dove mai quest’amor, dove spinsemi il pianto suo?

                    Where    ever         this-love                 where       drove-me     the   weeping   her?

Where have my love and her weeping driven me?

 

·         Students are encouraged to study the International Phonetic Alphabet [IPA].  There is rudimentary information in the Miller textbook (above) but I also strongly recommend:

 

Moriarty, John.  Diction.  Boston: E.C. Schirmer Music Co., 1975.

(MT872.M67)

 

Jensen, Karen. Singer's Guide to the IPA [interactive multimedia]: A multimedia course in the international phonetic alphabet. Winnipeg, Manitoba: University of Manitoba. School of Music, [1998?] (MT883.S554 1998)

 

You can get your own copy of this excellent resource from:

Karen Jensen c/o

School of Music, University of Manitoba,

Winnipeg, MB

R3T 2N2                                 Kjensen@cc.UManitoba.ca

 

 

 

·         Please bring a fresh DVD or CD-ROM to each of your lessons.  You can also hook up any recording devices that you have to my pre-amp and get a high quality sound feed.  Please do a full debriefing of these recordings after each lesson.  It may be very useful to take notes as you study these recordings.
 

·         Please ensure that you are dressed appropriately for our lessons.  You should be in clothing that allows free movement for stretching and bending but which is not so baggy that I can not monitor your breathing effectively.  I may often be staring at your abdomen to monitor support and breathing mechanics; please wear a top that will allow you to sing comfortably under this focused attention.  Your footwear should also be sensibly chosen to facilitate healthy alignment and grounding.

 

·         Each member of this studio is required to submit a review of six recitals throughout the year.   These reviews must be at least 250 words in length and should discuss the merits of the voices, pedagogical issues, the repertoire and the overall presentation.  I would be pleased if at least one of these six reviews discussed a performance from the wider artistic community of London.

 

·         I recommend that everyone keep a Singing Journal.  Use the journal to keep track of the vocalises that you use as you practise.  Use it to jot down any observations or questions that may arise as you practise or even as you observe other singers or listen to recordings.

 

·         Examination material must be solidly memorised by the middle of February.  The sooner this material is learned and memorised the sooner we can work at polishing it and the more comfortable you will be during the exam period.

 

·         I would like each student presenting a credit recital to have performed the recital in public before its presentation for grading.  Hometown libraries, churches and concert associations are very appreciative of these concerts and you will benefit greatly from the “dry run”. 

 

·         Students are expected to be “off book” for all repertoire sessions with me and, ideally, for repertoire sessions with your collaborative pianist.  The music and words must be firmly in your mind to facilitate meaningful coaching at the university level.  Repertoire that you perform for Masterclasses, Performance Classes and Class Recitals must, of course, be solidly memorised.

 

 

Grading:

 

Please read the Voice Jury/Recital Requirements document and the Department of Performance Studies Handbook very carefully.  These documents outline what the Faculty of Music requires of you.  These documents are found online:

 

http://www.music.uwo.ca/pdf_documents/06_07VOICEJURYREQ.pdf

 

 

and

 

http://www.music.uwo.ca/departments/performance_recital_package.html

 

 

and

 

 

http://www.music.uwo.ca/departments/performance_mps_handbook.html

 

 

  

 

·         Your Applied Music grade will be calculated in the following manner:

 

                        50% - Studio Work (lessons and the requirements outlined in this document.)

                        40% - Jury

                        10% - Performance Class and Class Recital participation

 

Please review the criteria given to your jurors that is included at the end of this Policy Document.

 

  

·         Here is a guide to the MINIMUM expectations regarding Undergraduate repertoire:

 

Performance Program:

            First Year – 16 songs fully prepared and memorised

            Second Year – 22 songs 

            Third Year – Short Recital plus 10 songs

            Fourth Year – Full Recital plus 12 songs

 

Education, Music History, Theory and Composition Programs:

First Year – 16 songs fully prepared and memorised

            Second Year – 18 songs

            Third Year – 20 songs

            Fourth Year – 20 songs

 

Artist Diploma Program:

First Year – 24 songs fully prepared and memorised

            Second Year – Short Recital plus 12 songs

            Third Year – Full Recital plus 12 songs

 

 

·         Repertoire should be chosen from various periods and styles, and must include at least the four languages this faculty requires (English, German French and Italian).  Please note that these are the MINIMUM requirements and that aspiring performers should strive to exceed this guideline.  First year singers must begin the year with Italian repertoire.

