Play on!

What a year!

Don’t stop the music! Didn’t miss a beat! Play on…

In 2019-2020, the students at St. Marks enjoyed playing in rock bands, ensembles and working on performances- until we were sent home! We finished out the year with an instrument building project in which the students made 4 types of instruments from items they found around their house (idiophones, chordophones, aerophones and membranophones.) I was most impressed with the slapper-tube idiophones made by the Ritchies!

This year, I adapted the curriculum to handle multiple environments; in, out, all about! The younger students assembled a music research journal using Google Slides. They studied musical instruments, dance and festivals from around the world. Their studies culminated in a presentation on their own musical heritage.

The older students studies songwriting on a Digital Audio Workstation, SoundTrap (think Garage Band meets Google Drive). They worked on 6 music writing projects over the year. On your Music Festival Day, they hosted a dance party for the younger students with completely original music. Listen here. It was a blast!

We also started a ukulele ensemble this year- that was a huge hit! More than 10 students loaned ukuleles to play at home and the ensemble had 20 members.

I have big hopes for next year! I can’t wait to resume choir, band and string ensembles. I’m looking forward to another fabulous Christmas program and Spring Music Fest!

Big Achievements!

The most important news of this year is the birth of my baby girl, Evelyn Theodora Wallace.

Isn’t she marvelous!?!? *beaming mother*

Benny, my son, is proud as a peacock and has taken it upon himself to be her personal protector. I thank God every day for the gift of parenthood.

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Evie, born February 2019

Otherwise-exciting news is plentiful! I have completed the requirements for my Masters in Music Education at Case and am preparing to graduate in August, 2019. It has been a tremendous three years of mentorship, study and growth.

I spent my winter and early spring student teaching with Beth Singer at Perry Local Schools and finished up a couple of weeks with Kelly McClellan at Olmsted Falls after Evie’s birth. They were excellent and gracious counselors. The experiences have me geared up and eager to find my first placement.

I started the school year with a performance at St. Jeromes. The concert was a showcase of Lawrence and my Musical Theater compositions. I enjoyed conducting for University Chorale at Case while I finished up coursework. And somewhere in there we bought a house in Lakewood!

Welcoming Summer

I'm very much looking forward to this summer! It has been a gem-packed, fulfilling winter semester. Now I'm rolling through the end of spring with my hands in the dirt, enjoying some gardening and long evenings with my son. Here are some highlights from the semester!

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I was inspired by many incredible scholars: 

Dr. Ruth Wright

Firstly, CWRU Colloquium lecture by Dr. Ruth Wright on February 2nd. These special talks are held on Fridays at 4pm throughout the academic school year and open to the public. Dr. Wright read from her soon-to-be-published article: “Is Gramsci Dead? Revisiting Hegemony in 21st Century Music Education," which brought into debate the appropriateness of canonized structure in the music education classroom. Through her studies in sociology, recent practices of popular music in education (Musical Futures) and concern for marginalized students and through conversation at this talk, she seems to be under the opinion that such officiated notions of what is and is-not might prune the practice to a death of irrelevance.

Check out her work! She's brilliant: http://www.music.uwo.ca/faculty/bios/ruth-wright.html

Next, I attended the moving address by Dr. Roberta Lamb, the featured speaker at OMEA's graduate forum, February 8th. Dr. Lamb has spent her career researching gender and music education. In her talk, Dr. Lamb offered her experience as a gay, female educator teaching in both United States and Canada, along with many stimulating questions. The room, of leading Ohioan scholars and their pupils, was alive with open conversation, tears and challenges from generations spanning five decades. Thank you Dr. Lamb!

 http://post.queensu.ca/~lambr/

At the same conference, I was lucky to catch two talks by Dr. Daniel Keown, of Youngstown State University. Topics he has studies seem to circle around seeking increased connectivity to students: psychology of music in multimedia, film music, sound effects design, interdisciplinary approaches and culturally diverse learners. In this case, his talks were about teaching the art of soundscapes and teaching film music. He established solid arguments for the use of these avenues of music, as well as sufficient resources for launching and a demonstration of their scholarly tenacity. Very compelling! I was able to employ some of what I learned about soundscapes with my K-2nd grade classes this spring.

http://www.ysu.edu/directory/people/daniel-keown

Dr. Karen Salvador, Associate Professor at University of Michigan-Flint, gave a guest lecture in my Vernacular Music class on Feb. 21st. Her research specialty and her passion is in progressing educative conditions for students with learning differences. In our time she addressed Universal Design and ESSA, as well as a history and modern status of appropriate treatment of related speech and circumstances. Together, we reflected on our misunderstandings, and postulated tactics to bring about justice in our classrooms for all students.

