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When confronted with the challenge of adapting concert music for the 21st century, there are many different topics discussed, including performance practice, preserving "masterworks", and making the music more accessible. However, possibly the most talked about subject is the incorporation of new works into recitals and concerts.
Frequently you'll find contemporary pieces either sandwiched in-between canonical pieces (in order to persuade the audience to listen to them) or just thrown on the beginning so the audience can be late if they want to—of course, that's not always the intent of the people making the programs, but it's become common practice to do so. Even then, though, that's if you're lucky and people want to perform your works. This has always been a perplexing challenge; how do composers get performers to program contemporary works?
This question is not an easy one to answer, and it's easy to feel that the amount of performers who want to play abstract contemporary works are a niche (already within the niche of people interested in classical music). Thankfully, at Eastman, this isn't necessarily a problem. Here, composers have very strong relationships with performers, and there is plenty of support from the faculty with regards to performing new works.
Like many places, juries at Eastman require performers to have contrasting pieces, oftentimes having the contrast coming from a recent (written in the past 50 years) piece. Professor Rodland typically has her students "commission" works from composition majors, but this year she decided to take it one step further. There are currently 7 new works being performed within the Rodland studio written by Eastman composers. However, these works aren't just being written for juries—there is also a concert where all of the works will be performed.
This has been a great opportunity for violists to gain more experience with new music and for composers to be able to play around with the elusive "solo viola" (gasp), an instrument that many people write for at one point or another within an ensemble, but not one that people have the opportunity to write for in a solo setting.
In general, the dynamic between performer and composer isn't something that is often explored in-depth, and frequently composers don't get to speak with performers or performers don't get to ask any questions. What made this a unique process was that the performers worked directly with the composers.
From a compositional standpoint (as I mentioned above), solo viola is a field not often explored in contemporary composition. Alexander Leon (BM '16) said that "[he had] written for viola before, but only in ensemble settings…[he has] written a lot of solo violin music, and was thinking of the viola as a violin with a deeper range." Of course, using the viola as a viola is a complicated matter, and separating the viola from the rest of the string family ("a bigger violin" or "a smaller cello") was an important part of the process. "You can do a lot with color on the viola," said Daniel Sawler (BM '18), "Each string has a very different feeling, in particular the C string, which opened up many warm possibilities in terms of composition."
Exploring new possibilities is always an exciting prospect in composition, and being able to work with the performers directly only made the process smoother. In the case of Alexander Leon's piece, he "wrote a first version, and then Sergio [Muñoz Leiva, MM '16] and his pianist came to my composition lesson and, together with Professor Ricardo Zohn-Muldoon, found compositional problems and thought of different approaches to solving the issues."
With new compositions also comes a different musical language, and some of the violists had to explore new techniques and interpretations in order to effectively perform the pieces. Alex McLaughlin (BM '18) said "[his] rule of strictly following the music loosened a bit." Because he was able to work directly with Daniel [Sawler] as he wrote the piece, they were able to find an interpretation of the piece that didn't stray from Daniel's vision but satisfied Alex's creativity. Alex commented on approaching contemporary pieces with his conservatory training, saying that "with Daniel's piece, I feel like I had all of my previous experiences with canonical music in a little toolbox that I could pull out when appropriate."
Overall this project has been productive in expanding the solo viola repertoire, and along the way it became a learning process for both the composers and the violists. The importance of new music is often an overlooked problem, and its opportunities like this concert that make both the composition and viola departments at Eastman unique.
The aforementioned concert will take place at Howard Hanson Hall at Eastman on Friday, March 27th, at 8pm.
What does music mean to me, and why should I continue playing? I asked myself these questions when I picked my viola up again after a two year hiatus. Years of stress due to being nervous on stage had left my confidence in shambles and taken a serious toll on my health. While recuperating after gallbladder surgery, I worked as an administrative assistant at the music department of my university and dealt with the shock from quitting, something I had never imagined myself doing before. It may seem strange that I would start my story from the point where I gave up music, but this was the turning point of my life. It was then that I truly realized my desire to perform and considered the importance of sharing music with others, and it ended up leading me to come to the United States to pursue my Master's degree.
I think many of you would agree that music has a strong power to touch people's heart and enrich their lives, and I believe such power can be revealed only through sharing music with people. No matter where it takes place or what kind of group of people it is for, performers become the vessels who create meaning for music and deliver it to audiences instead of simply mastering their instrument. There are two major stories of mine that inspired me to commit myself to music major and I realized later that those are all related to sharing music.
In 2001, as a member of amateur chamber music group, I could have a chance to visit Sorokdo (Sorok island) which is the site of leper colony, a place to quarantine people with leprosy, back in the history of Korea. There were still many ex-leprosy patients who had lived their whole lives since they were forced to move to that island. What my group mainly did was playing music, listening to their stories and holding their hands. Nothing fancy was there that we could do for them, but it was very special for me to see how much they were comforted by our playing and how music could let their loneliness and grief go at least at that moment. At the end, that visit drove me to be a music major.
Here is another story. When I was in college, I had led a dissatisfied and stressful life that always felt like it was lacking something, and it was during my break from music that I realized how much I had pushed myself in a wrong way in the past. I decided to take a different approach and start feeling grateful about everything I had, and this change reached into and influenced all corners of my life. I started valuing different and meaningful goals, such as sharing the blessings that I had been given, and this prompted me to go on a volunteer trip to China to teach students of Chinese and ethnic Korean origin how to play the violin. The students could not learn music because they did not have a teacher or a proper school. Six musicians including me heard about that trip and we all jumped at the chance to share our talents. When I met the students, I immediately felt guilt and shame because I felt there was so little I could do for them with my limited knowledge. Still, I taught them to the best of my knowledge, and to this day, the small rustic classroom where I spent my days teaching around five students how to make sounds on the violin and the smiles and genuine happiness on their faces are fresh in my mind, and these memories are part of the driving force behind my desire for musical education.
Even though there are some limits as a student to fully involve myself in the activities to share music, but I am trying to remember the importance of sharing music and keep looking for the opportunities. Whether it would be teaching or performing, if there is anything that leads you to reach out to people and share your talents, I would like you all to take the opportunities as many as possible. Here at Eastman School of Music, we do also have such opportunity to share music with people outside of school. 'Music for all', a chamber music program to reach out to the local community for those who are taking chamber music course in spring semester, and 'If Music Be The Food…', a benefit concert series created by Carol Rodland in 2009 associated with Rochester Foodlink for awareness and support for the hungry in the community, are good examples of sharing music. For 'IMBTF', even though I didn't play at the concert, I found myself full of joy and happiness with just being there and watching how music plays its role and fully reveal its value. Next upcoming 'IMBTF' concert is on May 8th, 2015, and especially for that concert Kim Kashkashian is featuring as a guest artist (For more details, refer to the website: http://www.ifmusicbethefood.com). I think it would be a wonderful chance for those of you who are looking for the way to take part in the moment of sharing music!
Chipotle, you have my burrito-lovin' musician's heart.
Anyone that knows me could easily report that I rarely touch fast food as I try to be a generally healthy person. I identify as a Michael Pollan groupie, and a lover of a delicious meal. I was therefore mortified to understand that my favorite little burrito-haven that receives the bulk of my lunch money qualifies as fast food. I recently was in a business presentation with the CFO of Chipotle, Jack Hartung, where I was woefully out of place among so many numbers-oriented suits and fast talkers. But I remained curious enough to listen, leaving the lecture feeling like we as musicians could learn a lesson or two.
Please indulge me while I explain.
Chipotle is currently valued at $12 million per restaurant, a number that is calculated by taking the current stock price divided by the number of restaurants. This leaves its next fast food competitors in the dust: McDonalds is valued at $2.6 million/restaurant, Panera at $2.2 million/restaurant. The lowest example on the graph was Jack in the Box at $800,000/restaurant.
The presenter, Hartung made the point that Chipotle has been out-performing all other fast-food businesses for the following reason: food with integrity.
Their food culture: the willingness to invest a large portion of the budget into high quality ingredients without additives developed into something extraordinary through excellent cooking technique, considering the sustainability of where that food comes from their people culture: hiring people with character who demonstrate success and leadership by doing their own job well and making the people around them better their strong business model: creating value, getting more out of what you invest by being efficient.
As I was trying to follow along in a field that I know nothing about, I could relate best to these elements that are similar in our preparations to become professional musicians.
Musician culture: We have to commit to high quality ingredients, becoming willing to practice well, to hone our technique and artistry, and to expand our musical horizons. This requires a huge commitment to our own personal and musical development at an inevitable sacrifice. This can happen in the smallest details such as striving for ever better intonation, more clarity, or a more beautiful tone. It means showing up prepared and friendly (see Kayleigh's post). It means being informed about the broader contexts of what we are working on (see Sergio's post). It means giving up free weekends, late nights with friends, or plentiful excuses in exchange for quality time with the instrument or our aural development through concert attendance.
Or it can happen in the big picture: deciding to go to that particular school because the teacher and the school were the best fit to push you as a musician (see Professor Taylor's post). Investing our best quality selves at either the micro- or the macro-level happens daily.
People culture: Our own individual integrity and character coupled with a supportive network of people carry us through inevitable rough patches when things do not go our way. Our disciplined commitment to our individual development influences the way we relate to our teachers, students, peers, and mentors. The high-quality work we put in shapes us to become leaders in our fields whether as performance, composition, music education, or musicology majors; whether at small conservatories, liberal arts colleges, or big state schools. We are given the opportunity to inspire those around us–doing our part to contribute to a rising tide that lifts all boats.
Business Model: Because we have invested ourselves into this difficult field, we have to consider how to be the most efficient to service our growth in the best way, with our best quality. This means striving to live with a healthy, balanced perspective as we generate value for our development and our career-path. Nothing can replace savvy time management and a growth mindset, guts and sheer grit, hard-work and doggedness (check out the fascinating recent psychological research on these TED talks on success by Carol Dweck and Angela Lee Duckworth). It is a circus act figuring out how to structure daily schedules and obligations, practice time and mental practice, audition or recital preparation (see Professor Rodland's post), potential injury-related sidelining and body awareness (see Angela's post), or performance anxiety management (see Emily's post), among other obstacles.
I am more and more convinced that thoughtful, intelligent, and directed consistency is one of the most valuable character traits I could learn in music. Real commitment changes and informs every one of us to become stronger, more convincing musicians in all areas to set us apart. It gives us something authentic and real to offer our audiences and the world around us.
Happy practicing (and burrito-eating) my friends!
Anyone that knows me could easily report that I rarely touch fast food as I try to be a generally healthy person. I identify as a Michael Pollan groupie, and a lover of a delicious meal. I was therefore mortified to understand that my favorite little burrito-haven that receives the bulk of my lunch money qualifies as fast food. I recently was in a business presentation with the CFO of Chipotle, Jack Hartung, where I was woefully out of place among so many numbers-oriented suits and fast talkers. But I remained curious enough to listen, leaving the lecture feeling like we as musicians could learn a lesson or two.
Please indulge me while I explain.
Chipotle is currently valued at $12 million per restaurant, a number that is calculated by taking the current stock price divided by the number of restaurants. This leaves its next fast food competitors in the dust: McDonalds is valued at $2.6 million/restaurant, Panera at $2.2 million/restaurant. The lowest example on the graph was Jack in the Box at $800,000/restaurant.
The presenter, Hartung made the point that Chipotle has been out-performing all other fast-food businesses for the following reason: food with integrity
As I was trying to follow along in a field that I know nothing about, I could relate best to these elements that are similar in our preparations to become professional musicians.
Musician culture: We have to commit to high quality ingredients, becoming willing to practice well, to hone our technique and artistry, and to expand our musical horizons. This requires a huge commitment to our own personal and musical development at an inevitable sacrifice. This can happen in the smallest details such as striving for ever better intonation, more clarity, or a more beautiful tone. It means showing up prepared and friendly (see Kayleigh's post). It means being informed about the broader contexts of what we are working on (see Sergio's post). It means giving up free weekends, late nights with friends, or plentiful excuses in exchange for quality time with the instrument or our aural development through concert attendance.
Or it can happen in the big picture: deciding to go to that particular school because the teacher and the school were the best fit to push you as a musician (see Professor Taylor's post). Investing our best quality selves at either the micro- or the macro-level happens daily. The writer, Annie Dillard said it best: "how we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives."