 

 

·         It may occasionally be necessary for me to re-schedule our “regular” lesson times.  I will call you personally should this happen and we will find a mutually acceptable time.  Please ensure that I have your most up-to-date telephone number, e-mail and other contact information.

 

 

·         Please take careful and frequent note of the instructions and notices posted along with the schedule on the bulletin board beside our studio door (MB245) and on our studio Web Site.  Please feel free to knock on the studio door to ask a question, to get some advice or just to chat; I know that you will be respectful both of your colleagues' and of my private clients' lesson times.

 

Mr. Torin W. Chiles

107 Gelnburnie Cres..

London, Ontario, CANADA
N5X 2A1                                                                                                                                                         Revised: Aug. 31^st, 2007

General Philosophy and Advice…

·        You will be your own best teacher throughout your life.  I want to teach you how to teach yourself!  You will, of course, always need professional “ears” to help you and guide you but you are the master of your vocal destiny.

 

·        I generally spend the first half of the lesson working on purely technical aspects of your voice.  This is where we will explore and develop your voice and where you will begin to learn how to teach yourself.  In the second half of the lesson we will apply those technical concepts to the repertoire.  You will want to have your accompanist with you for the second half of your lesson.

 

·        Practise!  Our art is all about muscular co-ordination and development.  Singers may not be able, physically, to practice on their instrument for 6 hours a day as a pianist or violinist might but we can “practise” through various important preparatory activities, such as:  study of the text and translation, listening to recordings, reading secondary material, repertoire search, keyboard practice…   (NB:  The ability to play the piano is an invaluable asset as you search for repertoire and as you learn your music!)

 

·        Use the library well.  Listen to recordings to seek out repertoire, to learn a sense of idiomatic style and performance practice.  It is our intellect and preparation that transforms what we do from craft into art.

 

·        Preparing repertoire at the university level should be challenging!  You will need a personal translation (literal, poetic and IPA).  You need to memorize the poem, then the music.  You need to coach your repertoire then you need to perform it, put it away and then finally bring it out again for presentation — thus, the advantage of choosing and learning your repertoire very early in the year.

 

·        Repertoire — I could just assign repertoire to each student, but the search for and the choosing of repertoire is an incredibly important part of what you need to learn here.  So, I would like you to bring repertoire choices to me.  I am happy to offer advice but that is all.  You have many excellent resources to aid you in your quest:  anthologies and collections, books in the library that outline repertoire for various voice types at various stages of vocal development, Lisa Philpot, vocal coaches, recordings of recitals by singers whom you respect, recitals by colleagues…

 

GUIDELINES FOR JURORS MARKING UNDERGRADUATE

RECITALS AND JURY EXAMINATIONS

 

 

·         Marks of 90% and above (A+) should be rare and are indicated only when the performance is so good, the performer so extraordinarily talented, that one ceases to hear the performance as an exam.  In other words, reserve this category for outstanding performances.

 

·         Marks in the "A" range should be for our best students and not easily obtained.  80% - 84% should represent a performance of considerable polish.  85% - 89% is indicated for performances that, in addition, are significantly imaginative.

 

·         A mark of 75% - 79% should be used for performances which are well prepared, delivered with confidence and give some evidence of flair and imagination and a deeper understanding of the repertoire.

 

·         A mark of 70% - 74% is appropriate for a good, well-prepared performance, delivered with a certain degree of assurance.

 

·         The "C" marks, 60% - 69%, should be used for a satisfactory performance which passes the requirement.

 

·         Performances that are "wooden", unprepared, full of mistakes, deserve a mark of 50% or less.  Jurors have to use their judgement to determine a mark of 50% or any other mark below 50% based on the extent to which a lack of practice and study has inhibited the jury presentation.

 

 

SUMMARY

 

The above are guidelines; they cannot be precise.  Jurors should bear in mind that it is the teacher's mark that recognises progress, attitude, hard work etc.; the jury/recital mark reflects only what is heard at the time of the performance.

 

PLEASE NOTE:

When marking December or April juries for Applied Music, both jurors are to agree on one mark.

 

When marking credit recitals, each juror gives a separate mark. The two jurors' marks will each count as one-third of the final recital grade and the teacher's mark for studio preparation for the recital will count as one-third.

 

                                                                                                                              --  Department of Music Performance Studies

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