Wednesday, May 25, 2005

Calou, Calay!

Grading is done! Thank you to the commentors of the previous post. Those are some excellent suggestions. One thing I need to decide is whether to continue allowing the students to write about any piece, as long as it fits my criteria, or give them specific pieces to choose from. The negative aspect of the former is that I have to spend time learning obscure oboe concerti or Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel piano sonatas (more on that later). But the students have a personal interest in their choices, which can inspire them to greater heights.

The negative of the second choice is that it can encourage cheating. I could have exactly as many pieces as there are students, and rotate sets every year. But somebody will be unhappy getting stuck with the Carl Ditters von Dittersdorf contrabass concerto. I'll have to ponder this over the summer.

But now, I get to catch up on housework, go see Star Wars tomorrow morning, and head off to Chicago for a weekend of sightseeing with the family. I'm teaching at the DePauw Vocal Arts Camp again, and also at IU for their summer session. But I'm teaching the exact same course (20th century analysis and literature), so there will be very little prep work needed.

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