OK... just googled mma and found their flyer on this summer's program... $450 per kid to attend for a week... would be much better spent to get them to the Colloquium, huh? If the parish pays for very many to attend, that could quickly cover the cost to bring a guest conductor to your parish and offer the training to the entire youth group instead of only a chosen few...

perhaps this could be the impetus toward a CMAA focus on workshops particularly geared toward teens... I assisted in planning a workshop before leaving Shreveport and know it is a fair amount of work, but not impossible. How would the format be changed to appeal to teens more? I like the current format myself so much that I am stumped in thinking of changes that would be needed...

My guess is, that if it were a weekend workshop specifically for and limited to teens, it could pretty much follow the standard format. ISTM that they might like something where they are surrounded by other kids, but the content could still follow much of the normal stuff -- perhaps less polyphony, since you would not necessarily expect them to all be able to sing parts well...

Here is an interesting story.

I started an elementary youth choir in the fall. They are singing Jeff O's Agnus Dei, a round by Praetorius, and some original music of my own. They are ages 8-14. I also lead the Praise and Worship group. They are singing praise songs which are nothing but trite trash. [I can't wait until the P&W group hears the little children singing these excellent musics. Maybe then they will begin to question their own silly repertoire.] Of course, I have the P&W group singing chant and hymns to the guitar. Half of them are really liking it (the instrumentalists) and the other half are losing their identity (the amateur singers) and can't figure out how to keep their footing. It is a very interesting dynamic to watch. I guess it is kind of like 'hi-jacking' the music right out from under them.

It is fun at times, but also a real challenge to win these people over to excellence. Here is another funny story. One of the instrumentalists in the P&W group told me "I used to play Bach fugues back in college, but I got beyond that a long time ago." Well, I was speechless. My timely response was to sit down at the organ as he walked in the following week for rehearsal, and I performed Bachs D Minor Toccata and Fugue as he came strolling down the aisle. (His only response was that he jumped in to turn the pages.) He has never badmouthed ANY excellent music from that moment forward.

Interesting, Francis, I was talking to one of my classmates this week and she said "I hate Bach". I asked why, and she said that the fugues sound easier than they are. I conceded the point.

If it's any comfort, I "got beyond" a lot of things when I was in my late teens and 20's. After disco was dead, I wised up. (Okay, I still work out to the Village People.)

It's just a slow process to move people from what they quite sincerely believe is "real and relevant church music" to any understanding of liturgical music. I don't care what anyone plays in their car, on their iPod, while washing dishes, etc. I only care that the music presented in the course of a formal liturgy be appropriate. With some people, it's going to be moving them from pop-style religious songs to decent vernacular hymnody. With others, you move further along. And day after day, you're confronted with folks who don't feel the least restraint in telling you what they don't like about 1,500 years worth of sacred music.

Focus on the willing and able.

Smoke on the water.

I think he should learn Bach's Suite for solo cello No. 1 in G major, BWV 1007 as a communion meditation. What do you think?!

No, you are right. I will tell him it is early Haugen.

Early Haugen! I could not stop laughing this morning, until I got to the door of my church for mass (even then I had to try hard not to think about it.) Early Haugen,.. J. S. Haugen (sorry), surely I don't see off beat rhythm.

Anyway, thanks for the link. How do you guys find just right thing at just right time in the internet like that? (It takes hours for me before I give up.)

Can you play the piece on your pedals and maybe alternate parts with his bass? (I don't know the bass instrument much, but it might be interesting.)
the music in pdf is all for flute, how fast is this piece?

Try playing them on trombone! :)

Yes. They are good studies to work on range and such. I think Bach rolls in his grave any time he hears any of us playing them, though.

Mia: Well, yes, the trumpet does get more notes. But there is also much more competition!
Trombone is paying my way out of a DM/organist position. Yes, you did read that correctly. Even trombonists do get paid. :) What a blessing it will be to finally be a PIP again. So much less stress. So much more time to devote to the cello suites!

Trumpets get more notes, but trombones get the best parts. There's nothing in the world better than a good bone section.

Mike, who gets to play the bass bone on Till Eulenspiegel and Schumann 3 this semester.

Yes, that lick in Till is still giving me fits. I'm a euphonium player by training and all that slide work is daunting. Fortunately I don't play 1st on the Schumann!

Francis,

You are a smart, savvy man. I love your strategery.

what alternatives are there for young people who wish to become better acquainted with the fullness of the received traditions of the Church?a

None, if no one steps up with one. I feel this acutely. I could kick back and ride the waves of opportunity at my local university, or I could get off my duff and commit to offering regular workshops in my parish. I work full-time and have kids. Believe me, I feel the question acutely. I know the right thing to do.

For those who don't like t-bone, try tenor sax---their parts are usually a mix of 2nd-3rd clarinet, euphonium, and trombone. There is no way in the world you can make a living with that instrument, unless you are really, really good at it. Can try doing street gigs. In band, the alto saxes get all the solos. Idk.

You know the definition of an optimist, right?

-- a trombone player with a beeper.

janet: "without huge costs"

I completed the "exercise" and returned to update the earlier post with the discovered data.
The financial bar is high for any convention.
The webpages identifying collaborating members, mission and goals, etc
indicates that CMAA would be going into the lion's den.

Perhaps taking highschoolers to a monastery for retreat followed by a workshop
would be a better idea than bringing a chant workshop into a convention.

The question remains in my mind "how do you gear it for teens?"

My teen years are less than five years behind me, so I may have something to contribute to this.

I think the idea of making this "fun" for teens (high school age) is a mistake. Again, as someone who remembers high school, anything someone over 30 thinks that teens will think is cool won't be. I think present it as a serious program for teens ONLY and you'll draw them in. Don't forget to have pizza there!

Perhaps part of why a teen program could be beneficial is that teens would prefer to ask questions among their peers rather than among adults. If they're all beginners, they'll feel comfortable with learning about the material and their curiosity will take control.

I would also suggest that your average 13-17 year old is not going to willingly sign up for a chant workshop. Some sort of compulsory attendance could help, but may turn them off as well. What I might do, were I involved with such a group (say at a Catholic high school) is give a presentation on gregorian chant, teaching a bit of the history and repertoire, get them listening to and singing a little bit, and THEN say "I will be giving a full-day workshop in singing this, culminating in a performance at Mass, in two weeks. If you'd like to learn more, please sign up!" (and yes, I would say performance for a group of kids) Then those whose curiosity was piqued, and I think this could be very many, will attend.

And drop the thoughts of polyphony. Teens won't give a darn about that. Chant is the way to go with the young. It's exotic, new, very different, and ticks off the parents. It's got "teen" written all over it.

EDIT: Or, if you get desperate, just teach them some swears in Latin. That'll get them showing up!

agreed - no polyphony - but teenagers (and younger kids and adults too) can easily sing and enjoy something like the Liturgical Rounds compiled by William Tortolano. -- and yes, some are quite appropriate for liturgical use. Maybe they're still available from GIA as G-1600 and G-3389. Most likely, the newer larger compilation would be the only one currently available.