Putting together the fall schedule

I just sent out an email to my students to set up the 2009-2010 schedule. I lost about 10 people at the end of this school year - 6 graduated, 4 decided to move on for various reasons. But I replaced 6 of them, and several of the current roster decided to increase their lesson times from 30 minutes to 45 minutes. I was surprised - last year I had decided to phase out the 30 minute lesson time entirely because longer lessons are so much more effective in helping the student apply the technical things we do in the first 15 minutes to actual singing. But with the economic crisis, I wasn't going to push it. I didn't have to. People wanted to do it.

Also, I'll be teaching vocal pedagogy at Carroll University again this fall. I'm excited about that - I really enjoy helping people find their teaching voices so that they can help others find their singing voices. Plus I've decided that the income from that gig is going toward a ... wait for it ... cleaning woman. (Reinemachefrau!)

Heading out at the end of this week for Jeannette Lovetri's Contemporary Commercial Music Pedagogy Institute at Shenandoah Conservatory. I'm doing the first two levels of the program and will be certified in Levels 1 and 2 of Somatic Voicework. I'll tell you what that means when I get back!