https://karenksalvador.weebly.com/  

Finally! A scholar for my musical soul: Merima Ključo. This world renowned, virtuosic accordionist and composer simply blew me away. I first heard her music on a late-night drive, NPR radio scan, and sent my husband Lawrence on a mad scavenger hunt looking for "that accordion player who was playing on the radio around 8:30 pm, something with chanting Arabic text..." He found her, I found everything she has recorded... and then I saw her name pop up on the posters for City Music which are frequently hosted by St. Jerome Church! I was blessed to have the opportunity to meet her, and to write a review (published in the Colinwood Observer, March). Thank you CityMusic, Merima Ključo, and all the staff at St. Jerome Church who made this experience possible.

http://www.merimakljuco.com/

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Along side all of these inspiring scholars, I was blessed with a incredible students and awesome musical opportunities. I'll ramble a little about my students, because I love them so much and am so thankful for our time together. As school comes to a close tomorrow, along with my time at St. Jerome Elementary, this post serves as a bittersweet farewell. 

At CASE, I performed in three concerts. In the 2018 Choral Showcase Invitational, Feb 16th, I had the opportunity to collaborate with the Cleveland School of the Arts R. Nathaniel Dett Concert Choir and Case Men's Glee as TA and ensemble member of Case Concert Choir. It was great to meet the students and the legendary Dr. Woods along with Dr. McCorvey; we shared dinner over the recently released Black Panther soundtrack. Case Men's Glee blew me away with "Workin' for the Dawn of Peace," chilling and soul wrenching all at once. Next I was honored to have the opportunity to conduct Case Chamber Choir at our spring concert in the breath-taking Maltz Performing Arts Center in a piece by Gwyneth walker, Changeless. Finally, on April 16th, I performed and helped manage the extraordinary performance of seven combined ensembles including Case Choir's and Orchestra as well as Beaumont Children's Choir and Bach Children Choir, and choirs from Church of the Covenant singing Rutter's Mass of the Children and other selections. Dr. Horvath's conducting of Humperdincks Hansel unt Gretel was simply enchanting.

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Just last week, the students of St. Jerome Elementary school, with the support of our pastors Father Bill Jerse and Father Walsh and our principal Mrs. Coan, presented a spring concert, "Let There Be Light." 

I simply cannot overstate how hard these students worked to put on this production. The narrator, Elijah Washington from Mrs. K. Coans first grade class did an outstanding job, providing the through line based on award-winning children's book, "The Old Turtle," by Douglass Wood. The theme of the concert was seeing God in other people, especially as we face the tragedies of our lifetime. Soloists led us in opening and closing numbers which incorporated dance and student drumming.

The first and second graders demonstrated soundscapes of various nature scenes. Each type of earth would play on their own, claiming that God was like them, and then all of them played at once to create a chaos that demonstrated the argument about who God is. First claiming that God is like themselves, the earth eventually comes to see God in others as they watch the feud that erupts between people.

The third, fourth and fifth graders sang songs representative of eleven countries with texts in nine languages other than English. The sixth and seventh graders performed self-composed raps and designed electronic and acoustic beats which addressed issues in our community today including racism, gun violence, depression, teen pregnancy and familial failure to support youth. In each rap, the students demonstrate how we can turn away from our selfishness and back to God by finding God in one another while we try to love one another.

The seventh and eighth graders took a major role in assembling the program, managing the stage set, lighting, sound, videography and crew. They had an inside look at how shows are put together, from beginning to end. I'm incredibly proud of their leadership. 

Since the concert, we have been working on recording these songs so the students can share their music further. Students with interest spent a day with me learning about audio recording equipment, set-up, techniques and program options. I hope they continue to rap and record for the rest of their lives!

Finally, I was honored to play the baccalaureate mass and graduation ceremony for the Eighth Grade Class of St. Jerome Elementary School on Thursday May 24th. Here are some photo's of my wonderful students! I'll miss you all. 

2017 UPDATES

It's been a wonderful and eventful year! Much too busy to post, you might say. Here are some highlights:

New Directions Conference, Lancing MI at MSU: I presented "Flexible Musicking: A Social Equalizer," and had the opportunity to meet Dr. Randall Allsup, and Dr. Juliet Hess, as well as many other inspiring educators. 

Dr. Allsup & myself at New Directions Conference, February 2017, MSU

Conducting Case University Singers at Spring Concert, Home: Under the tutelage of Dr. Matthew Garrett, and Dr. Lisa Hanson, I conducted two selections on the spring concert.

