Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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Description of Location: Rowe Auditorium is a very large area consisting of three sections of about 100 seats each. In the front of the auditorium is a wooden stage that takes up about a fourth of the room. Behind the stage, is a small room where one would wait until it is his or her turn to perform. The huge sidewalls consist of panels that help to improve the acoustics and sounds that are coming from the stage. There is also a machine in the back of the auditorium that runs the lighting and sound during a performance. Exits are located at the back and side of the auditorium in case of emergency during an act. When the chamber orchestra rehearses on this stage we must be set up in a particular order. On the left of the stage are the first and second violins. There are five violinists in each section. In the middle of the stage are the viola players, which consist of three people. On the very right of the stage is one bass player and four cello players. The back of the stage is comprised of all woodwind and brass players. The first row in the back includes two clarinetists, one flute player, and one oboist. The second row includes two French horn players, one trumpet player, and two bassoon players. There is also one percussion player who stands in the back left corner of the stage. The most important person is the conductor, who stands front and center on stage. Figured World: A figured world is a setting where actors and artifacts interact based on the type of environment it is. It establishes a certain type of behavior that one should have and also develops its own discourse communities. Rules and Conventions for Appropriate Behavior: Being in an orchestra, or any type of music group at that, you should already know what is expected of you. Being focused and knowing when to play at all times is very important to the chamber orchestra. Since it is such a smaller group compared to a symphony or a philharmonic, it is a necessity that you count through the entire piece, because once one person plays a wrong note at the wrong time, everyone can tell. Another form of appropriate behavior would be maintaining a good posture during a rehearsal or concert. Not only does it impress the audience, but it also creates a better tone out of your instrument when playing. Lastly, it is ALWAYS good to have a pencil handy. You never know when the conductor wants to change a bowing or a dynamic last minute. You can mark the changes in your score so you can remember to play it correctly during a performance. An example of inappropriate behavior in the chamber orchestra would be chewing gum. This is a huge no no. Gum can be a distraction to the conductor and also the students who are playing around you. Plus, if you are a woodwind or brass player, the gum can get stuck in your instrument, and it is a hassle trying to get it out. Finally, any musician should know that you shouldnt talk while the conductor is talking. You could miss something that is extremely important to your section of instruments. That is being rude to the conductor. Actors: Actors are what interact with artifacts in a figured world. They develop certain behaviors/roles that help to accomplish the purpose of the artifact. Dr. Govias: As the conductor of the Chamber Orchestra, he is thought of as the leader of this figured world. He helps to bring each section of instruments in at the

Hannah Pulliam! 2/7/14 4:34 PM

Comment [1]: Awesome job with the description of the location!

Blast in a glass! 2/6/14 9:44 AM

Comment [2]: Great detail. I could visualize want the room looks like.

Blast in a glass! 2/6/14 9:48 AM

Comment [3]: Describe the different communication between the student and conductor. How does the conductor communicate during performances?

Blast in a glass! 2/6/14 9:47 AM

Comment [4]: Talk about the different discourse communities.

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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time they are supposed to play. He also maintains a steady beat that the orchestra must follow while playing a piece. Students: The students each have different roles depending on their instruments, (ex. usually the bass players or percussionists are who you listen to when trying to here the beat of a song, the violins usually have the melody, and the cellos and violas have the harmony, etc.) but they all make the music by playing their instruments and listening to each other.

Artifacts: Artifacts are what the actor interacts with to fulfill the purpose of it. It establishes certain behavior of the actor. It also helps the actor to grow. Dr. Govias Baton: The baton is significant because it helps give the flow and rhythm of a piece of music. The musicians can also look up at it if they get lost in the piece, and it will show them what beat they are on. Instruments: The instruments are very important because they are actually what create the music and make it sound beautiful. Chairs: The chairs are what the musicians sit in. Many of the musicians in the Chamber Orchestra need the chair to actually play their instrument, such as a cello player who must sit when playing. The chair is also useful when dealing with posture. It keeps the back straight and the feet flat on the floor. Music Stands: The music stands are what hold the music. Without them, the musicians would have nowhere to keep the music when trying to play it for a concert. The music stand also helps to keep the musicians eyes at eye level so they can see, not only the music, but the conductor also, to see the beat of the music. Sheet Music: The sheet music is what the musicians look off of to create the music.

