CONCERT CRITIQUE

Constructive Critique of Your Choir’s Performance:
-What are (minimum) three (3) constructive criticisms that you can make of the performance of each of the pieces your ensemble performed?
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks 1. I think because the sopranos were missing three people (handbell), the sopranos were not very strong compared to the other parts. 2. The sopranos also did not really have great posture during the first song. 3. I think that have both alto and soprano for the echo parts were much more over powering than the mens.
The Christmas Song 1. At the end of phrases the notes sounded flat to me. 2. We should have worked more on the crescendos, to give more depth to the song. 3. We also should have worked on the tricky notes, such as when the sopranos sing, “every child is going to spy”.
The Manger of Bethlehem 1. Breathing was defiantly hard for this song, and we took breaths in places marked no breath. 2. Although this song was well sung, giving it more crescendo would have gave it more depth. 3. The guitar and flute was not really heard over all our voices. :(
Hodie
1. We could have used more forte when singing Gloria in excelsis deo four times. 2. When we fist came in, I felt that men where to weak. 3. Sopranos could have projected their voice more, for the last “Hodie”.

-What are (minimum) two (2) things that were done well in each of the pieces your ensemble performed??
While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks 1. The sopranos and altos blended very well together, when singing the echo parts. 2. Everyone did a great job with diction, like the t’s on night and bright.

The Christmas Song 1. The song was sung with a lot of energy because it was a fun carol to sing. 2. Everyone’s expressions were great, and the last “merry Christmas” was perfectly balanced.
The Manger of Bethlehem 1. The dynamics were noticeable, like piano and forte. 2. The whole entire choir was had balanced voice.
Hodie
1. Everyone did a great job articulating and pronouncing the Latin words. 2. The voices of our choir were beautiful, and it really brought the Christmas spirit of the song.
Your Impact on the Performance:
-On a personal level, assess your individual contribution to the success / lack of success of the performance.
I singing in the choir I did pretty well, I sang with a dome shaped mouth and I had great expression. But something I lacked in success was the hand bell ringing. I did not notice that pages of my music were mixed up, until after we started to play. I was totally confused I tried to play along by memory, but it didn’t really turn out that great.

-What are the next steps that need to be taken (minimum of three) in order for YOU to improve for the next concert?
The next steps that need to be taken in order for me to improve for the next concert are breathing. Another step that I should take is not going flat, every concert we go flat in one song, and I think we should really work on that. The last step that I need to be taken for me to improve is working on is having confidence, with confidence I can sing louder and hopefully that will make my neighbors (other sopranos) to sing louder as well.

The Ensemble’s Impact on the Performance:
-What are the next steps that need to be taken (minimum of three) in order for the ENSEMBLE to improve for the next concert?
I think memorizing the songs would be so much better. Although the music is a nice thing to have for reference, I think it keeps us in our comfort zone. Since our concert motto is “Live if out of your comfort zone” we should try not using our folders for the next concert. A way for us to help us memorize the music is for us to have the memory quiz/test that we had in middle school (for beauty and the beast). Although it took a long time to go though every single person, I think it’s worth it. Another step that needs to be taken is posture. People were looking down at their folders most of the time, and it looked like people had bad posture. The last thing that the ensemble needs to improve on is dynamics. As a choir we should be able to create more forte and fortissimo, but I feel like we are a bit to weak.

Please answer these final questions:
-How effective was the choir’s performance as a whole?
I think that the choir’s performance was very effective as a whole, and we really worked hard and did our best, and hopefully though this experience the choir’s technique has improved.

-What did you appreciate and why?
I appreciated how my teacher really encouraged us even though we made a lot of mistakes. I also appreciated that she smiles at each one of us during the concert, which really livens up our choir and our performance. Thank you !

-Was there anything you think could be improved from a logistical standpoint and why (minimum of one)?
I think that our choir is flat in general. During the last concert, I remember we were flat on Come Travel with me, and once again we were flat on the Christmas Song. I think that we should work more on not being flat as a choir.

-What did you learn from this concert? 1. Something I learned from this concert is that Hodie means today in Latin. 2. I also learned that posture and expression is very important, it can really affect the performance.