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Throughout the last semester, I have taken part in the University Choir. I have no experience in singing but did know I had a lower vocal range. Therefore, I joined the alto section.
During my first rehearsal I felt nervous. At the start of the
semester, I had not performed for anyone in three years. This was made worse by the ability and experience of the others in my section.
I expected choir to be larger with a variety of abilities. I was instead met with an alto section where all had considerable experience in singing. This varied from being in choirs to their voice being their assessed instrument in their degree. This made me feel vulnerable and out of place. I assumed that I would be able to do minimal singing in rehearsals and hide in my section. Instead, I had to participate more than I wanted to and every mistake was heard. Although there was a difference in ability, this was motivation for me to work harder in order to keep a consistent standard across the section.

During the first few rehearsals, I rarely attempted to sing the non-step wise intervals and allowed the section to sing this. However, over the course of the semester, I became more confident with intervals and eventually tried these myself.

This took a lot of practice in my spare time. I often focused on tougher intervals, ones in particular that the section struggled with. I believed this to be the most important area for the section. We often stopped singing when unsure rather than attempting intervals unsuccessfully. This was usually fine as we would often double up with the tenor or soprano lines but occasionally it left the pieces with a reduced texture and lacking key harmonies.

An area I plan to improve on during the next semester is pronunciation of words when singing. Due to the way I speak, I often rush my vowels. This led to harsher sounds which would cut notes short. This became more problematic in Lauridsen's "O Magnum Mysterium". With more legato lines, correct pronunciation became more important. This was an area I did not master before the choir concert in December, which I aim to perfect before the next performance.

I did not attend as many choir rehearsals as I wanted to, missing multiple towards the end of the semester. In turn, I practiced less at home during this time.
Practicing for choir was similar to how I practiced flute. I would often assess my posture and sing in front of the mirror, observing the shape of my mouth and how it impacted the pronunciation of different words. I would also
change the way I used my tongue. I found that the sound changed based on the location of the tongue and that you could use your tongue to cut notes short.
Changing the shape of the mouth shape had the greatest impact. Making exaggerated mouth shapes improved the quality of the vowel sound in terms of clarity and projection. To improve this further, I must apply this to the pieces rather than on individual syllables.
In conclusion, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time in the
university choir. It has improved my knowledge on intervals and developed my confidence when performing. It has allowed me to think further about posture and mouth shape which has benefited by flute playing. I look forward to singing with choir in the upcoming semester to further develop my abilities as a vocalist.

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I completed my concert management on the 26th of November at the Pete Churchill Jazz Vocal Workshop and, later in the evening, his quintet. This show was organised by Guildford Jazz and held in PATS Studio 1. I was given the role of concert co-ordinator, however, as it was an external concert most of the choices were made by Guildford Jazz. Furthermore, there were no concert managers or assistants at the event, which meant I then had to fill these roles in addition to my own. However, I would say that I acted more as an assistant than a manager or coordinator.

My main role at the event was to assist Guildford Jazz in any way possible. These jobs included but were not limited to, manning the entrance, directing the audience to the correct venue, arranging the seating, and setting up the bar. This was all successful.

One area that I could improve upon was the preparation before the event. I got in contact with Shiv and the management team two days before the event. This was due to a maths exam, however, I should have managed my time better and contacted the management team at least one week before the event. This would have taken pressure off the event and made it easier learning names of those I was working with. In particular, Shiv had to come to the event as there was no one in to allow myself or the Tonmeisters access to the Steinway or the control room. This put additional pressure on everyone involved as there was a rush to have everything in place before Pete Churchill arrived.

The biggest problem that Guildford Jazz and I encountered
during the event was sharing the PATS foyer.
At the same time as our events, GSA were hosting shows, the matinee clashing with the vocal workshop and evening with the quintet show.
The security from the GSA event wanted information from me. I was unable to provide her with all the answers which again showed the importance of preparation. Her concerns were as follows: the timings of our interval, giving her safety talk, her audience buying from our bar instead of the GSA bar and our audience not leaving the building quickly enough for GSA to remove the set.
My role, liaising with GSA, became more challenging as she seemed less willing to compromise and finding a solution became increasingly difficult. In order to deal with this, I sought help from Guildford Jazz and eventually came to a solution. This involved using furniture and the layout of the foyer to separate both audiences. In order to enforce this, a student from GSA and I stood at the entrance directing people to the correct part of the foyer.
This experience highlighted how much people can
represent an institution and has made me reflect on how I may have represented the department. I would now feel uncomfortable if I were told I would have to host an event at the same time as GSA and possibly request not to be involved.
In conclusion, I thoroughly enjoyed working with Guildford Jazz. I will attend some of their events in the New Year.
The key skill I learned was relationship building. This varied from communicating with Guildford Jazz to negotiating with GSA. I therefore aim to represent myself and any future employer in the best possible way but more importantly be able to communicate effectively with anyone I collaborate with.
To improve on my performance, I would like to take on more responsibility at my final concert management and be prepared for the event in advance by organising my time better.

