Coffee Klatch

This is the end of the Spring 2008 semester at Butler University. Final Exams begin tomorrow. It’s also the end of my first semester working on my Master’s in Music Composition. Tonight I did the presentation to accompany my final project for the Baroque Music History course I’m taking. Several people did a bit of “performance” along with talking about their project and what they learned. All in 10-12 minutes.

My project was an analysis of John Playford’s The Dancing Master, a book published by him in 1651 that had many English Country Dances in it. Each page had the melody of the music and all the steps and figures for that particular dance, which makes it unique as well as informative. It’s one of the earliest dance manuals and was very popular in its time, going through 18 different editions between 1651 and 1728.

I analyzed all 100+ dances, documenting all the characteristics of each dance, from time signature and tempo to each dance figure used in that particular dance. The result was a HUGE spreadsheet that I could sort in various ways, allowing me to discover characteristics and trends. For my presentation to the class, I discussed some basics of what I learned and spent most of my time actually TEACHING THEM A DANCE. We went outside, learned all the steps, and then I played a track from a CD by The Dragon Scale Consort. They’re a group from the Indianapolis area that plays music for dancing by members of the Society for Creative Anachronism (SCA), so they play tempos and numbers of repetitions to fit how the songs are danced to in the SCA today. At least locally.

The class did very well. We had 4 males and 4 females, so it worked out quite nicely. I started with the instruction and then we played the music and I called the dance while they did it. It wasn’t particularly pretty, but it was a LOT of fun. Everybody was smiling and having a great time, even if they hadn’t been that keen on dancing. I was quite happy with how well it turned out. And everyone will remember more about my topic now than if they’d heard me just talk about it for 10 minutes. Pretty cool!

Current music: English Country Dances from Playford’s Dancing Master 1651-1703, by The Broadside Band

So the boys were digging into Easter Baskets this morning. One of the things they got was a chocolate egg with a peep inside. The time came for hunting for eggs outside, so everyone got up and ran outside, leaving their candy on the floor. When the hunt was done, everyone came in and Blaise’s peep was missing. There was only one possible culprit: Mrs. Peel, our 3-year-old Yorkie-Poo.

She normally doesn’t like things like that (or almost ANY people food), so we guessed she must have grabbed it to chew on, like she does with little stuffed animals that she finds. We looked in her kennel, and, sure enough, there it was! Alaric was given the task of getting a picture of her to document the event, probably for a scrapbook. Without thinking, he put his own “peep-on-the-half-shell” down on the floor near her and went for the camera. While he was two steps away, she grabbed HIS and ran off!

Easter pfun for everyone!

I took last Friday off from work and spent the weekend with my “handbell peeps” (I can’t believe I just said that) at Spring Ring 2008 in Cincinnati, Ohio. We left Friday during the day and didn’t get home until around midnight Sunday morning.

Handbell festivals like this are sponsored by the American Guild of English Handbell Ringers (AGEHR) and by the “area” or region where it’s located. The typical agenda is an opening concert, followed by a brief rehearsal. Then on the following day rehearsals and class sessions alternating in the morning and again in the afternoon. Then a final runthru and a concert that’s free and open to the public. Then everyone packs up and goes home. (The concert this year was very well publicized and I was told had almost 800 in attendance.)

Most festivals involve groups coming and playing some music all together. The “mass ring” music is usually not too difficult, so every can do it. Then there is some other music broken up by category. You have to choose whether you’re “Tin Level” (easier) or “Copper Level” (medium). There’s also a “Bronze Level,” but there aren’t too many groups that can play at that level, so that kind of music is usually reserved for separate festivals and events.

While the Tins are rehearsing, the Coppers are attending a class session (or browsing the vendors or taking a nap), and then the two groups switch. The clinician/director for the weekend was Hart Morris, who is a highly respected handbell composer & director. He’s known for writing rhythmically challenging pieces that use percussion creatively. He’s also a clinician with a great sense of humor and infinite patience! He kept everyone excited and happy throughout the weekend; even when he had to correct people (sometimes multiple times), he did it with a sense of humor that buoyed people’s spirits despite having to be corrected. As a ginormous ensemble (over 700 ringers this weekend), we improved a TON in just a couple rehearsals, thanks to Hart’s excellent direction and people skills. In this area, it was probably the most enjoyable handbell festival I’ve been to.

During Saturday’s afternoon classes, one of the sessions was called “Bronze Feud.” It involved people arriving in teams of four (unless you were just there to observe and cheer on your favorite team) and having to figure out how to play some music given to you. Our team, “Team Van” (named after the fact that our team also had carpooled to Cincinnati together) included Becky, Michelle, Karen, and me (in picture order below). We thought that it was going to involve actual music, but it was really just some figures put together by the people running the game. For example, the first round was a descending G major scale in eighth notes. The first thing you had to do was figure out how your team was going to play it and the second thing was to get through it as many times as possible in THIRTY SECONDS. That’s what really changed the dynamic (pardon the pun). They also did give some points for “style.” Our team felt rather dominant until a team of high schoolers got up there and just WHIPPED through it. We could see right then that they would be our major competitors.

