The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com Thursday, January 27, 2011 - 3B The Michigan Daily - michigandailycom Thursday, January 27, 2011 - 3B World Wide Web of words Some University composing students have instrumental or vocal expertise too. Behind bato J ommy last column of the fall semester, I offered some books I consider among the best of 2010. But let's say you got an iPad for Christmas instead of a box of books. (In which case, well done). Maybe you find turn- ing pages ay bit too 20th century. Or maybe you're DAVID sitting in my LUCAS class right now - laptop raised like a barricade in front of you - and you're too bored to listen, but you've already updated your status and Googled yourself and your exes. In my first column of the new semester and the new year, then, I want to suggest some online resources to enrich your experi- ence of poetry in 2011. Just as importantly, if by some cruel trick of the verse gods this column rep- resents your only interaction with poetry, I think you deserve the chance to read some other opin- ions about what makes a good poem, and what it is that makes poetry so good. No matter your stage of involve- ment with poetry, one of the best places to start your browsing, reading or even research is the Poetry Foundation's website. As the parent organization of Poetry magazine, the Poetry Foundation has made one of itsgoals the sup- port and promotion of poetry in communities everywhere, both physical and virtual. The volume of information on the site's front page can make you feel as if you've just downed your second Monster Energy, but once the shock wears off, you can search for poemsby theme, poet or even occasion. You can also follow the site's blog, Harriet, on which a rolling cycle of poets muse or grouse about the craft. Good as the Poetry Foundation is, it suf to man ogies ax of up-a poets. S by inter easily e wrong reates,j wrong the Gia it's sor him ati Youc Park 35 visit Po today. I present establis to Zimi poems1 written out a fe once, it most ol outside helping little le ffers from alack common invigorating wayto remember it's y American poets, anthol- not just English professors and nd websites: an awareness Daily columnists who care about nd-coming international poetry. lure, you can find books If you find poetry you meet in rnational Nobel laureates class to be too difficult or absurd, nough. There's nothing you may be relieved by whatyou with reading Nobel lau- find at Garrison Keillor's Writer's just like there's nothing Almanac and Ted Kooser's Ameri- with seeing Springsteen at can Life in Poetry. Keillor and nts Stadium in 2009. But Kooser tend to publish poems that ething else to have seen are witty, accessible and frequent- the Stone Pony in 1975. ly Midwestern in sensibility. can't return to Asbury If the idea of reading poems years ago, but you can selectedby Ted Kooser makes etry International Web you want to drown your sorrows Poetry International in apple pie and decaf, you may s poets - emerging and already know about Silliman's hed - from Afghanistan Blog. But if you don't know the babwe. Tour the site. Read poet, computer programmer and translated from Arabic or blogger Ron Silliman, he writes tin Nigerian English. Print one of the most widely read and w pages if you'd like. For respected poetry blogs on the net. can be you readingthe Unapologetically committedto bscure-sounding author the avant-garde, Silliman's opin- of Cafd Ambrosia - and ions are frequently idiosyncratic, that poet to become a sometimes controversial, but ss obscure. almost always compelling reading. Poetry and blogging seem to go together like - well, like apple pie Phe spoken and decaf. Other poets who blog, sometimes even about poetry, )rd is online, include Eduardo C. Corral, Philip Metres, Aimee Nezhukumatathil and C. Dale Young. Many liter- ary magazines and organizations r sites offer a new poem now publish blogs as well, includ- ek or even per day. The web ing Ploughshares and VIDA: ne Slate publishes a poem Women in Literary Arts. uesdays, selectedby for- This column is short, and the et laureate Robert Pinsky. Internet is long. My list cannot has excellent taste, but you begin to represent the poetry just as fortunateto visit available there, much less be on a day when he is read- comprehensive. I've left out many commenting on a poem fascinating developments with e annals of the language. an online presence, from perfor- read a poem a day from a mance poems to Flarf and Fibs. of aesthetics - as well as So if you read this and cannot om the poetry world - at believe that I've forgotten your Daily and Verse Daily. favorite poetry website, please ky's Favorite Poem Project let me know via e-mail. By then ted when he was U.S. Poet it will probably be time to check te - features Americans of Facebook again anyway. Graduate students wave their way to a conducting degree By VERONICA MENALDI Daily Arts Writer Conducting an ensemble takes more than a few waves of a baton and a fancy suit - it takes imagination, patience, knowl- edge, experience and humility. Prof. Jerry Blackstone, chair of the conducting department in the School of Music, Theatre & Dance, said that since ensembles generally consist of people from a variety of backgrounds, a con- ductor's job is to unify them. "The ensemble is as a good as the conductor," he said. "The choir will only be as good as the person standing in front of them, same is true for an orchestra or band. Just like a football team, the members might be really tal- ented, but until there is someone there to unify and build a team and perspective, it's not going to work." Arian Khaefi, a choral con- ducting graduate student, said he fell in love with conducting because it allows him to create music in a collaborative setting. "I think that (conducting) is a wonderful way to communicate with people," Khaefi said. "It's about the ability to help peo- ple make fantastic sounds and shape the music." Although conducting might be something a selection of undergraduates have a strong passion for, Blackstone said it isn't offered at that level because the department wants the stu- dents to have experience as a vocalist or instrumentalist. Students interested