Conducting the Choir... and Two B-words

Greetings.


Yesterday, my choir teacher, Mr. Privett, was away at a festival with the boys. (Lucky guys. But the girls' festival is next week so yay!) So it was a sub and our accompanist, Mrs. Tate, who had to teach the class. Well obviously the sub, who is a math teacher on campus, cannot conduct the class and Mrs. Tate has to play the piano. So she asks for student conductor volunteers who have been taking conducting classes with Mr. Privett to come up and direct the class. Both an alto (I have been demoted/promoted/moted to alto because they're super quiet and I'm super LOUD) named Alex Bell and I volunteered and, despite the protests of some of the class, Mrs. Tate let Alex try. I never saw her at the classes, which I have been taking in anticipation of this moment, so I pointed this out. Then her friend, Candy White, snaps at me, "She's been taking it at lunch! Leave her alone!" So I apologized and let her get on with it.

She. Was. Crap. Seriously! She just flopped her hand about and half the time she didn't even do that. And, to make matters worse, she got TIRED after two songs. TIRED! DON'T VOLUNTEER FOR SOMETHING IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO GIVE UP HALFWAY THROUGH. So she asked, "Anyone else want to try?" I raised my hand and the entire class practically begged, "Please, let Harmony Margaret do it! Let HM! Go up there, HM!" and things of that nature. So I went up there and Alex and Candy deliberately sat in the tenor section. So we got through one of the songs, a gospel by Moses Hogan, and we were going over some of the alto parts because some of the girls don't know it when Alex and Candy decide to be very disrespectful and move over to the basses. They won't stand or sing because "We're not altos, we're basses" and then try to sing low and then burst out laughing at their failed attempt. I try not to make waves so I ignore it and continue to work with the altos.

Mrs. Tate, on the other hand, got fed up with Alex and Candy and told them to move back. They move begrudgingly back to the empty tenor section in time for the next song, another gospel (Mr. Privett loves gospels, as do I) by a local composer. I have everyone stand up and everyone does except for, of course, Alex and Candy. I ask them politely to stand. Alex looks at me like I'm the world's biggest poo stain on her shoe and says, "I'm sick." I'm thinking to myself YOU WERE HEALTHY ENOUGH TO DISRUPT THE REHEARSAL but, again, I didn't want to make waves, so I ignored it. We kept working and at one point apparently they were cursing at me or something and two other girls, I'm not sure who but a couple of people say it was to acquaintances of mine, Delta Nielson and Ariel Bow, decide to stick up for me. Apparently, objects were thrown, but I didn't see it because I was working with the altos again. The sopranos have the easy part, the melody, and unless they asked for it, I left them alone. A couple asked for a few notes but mostly they sat quietly and listened to the altos or, in some cases, put Alex and Candy into their places.

Now, I didn't see the incident, but most of the other sopranos did. And they reported it to Mr. Privett after school when he returned from his outing with the boys. And BOY did he lecture us to death today. Not just Alex and Candy, THE ENTIRE CLASS. Apparently, the boys had an incident yesterday as well involving a guy in a truck in the parking lot where they all had lunch. And now I'm stuck going to the Dean to report what happened. (I'm not in trouble, but Mr. Privett needs my help. Mr. Privett also took me aside today and told me that he was sorry and that I should not have had to have been in a situation where I was disrespected. I felt so loved.) But all the girls from yesterday (except Alex and Candy) said I did a great job conducting the class and that Alex and Candy were complete b*****s to me. (Bennie and Joss didn't say the b-word, as did some of the girls, but the majority said the b-word)

I have never felt so loved by my choir. I thought everyone hated me. Now I know at least TWO confirmed haters.


Hugz
HM