People culture: Our own individual integrity and character coupled with a supportive network of people carry us through inevitable rough patches when things do not go our way. Our disciplined commitment to our individual development influences the way we relate to our teachers, students, peers, and mentors. The high-quality work we put in shapes us to become leaders in our fields whether as performance, composition, music education, or musicology majors; whether at small conservatories, liberal arts colleges, or big state schools. We are given the opportunity to inspire those around us–doing our part to contribute to a rising tide that lifts all boats.
Business Model: Because we have invested ourselves into this difficult field, we have to consider how to be the most efficient to service our growth in the best way, with our best quality. This means striving to live with a healthy, balanced perspective as we generate value for our development and our career-path. Nothing can replace savvy time management and a growth mindset, guts and sheer grit, hard-work and doggedness (check out the fascinating recent psychological research in the TED talks on success by Carol Dweck and Angela Lee Duckworth). It is a circus act figuring out how to structure daily schedules and obligations, practice time and mental practice, audition or recital preparation (see Professor Rodland's post), potential injury-related sidelining and body awareness (see Angela's post), or performance anxiety management (see Emily's post), among other obstacles.
I am more and more convinced that thoughtful, directed, and intelligent consistency is one of the most valuable character traits I could learn in music. To borrow the words from the graphic designer, Debbie Millman, "expect anything worthwhile to take time." Real commitment changes and informs every one of us to become stronger, more convincing musicians in all areas to set us apart. It gives us something authentic and real to offer our audiences and the world around us: a taste of a musician with integrity.
"The patterns of our lives reveal us. Our habits measure us. Our battles with our habits speak of dreams yet to become real." (Mary Oliver)
Happy practicing (and burrito-eating) my friends!
Sergio Muñoz Leiva will perform Hindemith's Der Schwanendreher with the Eastman School Symphony Orchestra on Friday, 6 February 2015, in the Eastman Theatre at the Eastman School of Music, 26 Gibbs Street, Rochester, New York 14604.
Paul Hindemith wrote Der Schwanendreher, his third and most popular viola concerto, during a period of political hostility in Germany. He was the object of both open and indirect attacks by the Nazi regime because of his avant-garde style as well as his collaboration with his Jewish colleagues at the Berlin Musikhochschule, where he taught composition. Many of Hindemith's works were forbidden and musicians feared programming those that were not. For this reason, even though he would not decide to flee from Germany until 1938, most of his musical activity happened in foreign countries.
Hindemith started composing Der Schwanendreher shortly after completing his opera Mathis der Maler (Matthias the Painter). The opera discusses the theme of the artist's social responsibility in the face of oppressive politics and power. While the opera reflects Hindemith's own artistic and political dilemmas under the Nazis, Der Schwanendreher portrays in a less overt, more intimate way the emotions that the composer was experiencing during this time: Feelings of fear, anxiety, and loss, but also hope for a better future and willingness for finding light in the midst of darkness. The concerto was finished on 13 October 1935 in Berlin. It was premiered in Amsterdam on 14 November 1935 by the Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Willem Mengelberg and Hindemith himself playing the solo.
Hindemith wrote a programmatic note to the piece: "A minstrel comes to a happy gathering and shares what he has brought from afar: Serious and light-hearted songs, a dance for closing. By his inspiration and skill he extends and embellishes the melodies like a true musician, experimenting and improvising. This medieval picture was the basis for the composition." Hindemith's interest for the past is in accordance with his development of a very personal extended sense of tonality within traditional musical forms and techniques. His solo and ensemble writing, for example, are said to have been inspired by the style of J. S. Bach.
The concerto's unusual name comes from the folk tune that inspired the last movement: Seid ihr nicht der Schwanendreher? In fact, every movement is inspired by one or two medieval German folk tunes, which can be found in Franz Magnus Böhme's Altdeutsches Liederbuch: Volklieder der Deustchen nach Wort und Weise aus dem 12. bis zum 17. Jahrhundert (Old German Song Book: Folk Songs of the German after Words and Melodies from the 12th to the 17th Century). Hindemith's interest for folk song stems from his desire for bridging a stronger connection between the composer and the listener by drawing from material that is familiar to everyone.
The first movement uses the tune Zwischen Berg und tiefem Tal (Between Mountain and Deep Valley):
Zwischen Berg und tiefem Tal, Between mountain and deep valley
Da liegt ein' freie Straßen: There runs an open road:
Wer seinen Buhlen nicht haben mag, He who does not like his sweetheart,
Der muß ihn fahren lassen. Must let it go.
Fahr hin, fahr hin, du hast die Wahl. Away, away, you have the choice.
Ich kann mich dein wohl maßen! I can sense your welfare!
Im Jahr sind noch viel langer Tag, There is many a long day in a year
Glück ist auf allem Gassen. And luck is on every alley.
This movement is in sonata form. The slow introduction starts with a declamation of the main theme by the soloist. This first statement of marked angular contours climbs to high pitch mountains before descending to the deepest registral valleys of the viola and into the march-like entrance of the orchestra, with the folk tune in the horns and trombone. The viola presents the first thematic material of the exposition, which retains the militaristic character of the introduction. After complex yet transparent contrapuntal play between the soloist and the orchestra, the clarinet arrives at the opening melody, which becomes a songful and playful second theme. Throughout the rest of the movement, the folk tune will come back in multiple occasions on different instruments, but never sounded by the soloist. The viola only gets a fragment of the tune at the very end of the movement, in the coda.
The second movement features the tune Nun laube, Lindlein, laube! (Now Shed Your Leaves, Little Linden!) and is the one that discloses Hindemith's emotional conflict most vividly:
Nun laube, Lindlein, laube! Now shed your leaves, little linden!
Nicht länger ich's ertrag': I cannot bear it any longer:
Ich hab' mein Lieb' verloren, I have lost my love,
Hab' gar ein' traurig' Tag. I have such a mournful day.
The music is in ABA form. The opening A section is an intimate duet between the soloist and the harp; its swaying sicilienne rhythm creates a lilt that makes this music sound almost like a lullaby. The melancholic folk tune appears as a chorale in the woodwinds, where every phrase is intercepted by recitative-like declamations of the viola. The introspective mood is interrupted by a cheery fugato B section initiated by the bassoon and followed by the rest of the woodwinds. The fugue theme is the tune Der Gutzgauch auf dem Zaune saß (The Cuckoo Sat on the Fence):
Der Gutzgauch auf dem Zaune saß, The cuckoo sat on the fence,
Es regnet sehr und er ward naß. It rained a lot and it got wet.
Guck-guck, guck-guck! Cuckoo, cuckoo!
Darnach da kam der Sonnenschein, Then came the sunshine,
Der Gutzgauch der ward hübsch und fein. So the cuckoo was cute and fine.
Guck-guck, guck-guck! Cuckoo, cuckoo!
Alsdann schwang er sein Gfiedere, Then it swung its wings
Er flog dort hin wohl übern See. And flew away over lake.
Guck-guck, guck-guck! Cuckoo, cuckoo!
This naïve and comical song in contrast with the mournful chorale brings out the absurdity and poignancy of what Hindemith was living in the years leading up to his emigration, as he realizes that he would not be able to survive as an artist in such environment. The lost love is not a romantic partner, but Hindemith's home country, the German fatherland. The return of the opening material is no longer a duet, as this time Nun laube, Lindlein, laube is heard as a cantus firmus on the horns. This enhances the unity between the outer sections, bringing closure as if the sad cantus firmus had always been there from the beginning.
The last movement is a set of twelve variations on the cheerful tune Seid ihr nicht der Schwanendreher? (Are You Not the Swan Turner?). The swan turner was the person in charge of turning the swan when it was being roasted on a spit.
Seid ihr nicht der Schwanendreher? Are you not the swan turner?
Seid ihr nicht der selbig' Mann? Are you not the man himself?
So drehet mir den Schwan, Then turn me the swan,
So hab' ich glauben dran. So that I can believe it.
Und dreht ihr mir den Schwanen nit, And if you do not turn me the swan,
Seid ihr kein Schwanendreher nit. Then you are not the swan turner.
Dreht mir den Schwanen! Turn me the swan!
It is remarkable in how many different ways Hindemith presents the theme. Sometimes it is sounded complete by various combinations of instrumental groups in the orchestra. Other times it is embedded in embellished compound melodies in the solo voice or barely hinted at, as fragments of it get passed between different instrumental groups. The variety of instrumentations, textures, and rhythmic re-interpretations of the theme creates very playful and colorful sonorities. Other than the theme itself, what seems to holds the movement together is its light-hearted character. Although, as the variations progress and the mood gets tenser, it is not clear if we are going to get to a happy ending. By the last variation, the enraged viola makes it hard to remember the happy-go-lucky tune in its original form. But the very last utterance of the orchestra brings everything to a sudden, simplistic, unison C major close. Was all of this just a joke?
Sergio Muñoz
Whether you're a seasoned orchestral player, or you've just been called to play with your first regional ensemble, orchestra is a challenging and rewarding way to make music. Yet, it can be tricky to juggle the responsibilities of playing in a section with self-care and etiquette, especially if you do not yet know your colleagues well. As I wrap up my first year or so playing in a full-time orchestra, here are some of my tips:
1. Come prepared. School orchestra is generally a terrible way to prepare for professional ensemble playing because rehearsals are often spread out over many weeks and rehearsals are a few days apart. While each school operates differently, a lengthy rehearsal period leads people to believe that they don't need to come fully prepared to the first few rehearsals, because there's still two more weeks of rehearsal after that. Unfortunately, professional ensembles will often assemble a full program in two to three days, no matter the difficulty of the program. Listen to a recording or two before practicing, and plan ahead for difficult works or things you haven't played.
2. Be aware of your responsibility in the section. Ellen Rose's "Responsibilities of Orchestral Players" is a great start, especially for your first professional opportunities. Section responsibilities include blending sound, neither playing too loud nor too soft in order to encourage ensemble playing, and not leading the people around you. Always make sure you pass back bowing changes! Nothing is more distressing than playing last stand and having folks in the middle not taking marking the boeings or passing them back.
3. Bring earplugs. Violas traditionally sit in "the line of fire," aka. the spot in front of the trombones. This can be overwhelming, especially if you're in the back of the section or there are no sound shields. Hearing damage is permanent, and while it's important to hear yourself, your hearing is your occupation and your livelihood. Most people are comfortable with one earplug in, one ear open, which allows for section/self listening.
4. Learn how to sit with proper alignment. You may have heard of headlines like "Sitting is the New Smoking," and new desks that feature treadmills or standing desks. Sitting in the same position for hours a day isn't great for your body, and your alignment while sitting makes a big difference. Ask your teacher for some suggestions or consult a movement therapist. My basic guidelines are to find your sitting bones (ischial tuberosities) and then stack your lungs over your hips. Be wary of the texting slump or head forward positions which are predominant in our movement culture these days!
5. Be a good colleague. Part of being in a viola section in an orchestra is teamwork and supporting your fellow musicians. That means greeting your section members at rehearsal, politely asking people to move if you can't see, and being polite to conductors, personnel managers, and administration. If your colleagues are involved in other concerts, go and support them in their endeavors if your schedule allows, or ask them about it later.
Orchestral playing is a team sport, and being standoffish or assuming a snobby attitude towards colleagues (regardless of their playing) is a way to prevent good section playing and camaraderie.
6. Don't EVER use your phone in rehearsal, both as a courtesy to your colleagues and to prevent the possibility of your phone going off in rehearsal. Turn it off, leave it offstage, or put it in airplane mode. Using your phone onstage, even before rehearsal, shows your colleagues that your texts/emails/facebooking/twittering is more important than engaging them in conversation or practicing your part. Most ensembles have a strict no-phone policy, but unless it is an emergency, put it away. (*If it is an emergency that you be reached, give someone the personnel manager's number. That's how things were done in the 80's and 90's before the ubiquitous cell phone.*)
7. Be respectful of personnel managers- if they call you for a gig or rehearsal, try to get back to them as soon as you can, even if you have to check your schedule or move an engagement. A prompt reply will show them you're serious and respectful of their time, and will keep you on a sub list or on the radar for future work. Along that same line, double and triple check the schedule, dress code, and rehearsal/concert venues. You don't want to anger a personnel manager if you're a sub, and it's good to avoid extraneous emails to personnel if it can be avoided.
8. If you're playing principal, be aware of your responsibilities. It's nice to mark bowing changes with an x or check mark in the margin to give your colleagues an idea of where to look on the page. If you have a comment for the section, don't speak when the conductor or concertmaster is speaking and give your section members a rehearsal or so to catch accidentals, tricky rhythms, etc. Do your best to give clear physical cues for entrances, especially if sight lines are compromised. Also take care to praise the section for a job well done!
9. Never act as though you are "above" the group you are playing with. Whether it's the Lake Wobegone community orchestra or the New York Philharmonic, the players in an ensemble deserve respect, even if you think you are better than your peers/stand partner/etc. Work is work, and be aware that many other people would be grateful for the position or the subbing work you have, especially if it's with a full-time ensemble. Most section auditions draw between 30-100 people per audition, so even subbing is a privilege that can be revoked at any time.
10. Try not to complain too much. For all of the joy of section playing, orchestral musicians love to complain about the conductor, the repertoire, the soloist, the tempi, whether or not the conducting is clear, whether the rehearsal time was well used, whether the third piccolo was good…etc. It can be tempting to fall into this trap, but be aware that orchestra jobs are diminishing rapidly both in audiences and funding, and that a poor attitude won't help your orchestra morale. If you don't like playing in orchestra, then get out and do something else you love, whether that's teaching, chamber music, or contemporary music. There are too few jobs with too many violists looking for work, and many violists who would love your job.
Audition season is rapidly approaching! You have been practicing diligently for months, you have selected the schools to which you want to apply, your plane tickets have been purchased, and your accommodations have been booked. Now all you have to do is play!
As you zero in on the big day (days!), I wanted to offer you a few tips from the audition panel's perspective, which I hope you will find helpful. Please know, first of all, that we all want you to do your best and we are rooting for you. We are not harsh judges waiting for you to make a mistake; rather, we are open-minded (open-eared?!) listeners, hoping to meet joyful, thoughtful, talented, well-prepared musicians, who are eager to share their expressive gifts with us and who might fit in well to our musical communities. So, as you continue to prepare for this experience, please try to remember this and to access your love for the music in every note that you play. We will get it and be thrilled if you let yourself do it!
