Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©

Eileen Cooper Sedek

VOICEPrintsJOURNAL OF THE NEW YORK SINGING TEACHERS’ ASSOCIATION

January--February 2020

Winter Event: Starting Your Studio: The Business Side of Teaching with Diane Aragonaand Eileen Cooper Sedek..............................................................................................................................38

President’s and Editor’s Messages.......................................................................................................39-41

2020 Events Calendar....................................................................................................................................42

NYSTA Professional Development Program .........................................................................................43

Feature Article: Stages of Calamity: Psychological and Musical Insight into the Life of theHardworking Mother of the Nineteenth-Century American West by Patty Holley......................44--49

Book Review by Edward Reisert: Musical Theater In Schools: Purpose, Process, Performance by Rekha S. Rajan.............................................................................................................................50-52

TABLE OF CONTENTS

38

Winter Online Event for NYSTA Apprentice Teachers

Starting Your Studio: The Business Side of Teachingwith Diane Aragona and Eileen Cooper SedekSunday, February 23, 2020 8:00-10:00 PM ESTLive-Streamed WEBINARFree for NYSTA members, students, and guests. Donations welcome.

Diane Aragona

Volume 17, No. 3

Dr. Anna HerseyEditor-in-Chief

Dr. Loralee SongerAssociate Editor

Dr. Ian HowellAssociate Editor

John OstendorfDesigner

VOICEPrints

,

In this first time online event geared forour Apprentice Teacher members, NYSTABoard members Diane Aragona and EileenCooper Sedek will guide you through thesteps of establishing your ownvoice studio.

Topics covered include establishing alimited liability company (LLC) versusself-employment, marketing, billing, taxes,health care options, cancellation policies,work-life balance, and more.

See page 42 for more details.

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,

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Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©

PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE

39

Matthew Hoch

Choosing Civility: A Simple but Profound Conceptfor Singing Teachers to Consider

I recently reread a short book by P. M. Forni that waspublished back in 2002. I first read it a few years after that,when I was teaching at my first college faculty position atShorter College in Rome, Georgia. It was a short and user-friendly read, and I thought it might have some helpful ideasthat I could consider when interacting with my colleagues.Higher education is notorious for its “drama” among faculty,and I think this stereotype is often true when one thinks ofmusic departments (and particularly vocal divisions). Perhapsit is the opera in which we live. As the sublime Oscar Wildeonce said in his 1889 essay “The Decay of Lying,” “Lifeimitates art far more than art imitates life.” How true thisaphorism is!

The book is called Choosing Civility: The Twenty-Five Rules ofConsiderate Conduct. In the foreword, Forni writes:

What is civility? What does it mean to be civil today, at thebeginning of the twenty-first century? Is civility in decline?How do we make it part of who we are? What are civility’sbasic rules? How does civility improve the quality of ourlives? How do we practice it among friends, in the work-place, and among strangers? Does it have drawbacks?Are we supposed to always be civil? How do we dealwith the uncivil? 1

These are important questions with extraordinary ramifica-tions for our lives. To begin to answer them, Forni structureshis discussion of this sprawling topic by distilling the contentinto twenty-five short, digestible essays. Reading their titlesalone gives us much to ponder:

1. Pay Attention2. Acknowledge Others3. Think the Best4. Listen5. Be Inclusive6. Speak Kindly7. Don’t Speak Ill8. Accept and Give Praise9. Respect Even a Subtle “No”

10. Respect Others’ Opinions11. Mind Your Body12. Be Agreeable P. M. Forni

1 P. M. Forni, ChoosingCivility: The Twenty-FiveRules of Considerate Conduct(New York: St. Martin’sPress, 2002), xii.

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA© 40

Matthew Hoch, DMAPresident, New York Singing Teachers Association (NYSTA)

13. Keep It Down (and Rediscover Silence)14. Respect Other People’s Time15. Respect Other People’s Space16. Apologize Earnestly and Thoughtfully17. Assert Yourself18. Avoid Personal Questions19. Care for Your Guests20. Be a Considerate Guest21. Think Twice before Asking for Favors22. Refrain from Idle Complaints23. Give Constructive Criticism24. Respect the Environment and Be Gentle to Animals25. Don’t Shift Responsibility and Blame

That is a rich list of wisdom to consider. I am now halfwaythrough my life, and at the point in my mid-forties when, likeHamlet, I am beginning to think regularly and earnestly aboutthe larger picture, including death (although of course withoutHamlet’s capaciousness, which no one yet has matched).

