Experiential Learning Reflective Essay – Creative Arts
Part 1: What?
For my Creative Arts experience, I attended an art song immersion festival for 5 weeks. SongFest is a prestigious music festival designed to provide intensive study and training for talented young singers in a professional, progressive and positive environment. Instruction included performing master classes as well as song literature classes, movement, repertoire classes, diction, and individual coaching. SongFest was unique in its emphasis on the exploration of concert art song, a timeless and growing genre in the realm classical vocal music outside the world of opera. Above all, SongFest emphasized the promotion of new works; this year, eminent coaches and famous composers like William Bolcom, Jake Heggie, Martin Katz, Libby Larsen, and William Sharp provided invaluable instruction to the few young singers accepted into the festival. I came to SongFest expecting to gain more performance opportunities and perhaps focus on deepening my knowledge about women in music. This experience more than matched my expectations, inspiring me to pursue these ideas beyond my original plan. The most significant aspect of this experience was that it provided a community of world-class teachers interested in communication through music, an idea that was beginning to inspire me to pursue an alternate career path; I learned and synthesized more ideas in the weeks spent at SongFest than I ever had in my years at CCM. The wealth of information provided at SongFest proved to be an invaluable guide in my future endeavors.
Through this program, I not only furthered my competencies at performing art song literature and demonstrated my knowledge of the well-developed methods in the field, but also was inspired to connect and transform these ideas via innovating a new tradition at CCM. At SongFest, I not only had the opportunity to coach advanced art song with established coaches but I also got the chance to focus on modern American works, a subgenre that is difficult to pursue in the Conservatory curriculum. In focusing on modern music, I had the very rare and exciting opportunity to work privately with the composers themselves. I coached with Jake Heggie, then Libby Larsen, meeting her for a few additional sessions to continue discussions; I also had the opportunity to perform with John Musto and in the process held intense discussions about contemporary themes in American music. Analyzing and debating the processes, mechanisms, and ultimate goals of art music with these established professionals was extremely heartening, as that they often spoke of beliefs and ideas that I already formed from my experiences in Spoleto, Italy. Every coach, composer, and voice teacher believed in the same ideal: the purpose of art song is to communicate the emotions and ideas brought forth by the text through music. In true art song performance, both singer and pianist must collaborate to express the underlying ideas of the piece, working as an exciting academic team. Unfortunately, the genre is dying along with classical music; the only way to save the genre is to embrace this in more performances around the world. When I returned from my experience at SongFest, I immediately looked for opportunities to spread these ideas to my colleagues, resulting in a gala concert that will hopefully continue as a traditional event among the student body even after I graduate.
I took appropriate risks in my experience at SongFest, going beyond the original parameters set by my proposal via tackling the controversial topic of women in music. As an artist, I was drawn to SongFest because one of my major interests is to promote and contribute to new music, specifically art song of American women composers. The atmosphere and objectives at SongFest carried significant historical, social, and personal value. Its discussion-inspiring atmosphere is reminiscent of the historical salons in 19th century France and Germany held by prominent and intelligent women like Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and Pauline Viardot. These women are my role models and I aspire to reinvigorate their position as innovative leaders in the field of music. After my discussions with Libby Larsen, a prominent female composer in the contemporary art song genre, I was inspired to find an opportunity to shine as an intelligent, young leader in the field of music. I learned more of her pieces during my time at SongFest, coached them with Larsen, then performed some of them on one of the SongFest concerts. I took a risk by choosing to prepare these pieces so late in the process, yet it allowed me to spend more time with this inspiring composer. Because of her guidance, I was able to pursue further study on the subject of music and communicating emotions, culminating in two future projects.
Part 2: So What?
My background in the art song genre before SongFest included one year of coursework focused on Voice Repertoire, two years of music history coursework occasionally detailing art song works and composers, three years preparing for Board Examinations at CCM which require preparation of art song, and years of listening to and performing art song works for auditions and mini recitals. I also took a year each of Italian and German, visited Italy and Germany, and studied French for 5 years in order to understand the texts of art songs from those countries. This background proved sufficient in giving me an overview of art song history and an understanding of its place in the grand scheme of classical music. In order to prepare for SongFest, I translated copious amounts of music, travelled across the state to practice with my collaborative pianist ahead of time, and reviewed my notes from my language, history, and theory courses. I also began to familiarize myself with the work of the coaches and composers in residence in order to formulate questions in advance. SongFest has a very difficult and competitive admissions process that not only entails a live audition but also requires research and planning. As part of my application, I conducted extensive research to plan an entire recital program of works that I would be interested in performing at the festival. The directors reviewed my notes and selected 20 of the pieces from the list. I was expected to learn, memorize, and rehearse these selections before arriving at the festival so that I may devote my time to learning the pieces I would perform with John Musto. I was responsible for preparing these pieces during the festival while simultaneously performing my assigned works. My hours of preparation beforehand solidified my basic knowledge of art song and my assigned pieces, allowing me to focus on improving and growing once I arrived instead of fighting to catch up. Even still, the program was very intense and provided an exciting challenge.