You have prepared a large amount of repertoire, but at most schools, you will only have 15 minutes to show your stuff. Because time is of the essence, you want to be certain to be as organized and efficient as possible during the audition, so that you can maximize your presentation. This means having your music organized in such a way that you can access the pieces requested very quickly. Most panels will ask you to choose your first selection, and then they will choose the subsequent repertoire from your list, so do be ready with the piece that feels best for you as an opener and then be ready to play anything else from your list in any order. I suggest to my students that they do mock auditions prior to their audition trips, opening with the piece of their choice, and then asking their listeners to choose selections from their repertoire lists in random order thereafter. It can feel unnatural to have to switch gears quickly, so just knowing your pieces well will not necessarily make you feel comfortable; you need to have practiced jumping between sections and stopping and starting, as this will most likely happen at the audition, given the time constraints.
Please do be fully prepared with entire works, if indeed this is required on the official web site of the school you are visiting. The panel might ask for anything you say you have prepared, and of course it makes a better impression if you really do have it all ready to go!
If possible, be tuned and warmed up before entering the audition room. We all appreciate it if you greet us when you enter the room, but you do not want to waste any of your precious playing time by chattering unnecessarily. Be polite and open, answer any questions the panel might have for you, but get down to business as quickly and as calmly and confidently as possible. This includes avoiding the diffident apology if you make a mistake while you play; it is not necessary as of course the panel knows the repertoire and its pitfalls. There is no need to highlight such things, and it can seriously interrupt your momentum!
If your repertoire includes any non-traditional works, please do bring multiple copies to the audition, so that the panel can follow along. If you are unsure what falls under that category, err on the side of caution and bring extra copies.
Bring extra strings, just in case.
If you are visiting a school in a very different climate from where you live, you want to be sure your instrument and you have enough time to acclimate to the new environment, so again, arrive early to the audition site if at all possible. If you are coming from a moist warm climate and are going to a cold climate where heat is blasting, having a humidification system in your case or having a dampit in your viola until right before you play can be very helpful in keeping your instrument happy.
While you do not need to don formal concert attire for an audition, you do want to present yourself professionally, so your choice of clothing is important. You want to look professional, and you also want to be comfortable, able to move freely and to play without discomfort from your wardrobe. For women, it is a good idea to avoid wearing excessively high heels to an audition. High heels have a detrimental effect on your balance and prevent you from feeling well-grounded.
And finally, while it is always important to take good care of yourself, auditions and the travel associated with them can be very stressful, so it is especially important to up your self-care game as you go through this process. This means doing your best to eat well (bring snacks and water with you to the audition in case you are kept waiting), sleep well, stretch, and exercise gently in addition to practicing.
Wishing you all the best as you begin this very exciting process to determine the venue for the next stage in your education!
Performers tend to be private about their own performance anxiety. Although its effects are often apparent to the listener, it's difficult to admit there were blips at all, and even more difficult to dig into the biological and psychological reasons why. Sometimes we avoid discussing the problem; in my experience a big gaffe in a recital is much more likely to elicit compliments about what did go well rather than result in a conversation about why the mistakes happened. This is a totally appropriate audience response, because we support the performer – but eventually, there needs to be some post-performance evaluation that includes an inquiry into the topic of nerves. And, of course, taking auditions is a different kind of performance with its own list of stressors, unique from a recital or chamber music performance, and that might require its own separate investigation.
There are myriad resources available to help a performer address both biological and psychological responses to stress, from books to blogs to yoga. I'd like to share some things I've gathered directly from other performers or from reflections on my own performances (both those I'm satisfied with, and those in which I wished for a different outcome). Of course, since our stresses are individual and our musical and performance experiences personal, these probably won't resonate with everyone – but I do think everyone can benefit from finding their own list of helpful self-hints to think about before performance.
Asymmetrical Reflections from a Scoliotic Life
Gravity and I have a complicated relationship. My right shoulder is higher than my left, my legs are different lengths, my ribcage is rotated, and my waist is uneven. Gravity is unkind to these asymmetries.
As an eight year old, I was diagnosed with scoliosis, a fairly common condition where the spinal column curves and rotates laterally. Even after four years of wearing a back brace, my curves continued to worsen. By the time I was 15, my spine had progressed to a severe right thoracic-left lumbar scoliotic curve, also known as an "S" curve, typified by a major curve in the thoracic spine with an equal counter curve in the left lower lumbar region. My spine eventually stabilized after I finished growing, and although my doctor recommended surgical intervention to alleviate symptoms of chronic pain, I was not convinced such an invasive procedure was my only option. It was time to come to terms with gravity. Upside down. Head over heels. On a yoga mat.
During my sophomore year of college, I began studying Iyengar yoga with an incredibly knowledgeable teacher. At my first class, Iwas initially shocked that flexibility was not even on the agenda. Rather, I learned that finding stability and balance in asymmetrical positions was my priority. What good is flexibility if there is no stability? Uniting these two concepts that I once believed to be mutually exclusive was liberating. I had found my answer: uniting balance and asymmetry was the key to withstanding the force of gravity, both as a violist and a scoliosis patient. I can still hear my teacher: Angela, your collar bones do not have scoliosis! Make them even. She taught me that it was possible to retrain my muscles that are distorted—overstretched or understretched—by my curvature. Even though I am intrinsically asymmetrical, I can use my discomfort as a guide, mapping a path to balance.
This guiding principle from the yoga mat is also applicable in the practice room. You may not have to deal with structural imbalances resulting from scoliosis, but playing viola certainly presents a number of functional imbalances that can be problematic. As you work toward a healthy physical relationship with your viola, here is some advice I have learned from living life a little crooked:
1. Challenge Imbalances. Every time you pick up your instrument, you have a choice. You can either let gravity happen to you or you can resist its downward pull. Since our bodies are best equipped to deal with gravity when they are properly aligned, finding balance begins with posture. In rehearsals, I usually notice an alarming number of violinists and violists who are letting gravity win, a defeat evidenced by sunken left shoulders and raised right shoulders. It is important to remember that gravity is an attraction between two objects, not just a downward force. Consequently, instead of caving under the weight of the instrument, meet your viola with a shoulder energized and supported by the entire back, countering the weight of gravity.
2. Dynamic Extension. Whether you are playing viola, doing yoga, or sitting in a music theory class, always strive to extend from your core. As Iyengar suggested, "Extension and expansion always stay firmly rooted in one's center…When most people stretch, they simply stretch to the point that they are trying to reach, but they forget to extend and expand from where they are." Essentially, dynamic extension is when your body stretches in multiple directions, expanding from the core. For instance, in a forward bend, as you reach toward the floor, it is of equal importance that you also stretch the opposite direction with your hips. This provides traction and allows the spine to fully lengthen. In viola playing, this translates into grounding through the floor while energizing and lengthening the spine upward. Dynamic extension is another effective strategy for resisting gravity.
3. Relaxation is not always passive. We all know that tension is harmful. The alternative? Just relax! But it is important to point out that too much of a good thing, even relaxation, is detrimental. Your skeletal system needs support! If you melt into a pool of pudding, how do you expect to move? Even savasana (corpse pose), arguably the most relaxed yoga posture, is still a highly informed pose. I encourage you all to cultivate active relaxation, a state of being where your muscles are engaged without excess effort and every motion is intentionally executed. I leave you with this thought: "Action is movement with intelligence. The world is filled with movement. What the world needs is more conscious movement, more action" (Light on Yoga 48).
Embrace gravity. Act well.
I met Chris in a local coffeeshop. He asked me why I had moved here, so I mentioned that I am a musician. Then, the topic of Schubertiads came up. I told him about a network that supports modern-day Schubertiads and after explaining that I am looking for hosts, he set a date to host his own.
The day finally arrived. I leave rehearsal as quickly as possible to get to his house. The quartet is already there, sitting around in the little room next to the kitchen, chatting with Chris's roommate and his girlfriend, as she stirs some mulled cider and takes a tray of bruschetta out of the oven. A few minutes later, four strangers walk into the living room.
"Is this… Groupmuse?"
"Yeah, come on in! How did you hear… [about Groupmuse]?"
"We're Emily's friends."
"Oh, Emily! I met her in Boston! Through Groupmuse. Welcome, welcome!"
"Yeah, we've been friends since high school. She told us to check it out."
And just like that, three or four more groups of strangers with beer, chips, chocolate truffles, fruit platters, and wine arrive to the party. They are all neighbors, friends, friends of friends, or friends of friends of friends.
When Chris arrives, I thank him again for hosting and ask him when he wants to begin. So we herd everyone into the living room, where music stands have been assembled. By the time everyone has found a spot either on the couch or simply on the floor, Wendy and Angela, first violinist and violist, are only inches away from the people in the front. I don't think any of the people in the room who weren't holding instruments had been that close to a string quartet before. You could sense the mixture of nervous reluctance and excited expectancy in the air.
"Welcome everyone! Thank you Chris and Mike for hosting! Hosts are so important; without friendly, welcoming people like you this wouldn't be possible… This is a Groupmuse…" After the spiel, Angela introduces the piece, its historical background, and things to listen for. Then Mozart's String Quartet No. 15 in D minor ensues.
Groupmuse is a social network that sponsors events that are both a house party and a chamber music concert. These events, known as Groupmuses, are conceived after Schubert's own Schubertiads and they help communities generate their own chamber music concerts in people's living rooms by creating instances that are both socially and artistically stimulating. Through a simple online platform (www.groupmuse.com), hosts get connected with musicians in their area and guests can RSVP to as many concerts as they would like to attend. At the end, a donation bowl is passed around the audience and everything goes to the musicians. Then a clipboard goes around, where people can join the network's mailing list and indicate whether they're interested in hosting a Groupmuse or volunteering as MC. The clipboard is crucial, because it's usually after people have attended a Groupmuse that they want to host their own. That's how Groupmuses keep generating themselves and the network keeps growing. People usually want to come back for more.
Most audience members in a Groupmuse, also known as "Musers", are not trained musicians. One may think that this could be an obstacle for them to enjoy the music, but the reality is the opposite: Musers have not been exposed to classical music to the point of saturation that music students sometimes reach. I love music and I don't think I could ever get tired of it, but when you are in music school, there are so many performances available that one could begin to take them for granted. And that's on top of practicing for your lesson, rehearsing with your chamber group, making recordings for summer festivals, preparing for a master class… You name it. Eat, Sleep, Music.
Musers, in turn, do not often have this kind of exposure to live music, so coming to one of these concerts is a very special and unique experience for them. They deeply appreciate the chance to experience chamber music in a setting that, unlike the concert hall, is not intimidating. As untrained listeners, they experience visceral reactions to the music, they can move to the music if they feel so inspired, they clap between movements, and they're not afraid to ask questions at the end of the performance, because the setting allows it. I've even had people in a Groupmuse cheer from excitement in the middle of the recitative before the last movement of Beethoven's Op. 132! It was awesome! And it shows that they get it.
Musicians, in turn, are encouraged by this enthusiasm, making the music more vibrant, more alive. Something new emerges between those few inches that lie between performer and listener. It's an invisible connection that is hard to describe, but if you are a musician, I am sure you have experienced it: It's the satisfaction to know that you have reached someone. And it doesn't come from flawless technique or impressive stage presence; it comes from an open heart and a willingness, an urge to share. Groupmuse has been so significant for my development as an artist because it has helped me rediscover why I play music: To connect with other people in order to share what it is to be human.
Before being musicians, we are people just as our listeners. It's time to do away with the stuffiness that drives us apart: Dressing up in funny outfits that make us look like penguins; expecting listeners to be moved by the music but to sit still and quietly in the dark, using a physical space that sends the message "I am an Olympic god; you are a simple mortal. Don't touch me." Wouldn't you rather be enjoying some Brahms in the comfort of your home, with a drink in your hand and surrounded by friends? But beware: Groupmuse is not musical outreach. The concept of outreach involves reaching out of your comfort zone only to go back to it later. Through Groupmuse, musicians meet lay audiences where they are, where they feel comfortable: In the living room, at the center of daily life.
The Groupmuse model was created in Boston and has successfully been exported to other major cities in the US, such as New York and San Francisco. It's getting started in Seattle, Chicago, Ann Arbor, and Rochester, and it has recently crossed international borders with Groupmuses in Toronto, Canada; Toulouse, France; Berlin, Germany; and Seoul, South Korea. If you want to know more about Groupmuse, check out the website. Read the About section at the bottom; it has some beautiful insight on how Groupmuse got started and what its main goals are. You can also take a look at some pictures on Facebook or watch this short video made by Time Magazine to find out what a Groupmuse looks like. If you are a musician in one of these cities, create a profile and get involved to experience first hand what Groupmuse is about! If you're a musician in a different place: Get in touch with the Groupmuse team and start Groupmuse there! All you need is musicians to play with and a non-musician friend who has a living room and friends who will come to the party.