Looking back upon my life thus far, I am gently appalled athow much conflict I have already lived through—professionalconflict, specifically. So many of these issues that drainedenormous emotional energy at various times in my careercould have been avoided with some de-escalation, a deepbreath, and—most important—civil behavior. If I am privil-eged enough to live a full life, I am deeply hopeful that thesecond half will be characterized by less conflict than the first.

Forni’s title is especially wonderful: Choosing Civility.Indeed, we choose how we treat others. Even if others do notreciprocate and choose to treat us in an uncivil way, we cannotcontrol that. All we can do is—once again—choose how we aregoing to respond. In fact, Forni issued a sequel volume in 2008entitled The Civility Solution: What to Do When People Are Rude.How appropriate and inevitable this follow-up topic is.Reading both volumes is time well spent, and that is anunderstatement. These books should be required readings inour hurried and cannot-be-bothered twenty-first-century lives.These are productive concepts to consider as 2020 begins.What choices will you make as we enter the new year? A dailyreminder of these simple rules of conduct can make all of ourstudios—and lives—a little bit better, even as our New Year’sresolutions inevitably fall by the wayside.

Happy New Year from all of us at NYSTA.

Sincerely,

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©

EDITOR’S MESSAGEDear Colleagues,

Happy New Year from all of us at NYSTA!

’Tis the season for resolutions. In the past I have resolved to bemore productive, organized, and efficient. A flurry of new yearactivity may be a good way to jump-start the year, but it’s rarelysustainable and can lead to burnout. This year I’ve resolved tofind a better balance, to slow down and enjoy more time with myfamily, and most importantly, to be judicious about the projects Itake on. Whatever your resolution, may it lead to personal andprofessional fulfillment.

In 2013, I had recently finished my doctorate, and Dr. MatthewHoch, then the editor-in-chief of this publication, approached meafter my presentation at the International Congress of VoiceTeachers in Brisbane. He asked if I would be willing to turn mypresentation into an article, and I was thrilled—it was only mysecond publication in a peer-reviewed journal. As a smallerjournal, VOICEPrints has been intentional about regularlypublishing deserving works by junior faculty and by graduatestudents. This issue’s feature, about Libby Larsen’s cycle Songsfrom Letters, is written by Patty Holley, who is currently pursuinga master’s degree at the University of Houston. I was fortunate tohear her lecture-recital on the same topic several years ago at theMusic by Women Festival and am happy to publish her articlehere. I look forward to seeing what this young singer and scholarwill produce in the future.

Please send questions, comments, or article submissions tome directly at voiceprints@nyst.org. As always, archives of pastissues are available on the NYSTA website.

Anna HerseyEditor-in-Chief

41

Anna Hersey

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©

Winter Online Event for NYSTA Apprentice Teachers

Starting Your Studio: The Business Side of Teachingwith Diane Aragona and Eileen Cooper SedekSunday, February 23, 2020 8-10 PM EST. Live-Streamed WEBINARFree for NYSTA members, students, and guests. Donations welcome.In this first time online event geared for our Apprentice Teachermembers, NYSTA Board members Diane Aragona and Eileen CooperSedek will guide you through the steps of establishing your own voice

2019 EVENTS CALENDAR

42

Diane Aragona Eileen Cooper Sedek,

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Spring Event

Workshop with Charlotte Surkin:Teaching Singing to Students with Vision LossSunday, April 28, 2020 3:30--5:30 PM EDT

Pearl Studios, 500 Eighth Avenue, NYCFree for NYSTA members, students, and guests. Donations welcome.It is likely that in the course of your career a student whostruggles with vision impairment will enter your studio, whetheryou teach in a university setting, a local music school, a private Charlotte Surkin

Eileen Cooper Sedek has performed in operas and as a concert soloist and recitalist in the US, Europe, andChina, garnering praise for her “winsome stage presence” (Star Ledger) and “spectacular acting and vocalperformance” (Stage Magazine). Recent credits include Mozart’s Missa Brevis in C, Orff’s Carmina Burana,Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, the world premiere of Martin Sedek’s Lux Noctis, and a recital tour of Slavic andJewish music, “Songs My Mother Taught Me.” She earned her Master of Music Degree from the MasonGross School of the Arts at Rutgers University where she was on the adjunct faculty for the Music Historyand Vocal Departments. She runs her own voice and piano studio, and adjudicates Teen Arts Festivalsthroughout New Jersey.

studio. Topics covered include establishing a limited liability company (LLC) versus self-employment,marketing, billing, taxes, health care options, cancellation policies, work-life balance, and more.

