Majesty Musicollege 2011: Day 2

I was able to wake up a tad later for Day 2 of workshops and rehearsals. :) The day began with Patch the Pirate leading his crew in several songs. I completely got choked up when he and a little girl sang "Cherish the Moment." Man. It just kind of poked my heart in a tender spot. Anyway, the Patch Club demonstration was followed by morning chapel and then our first class.

I chose to observe Rachelle Whitcomb's string masterclass. A violist played, a trio played, and a violinist played. I enjoyed hearing Rachelle give tips on getting good tone, fixing bowholds, emphasizing melody notes, etc. (It was also fun to watch Christiane Emory accompany.)

After another session with Mr. Schettler, we went to lunch. We chose to go to CiCi's, which was where the Duggars, Bateses, and Paynes all decided to go too. :P I wonder what the "outsider" CiCi's customers thought of the million girls walking around with long hair and long skirts. :P We all outnumbered them! :)

When we got back, we once again split up to go to various workshops. I went to Jean Cook's "Keys to Creativity," in which she discussed ideas for teaching piano, both in a private setting or group class. This was a very helpful class as I got numerous ideas for repertoire books as well as student motivation.

This was followed by an hour-long choir/orchestra rehearsal. I cannot explain how much I enjoy playing in a full (or close-to-full :P) orchestra! We played with one of the choir numbers, so that feeling of soaring orchestra and piano accompaniment behind hundreds of singers is magnificent! (Not to mention being conducted by Warren Cook who is amazing!) I wish I could do this every week.

Anyway, my very last workshop was observing Ray Gibbs's vocal masterclass. Jason Hamilton was the very first "victim," as Mr. Gibbs called it. It was neat to hear him sing a solo. :) Mr. Gibbs is such a sweet teacher, and some of the teaching tips he gave participants worked so well we all just sat there practically gasping! :P It's evident he loves to help students sing better for the glory of God. He was always mentioning how, for the Christian, the words are the most important thing, and we must therefore make sure those are extremely clear to the listener. The message must be communicated.

We all gathered in the auditorium for some hymn-singing and a challenge. Then we quickly ate dinner, came back and changed for the concert, tuned, and got seated on the platform for the concert. I wasn't sure how many people would show up for the Majesty Musicollege concert, but the auditorium filled up...and filled up some more...and continued to fill until it was hard to find empty seats. The entire concert went so well. The choir sang about 3 or 4 songs, and one of them was the one the orchestra played along with. The orchestra also played the prelude. Jim Schettler gave a message, Gary Emory made announcements, and Rachelle, Shelly, Christiane, and Jean played the offertory.

I was so glad we decided to go to this, even though it was last-minute! It's amazing that for two days you can go and get college-level classes from amazing faculty, and use these tips to further your music ministry for the Lord. I thoroughly enjoyed observing people, playing and singing, and hearing amazing preaching out of the Word of God. Looking forward to going again! :)