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COG Design illustrators are purveyors of creativity. We're communicators, story tellers through Illustration design.
Our Sydney design studio generates authentic illustrations for brands and individuals needing something special in visual communication.
Call COG Design Agency, we offer Free Quotes and Discussion on your Illustration Project (+61 2) 9523 6007
Our illustrators and graphic artists use a variety of media to generate unique artworks which are tailored to client brief.
The big idea is to tap into the sometimes unwritten brief which is the consideration of emotion, energy and the groove which is sometimes how we make the best discoveries in illustration.
Our Sydney creative directors work closely with our clients who request illustrations as sometimes the brief for a unique custom piece of artwork may be unusual and non-traditional in the commercial sense. We make sure we match the brief to our artists with the most appropriate style, personal flair and artistic interpretation is a huge part of the success of an illustration. We ensure we make the right fit between artist and project from the start.
COG Design create illustrations for clients involved in numerous businesses including those in the music industry, in high and fast fashion, sports, tradeshows, festivals and events. Supported by talent management and creative resources COG Design delivers illustration services that are unique pieces of artwork. Our clients need bespoke and authentic creative artworks that perform and cut through, illustrations to tell a story and convey a theme.
When illustrating for business, brand or individual COG Design taps into the brief and explores the possibilities that are available through visual communication. Our illustrations reveal your brands story.
Below are some examples of our illustration work. Click through and browse some of our client projects, it will give you an idea of COG Design, creative company and our capabilities.
Creative Designs for Brass Monkey Cronulla
COG Design is proud to deliver Creative Designs for the Brass Monkey music venue and restaurant in Cronulla, Sydney.
COG Design delivered product design for Fila Footwear
COG Design delivered product design for Fila Footwear
CGI Digital Design for Mount Lewis Estate
This case study from COG Design showcases CGI Digital Design for Mount Lewis Estate.