There were four rounds, which got progressively harder, and I think there were 13 teams total. We were SECOND, which meant we didn’t have much time to prepare. For the second round, we were FIRST and it moved on from there. We actually thought it worked out pretty well for us, since we had to go very early on the first two and then were at the end for the next two, which were harder. That gave us a chance to watch other groups and talk through any potential difficulties we saw. It helped that for the third round the high schoolers got a couple of bells mixed up early in and never fixed it. That meant nobody played it right after that mixup. It was still close, but we had some STYLE in the last round. So even though it was difficult and hardly any groups got through it at all, the gyros we did each time on the final whole note pushed us into first place.

Even though the prizes were Burger King crowns with “gems” glued on and little foam pins of “First Place” ribbons, we were walking pretty tall that afternoon. It’s more about ego and bragging rights than it is prizes, anyway, right?

“It’s good to be da king!”

Today I officially purchased my first tuxedo. I’ve had to wear them before for, for concerts and things, but never actually owned one. Since I’m singing with the Butler University Chorale this semester and there are THREE concerts, that means there are THREE times that I’ll have to wear a tux. Renting a tux costs between $100 and $160 per day, so it was cheaper to just get my own. Probably half the price of renting one three times. Plus now I’ll also have one for any future occasions where I may need one.

I went to a place here in town that is where we get the vests for our Music Dept. I figured I might as well just get the whole tux there since they’ve got a relationship with Butler already. Turns out it was a VERY good idea. They definitely knew what they were doing and they gave me a great deal. When I went in today to pick it up and tried on the pants, the guy didn’t even ask me to put shoes on. He just folded the end of the pants, made ONE chalk mark and that was enough. Then after I took them off he marked, cut, and hemmed them right there, sent them to the back room to be pressed, and there we were: DONE!

I ended up getting a tux jacket, tux pants, wing-collar shirt, shoes, vest, cummerbund, bow tie, and cuff links and studs. The whole shebang! And now I’m set for any black-tie-optional events or for when I have to attend a world premiere of one of my compositions!

By the way, the tux place was WorldWide Tuxedos and I highly recommend them. If you’re in the Indianapolis area, you can go there and be fitted. Otherwise, you can still get a really good deal online. Of course, it helps if you know your measurements. But visit their website if you’re in the market for tux-type stuff and see what they’ve got for selection and prices! They also offer “career apparel,” so they’re not just tuxes. Plus they advertise that they’re the “largest selection on the net” and they have the “lowest prices or we’ll take an additional 10% off.” Pretty good deal!

Okay, it’s time for a personal update. I wrote last year about my personal spiritual journey that led to my becoming a Roman Catholic. As my family came along and began Catechism Classes last fall, we ended up questioning some of the dogmas (things you’re really supposed to believe if you’re a Catholic). Part of the questioning and learning process meant dealing with this. We ended up looking into what the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church teaches. I wasn’t willing to look any further than that because I still felt strongly the need for a connection to the ancient apostolic Christian Church.

As I mentioned in my essay (see the link below), I was concerned about discovering the ancient Church that Jesus left us. It was just getting started in Bible times, as the apostles went out to all corners of the globe, following the Great Commission and spreading the news.

Both the Eastern Orthodox and the Western Roman Catholic Churches trace their heritage back to that time and document a succession of leaders from that time to this. Their differences developed over time and were aggravated by a few events in the history of the Church. I’ll blog about those at some point, I’m sure.

Anyway, after doing more reading and talking to people and visiting a local church, we’ve begun down the path of officially entering the Orthodox Christian Church. The one we’ve been attending is part of the Orthodox Church in America, which is an autocephalous church similar to the Russian, Serbian, Romanian, Greek, etc., Orthodox Churches, but is the North American version. These all are not in conflict with each other, but are actually in full communion with each other, making up various parts of the Orthodox Catholic Church, the “One Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church” mentioned in the Nicene Creed.

I’ve updated my essay about my spiritual pilgrimage to reflect these recent events. You can find it online (with a printer-friendly PDF version) here: http://coffeeklatch.pfitzinger.net/essay/

I will occasionally try to blog about what I’ve been learning about this ancient form of Christianity, which, while being the second-largest single Christian “communion” in the world, is one of the least known and understood in North America. For now, please give my essay a read (or another read) or visit some of the Orthodox Links I’ve made available in the sidebar.

Thanks.

Yesterday was the 2nd annual retreat for the Circle City Ringers. We spend the first half of the day talking, going over our goals for 2008, and hashing out some details for rehearsals. Then the second half of the day was spend rehearsing. With lunch in between brought in by Panera. Mmmm….