While this preparation provided a solid foundation for building my experience, it was almost trivial compared to the vast breadth and depth of information I encountered at SongFest. I learned to adapt quickly to scheduling changes, learn music quickly and efficiently so that it would “performance ready” at a moment’s notice, and respond gracefully in difficult situations with my colleagues (underprepared piano collaborators, jealous and competitive singers, overworked and impatient faculty). I learned I not only had the focus and discipline but also inspiration to enjoy attending hours of lectures every day for 5 weeks, including weekends. More importantly, however, I truly learned how to analyze my pieces, using historical context, music theory, and creative interpretation. I connected, synthesized, and transformed ideas within each piece, within each performance, and eventually within projects like the Composer Concert and my Capstone Recital project (described shortly). This entire experience had a large impact on my academic, professional, and personal development in that it taught me the value of detailed, disciplined work, and allowed me delve deeper into ideas I plan to pursue in the future.
Part 3: Now What?
Originally, I expected to keep a detailed blog of my classes, challenges, and improvements during the festival. While I do have a notebook full of detailed notes on the masterclasses and lectures I attended during my time at SongFest, I ended up going beyond the parameters originally expressed in my proposal. After SongFest, I was searching for opportunities to the idea of musical expression and communication to the community of CCM. Using the resources and support of my music fraternity, Sigma Alpha Iota, I innovated, organized, and executed the first annual CCM Composer Concert: An Evening of New Music. At this event, audience members enjoy coffee and deserts while listening to solely American chamber and art song works, many composed by our own classmates at CCM. Students, faculty, and their families attended the event and left with a sense of pride and hopefully additional knowledge about American chamber music. It was a wonderful opportunity to share what I learned from SongFest and implement my ideas in a practical setting. Additionally, based on the information I learned from Larsen, I composed a program for my senior Capstone Recital based on poetry and composition that reflected the constant strength of women in challenging times, and in love. It is not usually advised that undergraduates follow a theme for their final recitals and I took a risk by following this interest. However, my program was so well researched that I was able to gain approval and deliver an educational and meaningful recital to all of my close friends and family. Though I began my time at SongFest with the simple quest to gain more knowledge, I completed the experience as an active advocate for female musicians in music through art song performance. I feel that I will better represent my experiences by uploading documents from the CCM Composer Concert and my Capstone Recital project.
This experience was instrumental in clarifying my career path. Through my experiences at CCM, I had become increasingly interested in vocal pathology. Over the past years, I had worked closely with Dr. Sid Khosla of the UC Otolaryngology Department on research projects regarding the health and bio-mechanics related to the vocal mechanism. Recent studies have assessed the benefits of active music-making programs that provide opportunities for self-expression. Official protocols on Recreation Music Making (RMM) have been supported by randomized, controlled trials in peer-reviewed publications and have documented psychosocial, biological, and genomic changes in diverse populations. The term “recreational” is a derivative of the Latin root recreation, or “restoration to health.” The act of recreational music-making has a powerful impact on personal expression, group support, and quality-of-life enhancement. The mechanism behind the improvements is related to the fact that recreational music-making gives people permission to acknowledge and discuss inner emotions--a term called disclosure. Disclosure is the process of effectively expressing and confronting one’s deepest thoughts and emotions. According to recent research, actively inhibiting thoughts and feelings weakens natural biological defenses and may result in long-term stress and disease. However, acknowledging these feelings can lead to remarkable health benefits. My interest in music and communication prompted me pursue this line of research and because of my projects, I was recently invited to speak at the 2nd Annual Music and Medicine conference hosted by the Music and Wellness Coalition of Cincinnati. These experiences, as well as others, have encouraged me to pursue the undergraduate requirements for application to medical school. Had I not had the experience in SongFest, as well as the Composer Concert and Capstone Recital project, I never would have pursued this line of research and found my passion for medicine. Thus, this creative arts experiential learning project was an extremely influential experience in my life.
