ENSEMBLE REHEARSAL PLAN

Conductors Name: Zachary Gates Ensemble Name: Bella Voce

Title of Piece: Still I Rise
Composer/Arranger: Rosephanye Powell Grade of Piece: HS (SSA)

Learning Goals: What singers will

Be able to do (behavioral): By the end of this lesson, students in Bella Voce will be able to
accurately and artistically perform Still I Rise with a success rate of 80%.

Understand (cognitive): By the end of this lesson, singers will apply the gospel swell to Still
I Rise as well as the overall musical style of Still I Rise.

Encounter (experiential): By the end of this lesson, singers will have analyzed musical form, as
well as rhythms to be able to distinguish the difference between up and down beats.

Construct meaning (constructivist): As a result of this lesson, students will develop as singers
in a choral ensemble and broaden their perception of what choral repertoire can sound like. The
conductor will gain more experience in working with womens voices in female-only ensemble.
In addition, the students will develop as soloists while preparing to sing the solo parts of the
piece and the conductor will develop their philosophy and application of philosophy to the
handling of solos in an ensemble.

Technical Skills
(Intonation, Posture, Breath, Phonation, Balance, Diction)
Intonation of parts when harmonies are written close together, and the balance when all parts are
singing together in close harmony. Unified vowels for the words Still I Rise as well as strong
diction for consonants to help with strong entrances.


Musical Concepts
(Melody, Rhythm, Harmony, Form, Timbre, Texture)
Accurate pitches and rhythms in the differences between upbeats and downbeats. Accurate
pitches when certain scale degrees are lowered (Alto), as well as an awareness of functional form
that provides build-up to certain climaxes of the song.


Empowering Musicianship
(Historical Perspective, Stylistic Integrity, Musical Artistry)
Appreciation of historical background of Gospel music in the African-American community.
Feeling the gospel swells as well as stylistic pitch bending for effect. Members will also apply
their own musical artistry to the piece through discussion.





Process

Partner: (Differentiate instruction by collaborating with ensemble members predicting the
performance challenges. Pose problems and brainstorm solutions together. Encourage singer to
respond.)
Singers in Bella Voce will have opportunities to work with each other to fill in solfege. In
addition, partnered problem solving will be encouraged throughout rehearsal to assist with
problems that can be fixed within a section. This will be accomplished through prompting
students to discuss possible areas that need more attention/fixing.

Present: (Sequence of the rehearsal steps. Present the steps to scaffold and allow time for singer
to practice independent on their own. Differentiate instruction through questioning, clarifying,
summarizing, and connecting.)

1) The conductor will distribute copies of Still I Rise for Bella Voce to sing. Students will fill
in solfege for their various parts when split into their 3-way divisi. Once it is written in, the
conductor will layer the singers in part by part for the beginning background to the solo voice.
After supporting chords are realized and performed, conductor will sing the solo part as students
perform the background parts.

2) Singers will do a quick scan of their music to see where their part changes and how. In
addition, singers will scan for the key changes that are present in the piece. They will circle
together rhythms that they believe are difficult. Class discussion will decide the next section to
work on in the piece.

3) Singers will be assigned to come to school with knowledge about gospel music, what it
entails, and where it comes from. Singers will be prompted to discuss this with a partner, and
then proceed to speak to the ensemble about the points that each pair made.

4. Once musical style has been solidified, conductor modeling of the phrases will be much more
efficient now that the singers feel a sense of purpose and knowledge when approaching Still I
Rise. Rhythm issues and problems with expression will be fixed through accentuation of
gesture and singers attention to gesture. Singers will also participate in some gesture to have a
feeling of what the sound should sound like.

5. Section leaders will take each group and address issues that the section feels they have.
Conductor will oversee these sectionals and make corrections, share opinions if prompted.

6. The conductor and members of the ensemble will work together to bring the piece to
performance level with strong attention to musical style, intonation in close-harmony, and
accentuation of upbeats as discussed and improved upon by the entire choir.

Personalize: (Make the learning personal to the players. Provide opportunities for ensemble
members and their conductor to collaborate as musicians to create a musical experience and add
value to their lives.)

Multiple forms of class discussion will take place. When the singers discuss historical
background and tendencies of gospel music, the ensemble will take the time to then directly
apply this to sound. After this, singers will be asked to find a moment when they felt like they
fell down and felt like they needed to rise back up in either small or large ways.

Perform: (Demonstrate teaching music when singers perform.)

The ensemble performs the piece, Still I Rise by Rosephanye Powell at the EBHS
Winter Choral Concert. In addition, performances of the solo part in Still I Rise will be shared
by many people during rehearsals and performance. Lastly, Bella Voce will be touring to
multiple clinics and events in NJ and Boston and will have opportunities to perform this piece for
a large variety of audiences.

Assessment

Formative: The singers will demonstrate their awareness of musical style as it relates to pitch
modulation, up-beat-centric rhythm, musical expression, mood, and meaning in daily choral
rehearsals throughout the semester. Through open discussion, partnering, and questioning
techniques, the singers and conductor will gain a better understanding of the importance of
musical style for musical integrity.

Summative: The singers will demonstrate their mastery of musical concepts as well as the
effects of historical understanding on musical expression by performing the piece Still I Rise
in concert.

Integrative: Teacher reflects on the following questions:

1. How did each step of the lesson contribute to students attempting to answer the focusing
question and demonstrate understanding of each goal?

2. In what ways did the engagement with the instruction and instructional content nurture a
change in perception on the part of the student and enable the student to answer the focusing
question?

3. What did student comments reveal that would help me improve future teaching of this topic?