Coworker Melanie Wheeler and myself at Spring Concert, Church of the Covenant

Emily Stauch Voice Recital: I participated in the semester-end studio recital of Emily Stauch, showcasing my year-long studies at Cleveland Institute of Music.

Emily Stauch Voice Recital, CIM

Second Annual Concert at St. Jerome Church: Lawrence and I, along with my brother and narrator Jordan Dreyer, performed our second-annual concert titled "An Evening of Art Song." The music was composed by myself and featured the poetry of Charles Simic.

I began teaching general music at St. Jerome Elementary School, Kindergarten through Eighth grade. It has been a pleasure to get to know the students of Colinwood and the East Cleveland area. Our focus has been on bucket drumming, freestyle, improvisation, and musical instruments of many cultures. 

My classroom on the first day of school, 2017.

Along with two lovely concerts with Dr. Peters and Professor Charnofsky as part of Case Concert Choir, I enjoyed studio recitals with the voice and guitar class at Case as a close to the semester.

Dr. Kruse and "The Nylon's" guitar class "informance" recital.

To close the year, I enjoyed many lovely holiday concerts.

First of all, with my husband Lawrence at St. Lukes Church on December 8th, featuring his own arrangements and all six ensembles he directs at St. Lukes.

Secondly, I enjoyed the Circle Fest spectacular at CASE, featuring eight unique ensembles of the University Circle area.

Finally, the students of St. Jerome Elementary and I produced a Christmas Concert titled, "Take Me to the King," which incorporated interpretations, student arrangements and student compositions, as well as special numbers from every grade. It was a moving experience!

Happy New Year to you and yours!

Anniversary Recital: A History of Song

Join us for an evening concert: A History Of Song. Friday August 19th, 7:00pm at St. Jerome Church. 15000 Lakeshore Blvd, Cleveland, OH 44110.

August 16th, 2016

In honor of our second anniversary, Lawrence and I have put together an evening of song. We begin with the earliest extant French court music, sing through Mozart and Gershwin, and finish with Alicia Keys.

We'd love to share the evening with you!

MAKE MUSIC CLEVEVLAND

MAKE MUSIC CLEVELAND

JULIA WALLACE LIVE

@ METRO HEALTH CLINIC WITH LAWRENCE WALLACE MORNING

@ PHOENIX COFFEE WITH JACOB DAMSKY AND FRIENDS 5-6

@ EDGEWATER PARK WITH HARMONIOUS A CAPELLA 8:00

SUMMER MUSIC CHALLENGE 2016

This summer I will establish my social media channels on Youtube & Soundcloud!

Every week I'll upload something I'm working on.

#1 Sweet Potato

#2 "Summertime" from Porgy and Bess

 {tube} {cloud}

Check it out. Like. Follow.

But more importantly... SHOW ME YOUR MUSIC!

Join the challenge, and get your sound out there too.

#SUMMERMUSICCHALLENGE2016

Announcing Clevelands Harmonious

I have recently joined Clevelands newest A Cappella Group: Harmonious! It feels great to be singing with such high quality, gifted singers!

Members are Jacob Damsky, Jerrill Devlin, Dan Hendrock, Halle Rose K, Colleen McCaughey, Margaret Miller, Michelle Morgan, Justin Wells and Me!

Keep an eye out for upcoming performances, follow and share!

facebook.com/HarmoniousCLE/

Graduates of 2016

Congratulations to graduating seniors, Chelsea Falatic, Christina Pinter, Cole Rector and Mary Zupan!

I has been my pleasure to work with these students over the last few years. They are all hard working, passionate and dedicated students. I am proud to say, all four of them will be pursuing careers that involve music!

Good luck! I am so proud to have had the chance to work with you.

Berea Midpark Suspended Harmony

As the school year comes to a close, Berea Midparks extra curricular A Cappella Group, Suspended Harmony, prepares for its last performance!

Suspended Harmony is and extra curricular ensemble composed of students who are interested in pop music and community outreach. This ensemble gives the students a chance to arrange their own repertoire, and learn the value of volunteer performing. Currently, the group includes several students who are pursuing studies in music therapy and medicine. They perform primarily at nursing homes and hospitals in the area, but also at school functions and coffee shops. This spring, the students gave more than 15 performances, including events at the Cleveland Clinic, the Ronald McDonald House and Rainbow Babies and Children. Their efforts have been recognized by the activities department through volunteer credits. They are enriched by their encounters with patients, and the opportunity to share through music.