Diane Aragona has her Master of Music in Classical Voice from Rutgers University. Ms. Aragona is thefounder and co-owner of His & Hers Music, a private music school in NJ, where she teaches voice. Sheserved as private voice instructor for the National Children’s Chorus in NYC from 2015-2018. Additionally,Ms. Aragona has experience teaching voice lessons and group vocal classes at Rutgers University. She is anactive recitalist and has recently performed at The Church of the Sacred Heart in South Plainfield, NJ. Pastperformances include Weill’s Threepenny Opera, Bernstein’s Candide, and Delibes’ Lakmé. In 2016, Ms.Aragona performed in NYSTA’s Tribute Concert to Tom Cipullo at the National Opera Center. She hashad the pleasure of working one-on-one with prominent composers such as Tom Cipullo and RichardHundley. She is a member of Mid Atlantic Music Teachers Guild (MAMTG), National Association ofTeachers of Singing (NATS), and NYSTA.

studio, or conduct a choir. As few resources exist for voice teachers who instruct those with vision loss,this workshop will provide much needed information to help teachers more effectively teach studentsthus afflicted, based on current research and the presenter’s own personal experience teaching vision-impaired students.

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Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©43

Since its earliest years, NYSTA has sought to foster standards inthe profession. In the 1920s and 1930s, the organization led effortsto require certification by the New York State government for allvoice teachers. While state certification was never implemented,its intent came to fruition with the establishment of our Profes-sional Development Program (PDP). The program was guided bynoted pedagogue Oren Lathrop Brown, and spearheaded by pastNYSTA President Janet Pranschke. Thanks to the continued ef-forts of Past President David Sabella, online courses were devel-oped in 2007. Every year, the NYSTA board strives to bring newand innovative courses to all who are interested in learning moreabout the teaching of singing, bringing the most up-to-dateinformation and filling the gaps that may be missed bytraditional pedagogy classes. Currently, 48 people have earnedthe honor of being a NYSTA Distinguished Voice Professional.

NYSTA’s Professional Development courses are led by topexperts in the areas of voice pedagogy and voice health. Thecourses are designed to give a well-rounded education to thosewanting to learn more about fact-based teaching of singing.After completing the five core courses (Vocal Anatomy andPhysiology, Voice Acoustics and Resonance, Vocal Health forVoice Professionals, Singer’s Developmental Repertoire, andComparative Pedagogy) and successfully passing the exams,registrants earn a Certificate of Completion and the honor ofbeing a NYSTA Distinguished Voice Professional. Congratula-tions to all those who have earned this honor!

NYSTA Professional Development ProgramStudy 24 /7 at your convenience. Start

anytime and receive four months of access.

NYSTA’s Oren Lathrop Brown ProfessionalDevelopment Program presents

VOCAL HEALTH FORVOICE PROFESSIONALS

ON-DEMAND LEARNING

Register at WWW.NYST.ORGFor information, contact NYSTA’s Profes-

sional Development Program DirectorFelix Graham at pdpdirector@nyst.org.

A detailed exploration of issuesrelevant to singers and teachers of

singing. Faculty lectures covervocal fold injury and the

mechanisms of voice pathologies,their diagnosis, and treatment. This

course provides information thatwill enable both new and establishedteachers to advise students on vocalhygiene, to recognize the necessity

of—and the appropriate time toseek—medical intervention, to be

familiar with commonly-used drugsfor performers, and to be able to

participate as part of the treatmentteam in the rehabilitation of the

singing voice.