Discourse Communities: Discourse Communities are made up of groups of people who share and perform similar actions. String Players: These students are going to share similar interests since they play all string instruments. They use their fingers and a bow to make sound. Brass and Woodwind Players: These students will share similar interests since they play all brass instruments. They make sound by blowing into their mouthpiece. Principal Chairs: These students all share similar interests because they are all the leaders of their section of instruments. They all sit at the front of their section. They are the ones who help bring their section in when it is time to play. They all must be very focused.
Hannah Pulliam! 2/7/14 4:36 PM
Comment [5]: If the musicians help each other when learning their parts, that could be another literacy practice.

Literacy Practices: A literacy practice is a simple action that is common in your figured world and is a way of interacting.

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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Asking for help from Dr. Govias: Communicating with the conductor is very common in Chamber Orchestra. If you have a question on how to play something, he can help you better those skills to play your part of the music. Marking Changes in Your Score: By marking changes in your score, it helps the orchestra sound better as a whole. If you do not mark those changes, then you eventually forget about them, making the orchestra sound worse.
Hannah Pulliam! 2/7/14 4:37 PM
Comment [6]: Your observations are clear and easy to follow. They are very detailed. I can really visualize what is happening.

Observation 1: (I am observing the musicians in the Chamber Orchestra during a rehearsal.) 2:55 PM: Everyone is starting to come up on stage with their instruments. Dr. Govias just came into the auditorium. 3:00 PM: Dr. Govias has his phone out, checking the time. Rehearsal is about to begin, and he is taking notes of everyone who is not yet up on stage. The principal first violin is standing up, tuning all the instruments. She first tunes the woodwinds, and then the brass, and finally, all of the string players. 3:05 PM: Tuning is all finished. The orchestra is starting on their first piece that they will be playing for tour. It is called The Marquez. The violins and cellos start the piece off by plucking in a syncopated rhythm, while Govias is waving his baton, giving the down beats. 3:15 PM: The orchestra has played the piece all the way through. Dr. Govias is now critiquing the oboe player who is new to the orchestra this semester. He keeps telling her to play a part of the music by herself and to repeat it over and over again until she gets it down. 3:22 PM: Govias is finally finished critiquing the oboists playing. She has learned her part well. The orchestra is starting to play the Marquez all the way through again. 3:30 PM: A viola players string has popped. The orchestra has stopped on the last page of the Marquez. Another viola player is walking down the steps to her viola case to get an extra string for the student who popped theirs. 3:37 PM: The new string is finally on. The orchestra is proceeding to the last page of the Marquez. 3:40 PM: The orchestra has finished the piece. Dr. Govias has nothing to say. He seems content with piece as a whole. They are moving on to the next piece by Mozart. First and second violin are starting this piece off. 3:41 PM: The first and second violins did not start together. They must start again. 3:42 PM: The beat of this piece is faster than we have ever played it. This is causing the cellos and violas to speed up resulting in the whole orchestra getting off beat.

Blast in a glass! 2/6/14 9:55 AM

Comment [7]: The observation is long. Remember the observation only has to be 30-40 minutes long.

