Weekly Reflection no.

8
Robert Haynes 102988536
This week Dr. Bick was at conference during our regular scheduled break-out class.
Towards the end of last she pulled Austin and I into her office and asked if we would like to
use the opportunity to get experience giving a lecture (otherwise she would have had to
cancel the class).
Unfortunately, I too was at a conference during the class and I could not take
advantage of the opportunity. However, the conference did give me an opportunity to stretch
some of the leadership muscles that I have been developing throughout the course of the
mentorship and learning class. I suppose I should give a little background information; over
the summer Dr. Bruce Kotowich sent an audition tape (made from of the performances from
last year) of the University of Windsor Chamber Choir to the Ontario Music Educators
Association (OMEA) to perform at their conference that took place this weekend in Niagara
Falls. The Chamber Choir was one of only two University level ensembles accepted to
perform at this conference (the other being the University of Toronto Trombone Choir). Dr.
Kotowich used this opportunity to tour some of the Niagara region high schools and an
elementary school. At the end of each stop on the tour students were given the opportunity to
grill the chamber choir members about our experiences. The entire experience provided me
with an opportunity to demonstrate my developing sense of professionalism (or lack thereof
as the case may be) while answering questions from the high school students. I admit that
anytime the microphone was given to me I took an opportunity to make a facetious joke,
however; the inappropriately timed puns provided an opportunity to demonstrate to potential
future students that a professional level of performance and comportement can be achieved

without the disdainful sense of condescension that people generally associate with Western
Art Music.
I also had a few opportunities for some one on one time with the one of my mentees
who is also a chamber choir member. She was succumbing to some pretty severe test anxiety
surrounding the upcoming midterm. She was specifically terrified that after condensing her
notes twice she was left with only four pages of material. I asked her a few questions
surrounding the material and she gave articulate concise answers that demonstrated a strong
understanding of the material. I explained that as you understand material better, you need
fewer and fewer cues to recall the knowledge, and that its perfectly normal to have only four
pages of study notes.
It was interesting to be made aware of how pervasive the leadership skills become,
touring was an excellent opportunity for me to see how it has begun to alter my personal
identity.