| Former Student Teaching in China |
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| Former student Si Si Sun is teaching at a middle school in China. |
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The Monday Memo is a weekly electronic newsletter published for the faculty and staff of Eastern New Mexico University. The editor is Wendel Sloan.
ENMU Singers and WTA&MU Singers
and Orchestra Pay Homage to Mozart:
The Requiem-Mozart’s Unfinished Grand Work
by Philip Young
Communication Services
"I’m glad we can work together to create something of real beauty and aesthetic value." – Dr. Jason Paulk
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| ENMU University Singers |
On April 20, ENMU University Singers will perform Mozart’s Requiem in collaboration with the West Texas A&M University University Choir, and Orchestra.
The performance will be at 7 p.m. in the CUB Ballroom, and is free to the public.
The students get to work with some very talented professors: Drs. Jason Paulk from ENMU and Sean Pullen, and Mark Bartley from WTA&MU.
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| Dr. Jason Paulk | Dr. Sean Pullen | Dr. Mark Bartley |
Dr. Jason Paulk is director of choral activities and associate professor of music at ENMU, where he conducts the University Singers, Chamber Singers and Swanee Singers ensembles, and teaches beginning and advanced conducting, in addition to choral methods courses.
His degrees include a Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Oklahoma, Master of Music in Conducting and Master of Music in Music Education from Westminster Choir College in New Jersey, and Bachelor of Music Education from Stetson University in Florida.
Dr. Sean Pullen is the director of choral activities at the West Texas A&M University School of Music, conducts the West Texas A&M Chorale and the Collegiate Choir and teaches advanced choral conducting.
He also teaches graduate choral conducting and classes within the vocal music education area. Dr. Pullen received his D.M.A. degree in conducting from Claremont Graduate University, and his Master of Music and Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Houston, with additional undergraduate work from Texas Christian University.
Dr. Mark Bartley is the director of orchestral activities at the West Texas A&M University School of Music. He directs the WTAMU Symphony and serves the School of Music as associate director. Dr. Bartley holds a doctorate from Boston University and bachelor's and master's degrees from The University of Texas.
Along with the Requiem, the first half of the concert will include about half an hour of incredible choral singing by the ENMU Chamber Singers and University Singers featuring some repertoire that they will be singing on their Italy tour in May, followed in the second half by a performance of “The Promise of Living” (Aaron Copland) by the WT Symphony Orchestra.
Mozart’s Requiem is a piece that has always been shrouded in mystery. In Peter Shaffer’s 1984 film Amadeus, the Requiem is depicted as the piece that drove Mozart to his death. Of course, the dramatic film is fictional; it completely adds a new colorful twist to the Requiem.
In the following interview, Dr. Paulk describes the history of the Requiem:
Q: Can you give a brief history of the Requiem?
The Requiem was commissioned secretively in early 1791 by Count Walsegg-Stuppach, an amateur composer who wished to claim the work as his own and present it as a memorial for his recently deceased wife. Mozart, who was in failing health, fully composed and orchestrated the first movement, and left sketches of the voice parts and figured bass line for the second movement (Kyrie), most of the third movement (Dies Irae) and part of the fourth movement (Offertorium) before he died in December of 1791.
Mozart apparently wrote suggestions for the orchestration and told his wife that “the first fugue, as is customary, should be repeated in the last movement.” Two of his students, Jakob Freystädtler and Franz Süssmayer, completed the orchestration of the first movement for a performance at Mozart’s memorial service just five days after his death. It is suspected that Joseph Eybler, a friend of Mozart’s and respected composer himself, completed the orchestration to the Dies Irae; some think Mozart shared his wishes with Eybler before his death. Costanze Mozart, the grieving widow, asked Süssmayer to complete the Requiem.
He claims to have composed all of the Sanctus, Benedictus and Agnus Dei movements, though it is not known whether Mozart discussed his wishes with him or not. The completed work was performed twice in 1793, once by Count Walsegg-Stuppach, who copied and presented it under his own name, and once by Baron van Swieten, who presented it under Mozart’s name.
Since the work’s publication in the Neue Mozart Ausgabe 1967, it has been one of the most frequently performed choral-orchestral works in history.
For ENMU singers, the experience to collaborate wWT&M Choir, along with their orchestra, is an entirely new experience. To put on such a grand work takes a lot of effort. ith the
Q: What are some of the challenges involved in this piece of work?
The vocal demands of the Requiem are not terribly challenging. The major obstacle for native English speakers tends to be the Latin text. Fortunately, most of our singers have some experience with Latin, even if only a little.
Other challenges include performance practice demands that are somewhat unfamiliar to us in the 21st Century. Hopefully, listeners at the performance will hear musical ideals expressed in our performance that would have been “in the air” at the end of the 18th Century, including elements of metric accentuation (strong and weak stresses and phrase shaping often referred to as quantitas intrinseca), appoggiatura trills, messa di voce (crescendo and decrescendo of single pitches longer than a quarter note).
Q: What is it like collaborating with West Texas A&M?
We are really looking forward to our collaboration with the WT Choirs and Orchestra. I think it’s a really wonderful aspect of the arts in general, performance ensembles specifically, that collaboration is intrinsic to our art form. I’m glad we can work together to create something of real beauty and aesthetic value. The major challenge that exists for us is our limited rehearsal time together. We will be traveling to WT by bus on Thursday, April 18, for an afternoon/evening rehearsal with choirs and orchestra, and then performing at WT on Friday evening at 7:30 p.m.
