Fall Workshop

Requirement and Format
In order to qualify for festival participation, a school must attend each festival’s preceding Fall Workshop and pay the annual festival membership fee ($40). Each director is encouraged to bring an SSAATTBB octet of his/her very best students (maximum of eight) to the workshop. The director and his/her students will sit together in assigned seats. No one can leave the session except at the scheduled break; no one can leave early or that school will be disqualified. The workshop schedule is:

Objectives
All directors and their student octets will form a workshop chorus. The guest conductor will be asked to lead this chorus through each music selection giving rehearsal and performance suggestions during the reading. Details of breathing, pronunciation, tempi, dynamics, phrasing, accents, etc., will be given in order to unify the ultimate preparation of each piece in the participating schools. Pronunciation of non-English texts will be given special attention. Directors should mark their scores according to the guest conductor’s instruction.

Music
A limited number of music packets from J.W. Pepper Malecki Division will be available at the Workshop. Conductors should plan to purchase at least one packet in order to record and retain all the information presented during the workshop. Students may borrow packets but are asked not make marks in the music. (Missing/damaged music from borrowed packets will be charged to the appropriate school account at J.W. Pepper after the workshop.)

Thorough Preparation
Workshop activities are intended to foster THOROUGH PREPARATION of all festival music and all festival participants. This is necessary in order to sustain the festival’s excellent reputation. THOROUGH PREPARATION becomes the responsibility of each director and a reflection on his/her work as a professional.