SHELL RECRUITMENT DAY 2013

A shell recruitment day is one of two routes into shell:

Step One- Online application

• create an account, or login via an existing account
• Next, search for available opportunities s by selecting the region and country of work locations
• Apply and upload the latest version of your CV/resume
• Before submitting your application, you will asked to submit an online questionnaire

*When searching for opportunities, please check your work eligibility in that location

Step two- Online assessment
There are two parts to the online assessment.
*Note that each part must be competed and submitted within 7 working days before the links within the email you receive will expire
Part one: a series of competency-based questions
This will take approximately 20mins to complete and will not be timed. once completed you will receive an email notification with the outcome.
part two: consists of two tasks: a decision-making and a problem-solving task. you will need to complete both
*Note that the decision-making task is not timed, but the problem-solving task is timed and you will have 18mins to complete it
The decision-making task assesses how you respond to common situations that shell graduates may face, and the problem-solving tasks assesses your capacity for solving numerical reasoning problems.
In total, part 2 of the online assessment should take approximately 45mins to complete.

Step 3: An interview
The interview will take place either face to face or over the telephone. This is an opportunity for you to tell us more about your motivations for applying, your achievements, the challenges you've faced and how you've demonstrated the qualities we're looking for.

Step Four: Shell Recruitment Day
Following success in the first-stage interview, you will attend an afternoon of non-assessed, interactive activities where you will be given further insights into our global businesses.
The next day you will complete a range of assessed exercises which includes an online simulation exercise, a written task, group discussion, self-reflection interview, presentation-based case study and final interview.

Step 5: An offer
Upon completion of assessment, Shell will let you know on the final outcome for suitable places on their Graduate programme.

*note that an email notification would be sent to you for every stage completed.

To apply now, click here

The Making of Charisma in Music

What is Charisma?
What is this magical mysterious quality that attracts us with such a powerful magnetic force? Is it possible to teach and learn charisma? Musical pundits describe it as a pure, mystifying gift – unobtainable unless you’ve somehow always had it. However they are perhaps better at describing what it is not, agreeing that it cannot be created by mere virtuosity and flawless technique. However, the question remains: as performers, is our charismatic appeal automatically created – or constrained – by some intangible force of nature arising at the time of our birth?
I don’t think anyone has completely unravelled the mystery, but my teaching experiences have shown me that many of the contributing factors can be taught and learned, giving rise to authentic charismatic performances. Some of the factors are surprisingly simple.
Beyond the music, we have to learn and practice the art of performance until it became spontaneous and natural. It led me to ask myself: can we teach young players and singers to perform with charisma? Now I truly believe so. For genuine charisma to emerge, important skills must be learned and practiced in addition to the music. In other words, the right ingredients must be there first.

• PREPARE THE WAY

Interviewed in her film, Portrait, Anne-Sophie Mutter recalls von Karajan’s response to her audition to play (at 13) with the Berlin Philharmonic as, “come back in a year” or words to that effect.

 For professional musicians, the first obvious step is to make sure the piece is relatively perfect – confidently accurate at the right tempo and securely memorized. For this reason we choose solo pieces that the student has been playing well for some time; at least 6 months. A year is better. Then I ask the student to play the piece for me and some of the other teachers, in the presence of the parent. If we all agree the student is ready, we conduct a series of mini masterclasses with them, working mainly on musicality and expression.

• MOVING AND SHAKING

Times have changed. Almost any body movement when playing was once considered excessive and showy, but music is not just sound, it is also visual. It comes from living musicians who move and breathe with the music. But there is also a cultural factor – take a look on Youtube at the contrast between the way Yehudi Menuhin and Janine Jansen move in the Mendelssohn Concerto in E Minor. We resolved to teach students to move with the music from the beginning. Even 3 year olds love to move. Over time it becomes a natural part of expression, amplifying emotions such as drama, energy, calm, pathos and humour in the music.

• DRESSED TO THRILL

Because charisma has such a strong visual component, wearing the right clothes helps to spark it off. Take time in selecting clothes to suit the performance. It’s no accident that the most charismatic performers dress well. On the other hand, many professional musicians turn up on stage poorly dressed – too conservative or with wrong shapes and colors, exaggerating the body in an odd way. Perhaps they should ask a Parisian – or at least someone who dresses well. Don’t choose your own clothes.

• STAGING THE WALK

Your performance begins whilst you are still off stage. Walking on to stage you are already communicating with the audience. If you step confidently with a welcoming demeanor, the audience will be with you – even before your start singing or playing. Practicing the walk on to stage also minimizes and eliminates nerves.

