Spring President’s Message
There is definitely a shift in the air as we transition fully into spring here in B.C. With such a snowy winter behind us, the flowers and trees all in bloom is fresh and exciting. April is a busy time of year for any music teacher with festivals and concerts upon us. We had a workshop in the midst of this busy month, which was actually very well attended for a long weekend in April. Thank you to everyone who came out to experience Keith Terry’s Body Music and brilliance. He is certainly an inspiring percussionist. We will be bringing him back to BC soon.
As we get ready for our end of year performances and transitions we think of our summer plans. I look forward to spending lots of time with my daughter camping, swimming, playing on beaches and exploring our wonderful city and nearby lakes. It is necessary that we spend this time taking a break from the amount of energy we spend with our students and at our jobs. We often take on roles as councilors, nurses, parents, and many more things for so many of our students. Emotionally we need the summer to recover and spend time with our families and on ourselves.
Summer is also a key time to “fill our buckets”. I love this term. It means that we do things that make us emotionally delighted and whole. We do things that challenge our own interests and what we love. I would like everyone to consider taking one of the levels courses this summer. I know that it is daunting to think of spending time in a school environment on the lovely days of summer when you want to be resting. At this point in the year you are looking forward to just having a break. I have spent three summers taking levels courses recently, and I have found it the best way to replenish myself for the next year ahead. It is a time when you can focus on YOU. It is about learning activities, not only that you can take with you into your classroom, but that make you a better musician. The teachers are amazing and inspiring and you come away with an overflowing bucket. After level three, I actually wanted to have one more week with Joe and Susie to learn more! And you don’t have to do as much planning in September; the activities will be at your fingertips.
As the BC Orff Board of Directors is wrapping up another year of workshops, we reflect on our successes and disappointments. Our workshops were very well attended this year and we had great feedback about the clinicians we booked. On the other hand we had to cancel Children’s Day due to lack of students attending. We will be booking clinicians about whom you are excited for our future workshops. We are excited to have the National First Vice President here in September to give a workshop fresh from his year of study at the Orff Institute in Salzburg. And our own level one instructor will be the clinician of our January workshop sharing music from Bali with her collaborator, Sarah Willner.
We will offer Children’s Day again next year, and try to make it work for the children and members. We are discussing many ideas around field trips, Pro-D days or our usual Saturday workshops. If you have any feedback or preferences about how to best make this work, please email me at president@bcorff.ca.
I hope all of our lovely members have a great year end, a wonderful summer, and a full bucket with which to return to work in September.