Educators demonstrate a broad knowledge base and an understanding of areas they teach.

My knowledge base and experience in music is broad. By the time I graduated from my Bachelor of Music, I had played flute/piccolo, clarinet/bass clarinet, euphonium, trumpet, French Horn, and alto saxophone proficiently enough to play to a senior band level, and I had played drum set, percussion, oboe, tuba, piano, bassoon, trombone, and guitar to a beginner level. During this time, I pursued an advanced level of singing. I continued my education as a singer into my Masters Degree and two years in Calgary Opera’s Emerging Artist Development program. Ensembles I have experience playing wind instruments in are jazz band, symphonic band, and orchestra. My vocal experience spans from solo to choral to opera. In my Masters and with Calgary Opera I learned a lot of stage craft, from acting to movement on a stage. I learned and memorized choreography and worked with professional directors who still work in the field. I learned from professional conductors, and professional singers such as Tracy Dahl. Recently, I was even able to have a lesson with Adrianne Pieczonka, who was featured on the Canadian Opera series stamp by Canada Post.

Through both classes and personal pursuits, I learned composition and arrangement of music. I arranged a six-piece brass band arrangement of popular game and movie music and performed this 8-minute arrangement in the Rotary Music festival in Whitehorse, Yukon after my Bachelor degree. Even before my music theory classes began in undergrad, I had already reached a level of proficiency with the Royal Conservatory of Music’s Examinations by learning rudiments of music, Harmony 1, and Harmony 2 as well as the history equivalents. I completed my voice Grade 10 with the mark of a 90, my highest mark with the RCM, the year after I graduated high school. I have been pursuing my learning in music for almost twenty years, now, and I feel confident in saying that I meet Standard 9 in the area of music.

My unit during the second practicum focused on news, journalism, and media creation. I taught grammar, how to ideate, how to plan projects, how to analyze story-based media, how censorship works, and reporting practices. Students had to report orally and through written work in my class.

In my last practicum I feel that I was able to dig deep into my conducting and rehearsal practice from years ago in my undergrad and bring my performance of such knowledge so much farther than I ever have before. I feel that this is a huge point of growth for me in this practicum, and I can finally say that I feel comfortable in front of thirty musicians giving them feedback, more effectively rehearsing music, and acting as a more efficient and effective conductor with my cues and expression of the intent in the music.