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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3:43 PM: The piece has been stopped. Dr. Govias is giving the orchestra a slower tempo for the piece. First and second violins are starting the piece off once again. 4:05 PM: The orchestra has gotten through the two-movement piece. It has taken almost twenty minutes to get through the whole piece. It looks like everyone is tired after playing this piece. I can tell by their facial expressions. I can tell that the string players are especially tired since they play through the whole piece and have to move while they play. 4:07 PM: Dr. Govias is telling the orchestra that since they have already played the Mozart in many concerts before, that there is no need to practice any more of it. He says that we are ready for the tour tomorrow. 4:10 PM: Some violin players are having to switch spots because Dr. Govias assigned them to new chairs. The first violin is back up tuning everyone in the orchestra, getting them ready for the next piece. 4:20 PM: The orchestra is starting their third piece called the Lully. This one will be extra hard because the orchestra was told that they would have to have it memorized by today. Dr. Govias is telling everyone to stand up, move their chairs and music stand out of the way. He wants the orchestra to play without looking at the music. 4:21 PM: The cellos are starting this piece. They are playing the whole piece and then the rest of the strings are coming in. After the all the strings have played the piece all the way through, then the brass and woodwinds will join the strings to play the piece all the way through one last time. Dr. Govias has a metal staff in his hand and is banging it on the floor, giving the orchestra the beat. A drum is playing in the background. 4:35 PM: The orchestra has finished playing the piece. Govias is asking the first two musicians of each section to play the piece together, leaving the last two players of each section to listen. 4:50 PM: The first two musicians of each section have finished playing the piece. Govias is now asking the last two players of each section to play the piece together. 5:05 PM: The last two players of each section have finished playing. Govias seems to be content with this piece, but he is now asking the orchestra to play it again all together. 5:16 PM: The orchestra has finished playing the Lully. Dr. Govias is telling the orchestra that they have a 20 minute break, and that each member of the orchestra needs to come and get a chamber orchestra shirt that we will have to wear on tour. 5:25 PM: Everyone has gotten their shirts. There is a group of about five girls running to go try on the shirts in the bathroom. A group of people are burrowed in the corner of the auditorium eating their snacks since they didnt have lunch today.

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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5:30 PM: A professor in the music department who is helping the orchestra play for tour has brought her 1 year old child into the auditorium. Everyone is piled up around her. 5:36 PM: Everyone is back on stage. The Principal Chair is standing up one last time to tune everyone in the orchestra. Govias is getting out the last piece that the orchestra is playing for tour. It is by Vivaldi. 5:40 PM: Since the orchestra has also played this piece several times, Govias is telling them that he only wants to hear them play the first movement of it. 5:41 PM: The orchestra is starting to play the beginning of the first movement of Vivaldi. It is sounding good. Dr. Govias is not conducting at all. Instead, he is walking out into the audience, going to the back of the auditorium to listen to the orchestras dynamics and to see if they are maintaining a steady beat. 5:54 PM: The fist movement is reaching its end. Dr. Govias is walking back down towards the stage to end the movement. 5:56 PM: The piece has finished. Dr. Govias is thanking all the musicians in the orchestra and the professor who is helping play with them in the tour. He is telling them that he thinks the tour is going to fun and that we are going to blow the high schools away. He is telling everyone that they are free to go. 5:57 PM: Everyone is rushing off stage. They seem tired. This is the longest practice that the chamber orchestra has ever had in a day. People are packing up their belongings, putting their instruments in their cases and rushing out the doors to go home or to go eat. Observation 2: (I observed the Grimsley Orchestra and Band students as they watched the Chamber Orchestra perform and then joined us on stage for a sight-reading piece.) 8:30 AM: The Chamber Orchestra is at Grimsley High School about to play on stage while the high schools band and orchestra are entering the auditorium. 8:35 AM: The Chamber Orchestra is starting to play their first piece. While picking my violin up to play, I can hear a group of girls to the left of me giggling and whispering. 8:55 AM: The chamber orchestra is told to stand up as the first piece is now finished. A girl is staring creepily at me while I am standing on stage. 9:00 AM: Dr. Govias is talking about the next piece that we will be playing. Students in the audience are talking and the high school orchestra teacher is going over to a group of people who seem preoccupied with something else.

Blast in a glass! 2/6/14 10:00 AM

Comment [8]: Describe the location since it is a different setting.

