A Beautiful Sound

Letters and emails have been going out lately about some changes we are making in the spring for our vocalists in our music program. I know many people are resistant to change, so I wanted to have a heart to heart talk with those enrolled or looking into this program.

The change is that in the spring only, our vocalists will continue their 30-minute private lessons, but they will also have five group classes scheduled throughout the semester. During their group classes, they will learn how to sing their parts and work on harmonizing. More experienced singers may be asked to do small solo parts in the group number. Singers will not be doing a complete solo by themselves in the spring recital.

So, I’m here to answer why we are making this change. I want to begin with what a great opportunity this presents to our vocalists. Yes, they are doing great with each singing a solo, but we are closing up opportunities to them if we never teach them to perform with a group. These group practices will require their ear to develop. They will have a chance to study a song to find their part (soprano, alto, etc.) Plus, let’s talk about how awesome it will be to fill the Columbia Theatre stage with a group vocal performance. It is going to present a whole new dynamic to our recital.

In the group rehearsal, their regular vocal instructor will be leading the class. This way they are able to practice in their private lesson individually what they will be doing as a group. Lots of thought has went in to this to see how we can continue to increase our quality of instruction.

Next, I want to let you in to the business and management section of this. Last year, we had approximately 34 numbers performed at the spring recital with everyone performing solos. The recital was a little over two hours. We sold under 300 tickets. As a company, we were just breaking even on our music recital. Our dance recital because it is done with groups sold over 650 tickets. This semester, we had 80 music students. This left us with some decisions to make. We could either find a less expensive location for the music recital or make some changes to how we formatted our music program. We knew it wasn’t possible to change our piano and guitar performances. As a staff as we brainstormed, we saw so much positive from combining our singers. It would provide a new learning opportunity without extending the length of our recital by hours and hours. We probably will still need to have two music recitals this spring. We are waiting to see our spring enrollment numbers before making that decision.

What I want you to see is that every decision we make in Soar’s departments goes through lots of scrutiny before we implement it. We have the best in mind for our students and our fine arts school. Each vocalist will continue to perform solos in the fall. So, before you say, “I don’t like that change,” give it a try. See what wonderful new skills your vocalist will gain.

Also, we are adding policies that say you must complete the semester and you must perform at recital. This again is a change to protect Soar itself and our staff. Unfortunately, we had enough people drop classes that we felt these policies were needed.

If you have any questions, I’m happy to set up a time to speak to you. Don’t forget we will be closing ticket sales on Saturday, November 3rd. Current students can sign up to keep their current music spot the week of November 5th-10th. Current students and siblings can enroll in a new spot the week of Nov. 12th-17th. We are opening enrollment up to new families on Monday, Nov. 26th. I’m so excited with how this year is going!