in con- ducting degrees are usually those who have an undergradu- ate performance degree or a liberal arts degree from a pres- tigious college. "People who want (the degree) are people who have a passion for ensembles, whether it be vocal, orchestral or band," Blackstone said. Since potential conductors are required to have a deep understanding of the piece, they usually have an undergraduate focus in theory, musicology or performance. "They aren't amateurs," Blackstone said. "They are pro- fessionals that could go in any direction but chances are, they got bit by the conducting bug due to their love for working with groups of people and mak- ing an ensemble." Khaefi's decision to go into choral conducting started when he was young, at his grandmoth- er's wake. He was intrigued by the classical music playing. "I've never heard anything like it before," he said. "Turns out it was Mozart's Requiem. After I heard it, I knew I had to be a part of whatever that was." Music, Theatre & Dance junior Ken Sieloff said he has a strong interest in pursuing a graduate degree in conducting - most likely choral, due to his natural inclination as a leader and his passion for music. "I've always been a leader," Sieloff said. "Not only musically, but with things outside of music as well. There's something about the preparation that goes into conducting and actually con- ducting a performance that is really satisfying to my inner musician." Sieloff added that, as a con- ductor, the relationship that develops with the members of an ensemble and with the music is highly rewarding. "Being able to study a single piece of music so deeply that you know it inside and out really gives you an interesting connec- tion," he said. The University's program has three divisions of conducting classes - vocal, orchestral and band, each led by a faculty mem- ber who focuses in that area. In those classes, two or three times a week, a student will stand up and conduct while everyone else sings or plays. At the conclu- sion, the professor responds to the student's conducting. The sessions are recorded for the student to look back upon and improve. In addition, students will continue to have private les- sons in their major instrument, where they will learn to polish their aural skills, as well as tak- ing classes in music theory and history. Generally speaking, Black- stone said finding a conducting job post graduation is very com- petitive and difficult, though University students tend to find positions. "If a conductor is willingto go anywhere, then you have a much better chance of getting a job," he said. The secrets to conducting Sieloff said one of the main characteristics a good conductor needs is humility. "You don't want to come across as arrogant; you want to come across as knowledgeable," he said. "It's about not acting boastful or arrogant but rather helping to lead." The long process a conduc- tor goes through begins with the selection of the piece and the decision of how many mem- bers will be in the ensemble. After that, the conductor has to determine the ensemble's skill level. Other factors that need to be decided are how long to rehearse, how many rehearsals to schedule, what the perfor- mance venue is like and if there are enough players. This already very difficult and exhausting process also requires additional technical knowledge. Blackstone said it is the conductor's job to know absolutely everything there is to know about the selected piece, including its history, informa- tion about the composer, where it was written, for who it was written and the musical quali- ties of the piece throughout, like dynamics and texture. The conductor is also expect- ed to know where anticipated problems might occur and how to prevent them. After the con- ductor has done all that, he then has to practice the gestures and be able to sing along. The best way for a conduc- tor to be successful, Blackstone said, is for them to come into the first rehearsal with a dream that turns the black-and-white- noted sheet paper into music. "The rehearsals are meant to develop the orchestra, choir or band's ability to match that dream," he said. "If a conductor has a strong, detailed dream or imagination, the rehearsals will be focused, effective and get a lot more done." Blackstone said conductors are also required to know how to make their bodies produce the sound they want. Though it doesn't hurt, conductors don't have to be great sing- ers, pianists or able to play all the instruments, but they need to understand how the voice works and how to get the sounds they imagine out of any instrument. "Conductors need to have done a lot of homework, so when you conduct you're not green," he said. "You're an expert at the piece. You've done your homework in such a way that you know it better than anyone in the room. That way, See CONDUCTORS, Page 4B T wc Othe per wet magazi most Ti mer po Pinsky] maybe, the site ing and from th You can variety, news fr PoetryI Pins] - initia Laurea various tions re their fa and list backgrounds and occupa- citing and commenting on vorite poems. Watching ening to these clips is an David Lucas uses words like 'Flarf.' To ask him what they mean, e-mail dwlucas@umich.edu. 3 NIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN WHAT DO IHODES/MARSHALL/MITCHELL SCHOLARS DO AFTER THEIR STUDIES Well, this guy became president. What will you do? Anything you want. You've written your own game plan so far in life. Why not take it one step further and become a Rhodes, Marshall, or Mitchell Scholar? the united states of America -z00 Come to a Rhodes/Marshall/Mitchell Orientation Session: Monday, January 24, 2011 a 5:00-6:00pm Koessler Room, Michigan League, 3rd Floor Thursday, January 27, 2011 a 5:00-6:00pm Pendleton Room, Michigan Union, 2nd Floor Tuesday, February 1, 2011 " 5:00-6:00pm Pierpont Commons, East Room SPECIAL SESSION: How to Write a Rhodes, Marshall, or Mitchell Essay Monday, March 14, 2011 a 5:00-7:30pm Vandenberg Room, Michigan League, 2nd Floor To learn more, please contact the Provost's Council on Student Honors at 734-763-8123 or visit the website at www.provost.umich.edu/scholars/ Prof. Jerry Blackstone is the chair of the conducting department.