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Incubation & Brooding
Incubation? Think Interhatch!
We started out in incubation way back in 1980 - seems a long time ago now! Back then, we were almost unique in our field!
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Soooo, the next day we painted inside our shapes with contrasting colors using tempera cakes. The oil-pastel resist was the 'magic trick' of the day! Here's some paintings in progress...I'll have to take some more pictures tomorrow of the finished product.
|we talked about 'blotting' the big puddles
|keeping the colors 'clean'
|the next step is painting the background!


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Dynamo was established in 1994, to work with official bodies, other cycling organisations and interested individuals to promote cycling as a safe, enjoyable and healthy means of transport.
Dynamo's vision – our dream, to inspire and motivate us and potential members
We have a vision of Lancaster district as a friendlier and healthier place where most local journeys are made by bike and on foot; cycling and walking are prioritised, road users show each other care and respect, and excellent infrastructure helps people of all ages to travel easily, safely and sustainably.
Specifically, we aim for:
- More journeys being taken by bike; others are encouraged to cycle, so cycling becomes a normal choice.
- Road users obeying traffic laws, including speed limits.
- Council officers and councillors facilitating safe local travel by foot and by bike when making planning decisions.
- Road design minimising conflict between motorised vehicles, cyclists and walkers: journeys feel safer and are safer.
- The council providing an expanded network of cycle routes and links between them.
The former Dynamo website (which is no longer updated) can be found here
If you wish to contribute to the Dynamo Blog, we would be happy to receive your thoughts. Please email any writing to Lancaster Dynamo at email@example.com.