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At the beginning of the academic year, I was out of practice. I had spent the previous year on placement and roughly three hours a day commuting on top of my working hours. This meant I had little time to practice flute and had no opportunities to play in a group setting. My biggest aims this semester were to get back into a practice routine, get involved in the department and to be able to play at the same level as before my placement year, where I was able to play challenging pieces to a high level.
During my first lesson of the year, I explained to my flute teacher, Debbie, how out of practice I was and what I wished to do over the course of the semester. Our focus for the first couple of lessons was to build up my confidence and see the areas that needed improvement. She told me that some areas that needed work were my intonation, playing for prolonged periods of time and controlling my vibrato. This was a problem I faced in my first year which had resurfaced so I had to ensure I was pushing sufficient air through the instrument when playing. I was also making small mistakes throughout due to less familiarity with sheet music. This has amounted to increased performance anxiety, which I had already struggled with.
I went to a lunchtime recital on the 27th of October to observe how my peers cope with performing to an audience. This consisted of four performances, one of which was not on the programme as a replacement stepped in at the last minute to cover a non-attendance. His performance in particular had the greatest impact on me. I have always been told that only you can hear most of your mistakes but have always struggled to believe it. He played a very exposed trumpet piece, with many lines which clearly had few places where you could breathe without breaking the phrasing. During the feedback after the concert, I learned that towards the end of the piece, he skipped a line by accident so just repeated it. As I was unfamiliar with the piece I did not notice. In order for such a large mistake to not be noticeable has made me question whether it is worth worrying as much as I do about performing.

Another aspect of the performance that has made me feel more at ease was seeing how much an accompanist can mask your mistakes when playing. It has made me analyse the accompaniment part further and consider the piano when practicing, rather than focusing more on myself. This has been particularly useful when studying the first page of Hamilton Harty’s “In Ireland”. Even though I start on the first beat of each bar, I have to ensure I come in exactly as the pianist finishes a series of runs, which are an arrangement of a harp part.

This has changed the way I practice further as I now often play alongside backing tracks or with a recording. This has problems as it can limit how much rubato I can use, but has been helpful with perfecting the rhythms and timings with the Harty in particular. I have been able to use tempo as I like, as I am now confident with the rhythms.

Regarding stage presence, I noticed a large difference between the sopranos performance and the cellist’s performance. The soprano projected her voice to fill the entire room and mirrored this projection by looking directly into the back of audience. This confidence is something I aspire to have when performing.

In contrast, the cellist seemed slightly mechanical. This may have been a reflection of the rhythms and melody of the Bach, as I often struggle adding. However, this caused her to seem stiff and awkward, making the entire performance less enjoyable.

Mirroring and projecting into the audience is something in particular I would like to take into my performance, especially when I perform the Prokofiev Flute Sonata next semester. Ensuring projecting is the only way to give this piece justice and if I can reflect the same level of confidence and almost project myself as well as this piece into the audience the entire experience will be improved.
On New Year’s Eve I attended the Brighton Philharmonic Orchestra’s Viennese Gala at the Brighton Dome. This event happens every year to celebrate the New Year and always consists of the orchestra, playing alongside a guest conductor and soprano. This year, the concert was conducted by Stephen Bell. Ailish Tynan provided her voice as the soprano. Both are incredibly accomplished in their own fields, with Stephen Bell recently being made Principal Guest Conductor of the RTE Concert Orchestra and Ailish Tynan has won awards such as “RTE Millennium Singer of the Year”. However, seeing my flute teacher play at the gala had a greater impact.
I knew that Debbie still performs but I had never had the privilege of watching her. Throughout the performance I looked over at her, watched how she raised and positioned her instruments. I watched closely to when she was raising her instrument and looked out for her breathing technique. This was more noticeable when she was playing Piccolo.  She has always told me to practice breathing and to empty my lungs.

Applying this technique has particularly helped my projection of sound but also have a consistently clear tone in my first note. This has been particularly helpful when starting at the top of my range. After further discussing this with Debbie, we also spoke of how I could also have clear notes, even when at the top of my range whilst playing pianissimo. To do this, I have been pursing my lips. This increases the speed of the air, in order to ensure the note sounds whilst preventing the louder dynamics that come with greater amounts of air.
Another section of the orchestra that had an impact on how I will perform in the future were the first violins, particularly those that shared the first stand. I have never seen anyone who not only seemed immersed in the music but looked like they are also enjoying the performance. The front desk appeared to be musically communicating with each other; this gave the impression of them dancing with one another. Perhaps this was due to the many Strauss Waltzes that were performed, but the two performers clearly communicated with each other frequently before and throughout the performance. This in turn had an impact on the enjoyment of all of those playing and watching.
This performance has built upon my desire to perform in groups again. I wish to play with confidence and make my enjoyment clear. I want to relax more, both physically and mentally, when performing. Finally, I want to worry less about the mechanics of the piece during the final performance. By this point, I often feel confident with the notes and rhythms. I will focus on enjoying the performance and portraying the unpredictability of the music. For solo performance, I always play pieces that I find exciting and unpredictable. I would like to put more essence of the piece into the performance, rather that to just appear as though I am immersed in the music.
Over the course of the last semester, I have not been as active as I would like to be in the department. I have not done any performances, excluding the choir concert, due to illness. However, I also feel as though I do not know much of the department. As I am a maths with music student, my involvement in the music department has dropped whilst the participation in the math department has increased.  My aims for the next semester are to continue to build up my stamina, implement more passion into the way I perform and get involved in the department. Some ways I will go about doing this is to continue to stick to a practice routine by assigning practice slots into my planner. I will analyse pieces I play; listening to different recordings and watching various performances of the pieces to develop an idea of how I want them to sound and look. Regarding my engagement in the department, I will speak to Debbie and Russell about the possibility of being in the university orchestra in the upcoming semester, if not I will speak to the flute players about setting up a flute choir.