Nathan Koci TESOL Methods Intenstive, Spring 2017 Lesson Plan Mannes College of Music / The New School College of Performing Arts Course Title: The Art of Engagement Class Info: Monday, 11:05am-12:45pm, Rm. 450 Session Theme: “Who am I?” - A first look at Artist Statements, and crafting concise “I Am” statements to describe one’s artistic practice and identity. Learners: 15 Freshman undergraduate music majors - 14 performance majors / 1 composition major - 6 mixed-level ELL’s / 9 native English speakers Integrated Skills: Reading, Writing, Speaking, Listening, Grammar, Vocabulary, Culture SWBAT: - discover unique facts about their fellow classmates - generate and learn important vocabulary related to one’s artistic practice - Define what an Artist Statement is and is used for - write their own “I Am” statement - reflect on their classmates original statements as a community Materials: (15) “Find Someone Who” Handouts; (15) Model Artist Statement Handouts; (15) “Who Am I?” handouts (front & back); (4) sets of artist name slips; (15) Blank Slip for original “I Am” statements; Projector/Screen; Laptop; High Frequency Vocabulary: Artist Statement, Artistic Identity, Describe, Explain, Creative Practice, Convey, Motivation, Goal, Performer, Composer, Instrumentalist (generic and specific instruments: i.e. violinist, pianist, etc), Collaborator, Designer, Interpreter, Prolific, Learner, Student, Genre Lesson Narrative:
• ENGAGE: “Find Someone Who” (15 minutes) • Explain that you are handing out a sheet with 16 different boxes that ask the student to find someone who fits each particular description. Students must get up and individually approach/interview their classmates in order to complete the sheet. Students must use each classmate once on their sheet before using anyone’s name for more than one box.
• Hand out the “Find Someone Who” handout, and give the students 10 minutes to conduct the •
activity. After 10 minutes, have the students sit back down and share out an answer for each box. (5 minutes)
• STUDY: Examine Model Artist Statement (20 minutes) • Brainstorm students’ definitions of “Artist Statement” and write type/project definitions • Has anyone in the class ever had to prepare an Artist Statement? • What purposes might an Artist Statement serve? (Concisely describe the nature and
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motivations behind an individual’s creative practice) • Who might read an Artist Statement? (Jury, Grant Panel, School Admissions Board, Prospective Employer, Website Visitor, etc.) If you were reading someone’s Artist Statement, what questions might you have while reading it? (Type/Project Responses) • What does this artist DO? • HOW do they do it? • WHY do they do it? • WHO do they hope to reach with their art? • HOW LONG have they been practicing their art? • WITH WHOM have they been practicing their art? Hand out “Elise Letourneau Artist Statement” and give the students time to individually read it, instructing to keep their own questions in mind while reading. Answer their questions as a group after they have finished reading. • Pay close attention to the first sentence of EL’s Artist Statement (“I am an artist - specifically a musician - and mostly a composer - living and creating in Ottawa ON.”)
• ENGAGE: “Who Am I?” Part 1 Exercise (10 minutes) • Teacher creates 4 groups from the class, striving to have diverse representations from differing • • •
musical fields in each group (performers, composers, theorists, etc.) Each group is handed the “Who Am I” Handout and accompanying set of artists’ names on slips of paper. Based on the FRONT of the sheet (part one), give the students 5 minutes to try and match the artist names with their abbreviated “I Am” statements. After 5 minutes, ask the students to share their experiences. • Was it easy to match the names with the small amount of information? Why or why not?
• ACTIVATE: Generate vocabulary for musical roles (5 minutes) • Ask the students to brainstorm different words that might follow “I am a…” in the musical field. Encourage synonyms and different ways of saying more generic phrases like “performer” and “composer”. • Write/Type all generated vocabulary on projected board.
• Ask the students now how they might add even more detail to the “I Am” statements on Part One. What could follow the ellipses? • Introduce idea of “relative clauses” - I am a musician WHO… • What kind of information would be helpful in that first sentence of an artist statement?
• ENGAGE/STUDY: “Who Am I?” Part Two (15 minutes) • Have the same groups look at Part Two of the exercise and try again to match the artists’ • •
names with each, more detailed, “I Am” statement. After 10 minutes, have the students share out their answers. Ask them to reflect on what type of information was included in each sentence, and type/ project these onto the board. • Biographical information • Accolades and Awards • Further specification of genre and musical style • Location and Nationality of the artist • etc.