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Historical version 24 of Tre Fratelli, 25-29 South End (view current version)
- 020 8681 1171
- 25-29 South End, CR0 1BE
- tre-fratelli.co.uk
Italian restaurant on South End. It opened in May or June 2014.
See also:
Previously occupied by a Tex-Mex restaurant called Conchitas photo, but this closed some time between August 2012 and January 2013, with the staff and menu moving over to Apatura across the road (which was already under the same ownership).
As of January 2013 the premises were vacant and advertised to let photo, and this remained the case as of July 2013 photo. Still vacant as of October 2013.
As of April 2014 it was under refurbishment. Tre Fratelli opened in May or June 2014.
Existence last checked in July 2017.
OS X co-ord: 532443 OS Y co-ord: 164801 (Latitude: 51.366835 Longitude: -0.098855)
This is version 24 (as of 2017-07-23 12:04:27). View current version. List all versions.


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Too big to know
Submitted by Ambrose on Sun, 2012-12-09 01:14
I read our assigned reading—chapters 4 and 5 of David Weinberger's Too Big To Know (ISBN 978-0-465-02142-0)—on the train, so I didn't have any "resources" when I thought something wasn't right, but I still spotted three obvious problems while reading.
Weinberger argues that "mere diversity of ethnicity is not" relevant (p. 74, second-last line), which he based off Scott Page's The Difference. While Page is someone I respect a lot, I have to disagree to the categorical claim that "mere diversity of ethnicity is not." According to Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers, mere diversity of ethnicity (or rather the history of the person's ancestors, even if the person's life circumstances have been completely disconnected from those of their ancestors) can be relevant—for reasons that are not yet understood.
The second problem is that Weinberger quoted Howard Rheingold as saying "Even the mere presence of moderators—even if they never moderate a single posting—is enough to keep out the trolls" (p. 78, second paragraph, last two lines) and believed it at that. This might have been true in the olden days, but anyone who is on an open group on LinkedIn and plagued by a never-ending spam problem can attest that the "mere presence" of moderators is not enough; in fact even the presence of hard-working moderators who moderate hundreds of articles (as is the case of AIGA's official group) is not enough to deter trolls.
The third obvious problem is that he stated that "of sixty randomly chosen political sites, only 15 percent put in links to sites of their opponents" (p. 82, paragraph 3, lines 4–5) and thought this signals a problem. However, whoever has worked in an organization knows that perhaps upper management is just apprehensive of linking to anything. The lack of linking is not indicative of a problem except if you consider ignorance of what links mean to be a problem (but I do consider this to be a problem, especially when many lawyers seem to count among the ignorant ones…).
In any case, I will continue reading after I get the urgent stuff done. Maybe my opinion of it will change, or maybe it will not; as for right now, I think while his argument has merit, it also has holes, and, judging from what these holes are in the two chapters I have read, probably quite a number of them.


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L17 Hi Temperature Resistant Web Contact Spray Adhesive / Glue Can - 500ml - Class 1 Fire Rated


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The collaboration reached its conclusion yesterday at the Nexus Lab event at The Tetley. Last minute panic as ever, as we put the show together on Saturday night and Sunday morning. 'Alter ego' explored the nature of collaboration. 'Six very different people were brought into the NLab to journey together through collaboration. The only requirement being to conclude the work with a presentation to the public seven weeks later. The event consisted of moving image work, soundscapes, objects and participatory performance that explored our/your alternative personalities within the collaborative space.'
The collaboration with five others, with entirely different personalities, motivations, experience and interests has been a bumpy one and i'm sure WYTN (who have secured Arts Council funding to run more NLabs) will have learnt alot regarding the overall process. In the end though the work managed to combine dance, video, spoken word, sound, sculpture, image creation, interaction, participation and installation in a well considered and pretty successful whole. I now need to lie down in a darkened room… and will at some point put a number of images together for my website.


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Improving Student Writing with ERB's Writing Solutions
St. Margaret's Episcopal School, a PreK - Grade 12, co-ed, independent school in San Juan Capistrano, CA, had plenty of data. What the school needed was a plan to drill down into what the data was really saying. Today, their deep dive into their data is changing the way St. Margaret's students are writing and thinking.
Pamela Appleton
Executive Director, Writing Program
St. Margaret's Episcopal School
Janeen Graham
Academic Dean
St. Margaret's Episcopal School and WrAP
In fall 2011, St. Margaret's began using ERB's WrAP (Writing Assessment Program), part of ERB's comprehensive writing solutions. Created for writers of all abilities, WrAP authentically assesses student writing for Grades 3 - 12, and offers comparative data that helps you see how students at your school measure up to students in the same grade level at other independent, suburban, and international schools.
St. Margaret's first WrAP results showed the school what it expected to learn. So, the school did what many administrators do with data: patted themselves on the back, put the WrAP results in a drawer, and moved on.
In fall 2012, they administered the WrAP again, expecting the same results. This time, Grades 4 and 5 were below the independent school norms for student writing.
It was time to dig deep into the new ERB data to figure out how to use it effectively for teacher and student growth. St. Margaret's decided to put the analysis in the hands of its experts: its English Department faculty, which conducted its own validity assessment of the WrAP rubric.
Getting to the heart of score variances
Working closely with ERB Consultant Sarah Savage, St. Margaret's conducted its own reliability assessment to examine the school's year-to-year variance in test scores. Two different readers on its English faculty read and scored WrAP writing samples from other schools (WrAP scores and school information had been removed for this exercise).
Once again, St. Margaret's determined that its test scores had a very close rate of reliability. The next step? Hone in on Grades 5 - 7 where St. Margaret's students did well on WrAP and examine the six rubric categories of:
- Overall Development
- Organization
- Support
- Sentence Structure
- Word Choice
- Mechanics
"We learned that there was one category where our students were low consistently: Overall Development," Graham explains. "Now we had taken the scalpel and figured out what we needed to do."
The next step was reviewing, by grade level, WrAP anchor sets with the many annotated exemplary essays included in each. "I am a big fan of exemplar papers," Graham notes. "Often students don't have a sense of 'here I am but where am I going?' The tool is very formative."
St. Margaret's faculty then worked with individual students and in small groups on specific areas, not "teaching to the test," but teaching to the writing skill(s). Using WrAP anchor sets, students better understand why they received a certain grade. "The sets help us with learning progression, current development, and areas for growth," Graham explains. "We can show stages of a student's writing for a certain trait or holistically."
Creating stronger writers – and eclipsing the ERB norm group
The result? The school's WrAP scores rose to where St. Margaret's wanted them to be, a trend that has continued. In fact, St. Margaret's has eclipsed ERB's Independent Norm group. But more importantly, especially for today's digital native, adept at communicating in texts and emojis, St. Margaret's students learned to write a well-constructed paragraph and a longer-form essay—a critical component of success in grade school, college, and in life. ERB's writing programs are designed to help teachers guide students on their essential journeys as authors. And the first step, as St. Margaret's learned, is to gather and understand the data.
St. Margaret's recommendations to get the most out of WrAP
- Administer the assessment in the spring and get scores in July for summer analysis and share with teachers as they prepare for their new students. Or administer WrAP in the fall and use the data throughout the year alongside resources found in WRIIT (Writing Resource for Insight, Interpretation, and Teaching).
- Match the chosen WrAP prompt genre to the genre taught that year in the class to reinforce writing concepts.
- Have department heads and administrators review the prompt choices to determine the best match for the school's program and learning objectives.
How WrAP works
Consistent with today's rigorous standards and college and career expectations, WrAP offers two types of performance tasks. Stimulus-based prompts are text-based, asking students to read, analyze, and apply what they have read. Non-stimulus prompts are shorter and ask the student to pull from their own experiences. Both engage the student to develop a robust and thoughtful response.
Administrators have a choice of many age-appropriate prompts in one of three genres: Narrative; Argument/Opinion; and/or Informative, all with pre-writing and editing and revising suggestions included. In each case, students have time to read, reflect, write, and revise. Taken over a two-day period, WrAP parallels real-life student writing. On Day One, students read, think, and write the first draft of their essay. On Day Two, students revise, edit, and complete their final draft.
Most writing tests take place on one day only. But WrAP mirrors what happens in the classroom where students are asked to read, reflect upon a topic, write, and revise. Decades of research on the writing process all speak to revise, revise, revise. Writing well always involves revision and is necessary to meet expectations for written work in college and career.
WrAP's unique scoring and reporting: the difference is in the details
WrAP is scored analytically by skilled educators and assessment experts using a carefully researched, six-trait, six-point rubric. Each student's writing can also be compared to other students who addressed a similar prompt in the same genre at the same grade level and to other independent, suburban, and international schools.
What else is truly unique? WrAP's Individual Student Report (ISR) contains direct links to annotated and scored, real-life writing samples. The WrAP ISR also allows the teacher to "go up the ladder" by score point. This makes goal-setting easy and relevant and serves as a roadmap for teachers to create differentiated instruction for a classroom of writers of various levels.
This report also allows the teacher to immediately access WRIIT (Writing Resource for Insight, Interpretation, and Teaching), a library of related resources for teachers to use anytime. "Any program worth its salt has a learning progression," notes Appleton. "Ours shows what level of achievement a student is showing within the grade and samples of student writing for that grade and writing skill."
With these annotated comments—and reliable, consistent scoring with fixed standards of performance—a student can clearly "see" what great writing looks like. Being able to see examples of what improvement and next-steps look like, as well as hear the teacher's explanations and goals, works best!
WrAP's benefits:
- Students' proficiency and confidence in specific skill areas increases.
- Students' articulation of writing skills, techniques, and areas of mastery expands.
- Teachers spend more time teaching and less time grading as ERB's outside experts do the analytical scoring.
- Based on WrAP 's authentic classroom snapshot, teachers can create systematic instructional plans for specific skills on which each student, small group, or class can work.
- Teacher collaboration improves with WrAP's clearly defined skills and consistent measurements. Teachers across grades can see how a student is progressing and exactly which skills need improving which makes for a seamless transition.
- Flexible assessment administration with online and paper testing is offered in fall or spring or twice an academic year.
- Reports are ready in three weeks upon receiving completed WrAP essays.
Wrapping up student writing improvement with WrAP, WRIIT, and WPP
WrAP is one of three ERB writing tools, which include WRIIT (Writing Resource for Insight, Interpretation, and Teaching), an online companion resource to WrAP, and the WPP (Writing Practice Program) that is designed to provide a personalized, online platform for on-demand writing practice. As part of a research-based, expert-vetted writing program, WrAP, WRIIT, and WPP give teachers and students access to a host of writing resources to improve writing.
Created in 2016 to complement WrAP, WRIIT is an online, 24/7 teacher library that provides a wealth of writing resources including hundreds of writing samples for Grades 3 - 12 that can be used in the classroom. WRIIT is a key strategy in St. Margaret's success.
"WRIIT is a resource trove for us," Graham explains. "We use it every day."
Before taking WrAP, St. Margaret's students look at their prior year's score and an exemplar paper chosen from the WRIIT library (new students get a WRIIT anchor paper.) They self-score, which helps students understand areas for growth.
For an in-depth look at the importance of student writing, read ERB's Preparing Students for the Future: A Roadmap to Improve Writing as a Key to Success. Or join your colleagues at the 2018 ERB Annual Conference in Nashville, TN from October 24-26, 2018.
Schedule your personal, online tour of WrAP and WRIIT with Pam Appleton, ERB Executive Director for Writing, by emailing firstname.lastname@example.com, or contacting your ERB Member Services Consultant.


