More roses
7:55 p.m.
Hubby and I got into one of those discussions (by which I mean raised voices were involved) where he has had it with this little university and one-horse town, and I said that all I have is my students and without them I would be nothing. This came up because he is thinking of the possibility of doing exchange teaching for a term at a time in, for instance, Mexico, where Bushop�s has sister universities (I don�t understand that term, who determines the sex of the institution, for example, or the exact blood relationship) and would I join him from January to May in that case? I said that I would have to give it serious thought, because my students come first in my life, especially those who are giving final recitals. I feel that I make a contract with these young people, and if I leave partway through their studies, I am somehow not keeping up my end. I also don�t think Hubby realizes the depth of the relationship between a singing student and his teacher; it�s certainly of a different quality than between instrumentalists and their instructors.
The year we were going to Greece I had to give up my students, even though we weren�t leaving until January. My one honours student had to prepare a recital that year and was terrified about switching teachers. We arranged that I would teach her through the summer and fall and she would give her grad recital in November. It worked out fine. But who is to say this would be the case every time? Most students do not stick around over the summer, as she had, so would not be able to take advantage of this arrangement.
Anyway, Hubby was trying to point out to me that I had other things in my life beyond my teaching: my sculpting, my writing, my performing. The sculpting and writing are mere hobbies, things I indulge in for personal pleasure only. I have yet to earn a kopek from either of these endeavours. The performing is something else, since I have never won any competitions, I don�t have an in with orchestra conductors, and I just finished spending the last 18 years raising kids. The only gigs I�ve had outside the music department in-house series have been with my dear Hubby on the guitar, and he has set them up for us. All the auditions I have done in the past several years have borne no fruit, which makes me think that I am a) not very good, b) not good enough, and c) inferior. And yet I know in my heart that this is not true. I am a good singer, if not a great singer, and part of the problem is that I just don�t push myself in conductors� faces because I�m not that kind of person.
On the other hand, I am a good singing teacher. I have been doing this now for almost two decades and have an incredible understanding of the vocal mechanism and singing process. I could probably write a book, but I won�t because there are already a ton of them out there. My students do improve, and are often quite amazed when I can fix a problem by telling them to do something quite simple. I really can�t imagine myself doing anything else, unless it were performing more, but I have a feeling that is not likely to be.
Anyway, I don�t know where this self-indulgence is leading. Much of it has been brought on by the fact that a certain person over the past two years has attempted to discredit me as a singing teacher by marking my students low on their juries or encouraging them to complain about me so that I will be dismissed (it�s not going to happen; as part-timers go, I have the equivalent of tenure) and his wife made to replace me. From what I�ve heard from her students, this would be a terrible mistake. That woman has no business ruining young voices, but has somehow cast a glamour upon those in her power that makes them think she is the cat�s meow. I just don�t understand these things. She�s not even a great singer herself, which anyone knowledgeable in vocal matters can discern on the second hearing (it takes a little while to get past the glamour, even I was sucked in at first). Actually, Patsy didn�t know who she was, and heard her sing in the spring choir concert (she performed a duet with one of her students, the son of one of Patsy�s colleagues) and thought that she was �just a student�. So there. What does that tell you about her level of professional accomplishment?
Um, okay, I guess I�ve been morose enough. The effects of the wine haven�t worn off quite yet, but, well, ah buh dee, ah buh dee, that�s all folks!
<~~~ * ~~~>