We looked at some music that we’ll be playing at the Spring Ring festival in Cincinnati at the end of February and we started working up our newest favorite piece: In The Mood, arranged for handbells by Hart Morris, who is one of handbells’ favorite composers/arrangers of challenging music. He’s captured the original “In the Mood” very well and translated into a playable-yet-challenging arrangement for handbells. All the little sax solo bits are there and everything! Should be a load of fun! And I can’t wait to get it learned so we can take it up a notch.

Well, I’ve officially gotten started. I’m taking Chorale three days a week (right after lunch) and I have Choral Lit on Monday afternoons and History of Baroque Music on Tuesday afternoons/evenings. Those two are just once a week, which is nice on the schedule, and start at 4:00 or later, which means less time to make up from the work schedule. I’m still left with enough hours, though, that on Wednesdays I’ll be in to work by 9:00 and still have to work the Reference Desk from 5-10pm. Wednesdays will be LONG days, methinks.

Still, it’s fun to be taking classes again. At least since they’re in topics of interest to me. Plenty of work to be sure, but still enjoyable overall. Both of my “regular” classes are going to include plenty of student participation every week, keeping us on our toes and contributing regularly. Discussion-oriented classes are always more fun and interesting than lecture-style classes.

Today I auditioned for the Butler University Chorale. I have to have at least one Music Ensemble credit as part of my 30-credit Master’s degree. Since I’ve got some good experience with advanced chorales (4 years in the Cornerstone University Chorale, 3 years in the Bloomington Chamber Choir, 2 years in the Evangelical Choral Society, and about 5 more years in the CU Chorale–that’s 14 years!!), it seemed like the best ensemble fit.

And, yes, I did get in. I’ll be singing Bass II (that’s bass as opposed to baritone). I’ve been told that Butler has been thought of as the Baritone Capital of the Midwest so it will be nice to help build up the lower bass section.

It will be really nice to be part of a group like this again. I heard the Chorale sing a few months ago and found myself thinking it would be a fun group (and a musical one) to sing with. Classes start on Monday, as does the first Chorale rehearsal. How COOL!!

Well, I’m on my way! I’m heading back to school, working on another Master’s degree. This time in Music Composition (my Bachelor’s was in the same thing). I figured that since I’m getting free tuition I might as well put it to good use. I can take up to 6 credits per semester with full tuition remission. Pretty cool! Definitely one of the perks of working at a university.

The Master of Music degree here is 30 credits and I’m taking 6 this spring. Hopefully I’ll be walking in May 2010. Today I got registered for classes, took care of the paperwork, and bought my textbooks (for which I get an employee discount of 10%!). I’m taking a “Music of the Baroque Era” class and a “Seminar in Choral Literature” which is focusing on the Classical Period this semester (Haydn, Mozart, etc.). Plus I’m singing with the University Chorale, which will be fun. It’s been three years since I’ve sung with a university chorale and this time I’ll be doing it as a student again.

Some other classes I’ll be taking will be based on the requirements for degree (go figure!), including a couple of electronic music classes, composition lessons, Music research, and some other Music Theory electives, ensembles, lessons, etc. The “thesis” for a Composition degree is a score of an original work “of a major nature” along with a performance recording if possible. There’s also an oral defense of the thesis/score and a separate comprehensive oral exam that covers all the classes you took in the program.

I think it will be a fun couple of years, since everything I’ll have to do, take, learn, etc., is stuff I really enjoy. I’m still working full time and ringing with the Circle City Ringers (plus being president of the Board this year), so I’ll be keeping pretty busy, but at least it’s all enjoyable. That makes me more fortunate than many people who don’t like their jobs or find schoolwork unpleasant or difficult.

Current music: Soundtrack for Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl

Today was our annual Library Staff Holiday Party, which ended with the traditional Duck Drop. That’s where we go up to the third floor and take turns dropping rubber ducks into the fountain down on the main floor (which is about 15′ by 10′). If you get it in the fountain at all, it’s 1 point, 5 points if you get it into the birdbath-looking bowl in the fountain, and 10 points if you get it into the various target rings set to float around the main fountain. Oh, and 25 points if you hit the big rubber duck with a target on his head and red rings all around his body, but people never really try for that one.

Everyone who scores above the median goes on to the second round. Same for the third and fourth rounds. Each round, though, involves dropping the ducks from a different side of the atrium, getting farther from the easier targets.

This year I won again! For the second year in a row, successfully defending my title! Woo-hoo!! And this honor also allows me to keep the King Duck in my office for another year. I *had* been telling people how much he loved staying in my office, so it’s only right that he gets to stay where he feels comfortable.

He’s a Rubba brand duck that’s really hard to find any more. His official model name is P.King Duck. You can still find him at RubbaDucks, though, which is nice. I’ve included his picture in this post.

Here are some other good Rubber Duck links. Who’d have thought there were so many varieties??

Rubba Ducks (there are ALL KINDS of really WEIRD ones too!)
RubberDuckShop
Rubber Bath Ducks
Lara’s Duck Collection