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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9:10 AM: The chamber orchestra is starting their second piece. There is silence in the auditorium as we begin to play. 9:25 AM: The Chamber Orchestra has finished their first movement of the second piece. The students in the audience begin to clap because they think that the piece is over, but there is still a second movement that needs to be played. 9:26 AM: The Chamber Orchestra is starting to play the second movement of the piece. Students are laughing in the audience because they clapped at the wrong time. 9:40 AM: We have completed our second piece and are being told to stand up again. The same girl that was staring at me a moment ago is staring at me again. 9:45 AM: Dr. Govias is has just finished talking about the final piece that we will play for Grimsley. A group of girls are getting up and rushing to the back of the auditorium to go to the bathroom. 9:46 AM: We are starting to play our last piece of the performance. I can see people starting to yawn and get tired. There are several students slouching in their chairs with their heads leaning onto their palms. 10:00 AM: We have finished playing our concert for the high school, but now it is time for the Grimsley band and orchestra to join us on stage to sight read a piece of music. I can hear sighs coming from the students in the audience. 10:15 AM: All of the students that were sitting in the audience have now joined us on stage with their instruments for a side-by-side sight-reading of a piece. The girl who is sitting next to me is named Juliet. She is telling me that she is a senior and that she wants to major in music. 10:16 AM: Dr. Govias is trying to get everyones attention. There are about 80 or so people up on stage at this time. There is a lot of chitchat behind me in the brass section. 10:20 AM: We have all been given the piece that we will play together. It is called Jupiter. I can see my stand partners eyes widening as she looks at the piece that we are about to play. 10:25 AM: We are finally starting to play the piece. I can hear sighs coming from the violin players around me. I can tell that they are not ready to play this piece. 10:30 AM: The orchestra was just interrupted by the fire alarm going off. Even though we do not go to the school, we are still being told to get in a single file line and head towards the auditoriums exit. The Grimsley students are all laughing, while the highschool orchestra teacher is blushing because she is embarrassed.

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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10:35 AM: We are all outside right now waiting for the signal that tells us we can go back inside. The students in the Grimsley orchestra and band are running towards their friends from other classes. 10:37 AM: We are being given the signal to go back inside. 10:45 AM: Everyone is finally in the auditorium. The students from the high school band and orchestra are getting their instruments and gathering back onto the stage. My stand partner is already sitting down next to me, shivering from the cold air from outside. 10:55 AM: We are all finally on stage. Dr. Govias is tuning everyone since many of the musicians took their instruments out into the cold during the fire drill. The cold can mess an instrument up pretty badly. 11:00 AM: Everyone has been tuned. We are starting to sight read the piece with the high school. As we are beginning, the high schoolers and chamber orchestra are playing faster than the rest of the orchestra. 11:02 AM: We are starting over on the piece. The orchestra has been given a set beat that we must maintain through the entire piece. The high school students are tapping their feet on the stage floor, helping them to keep the beat. 11:15 AM: The class switch bell is ringing, meaning that we are finished. The high school students are rising up quickly with smiles on their faces. You can tell that they are excited to get out of here. 11:20 AM: The second bell is ringing. Students are still packing up, panicking because they are late for their next class. 11:30 AM: The Chamber Orchestra has packed up, and we are on our way to another school where we will play the same thing as we did for Grimsley. Observation 3: (I am observing the Chamber Orchestra after we have arrived back at the hotel from the first day of tour.) 7:15 PM: We have just arrived at the hotel we will be staying at until tomorrow when we travel to Raleigh. Everyone is unpacking the three vans we brought with us to tour. 7:36 PM: Everyone has gathered into the lobby of the hotel with their instruments and suitcases. Dr. Govias is giving everyone their room keys. We were previously assigned the groups of people that we would each be rooming with on tour. 7:45 PM: I have arrived at my room. My two other roommates are already in there working on homework. There are two beds in the room, and both have been taken by my