Dr. Peak Woo

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©44

Stages of Calamity:Psychological and Musical Insight into the

Life of the Hardworking Mother of theNineteenth-Century American West

By Patty Holley

Libby Larsen (b. 1950) is among the most well-known femalecomposers in America, as well as one of America’s most frequentlyperformed living composers. Although her vocal works are par-ticularly revered, her compositions encompass a wide variety ofgenres, ranging from opera to symphony to instrumental chambermusic. Her vocal works in particular are prized for their expressivetreatment of English text, a trait that has earned Larsen recognitionalongside the likes of Benjamin Britten. She is also widely recog-nized for co-founding, along with Stephen Paulus, the MinnesotaComposers Forum (now the American Composers Forum),an organization that supports and advocates for fellow andrising composers.1

Songs from Letters (1989) is one of Larsen’s most well-known andfrequently performed works. The text for this cycle derives from aseries of letters written by Martha Jane or “Calamity Jane” Hickok(1852–1903) to her daughter Janey (1873–1951). Calamity Jane wasa working woman of the American West, and lover of the notori-ous “Wild Bill” Hickok (1837–1876), Janey’s likely biological father.Janey lived in New York with family friend Jim O’Neil, who servedas her adoptive father. However, her mother occasionally visitedJaney (who did not realize that the woman who visited her andher “father” with fantastic tales of the Wild West was actually herbiological mother), and managed to keep up their somewhatestranged relationship through writing and exchanging letters.

The life of Calamity Jane herself has been somewhat tainted withelements of legend, and during her day she was known as a sensa-tionalized Wild West performer as well as dime-store novel hero.It is known that Calamity Jane was born in Princeton, Missouri,and that soon after her family moved out west, both of her parentsdied, making her the oldest person in her immediate family attwelve years of age. Over the years, she then sought to provide forherself through any means possible, working various jobs such asstagecoach driver, entertainer, gambler, and prostitute. She alsohad an affair with Wild Bill Hickok. Over the course of her life, shewas also known to be an alcoholic, illiterate, and to dress like aman. However, despite initial impressions of “rough-toughnessMeredith Taylor,”2 Calamity Jane also possessed a nurturingnature and tender heart, noted for nursing patients during small-pox epidemics and caring for children within her own home. 3

1 Libby Larsen—Home, 2017,libbylarsen.com/.

2 Libby Larsen, Songs fromLetters (New York: OxfordUniversity Press, 1989), 1.

3 Biography.com Editors,“Calamity Jane.”Biography.com, A&ENetworks Television,accessed 28 April 2017,calamity-jane-9234950.

“Calamity” (Martha) Jane Hickok

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©45

In Songs from Letters, Larsen sought to portray both the fightingtenacity and tenderness of Calamity Jane by alternating themood between each individual song. Songs one, three, and fiveshowcase calmer moments of introspection and gentleness,which differ in contrast to the action-packed adventurousmood of songs two and four. The five songs of the cycle are asfollows (followed by the years in which the correspondingoriginal letters were written):

“So Like Your Father’s” (1880)“He Never Misses” (1880)

“A Man Can Love Two Women” (1880)“A Working Woman” (1882–1893)

“All I Have” (1902)

The cycle features rhythmic freedom, in which meters changefrequently and some passages lack a time signature altogether.In regards to tonality, dissonance is also treated freely through-out the cycle, and traditional harmonic patterns are oftenavoided. Despite Larsen’s liberal use of dissonance, the cyclecould not be designated as truly atonal. Hints of tonality occurthroughout the cycle, increasing at moments of textual/emo-tional resolution. Larsen’s decisions in regard to rhythm andharmony stem from the nature of the words themselves, orwhat will express the text to its fullest extent.

Larsen herself remarks that she is “more drawn to prose [thanpoetry] because of its rhythmic freedom and honest emo-tion…” and begins each composition of a vocal text by firstsetting the words in unmetered form in an attempt to preservethat freedom. 4 Larsen first encountered the prose of CalamityJane’s original letters in Karen Payne’s book Between Ourselves,a collection of historical letters between mothers and daugh-ters. Although the time span of the five songs in Songs fromLetters cover the course of over twenty years, the text origi-nates from only three individual letters to Janey. This is be-cause the first three songs (“All I Have,” “He Never Misses,”and “A Man Can Love Two Women”) all come from the sameletter, written by Calamity Jane in 1880. For texts such as thisthat are not of her own authorship, Larsen has a detailed andinspired editing process. In the case of the original source forthe cycle’s first three songs, to condense the original 400+ wordletter into a text setting conducive to music, Larsen adheresto a strict process in which she judiciously selects what wordscould communicate the essential message, even if “I were toeliminate everything else.” 5

This results in Larsen removing material that she feels does notadvance the central message, or that which contains soundsthat are incongruous with the rest of the given line. Larsennotes that she pays special attention to nouns, verbs, andconjunctions (“and, but, or,” etc.) within a sentence. The result-ing text combines the original text with Larsen’s own edited

4 Meredith TaylorDu Bon,“Through the Ears of LibbyLarsen: Women, Feminism andSong in America,” PhD Diss.,(Indiana University, 2014), 39.

