This is my LAST post of my self-assigned 31 Posts in 31 Days Challenge! I decided to do the challenge because I wanted to add a lot of new content to the blog and also spread the word and ask for your help with the Maverick Flute Choir GoFundMe Campaign.
Quick description: The fundraising campaign is to help my students attend the National Flute Association Convention in Minneapolis, Minnesota this summer! The MFC was invited to perform our original collaborative work,
The Princess & The Dragon: A Musical Play for Flute Choir
on Friday, August 11th (Flute Choir Showcase No. 1 which starts at 8:30am, but third on the program, so really at 9:30am).
It was quite an adventure last year doing a "musical play" for the first time! As you can glimpse in the picture above, there were costumes, a plot line with lots of drama and, in addition to the original flute music, lots of speaking parts! My students and I learned so much about what it means to create drama on stage in the most literal sense.
Along the way, it was inspiring to see in real life how many connections there are between musicians and actors. As my students became better and better actors, they developed an understanding that we could reference later in more traditional rehearsals and lessons.
Here are just some of the ways that acting in a play helped my students with "regular" flute playing skills:
* Resonance and projection
* Clear and understandable pacing
* Structural awareness
* Contrast in pitch and volume
* Larger than life emotional expression
* Physical gestures and body language
* Breathing and presence
* Working together as an ensemble
* Foreground vs. background
* Theme and variation
* Sequences
* Tangible audience connection
It's such a wonderful gift that I can now say things to my students like, "Remember in Princess & The Dragon when..."
We now have an unlimited supply of shared memories and references that are made even more special because we created the musical play together.
I hope to see you at NFA and I can't wait to share this play with you! The music is lovely, the story is about flute players, and the lessons in the play are heartwarming. I literally laughed and cried every time we did this play last year :-).
If you haven't donated yet, I'll ask you one more time to consider giving what you can. I really and truly appreciate any contribution you can make to helping my students attend the convention!
Here are some links for your convenience:
Thank you and happy practicing!!
Terri Sànchez
P.S. Here is a picture of the beautiful journal you will receive for a donation of $40 or more to the MFC GoFundMe Campaign. Just be sure to email your mailing address to maverickflutechoir@yahoo.com after you donate.