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commend (someone) for (something)(redirected from commend her for)
commend (someone) for (something)
To compliment or praise someone for something that they have done. I have to commend you for your extraordinary bravery in a dangerous situation. I'm sure all of the people you rescued from the fire see you as a hero.
See also: commend
commend someone for something
to praise someone for doing something. The committee commended Ralph for his good work.
See also: commend


text: bjizzle Tuesday, 11/09/10 12:34:08 AM Re: None Post # of 3670 GOLDEN VALLEY DEVELOPMENT (NASDAQ:GVDI) Strong Uptrend Smart Scan Chart Analysis confirms that a strong uptrend is in place and that the market remains positive longer term. Strong Uptrend with money management stops. A triangle indicates the presence of a very strong trend that is being driven by strong forces and insiders. Based on a pre-defined weighted trend formula for chart analysis, GVDI scored +100 on a scale from -100 (strong downtrend) to +100 (strong uptrend): +10 Last Hour Close Above 5 Hour Moving Average +15 New 3 Day High on Monday +20 Last Price Above 20 Day Moving Average +25 New 3 Week High, Week Ending November 13th +30 New 3 Month High in November +100 Total Score SUPPORT SHARE PRICE, BUY AND SELL AT ASK.


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'It's not regular lavender,' she says. 'It's called 'Black Headed Lavender'. You boil it to make blue tea, which, everyone on the island tells me is, great for memory.'
The path ends on the red cliffs. There is a red rock stairway in the cliffwall and we zig zag sliding down, back and forth among the thistle and juniper and brine. A green peninsula of grass and rocks just out into the sea back toward the other islands and Istanbul. There's no garbage yet because the season hasn't started. We are alone.
A boat teeters against the white sinking sun, the shape of the sail blotted out by light. I take off my shirt, and for the first time in months, feel the touch of ultraviolet on my chest. Every cell tingles and unfolds itself to the sun. She sits beside me. I rest my head on her shoulder—the wool fibers of the sweater hot from the same light that heats the rocks.
'This is Martha's Beach. There was a family that used to live in that stone house there, just inside that copse of cedar or pine or whatever. The mother was Lebanese-Armenian, and everyone kind of made fun of her for being Armenian. And she was different in other ways, too. They said she would go swimming here in the nude, do different crazy things. And so they made fun of her, you know, for like a long time until one day, she went out into the water and drowned herself.'
'And now it's Martha's beach.'
'Now it's Martha's Beach forever.'
The shore crackles with waves on white stone streaked with sharp stripes of rust orange. We call out 'Martha! Martha!' A seagull sits motionless on a rock in a puddle of light.
'I wouldn't say that too loud,' she says. 'Martha's children still live in the house.'
The stone cottage is surrounded by garbage—plastic chips bags, a blue pipe, an armless doll with the eyes burnt white by the sun and sea. Two teenagers are camping beneath a clearing in the pines. They poke sticks in the water and wave as we pass. The boy has a long scruffy dark beard, the girl puffs and puffs of tight curly hair. They wear black concert T-Shirts.
'In the summer, all sorts of people stay here. They build rock shelters in the trees or wood huts.'
'And the kids don't mind?'
'Those guys?'
'No. Martha's kids.'
The path that leads up to the road is guarded by a pony-sized white dog. He is not looking at us, but sniffing the wind, his ears down and his eyes half closed. He belongs here. As we pass, he moves in front of us and leads us up another flight of stone stairs that are now wearing away and crumbling. We slide over pine straw and gravel—hang on to shrubs as we move up. The dog looks back when we struggle.
At the top, he turns back and starts the return descent. Between twig and branch and trunk and shrub, you can see an orange plasmal glitter—the kids have started a fire in the beach.
The wind is cold up here on the hill. It swirls down past the houses, runs along the empty streets and loses itself in the wall of trees that hide the paths to Martha's Beach. We follow the road down toward houses, past an old monastery, past the almond trees and their pink blossoms and the caretaker's shack with gourds hanging on strings.
The sun is setting—the city across the water is being swallowed in a pink smog. The sun is spinning down into the horizon and everything is filled with the sound of wind moving through it as if the breaths of the island itself were withdrawing back down into the way we came, into the rock and weed and stone and sea.
I pull her close to me and bury my face in her black hair. She smells of heat and cut lavender and gathering bees. There once was a whole field of lavender, on the opposite side of the world. The girls were just eight then—it was before almost everything. And the swaying purple reached all the way to the low green hills and there was ice cream and a horse for the tourists and a woman in yellow shading her eyes and old friends laughing as they sank deep deep into the flowers and remained there, waiting all this while.