5 Denise Von Glahn, LibbyLarsen: Composing an AmericanLife (Champaign: University ofIllinois Press, 2017), 162.

Composer Libby Larsen

Libby LarsenSongs from Letters

for soprano and piano

Oxford Contemporary Repertoire

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©46

version of the poetry, which she feels will most effectivelyspeak its message within a musical setting. Below is an excerptof Calamity Jane’s original 1880 letter to Janey, with addedmarks to show Larsen’s alterations. The text that remainsbecomes the lyrics to the first song of the cycle, entitled, “SoLike Your Father’s:”

“Janey, a letter came today and a picture of you. Your birth-day is this month, you are seven years old. I like this pictureof you… Your expression like your father’s <like your father’s>brought back all the years. <Janey, a picture of you… like yourfather’s, brought back all the years.>” 6

Apart from text setting, Larsen’s most frequent method ofcharacterization is motivic development and repetition. Theseelements are used frequently throughout Songs from Letters asa way to depict different psychological and emotional statesacross the course of Jane’s life, with repetition to unify theportrayal of Jane’s character and the progression of the narra-tive. The first motive of the cycle appears within measure fourof the first song, “So Like Your Father’s.” As Jane considersher past upon receiving a letter that contains a picture of herdaughter, a “bell motive” (named so for the performance notes,shown below) sounds in the piano. This motive recursthroughout the song and then again significantly in song fiveto serve as both a beginning and conclusive element to thecycle, and signals an aura of nostalgia in Jane’s reflectivejourney to the past. Despite this, the melody of the vocal linethat simultaneously occurs at the appearance of the “bellmotive” contains a tritone, which seemingly suggests unrestand discord in Jane’s life, even despite the current state ofnostalgia. Interestingly enough, this “bell motive” also reoc-curs in Larsen’s Try Me Good King: The Last Words of the Wives ofHenry VII. 7 Although the majority of the song is in a slow 4/4,there is ample opportunity for rhythmic freedom and rubatothat increases and adds to the overarching mood of wistfulness.

Example 1: “So Like Your Father’s” (measures 4–5) 8

The second song, entitled “He Never Misses,” begins attacca(continuing without a break after the previous song), stands instark contrast to the calm introspection and rhythmic freedomof “So Like Your Father’s.” The tempo becomes quick andsprightly and the vocal line continues for the most part in astrict and consistent 4/4 meter over the piano’s complex 6/2rhythm pattern of 8th notes. There are two pervading motives

1

7 Du Bon, 60.

8 Larsen, Songs from Letters.

6 Ibid., 163.

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©

that repeat during this song to depict the daring adven-ture of a shootout: the horse gallop and gunshot motives(Examples 2 and 3). Characterization is further constructedthrough the use of vernacular performance directionswritten into the score for pianist and singer, a commonelement found in Larsen’s compositions (Examples 3 and4). This song reveals the more bold and passionate sideof Jane that she recalls from when she met “Wild BillHickok,” Janey’s biological father.

Examples 2, 3, and 4: “He Never Misses” (measures 1, 4,and 26–27) 9

“A Man Can Love Two Women” is the third song ofthe cycle and the last to incorporate text from CalamityJane’s letter dating from 1880. There is an overall return tocalmness in mood that resembles that of the first song, butthere is also new and fierce resolve as she nurtures andadvises Janey against the kind of jealousy that ultimatelydestroyed the relationship between her and Janey’s father.Calamity Jane’s struggle in this song between calm andunrest is indicated during the song through changes inmeter: 3/4 is used for moments of calm, while moreintense moments are depicted by 4/4 meter. In the 3/4measures, tranquility is further established by the repeti-tion of yet another motive (Example 5), a “rocking” ges-ture that is again repeated and altered in song five.10

Nonetheless, the motive contains harmonic tritones,another indication of unrest in Jane’s heart even duringapparent moments of reserve.