• ACTIVATE: Create original “I Am” statements. (20 minutes) • Hand out blank “I Am” statement sheets. • Working individually, have each student write their own “I Am” statement using the structure they’ve observed in the “Who Am I?” exercise.
• ENGAGE/WRAP UP: Guess their classmates “I Am” statements (15 minutes) • Students hand their statements in after they have written them. • Teacher will read each statement aloud, and referencing information from the earlier “Find Someone Who” exercise, students will try to match their classmates names with the newly crafted “I Am” statements.
Leontyne Price
Yoko Ono
Frederic Chopin
Anne-Sophie Mutter
Bjรถrk
Philip Glass
Louis Armstrong
John Cage
Nathan Koci
Clara Schumann
WHO AM I ?? part one
I am a soprano…
I am an artist…
I am an composer…
I am a violinist…
I am a singer…
I am a composer…
I am a trumpeter…
I am a composer…
I am a musician…
I am a musician…
WHO AM I ?? part two I am an American operatic soprano who was born and raised in Mississippi and was one of the first African Americans to become a leading artist at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. I am a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist who is also known for my work in performance art and filmmaking. I am a Polish composer and virtuoso pianist of the Romantic era who wrote primarily for the solo piano. I am a German violinist who was supported early in my career by Herbert von Karajan and has built a strong reputation for championing contemporary music by working closely with living European composers. I am an Icelandic singer, songwriter, producer, DJ, and actress who has developed an eclectic musical style that draws on a wide range of influences and genres spanning electronic, pop, experimental, classical, trip hop, IDM, and avant-garde styles. I am a prolific American composer of music with repetitive structures (sometimes called minimalism), who has composed music for my own ensemble as well as numerous film scores, operas, and symphonies. I am an American trumpeter, composer, singer and occasional actor who is one of the most influential figures in jazz. I am an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher, and artist who was a pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, causing me to become one of the leading figures of the post-war avant garde. I am a Brooklyn-based musician who enjoys a diverse career as an educator, music director, conductor, composer, arranger, and multi-instrumentalist both on and off the stage. I am a German musician and composer who was considered one of the most distinguished pianists of the Romantic era, championing the work of my husband as well as Johannes Brahms.
FIND SOMEONE who… …is primarily a vocalist.
…is from outside the United States.
…plays more than one instrument.
…is primarily is a string player.
Where?
Which instruments?
Which instrument?
…attended a Women’s March recently.
…is primarly a wind player.
…is primarily a pianist?
…is primarily a composer.
What was their favorite sign?
Which instrument?
What part do they sing?
…is primarily a percussionist.
…was influenced by a …was born in America. specific teacher or mentor in their lives. Where? Who was the teacher?
…had a specific life experience that led them to choose a career in the arts. What was the experience?
…has received an award or honor in their field of artistic practice. What was it? When was it received?
…specialized in a specific …was influenced directly …has a specific period of classical music, by another musician and motivation or goal in or other genre of music. their work. mind when making or music. Who was the musician? What is it? What is it?
Original “I Am” Statement. Write your own personal “I Am” statement below.
Name___________________________
Elise Letourneau, Composer Artist Statement (edited by Nathan Koci) I am an artist - specifically a musician - and mostly a composer - living and creating in Ottawa ON. I create beautiful and accessible new music, and I help others find and explore the music within them, building community through sharing music together. As a performer, I look for the songs that people can relate to, and bring something new to them. As a composer, my aim is to challenge but not alienate, testing boundaries while honouring the traditions and forms that I’ve come to claim as the focus of my work. And I love finding the places where traditional and contemporary music can be merged. “The more we sing together, the happier we’ll be.” I first heard that in preschool, but as an adult I’ve found that it really is true. Choir-building is a form of community building, and group singing is a vehicle for people to connect and co-create something bigger than themselves in real time. When I’m working with a singing group, it is very important to me to encourage, support, facilitate... and it is magical when the members of a choir produce a sound that amazes them, that we all are proud of. I keep doing this kind of work because it makes good use of special talents I’ve been given and skills I’ve developed, it draws me out of myself, it enables me to create and gives me a vehicle for my creations, and it allows me to give back. I frequently focus on Canadian heritage in my work. I have composed and continue to write many vocal and choral pieces using the work of Canadian poets as texts, both living and deceased. The written word is can be very powerful - and singers are unique among musicians in that, in addition to the technical and theoretical disciplines of performing music, they have the words to express. I hope to dedicate myself to creating works of art that honour the word, and that move people for years to come.