Tribute to Drew Junior High School Choir

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I taught at Drew Junior High School from 1969-1974. Today's entry pays tribute to the wonderfully talented singers from Drew. Alhough this was my first teaching assignment, it set a very high standard for the others schools to follow (which admirably they did). The students at Drew were not only able to sing in four parts, but divisi as well. A recording of their performance of Hal Hobson's "Canticle of Praise" is not available but it is etched in my mind. It is a virtuoso setiing of "All Creatures of Our God and King", full of contrapuntal rhythms, changing meters, divisi as well as several transpostiions. The Drew student's  skill in performing such a difficult and thrilling piece was a highlight of my early career and remains a 'touchstone', watershed'
moment.

Unfortunately I only have recordings of my "Girl's Triple Trio". The following S.S.A. selections are: "Sing a Rainbow", Close to You", and "Master Designer".

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"Winterfest"

This free digital scrapbook customized with Smilebox

Hey all you winter enthusiasts.  Okay, you don't have to actually be an enthusiast of the season, but you will surely enjoy some lovely SSA choral singing that celebrates the season.  This is the Kettering High School Ladies Ensemble, "Cantandos" (meaning 'we are singing').  They won 'Superior' ratings at both the District Solo & Ensemble Festival and the State Choral Festival!.

The selections are "Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening", another Robert Frost poem, set to music by Ruth Artman and "Hunting Song" arranged by Eugene Butler. My accompanist is Elise LaBrew, (now deceased) who was a very dear, long time friend and mentor of mine.

Food For Thought and Food For Life

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Well, I'm beginning to find a way to actually blog (lol)! I woke up this morning thinking about the difference between intellect and intelligence. I found some resonating information on the internet and wanted to share it with you. But as you've probably gathered, the smilebox card has become my conduit of choice. Having the artistic control to choose and manipulate all the elements; canvas, palette, text and sound, really appeals to me! (Well, that's an understatement).

So the card I chose today is actually formatted  for a recipe and it's theme is "Sweet Eats". So I thought "why not correlate physical food with intellectual food with spiritual food?" Of course, having to condense all this material on a single page was a challenge. But that's part of the fun. Hope my blog might merit your squeezing a little time in, for perusal and "an interchange of encouragement."

And BTW, speaking of color palettes.  Unfortunately there isn't alot of latitude in that respect, when it comes to using "Smilebox".  Sometimes you can play around with shading, but not totally substitue a background color.  So I wish there were more choices in that regard. But I hope the literary content makes up for what might be an over saturation of  mauve, rose, fuchsia, etc.  Can you see I'm trying hard to avoid using the p  .  .  .word? (Lol)  Oh well, who made colors anyway.  Of course,  our grand creator and he's not sexist nor color challenged!

I know some of you have a problem with gender identification of a deity (or even the existence of one). And some of you may have a problem with him (oops, there I go again) having a personal name. But those might be the topic of future posts.

Ciao .  .  . oh yeah, that's very much old school, huh? (lol)

A Pleasant Surprise

Free invitation card created with Smilebox "The Whispers" are inimitable! They raise the bar when it comes to singing, appeal, versatility and diversity.  Do you think most people still appreciate their contribution to pop culture?

December - A Time For Reflection

Another photo album by Smilebox December, a poignant time of reflection - a way to keep the memories and the hope alive. Our roots, our heritage, our legacy is passed on and renewed by our faith and our apreciation for family.

"When December Comes"

Another photo album by Smilebox

"When December Comes"  has the same photos as "All Things Become New", but the music is different and the grammar's tweaked. (:-). As you can see, I like the "Smileboxes" because they're a great way to share a lifetime of photos with family and friends - without the cumbersome, space-intensive, appointment-specific burdens of housing and displaying hard copy photo albums. 

And with the option of music, the maneurverability of  text and graphics, you've got a great tool for self expression.  And I find it kind of carthartic, actually. So thanks for visiting and hope you 'come again'.  (Man, that was too cliched).  (Lol)