Example 5: “A Man Can Love Two Women” (measure 1) 11

47

2 3 4

5

11 Larsen, Songs from Letters.

12 Ibid.

9 Ibid.

10 Du Bon, 67 and 69.

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©48

“A Working Woman” is the fourth song of the cycle,in which Calamity Jane proudly describes her variousoccupations to her daughter, ranging from stagecoachdriver to trick-shooter in a Wild West show. The preva-lent motive in this song is an imitation of an out-of-tunepiano, reflecting the fast-paced saloon environment inwhich Calamity Jane once worked (Example 6). The “tackpiano” motive occurs in various states throughout thesong, containing harmonic tritones that contributeto overarching themes of unrest, similar to the cycle’sprevious motives. The “gunshot motive” from “HeNever Misses” also reappears in this song to depictJane’s trick-shooting.

Example 6: “A Working Woman” (measure 7) 12

Intensity ultimately dies down at the end of the song fora calm attacca transition into the fifth and last song of thecycle, “All I Have.” Instead of a reflection on the past,this song comments on the present as Calamity Janeaccepts her oncoming blindness and asks Janey forforgiveness for past faults. This song contains no newmotives; instead it features a conglomeration of motivesheard previously in the cycle, serving as unification forthe cycle and closure within Calamity Jane’s heart as shebrings her musings to a close. The most prominent ofthese reoccurrences are that of the bell motive (song one)and the rocking motive of song three, which appearthroughout the song. The reoccurrence of the bell motivein particular is significant in that it ends the song with areturn to more consistent tonality, signifying CalamityJane’s acceptance of her past and well-wishes for herdaughter in the times to come. 13

The focus on Calamity Jane’s emotional complexitiesin Songs from Letters reflects Libby Larsen’s affinity forfemale-authored texts, a preference which she acknowl-edges directly: “The texts that women write to representthemselves, whether prose or poetry, tend to be authen-tic, honest, and direct. Men tend to distance themselvesfrom the emotion of the text by creating a frame…

6

13 Du Bon, 74.

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©49

Women (with exceptions) generally will just sit downand talk to each other.” 14 Perhaps, in addition to itsauthenticity, Larsen feels an attraction or even a kinshipwith Calamity Jane’s text because of her tenacity as across-dressing, whiskey-drinking trick-shooter in amale-driven culture. Larsen also has had to fight tomake her own name in the male-dominated field ofcomposition, and in many ways has exhibited similarperseverance and grit. In the journey to accomplishsuch a feat, Larsen has always unapologetically surgedforward: “The strongest thing I could do was to neverask permission, but to just do it… Once you stop askingpermission from the system, you are free.” 15 This samespirit of bold confidence and perseverance still guidesher work today.

14 Ibid., 42.15 Ibid., 43.

Patty Holley is pursuing an MM inVoice Performance at the University ofHouston. She is originally from Eclectic,Alabama and graduated with concurrentdegrees in vocal performance and musiceducation from Auburn University. Hermost recent roles at the Moores OperaCenter include Amelia in Amelia alBallo, Miss Pinkerton in The OldMaid and the Thief, and Cupid inOrpheus in the Underworld. Holleyhas been recognized at the national andregional levels for her performances ofclassical and musical theater repertoireand has performed in numerous loca-tions around the United States, as wellas internationally at the First Inter-national Music Festival held at theAmerican University of Sharjah in theUnited Arab Emirates. In addition tobeing active as a performer, Holley ispassionate about research and firstpresented this article as a lecture recitalat the 2018 “Music by Women Festival”at the Mississippi University for Women.

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©50

BOOK REVIEW: Musical Theater In Schools:Purpose, Process, Performance

by Rekha S. Rajan

Reviewed by Edward Reisert

In 2014, a variety of professional organizations, in-cluding the Educational Theatre Association, TheNational Association for Music Education, and theNational Dance Education Association, came togetherto create the National Core Arts Standards. Throughthis document, Creating, Performing/Presenting/Producing, Responding, and Connecting became theanchors of Arts education. In turn, these categoriesinformed the creation of Arts Standards for Theater inevery state.

In an effort to create meaningful educational experiencesthat are aligned with these standards, Rekha S. Rajan haswritten Musical Theater In Schools: Purpose, Process,Performance. This book serves as an introduction tointegrating musical theater into the school curriculumfor students K-12.

