Concert Assessment Kick-off

Concert Assessment Kick-off
By Omar Taweel
Educational Representative
Palen Music Center - Springdale, AR

As we enter the spring semester, many directors will begin the process of preparing their ensembles for spring contests, assessments, or festivals. There is an abundance of material on the pedagogical aspect of preparing for an adjudicated performance, so in this article, I will focus on a variety of logistical elements I learned over the years as a high school band director that helped me prepare my band for region and state level assessments. As a small school band director, I found these to be invaluable, and ultimately contribute to a less stressful process of preparing my band for the competition stage. In no particular order, here we go…

Hit The Ground Running

• Time is limited. By the time you are reading this, you should be fairly certain about what material you are planning to teach and have already started the process of teaching the material.

Sight Read

• If sight reading is a requirement for your concert assessment, don’t forget to sight read on a regular basis. You can use anything for this, the material you are beginning to learn for your assessment or a different chorale every few days - even a new pop chart for the basketball pep band will work to develop your students’ sight reading chops. Regardless of what method you use, make sure you teach the required sight reading procedure before you get to the sight reading stage so your students are comfortable with the process.

The Rules

• Be a student of the rules for the performance you are entering. Read them, study them, know them by heart, and follow them. There is no excuse for your band to be disqualified or penalized because of your lack of knowledge in this area. “I didn’t know that” is not a valid excuse, so do not put yourself in a position you cannot defend. Know the rules!

Performance Requirements - Score Sheets - Rubrics

• Same strategy as the rules

Adjudicator Scores

• Let this be a stress free thing. As soon as you have fully decided on your program, order your scores. When they arrive, take them out of the packaging and make sure they are correct. Number the measures and put them in a safe place. Make sure they get on the bus when you head to assessment.

Student Folders

• To avoid confusion, create a set of concert folders specifically for your assessment material. Clearly label each student’s folder, and as an added bonus, include a pencil. Have the students number their measures.
• As you are packing on assessment day, inventory each folder as you put them in a crate in row order. Let the folder crate be your seat partner on the trip to the performance site.

Punt Piece

• Weird things can happen during concert assessment season. Consider having a punt piece that you can have stage ready in no more than two weeks of rehearsals if necessary.

Be Proactive

• Plan for inclement weather, absences, and unusual circumstances. Also, be aware of what is going on in the greater school community
• In my experience, I could always plan to miss five to ten days due to inclement weather. 
• Remember that kids get sick, you might get sick, odd family situations happen, sometimes people move in or out at just the wrong time, maybe your star player winds up in detention hall on assessment day, or worse. 
• Don’t forget about scheduled days off from school, pep rallies, colors day (basketball homecoming), and other events that might prevent you from having rehearsal.
• Be aware of students who are in band and other activities. Work with coaches or sponsors to resolve any conflicts well in advance of assessment day.

Meet Deadlines

• When is the deadline for entry? Meet it, in fact, be early!
• When is the deadline for your entry fee to be submitted? Meet it!
• Fill out and submit your purchase order early to allow time for them to be signed and processed. Although I had good bookkeepers, I chose to hand deliver my entry fee check to the contest host.
• Do you have to submit an eligibility roster? Do it now before things get so busy that you find yourself scrambling to get things done at the last minute.
• Submit any district required field trip requests weeks in advance so you have appropriate transportation on assessment day. Follow up before the event to make sure there are no miscommunications or mistakes.

Instrument Repair

• Take an up close and personal look at each student’s instrument. Is it functioning like it should? If not, fix it. If you cannot fix it, get it in the shop now.

Schedule

• If you have not already published your spring rehearsal and performance schedule, you’re already behind. Do it now, and follow it as your guide for the semester.

Program Selection

• Don’t overprogram. Be realistic in the music you select. Does it fit your ensemble? Does it involve your percussion section? It needs to challenge and grow your students as musicians, yet the goal must be attainable. Depending on your situation, it is perfectly fine to start small and build as your program and students grow as musicians. Save the more unrealistic material for your hometown concerts when your students are not being judged.
• Your students need to fall in love with what they are learning and you need to enjoy teaching the program you have selected.
• Try not to put too much responsibility on just a few players. They are teenagers, and they have limits on what they can do. Spread the wealth as much as possible and teach every student in the ensemble to play their part to the best of their ability.
• Unless there is a specific rule prohibiting it, it is ok to edit parts, however, this should be done wisely and sparingly, and the original intent of the composer or arranger should always be respected. If you find yourself having to “dumb down” parts, it might be time to look at your program selection and make sure it fits your ensemble.

Record your band

• After the music is functional, and you begin working on the finer details, record your rehearsals.
• Yes, it’s humbling when you go back and listen, but that is the point. You want to find as many problem areas as possible before you get to the stage!
• Listen to your rehearsal the next day with a fresh ear, and invite your students in as well. It’s easy to upload your sound files to a google drive and share them with your students.
• Although it’s nice to have, you don't need expensive recording equipment to do this. Your phone, ipad, or a simple digital recorder will do just fine.

Reference Recordings

• Find reference recordings of the material you are teaching. Listen to them often. Provide web links for your students and staff so they have access. Many will listen, develop a concept, and bring that into your rehearsals.

Guests

• Have a trusted colleague come in and listen to your band. If there is time, let them clinic your band. Your kids need to hear the same things you say every day from someone other than you. As an added bonus, that person will be able to give you honest feedback and provide strategies for improvement.

Teach!

• Passionately teach your program, as if it were the most important thing you will ever do! Work relentlessly, and do whatever it takes (morally and legally) to ensure your students’ success! At the end of the process, you should have nothing left to give.
• If you have an assistant or a staff of directors, structure your rehearsals to involve their strengths and abilities in the process.

Reflect and Celebrate

• After your performance, hopefully, you will feel like celebrating with your students. At whatever stage you are in in your ensemble's development, everyone has worked hard, and it’s time to celebrate with each other. Allocate time to recap the performance with your students and share in their success! 
• If there are adjudicator comment sheets, read them. If there are recorded comments, listen to them. Use this as a time to learn and develop as a teacher.
• Make sure your school and community are aware of what your ensemble has accomplished, and that they know it is a “big deal.”

And Finally

• Tell yourself that it’s ok to ask for help and seek advice. Preparing an ensemble for assessment was never meant to be a one person job!
• Enjoy contest season!

Omar Taweel
Educational Representative
Palen Music - Springdale, AR