On Saturday, April 20, they will travel by bus to Portales for a performance in our CUB at 7 p.m. They will provide four soloists for the performance at WT on April 19, and then on the evening of April 20, four ENMU student soloists, Audra Methvin, Mikayla Twitchell, Vincent Romano, and Michael Bradley, will have the opportunity to perform for our community. On Good Friday, another group of our student soloists, Kelly Vigil, Mikayla Twitchell, Brian Chavez, and Christopher Yee, performed the solos in the Requiem for a performance at First United Methodist Church in Roswell, NM, under the baton of Mr. John Fuss.
I was very pleased that they had the opportunity and really enjoyed their performance! They made us all proud.
Q: What's it like working with an Orchestra?
It’s a great experience. Simply hearing all the various timbres in the orchestra is exciting; when you get the added pleasure of adding voices to this rich mixture, it’s all the more enjoyable. I’m just thrilled that Dr. Bartley approached me last spring about the collaboration. We have sought out opportunities like this over the last seven years, and have performed frequently with Santa Fe Symphony and Caprock Pro Musica (Lubbock). We hope this partnership will continue into the future.
Of course, Dr. Paulk uses great experiences as a motivator for his students. As a music educator, he adds some insight for all music students:
“This is the most rewarding career I could have chosen. Let me be the first to say, it wasn’t my only choice, just like so many of our students! I could have chosen many fields, but music education is enriching every day for so many reasons, none the least of which is that it’s always authentically reactive because you respond to people and the gifts they bring to each rehearsal.
“Music is never static and therefore we must react ‘in the moment’ – if you will – to make a performance something meaningful.
“If you decide that you want to pursue a path of music education, really commit to it. Don’t make any excuses for deficiencies, just work to make your liabilities into assets. Practice diligently so that you can bring a high level of performing excellence to your students and be able to set high standard so they can be proud of what they are creating with you.”
Nursing Instructor Has Been World Traveler
story and photo by Shantiana White
Communication Services
"The ocean is just magical." – Valerie Kyle
Ms. Valerie Kyle, Instructor of nursing, grew up in France, Algeria and Germany. She has traveled to Africa and Canada, as well as lived in Guam for three years.
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“I miss the ocean because I love to swim, and the ocean is just magical,” said the French professor. Ms. Kyle received her Bachelor of Science in Nursing at the University of Phoenix and Master of Science in Nursing at the University of New Mexico. “I have always wanted to work and help people. Nursing is very challenging, yet it is a versatile profession which has given me many opportunities for personal and professional growth,” said the instructor. She has been a registered nurse since 1996 and is a member of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses and the Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. “Eastern has given me the opportunity for the professional growth I needed.” |
| Valerie Kyle |
One challenge for Ms. Kyle has been teaching nursing students online for the first time.
“I am working on my Ph.D. and doing research on the perception of nursing faculty on the transition from a systems-based curriculum to a concept-based curriculum,” she said.
After receiving her Ph.D., Ms. Kyle “plans to continue teaching at a university and see where this takes me.” She also plans on learning Russian.
During her spare time, she enjoys cooking and entertaining friends.
“Caring for the people I love and continuing to learn are what give meaning to my life,” said the mother of a 22-year-old son and a 15-year-old daughter.
Ms. Kyle said, “I’m happy to be here because Eastern is a great place to grow professionally; the people are awesome.
“Well, that is me in a nutshell.”
| Jack Williamson Lectureship (photos by Wendel Sloan) |
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Science Fiction Writers Back row (L-R) M.T. Reiten, Joan Sabersagen, Melinda Snodgrass, Eleanor Wood, Steven Gould, Ian Tregillis |
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| Visitors Praise Williamson Lectureship (photos and copy by Shantiana White) |
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| Mike and Jane Merchant from Silver City, N.M. |
Mike Merchant said, "We knew Jack Williamson personally and when I heard about his special collection I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Jane Merchant, Mike’s wife and an ENMU alumna, said, "It is a shame that more people don't come to enjoy this unique event. There are very few places that have anything like this." The Merchants live in Silver City and lived in Portales for four years while Jane was receiving her master’s in archaeology. |
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| Kelly Corn and Brian Graham from Clovis, N.M. |
Kelly Corn said, "I came here to see Joe Haldeman, a Grand Master of Science Fiction Award winner, and Connie Willis. These are amazing authors that came to Portales and it is nice to hang around with geeks like us." Brian Graham added, "The library is like a hidden gem and the Jack Williamson Special Collection is amazing." Kelly Corn and Brian Graham are Clovis natives. |
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| Danielle Pollock from Albuquerque, N.M. |
Danielle Pollock, a Albuquerque native who attended last year's event, said, "I am a fan of science fiction and came to see everyone." |
| Video Alert | Melinda Snodgrass: Writing SF for Hollywood |
Watch a short video of Melinda Snodgrass discussing writing science fiction scripts for Hollywood. – [video] |
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Lectureship Unites Sci-Fi, Fantasy Writers – [pntonline.com]
| Science Fiction Theme of Sidewalk Chalk Competition (photos by Brad Hamann) |
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| (photos below by Wendel Sloan) |
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Students Compete in Sidewalk Competition – [pntonline.com]
| Eastern in Action (photos by Shantiana White) |
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| Polo Shirts on Sale to Everyone! |
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These stylish Polo shirts, available in various sizes, are on sale to everyone – faculty, staff, students and community members. |
| Vic and Tory T-Shirts for Sale | |
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Name: Alyssa 