The author makes a compelling case that this Americanart form can exist well beyond the traditional high schooltheatrical production by introducing musical theater intoa broadly interdisciplinary context. She focuses on theintersection of music, dance, and acting with currentthemes in education, including social justice, race, cul-ture, and conflict. Rajan believes that by studying showsranging from Annie to Hamilton, from The Wizard of Oz toLes Misérables, students investigate works in depth thatmay or may not be familiar components of their culturalknowledge.

The book is divided into three Acts:

Act I: Understanding Musical Theater and its PurposeAct II: Identifying the Process of Integrating Musical

Theater into the CurriculumAct III: Describing the Pathways that can be Taken

to Engage our Students in Musical Theater Performance

In Act I, Rajan makes a case for musical theater in schoolsas an interdisciplinary endeavor. As many of our youngstudents seek musical theater outside of school, theyexperience growth in terms of their personal, social, and

MUSICAL THEATERIN SCHOOLS:

Purpose, Process, Performance

REKHA S. RAJAN

Rekha S. Rajan

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©51

artistic development. She asserts that there is an “inherentjustification” for including those same musical theaterprograms in our schools.

In Act II, Rajan provides age-specific lessons for teachersthat could be included in a variety of classrooms. Forexample, elementary students could study the openingnumber from Seussical, “Oh, the Things [sic] You CanThink,” and discuss the theatrical elements (dance,costumes, etc.) that they observed. Students would thenread other Dr. Seuss books and create original choreo-graphy of their own, based on the book that they read.For secondary students, the author provides a lesson planwhere students use “If I Were a Rich Man” from Fiddler onthe Roof as inspiration to reflect on their own personalnarratives.

Also included is a chapter on responding to musicaltheater as an art form. In this chapter, Rajan recalls theexcitement of her first experience as an audience memberand as a performer in musical theater. The authoranticipates that students, too, will find different elementsthat resonate with them after the lights go down in thetheater. The author includes lesson plans that allowstudents the opportunity to respond as both an audienceand as a performer.

The author provides grade-level suggestions for repertoire.The lists contains familiar and not-so-familiar shows. Someof these selections may seem out of step with the currentrealities in public education. Lesson plans that incorporate“My Friend, the Dictionary” from The 25th Annual PutnamCounty Spelling Bee in an elementary classroom or discus-sing “My Shot” from Hamilton at the middle school levelmay require the teacher to be thoughtful in their approach,based on their current school culture and the communitiesin which they teach.

In Act III, the author takes the reader through the entireproduction process of a full musical theater production,adapting the process across grade levels. She also sharesan overarching philosophy that the decisions one makes inthe educational context are based on augmenting learningfor students and fostering students’ artistic skills, ratherthan simply relying on talent for students to participate.Student potential then becomes the focus for how studentsare utilized on and off stage, allowing for a wide arrayof experiences and learning opportunities for theparticipants.

The author demonstrates first-hand knowledge regardingschool musical theater productions. Rajan provides

Vol. 17, no. 3, January-February 2020 NYSTA©52

strategies for casting of roles/actors, creating a theatricalcommunity, and organizing rehearsals that seem to comefrom real-world experience. True to the interdisciplinaryapproach, there is also discussion of related issues includingteaching students appropriate audience behavior andproviding feedback to performers.

In the chapter Encore, the author examines the importanceof students attending live theater themselves, whethertravelling to a local or regional theater or bringing an actingtroupe in to the school. Although many students may useYouTube and other web resources to view theater, Rajanasserts that there is no substitute for the experience oflive theater.

Musical Theater in Schools is one of many fine resourcesavailable for teachers who wish to integrate musical theaterinto the school curriculum. As an experienced theater edu-cator, Rajan offers thoughtful lesson plans that are ready forteachers who wish to bring the interdisciplinary facets ofmusical theater into their classrooms.

Edward Reisert has taughtmusic in the public schools forthirty years, and currently servesas the High School Choral Direc-tor in the Bedford, New YorkCentral School District. He earnedhis bachelor of music degree fromThe Boston Conservatory and hismaster’s degree from State Uni-versity of New York at Oswego.Reisert’s choirs have performed atAlice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center,and his students have performedin state, national and interna-tional choral ensembles. He is afrequent guest conductor forcounty and regional music festi-vals in New York and Connecticutand is an active member of theAmerican Choral DirectorsAssociation, the Pan AmericanVocology Association, and theNew York State School MusicAssociation. Reisert has served onthe faculty of the ContemporaryCommercial Music Vocal Peda-gogy Institute at ShenandoahConservatory since 2009.