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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roommates. I am having a hard time picking whom I will share a bed with since I dont really know my roommates very well. 7:50 PM: I have walked back down to the lobby. 90 percent of the chamber orchestra is hanging out down here. There is a group of people on the left just talking. People are drinking coffee at the high tables, and there is a group of musicians with their instruments out. They are preparing to play a sextet for our performance tomorrow at another high school. 8:15 PM: A group of people has decided that they are going to play a card game called Dutch Blitz. It looks like it is getting intense. It is a very fast paced game. 8:45 PM: After playing a few games of Dutch Blitz, I can see many of the musicians starting to yawn and rub their eyes. We have played for three schools today and are very tired. 9:00 PM: People are starting to migrate towards the elevator to go up to their rooms and go to sleep. There are still people in the lobby trying to finish homework. The group in the sextet is still practicing their piece, getting frustrated because they are tired and it is getting late. 9:15 PM: The sextet has finished practicing their piece. A group of people is heading out of the hotel to walk down to Ruby Tuesday to get something to eat. 9:30 PM: Everyone who is left in the lobby is now going back upstairs to finished homework or go to sleep. 9:35 PM: We have gotten to the third floor. A group of Chamber students are rolling down the halls in their desk chairs. They are very loud. People are starting to come out of their rooms wondering what is going on. 9:40 PM: People are getting emails from Govias saying that tour has been canceled because the school that we were going to tomorrow are going to be closed due to snow, so we have to end this tour early. We are told that instead of leaving the hotel at 6:30 like we were going to for tour, we would be leaving at 8:30 and heading back home to Charlotte. 10:00 PM: The third floor has grown quiet. No one is in the halls. Most everyone is asleep or hanging out in other peoples rooms. The group who went to Ruby Tuesdays has arrived back at the hotel. 10:30 PM: Everyone has gone to sleep now.

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra) Interview Questions and Answer: (Person I am interviewing: Marissa Self- Viola Player)

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Blast in a glass! 2/6/14 9:51 AM

Comment [9]: Interview someone else. This will help you go above and beyond.

1. What do you like about playing in the chamber orchestra? I enjoy playing in the Chamber Orchestra for several reasons that include development of ensemble playing skills, interpersonal skills, and technical skills. 2. How is your instrument important to the orchestra? What is its role? My instrument, as apart of the larger string section, is crucial for filling out harmonies within the orchestra. Several violists are needed to provide a rich, full tone when only one or two brass instruments are needed per part. 3. How much do you practice for this class? Is it enough time to perfect the pieces that we play for concerts? I practice for this class by learning difficult passages on my own before I come to class and by improving upon problem areas that arise in rehearsal. It is by no means, however, enough time to perfect a piece of music, as humans we are unable to achieve perfection. As an orchestra, we can only be as proficient as possible. 4. How do you feel about our conductor? Our conductor, Dr. Govias, is a director who uses very unique and effective rehearsal methods, such as starting together with our eyes closed. He has very high expectations for our orchestra. He is also very sympathetic to our positions as students and is willing to work with our other professors in regards to rehearsal and performance schedules. 5. What would you say about the chamber orchestra as a whole? Does everyone come to class prepared and on their best behavior? The chamber orchestra as a whole is a very advanced ensemble that is knit together not only in terms of musical cohesiveness but also in the bonds of camaraderie and friendship. Developing relationships with fellow musicians only strengthens how well that we can play together. This also prevents bad behavior in rehearsal since there is an understanding between everyone.

Hannah Pulliam! 2/7/14 4:38 PM

Comment [10]: In order to go above and beyond you can take pictures of the orchestra and even include a recording of them playing.

Hannah Pulliam! 2/7/14 4:39 PM

Comment [11]: I also think that it would be a good idea to interview the conductor, but make up new questions for him.

Hannah Pulliam! 2/7/14 4:40 PM

Comment [12]: Awesome job with the assignment!

Observation Assignment 1 Site Location: Rowe Auditorium (Chamber Orchestra)

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