• TAKING A BOW

The friendly unrushed bow on center stage is the musician’s opportunity to greet the audience with genuine appreciation for their presence. It is more natural to look towards the feet when bowing. It is preferable to  hold for a count of three, before arising quickly with a smile.

• POSTURING

Too many performances are tainted by poor and unusual posture. Drooping instruments, strained necks, open mouths are ingrained habits practiced unknowingly and can be an unwelcome distraction to an otherwise good performance. There’s little point in trying to fix them up on stage. Attractive playing posture is an integral part of studies. Play in front of a mirror sometimes.

• PROJECTION

The ability to project well into a large space takes practice. Musicians know that making a larger sound means practicing for more tone resonance either in singing or playing. Professional soloists work hard to produce a big and beautiful tone, one that has the power to reach the far corners of any auditorium. They can then adjust their projection to suit the space.
This leads me to related point. Rehearsing in the actual performance space is good professional practice, because the hall or room space forms part of your voice or your instrument's, with a large influence on your sound and confidence.

• FINISHING

A good finish is as important as a good beginning, e.g. Is the ending dramatic, graceful, or fading into silence? As with every consciously acquired ability, they are achieved by mindful and guided practice, one skill at a time. Stars are made, not born. (Just ask their parents.) We are born with our personality, our view on life, our take on the world, to colour our star in our own unique way, illuminating our music with our own distinctive light.

What size of violin does my child need?

A lot of people must be asking the same thing, either for their young beginner, or for a student who has grown a bit bigger.
Either way, it's important to answer this question correctly. A properly-fitting violin will help ease a student's studies, making the instrument easier to handle and hold.
We're actually lucky that violins come in various sizes! An octave on a piano is always an octave, no matter how small the hands attempting to play it! There are seven typical "fractional" sizes for violins, from smallest to largest: 1/16, 1/10, 1/8, 1/4, 1/2, 3/4 and full-size. I'm going to give you instructions on how to measure your child, and then a little chart to determine what size instrument you need.
First, you need to measure the child's arm, from his or her neck to the line on the wrist where his or her hand starts.

Have your young student stand upright, holding out his or her left arm, palm facing up. Gently measure the distance from the left side of the neck out to the line where his or her wrist meets the hand (in inches or centimeters). At left is a picture of that natural line at the wrist, which have I darkened with pen, so that you can see what I mean. You can use a tape measure or a yardstick.
The chart below will tell you what size violin is appropriate. I find these measurements to be extremely accurate -- more so than the old trick of having the child attempt to grasp the scroll. If you are a private teacher or a school teacher, you easily can make your own "Fiddle Stick," with a yardstick (or meterstick) and some permanent markers. (If you are feeling like collecting some goodwill karma, make one for your local overworked and underpaid public school teacher!)
Measurements in Inches:
1/16 size: 13 1/4 inches or less
1/10 size: 14 1/4 inches
1/8 size: 15 1/4 inches
1/4 size: 17 1/4 inches
1/2 size: 19 inches
3/4 size: 20 1/2 inches
Full size: 21 1/4 inches
Measurements in centimeters:
1/16 size: 33 1/2 cm or less
1/10 size: 36 cm
1/8 size: 38 1/2 cm
1/4 size: 44 cm
1/2 size: 48 1/2 cm
3/4 size: 52 cm
Full size: 54 cm
GUIDELINES: Always err on the side of getting the smaller violin. It is tempting to get the bigger size, figuring, "Oh, (s)he'll grow into it," but it is extremely frustrating for a child to work with an unwieldy violin that is too big, and importantly, too heavy! You want the child to feel in control of the violin. A too-big violin may actually hurt to hold because of its weight, and it may throw off the mechanics of playing because of its size.
If you are getting a violin for the first time, all the best on your new musical journey! If you are up-sizing, enjoy the new (likely improved) sound of a bigger fiddle

THE MINISTRY OF MUSIC

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Worship and Fellowship @ Calabar Hall Surulere

Dis sunday 25/08/13 SHARON GOD'S CHOIR (SGC) Invites you to have a special worship experience in God's presence in "WORSHIP & FELLOWSHIP".
 
VENUE: CALABAR HALL, AJAO STREET LAWANSON SURULERE LAGOS NIGERIA
TIME: 5PM PROMPT
DATE: SUNDAY 25TH AUGUST 2013
Experience true worship!