Part 1: What?
For my Creative Arts experience, I attended an art song immersion festival for 5 weeks. SongFest is a prestigious music festival designed to provide intensive study and training for talented young singers in a professional, progressive and positive environment. Instruction included performing master classes as well as song literature classes, movement, repertoire classes, diction, and individual coaching. SongFest was unique in its emphasis on the exploration of concert art song, a timeless and growing genre in the realm classical vocal music outside the world of opera. Above all, SongFest emphasized the promotion of new works; this year, eminent coaches and famous composers like William Bolcom, Jake Heggie, Martin Katz, Libby Larsen, and William Sharp provided invaluable instruction to the few young singers accepted into the festival. I came to SongFest expecting to gain more performance opportunities and perhaps focus on deepening my knowledge about women in music. This experience more than matched my expectations, inspiring me to pursue these ideas beyond my original plan. The most significant aspect of this experience was that it provided a community of world-class teachers interested in communication through music, an idea that was beginning to inspire me to pursue an alternate career path; I learned and synthesized more ideas in the weeks spent at SongFest than I ever had in my years at CCM. The wealth of information provided at SongFest proved to be an invaluable guide in my future endeavors.
Through this program, I not only furthered my competencies at performing art song literature and demonstrated my knowledge of the well-developed methods in the field, but also was inspired to connect and transform these ideas via innovating a new tradition at CCM. At SongFest, I not only had the opportunity to coach advanced art song with established coaches but I also got the chance to focus on modern American works, a subgenre that is difficult to pursue in the Conservatory curriculum. In focusing on modern music, I had the very rare and exciting opportunity to work privately with the composers themselves. I coached with Jake Heggie, then Libby Larsen, meeting her for a few additional sessions to continue discussions; I also had the opportunity to perform with John Musto and in the process held intense discussions about contemporary themes in American music. Analyzing and debating the processes, mechanisms, and ultimate goals of art music with these established professionals was extremely heartening, as that they often spoke of beliefs and ideas that I already formed from my experiences in Spoleto, Italy. Every coach, composer, and voice teacher believed in the same ideal: the purpose of art song is to communicate the emotions and ideas brought forth by the text through music. In true art song performance, both singer and pianist must collaborate to express the underlying ideas of the piece, working as an exciting academic team. Unfortunately, the genre is dying along with classical music; the only way to save the genre is to embrace this in more performances around the world. When I returned from my experience at SongFest, I immediately looked for opportunities to spread these ideas to my colleagues, resulting in a gala concert that will hopefully continue as a traditional event among the student body even after I graduate.
I took appropriate risks in my experience at SongFest, going beyond the original parameters set by my proposal via tackling the controversial topic of women in music. As an artist, I was drawn to SongFest because one of my major interests is to promote and contribute to new music, specifically art song of American women composers. The atmosphere and objectives at SongFest carried significant historical, social, and personal value. Its discussion-inspiring atmosphere is reminiscent of the historical salons in 19th century France and Germany held by prominent and intelligent women like Clara Schumann, Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel, and Pauline Viardot. These women are my role models and I aspire to reinvigorate their position as innovative leaders in the field of music. After my discussions with Libby Larsen, a prominent female composer in the contemporary art song genre, I was inspired to find an opportunity to shine as an intelligent, young leader in the field of music. I learned more of her pieces during my time at SongFest, coached them with Larsen, then performed some of them on one of the SongFest concerts. I took a risk by choosing to prepare these pieces so late in the process, yet it allowed me to spend more time with this inspiring composer. Because of her guidance, I was able to pursue further study on the subject of music and communicating emotions, culminating in two future projects.
Part 2: So What?
My background in the art song genre before SongFest included one year of coursework focused on Voice Repertoire, two years of music history coursework occasionally detailing art song works and composers, three years preparing for Board Examinations at CCM which require preparation of art song, and years of listening to and performing art song works for auditions and mini recitals. I also took a year each of Italian and German, visited Italy and Germany, and studied French for 5 years in order to understand the texts of art songs from those countries. This background proved sufficient in giving me an overview of art song history and an understanding of its place in the grand scheme of classical music. In order to prepare for SongFest, I translated copious amounts of music, travelled across the state to practice with my collaborative pianist ahead of time, and reviewed my notes from my language, history, and theory courses. I also began to familiarize myself with the work of the coaches and composers in residence in order to formulate questions in advance. SongFest has a very difficult and competitive admissions process that not only entails a live audition but also requires research and planning. As part of my application, I conducted extensive research to plan an entire recital program of works that I would be interested in performing at the festival. The directors reviewed my notes and selected 20 of the pieces from the list. I was expected to learn, memorize, and rehearse these selections before arriving at the festival so that I may devote my time to learning the pieces I would perform with John Musto. I was responsible for preparing these pieces during the festival while simultaneously performing my assigned works. My hours of preparation beforehand solidified my basic knowledge of art song and my assigned pieces, allowing me to focus on improving and growing once I arrived instead of fighting to catch up. Even still, the program was very intense and provided an exciting challenge.
