Title
Major
Health Studies
Advisor
Cardany, Audrey
Advisor Department
Music
Date
5-2017
Keywords
music; vocal performance; voice; chorus
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Abstract
Singing alone in the car was okay because no one was there to listen. I wanted to see if I could learn to sing, and do it successfully, with a group of people. By joining URI’s University Chorus this semester, I hoped to learn techniques for successful choral singing. Through a guided self-analysis I set out to chronicle my journey from the first rehearsal to the final concerts.
For me, the three most important questions I wanted to answer when staging my research--a blend of an academic analysis and my personal and qualitative data--were: Why do people sing? Why do I not? How can I learn? Joining the University Chorus served as the building block to my new music education. I supplemented the weekly rehearsals with personal study and practice, correspondence and advice from my sponsor, Dr. Cardany, and our joint weekly journal.
Our choral repertoire included four distinct pieces in four different languages, Latin, Spanish, English, and Portuguese. They were: “Ubi Caritas” by Dale Sakamoto, an arrangement of a Latin chant, “Misa Criolla,” a mass influenced by Hispanic folk music by Ariel Ramírez, “Music Down in My Soul,” a gospel song arranged by Moses Hogan, and “Todo o Meu Ser,” a Portuguese samba by Joan Szymko.