Assessing students in a performance ensemble isn’t always the easiest task to do. Traditionally, the choir is graded on their final performance, along with participation considerations throughout rehearsals. But is this an accurate assessment of the individual student? Not really.
The solution is to have each student record their voice on a lap top while singing as an ensemble. This requires each student to know their own part and be responsible for the notes, rhythms, and text. It can be considered authentic because they are singing collectively, but in the recording, the individual voice is heard more prominently in the forfront, while the ensemble is in the back ground.
It was fun to pilot this idea and we are continuing to improve upon it. This video is a first attempt and was done while the students were still learning their parts and texts.
Joseph Granzow 