While this preparation provided a solid foundation for building my experience, it was almost trivial compared to the vast breadth and depth of information I encountered at SongFest. I learned to adapt quickly to scheduling changes, learn music quickly and efficiently so that it would “performance ready” at a moment’s notice, and respond gracefully in difficult situations with my colleagues (underprepared piano collaborators, jealous and competitive singers, overworked and impatient faculty). I learned I not only had the focus and discipline but also inspiration to enjoy attending hours of lectures every day for 5 weeks, including weekends. More importantly, however, I truly learned how to analyze my pieces, using historical context, music theory, and creative interpretation. I connected, synthesized, and transformed ideas within each piece, within each performance, and eventually within projects like the Composer Concert and my Capstone Recital project (described shortly). This entire experience had a large impact on my academic, professional, and personal development in that it taught me the value of detailed, disciplined work, and allowed me delve deeper into ideas I plan to pursue in the future.
Part 3: Now What?
Originally, I expected to keep a detailed blog of my classes, challenges, and improvements during the festival. While I do have a notebook full of detailed notes on the masterclasses and lectures I attended during my time at SongFest, I ended up going beyond the parameters originally expressed in my proposal. After SongFest, I was searching for opportunities to the idea of musical expression and communication to the community of CCM. Using the resources and support of my music fraternity, Sigma Alpha Iota, I innovated, organized, and executed the first annual CCM Composer Concert: An Evening of New Music. At this event, audience members enjoy coffee and deserts while listening to solely American chamber and art song works, many composed by our own classmates at CCM. Students, faculty, and their families attended the event and left with a sense of pride and hopefully additional knowledge about American chamber music. It was a wonderful opportunity to share what I learned from SongFest and implement my ideas in a practical setting. Additionally, based on the information I learned from Larsen, I composed a program for my senior Capstone Recital based on poetry and composition that reflected the constant strength of women in challenging times, and in love. It is not usually advised that undergraduates follow a theme for their final recitals and I took a risk by following this interest. However, my program was so well researched that I was able to gain approval and deliver an educational and meaningful recital to all of my close friends and family. Though I began my time at SongFest with the simple quest to gain more knowledge, I completed the experience as an active advocate for female musicians in music through art song performance. I feel that I will better represent my experiences by uploading documents from the CCM Composer Concert and my Capstone Recital project.
This experience was instrumental in clarifying my career path. Through my experiences at CCM, I had become increasingly interested in vocal pathology. Over the past years, I had worked closely with Dr. Sid Khosla of the UC Otolaryngology Department on research projects regarding the health and bio-mechanics related to the vocal mechanism. Recent studies have assessed the benefits of active music-making programs that provide opportunities for self-expression. Official protocols on Recreation Music Making (RMM) have been supported by randomized, controlled trials in peer-reviewed publications and have documented psychosocial, biological, and genomic changes in diverse populations. The term “recreational” is a derivative of the Latin root recreation, or “restoration to health.” The act of recreational music-making has a powerful impact on personal expression, group support, and quality-of-life enhancement. The mechanism behind the improvements is related to the fact that recreational music-making gives people permission to acknowledge and discuss inner emotions--a term called disclosure. Disclosure is the process of effectively expressing and confronting one’s deepest thoughts and emotions. According to recent research, actively inhibiting thoughts and feelings weakens natural biological defenses and may result in long-term stress and disease. However, acknowledging these feelings can lead to remarkable health benefits. My interest in music and communication prompted me pursue this line of research and because of my projects, I was recently invited to speak at the 2nd Annual Music and Medicine conference hosted by the Music and Wellness Coalition of Cincinnati. These experiences, as well as others, have encouraged me to pursue the undergraduate requirements for application to medical school. Had I not had the experience in SongFest, as well as the Composer Concert and Capstone Recital project, I never would have pursued this line of research and found my passion for medicine. Thus, this creative arts experiential learning project was an extremely influential experience in my life.