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Hi all! My name is Brani Laine and I blog over at "That's JustLovely". I have been a faithful visitor to "Something Brought You Here" for some time now, and I am so thrilled and thankful that these beautiful ladies are allowing me to take up some space here. I mostly blog about beauty & fashion, but occasionally, I like to share my funny life stories with my readers. First, here are a couple of pictures of me, so you can put a face behind these words:
Now, back to the important stuff. My faithful visitors enjoy these sorts of posts: "What I Wore", reviews on beauty products (I have so many products, I could do one review on a product I own for a year and be okay), tutorials on beauty-related things, ramblings about life, love, and the pursuit of happiness, and links to other amazing blogs I "discover". Also, I'd like to think I'm a little bit funny and extremely blunt. I believe that's why my followers like me, and I love them for that. So, I'd really love it if you decided to hop on over to my space on the blogosphere and see for yourself. Perhaps you'll like what I write about, too? Here's an example:
Brani's DIY Exfoliating Body Scrub
(There are so many similar to this one out there, but I swear I've been using this scrub since I was in middle school.)
What you will need:
Olive oil
Sugar (regular ol' sugar)
Small tupperware container (enough to hold a can of soup)
Why is that it? Because this is the easiest and most affordable DIY scrub you will ever use, most likely.
What you will do:
Take the tupperware container, make sure it is ALL cleaned out and dried. Pour in 7-8 tablespoons of sugar. Pour in (judge this on your own, please; it will vary per person & you might need more or less) 6-7 tablespoons of olive oil. Then add a teaspoon of honey. Mix together well. It should look similar to this (which is the batch I just made):
Now for the best part--get in the bath tub (or shower...but I prefer a relaxing bath) and take the scrub (with your hands) and rub it ALL over your legs, arms, and whole body. Keep out of private areas! Yes, it will be oily and you will think "Is it supposed to feel this yucky?" The answer is yes. Once you let it sit for 10 minutes, rinse it all off, and when you're out of the bath or shower, dry off! Use the towel to rub off as much as you possibly can. You will still feel a bit oily, so don't sit on any furniture or anything you wouldn't want to possibly get a spot on. Sitting on your towel would be the best choice. After the oily feeling starts to go away, your legs and body will still feel soft (maybe you will have a man touching those legs of yours later? He will love the softness!), but the best part of all is that you exfoliated like a pro! WARNING: PLEASE, PLEASE BE CAREFUL getting out of the shower/tub after using this exfoliating scrub because it is oily and can be very slippery! Also, warn anyone that will be showering/bathing after you. Clean out the tub as best you can! One time my boyfriend almost slipped after I did this DIY scrub. Lesson learned. Enjoy, and please do not hesitate to let me know how it worked for you!
Once again, thank you to Whitney & Nicole for letting me guest post! You are wonderful, ladies. J
Isn't she JUST LOVELY? I seriously love her and her blog. Go check her out and leave her some comment love!


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Christoph Kaufmann
Swiss philosopher and writer (1753-1795)
Christoph Kaufmann (1753 – 1795) was a German author.
|This article on an author is a stub. You can help Wikiquote by expanding it.
- Sturm und Drang
- Storm and stress; phrase suggested to F. M. Klinger as a title for his new play.
- Concise Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (2nd ed. 1981) p. 138


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1305 W. Wisconsin Ave.
P.O. Box 208
Oconomowoc, WI 53066
(262) 567-8341
(262) 567-0273 (fax)
Shorehaven, on the shores of Lac La Belle, offers skilled, assisted, and independent living, rehabilitation and memory care, and a myriad of services to keep seniors healthy and at home. Reflecting Christ's love, we prove homes and resources for seniors.
One and one half miles west of downtown Oconomowoc on Highway 16, or West Wisconsin Ave. Watch for the skywalk over Wisconsin Ave., main entrance, south side.


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Top 6 Tips For Nurses To Stay Refreshed During Long Shifts
Nursing is a very honorable and satisfying, yet demanding profession. While the rewards may include steady monetary compensation, a positive working environment, and the smiles of patients who have been attended to with exceptional care, it sometimes becomes difficult to cope with the pressures of the profession.
As nurses are dealing with multiple patients who are ill and often have to quickly respond to emergency situations, it is very important for them to always remain energetic and refreshed, despite the time of day or number of hours left in a shift. Extensive duty hours, speedy service, and the pressure to always be in a pleasant mood can take a toll on nurses and sometimes result in an overwhelming and overburdened feeling. While there may be no solution to the demands of the nursing profession, there is definitely a solution to the tiredness and lethargy of nurses all over the world.
There are numerous ways that nurses can stay energized but here are the six ideas that nurses can consider to stay refreshed on the job, especially during long night shifts.
Go outside and stretch your legs.
Don't step outside while attending a patient or even when you are supposed to be looking after one but do take a quick breather whenever you can. Roaming around in the hospital environment can sometimes send your energy levels plummeting and watching patients rest during night hours can also make you feel like taking a quick nap. However, being a nurse comes with big responsibilities and you must remain awake and vigilant.
Step outside for five to ten minutes whenever you are between patients or when it is okay to take a break. Breathing in the fresh air and walking around outside will energize you and wake you up. This is also a good way to stay healthy and happy. If you need energy on a day shift, taking in some Vitamin D directly from the sun is definitely beneficial.
Avoid energy-boosting drinks.
When feeling tired, many people rush to consume a protein drink or coffee, for that matter. However, while many people believe that these drinks can give you an uplift, they really don't. While coffee or a protein shake may energize you temporarily, it can bring your energy levels crashing down a few hours later.
Extra sugar can be detrimental to your health and consuming too much coffee can result in burnouts after a while. Hence, both options are a big NO for nurses who want to efficiently get through their long duty hours. Want to know what to try instead?
Try herbal green tea to keep you vigilant, awake, and fresh. Not only is it healthy but it is also very light and refreshing allowing you to consume several cups in a day.
Listen to upbeat music.
Your favorite tunes can take you a long way and can keep you upbeat and invigorated and enhance your memory and brain activity. However, do not plug in the earphones when you are on call but catch up on some soul-enriching music in small break slots or when you are sitting idle (make sure you keep an eye out for patients who may need you). Keep the volume low but sway to those beats that you love when permissible and you will surely remain energized during your long duty hours.
However, refrain from listening to slow and sad music as this may cause you to feel sleepy or put you into a lazy trance. No time for that, right? Try downloading a few of the songs that make you feel like dancing to the tunes and you are all set for the day.
Engage your patients and colleagues in an interesting conversation.
Talking about monotonous things can bore you and will make you feel drowsy. However, engaging in a productive conversation is a definite way to keep you energized. You know how you are so eager to continue that chat you were having with a friend on Facebook and you didn't even realize how much time you spent talking?
That strategy can work for nurses as well when they are working long shifts. Simply begin a fruitful conversation with one of your colleagues and continue it whenever you both catch quick breaks or you can use your phone to contact a friend.
The anticipation of a response is likely to keep you energized and will allow you to work efficiently. However, don't become engrossed in your conversation and forget work!
Play a game.
Playing a game does not necessarily mean that you have to pull out Monopoly or UNO in order to spend your time. While board games are probably not allowed on the job, you can definitely concoct a mind game and play with your colleagues while going about tasks. This can be a game like Guess Who? a quick stab at playing Charades, or a complete this sentence exercise.
The more you use your brain and actively play something you are interested in, the more your spirit is likely to soar and you will then remain energetic. Be creative and make up your own games. You can also play this with children in the hospital you work at or other patients. It can make their day and give them something to do too!
Exercise regularly for long-term energy benefits.
No, this does not mean that you have to jump onto a treadmill and begin your exercise regime. You can simply run up and down the stairs for a boost or take a walk around the hospital. You can also get in a few stretches when nobody is looking. The pros? It can help you burn off a few calories if needed and will keep you fit and energetic. The cons? There really are none if you do it the right way. However, make sure you only exercise enough to feel energized and uplifted rather than exercising too much and tiring yourself out.
Drink plenty of water as H2o is the perfect refresher and you certainly can't live without it!
Following these six ideas can help nurses properly fulfill their high priority role and have a very rewarding and fulfilling career. It is important for them to look after their health and energy levels while attending to the health of others and one way for them to remain healthy is by being happy and energized all day and every day!
About the author:
Kamil Riaz Kara is a Inbound Marketer and HR Professional. He has completed his masters in Administrative Science from the University of Karachi. Currently, he is writing about mental health, fitness and lifestyle. Visit his company blog and check latest post on mixed dementia. Connect him on LinkedIn for more details.