It's a secret.
Hint: I hope it's a cold day next Monday.
Be sure to come to choir next Monday for a fun surprise.
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
September 22 Rehearsal Review, and Sept. 29 Preview
Rehearsal Review: Monday, Sept. 22
Breath of Heaven small group met for the first time at 6:30 and we got through the whole piece! It's beautiful! We'll meet again next week, and then Christmas in Our Hearts meets on October6. Sapphire and I gave everyone a bit of a sample of how it sounds, in hopes of attracting more members to that group. We need 2 Tenors and 2 Basses, 3 Sopranos and 3 Altos for Christmas in Our Hearts, so please go to the sign-up on the website and see if we still need you!
Our warm-up featured conga-line massages! We love those :-)
1. We warmed up our voices with What a Wonderful World. It was wonderful ;-) We reviewed the middle part where the Sopranos and Altos sing "The colours of the rainbow..." and then the Tenors and Basses sing "Are also on the faces..." The tenors and basses were strong and blended well! We talked about how to pronounce our 't's in "what a wonderful world". Some people are being very careful to say whatta wonderful, while most of us are saying whadda wonderful (it's not really a 'd' sound, but a Canadian flap). I prefer a natural pronunciation, especially for jazzy songs such as this. We do have to be careful to enunciate always, but, I think we can be clear while using our Canadian pronunciation. And, I argued that singing things differently from the way you say them can make the words even more difficult to understand. All that being said, I don't really mind if some of us pronounce things a bit differently. We are multicultural after all. And, after all that, I didn't pay attention to how we were pronouncing "Button Up" ( ba-tin or ba-'n? or some of both?)
2. Magic of Winter was next. We were careful to watch our rests, to make sure we weren't holding our notes too long. There were 2 places where there was some tenor/bass voices holding too long: bar 12 and 31-there's a 2 beat rest, so you can only hold the note for 2 beats. Other than that, it was very good! I'm very happy with how strong the tenor and bass section was last night!
3. We went right to work on the next section of Button Up Your Overcoat, at bar 34. We were careful with rests here too, and noticed that there is a mistake in bar 36. There's an extra beat. We decided to colour in the last note to make it a quarter note instead of a half, and to observe the rest. That makes the first oo shorter than the second, but the Tenor/Bass part is different too, so it makes sense to me. We sang all the way through to bar 55, having gone over the beginning with the Tenors and Basses. We haven't decided yet what to do about those funny little solos in the Soprano line. Maybe Trix?
4.We finished learning Baby it's Cold Outside! All we had to do was learn bars 35 and 71 and the ending, which we did splendidly! It so much fun! What a cute song! We'll keep watching the rests and how long to hold notes here too. To hold, or not to hold: that is the question!
5.The Hockey Song was great, and great fun! Have fun with this one and don't stress. Just watch for when to come in, especially after the announcer bits.
6. Somewhere a Child is Sleeping. I forgot to mention this song when we were talking about solos. Mary Ellen has done the first verse as a solo (up to bar 28) and is willing to do it for us again. I love her voice and this song is a nice showcase for a good soloist. It doesn't look like a hard thing to sing, but it takes good control and a clear lower and higher register. It's also quite long. Robyn bravely gave it a try. Thanks, Robyn!
7. We did a quick preview of O Holy Night, to see how the solos go. It's quite a grand production with lots of stuff going on. Notice that only the first one is a real solo, the next one is a duet over the choir singing oohs, and the third one is a trio over oohs or ahs. I'll assign 3 soloists and 3 back-ups for this song. I've had lots of people come forward to offer their talents, so it will take me some time to decide.
Next week, September 29
Small group: Breath of Heaven at 6:30
Breath of Heaven small group met for the first time at 6:30 and we got through the whole piece! It's beautiful! We'll meet again next week, and then Christmas in Our Hearts meets on October6. Sapphire and I gave everyone a bit of a sample of how it sounds, in hopes of attracting more members to that group. We need 2 Tenors and 2 Basses, 3 Sopranos and 3 Altos for Christmas in Our Hearts, so please go to the sign-up on the website and see if we still need you!
Our warm-up featured conga-line massages! We love those :-)
1. We warmed up our voices with What a Wonderful World. It was wonderful ;-) We reviewed the middle part where the Sopranos and Altos sing "The colours of the rainbow..." and then the Tenors and Basses sing "Are also on the faces..." The tenors and basses were strong and blended well! We talked about how to pronounce our 't's in "what a wonderful world". Some people are being very careful to say whatta wonderful, while most of us are saying whadda wonderful (it's not really a 'd' sound, but a Canadian flap). I prefer a natural pronunciation, especially for jazzy songs such as this. We do have to be careful to enunciate always, but, I think we can be clear while using our Canadian pronunciation. And, I argued that singing things differently from the way you say them can make the words even more difficult to understand. All that being said, I don't really mind if some of us pronounce things a bit differently. We are multicultural after all. And, after all that, I didn't pay attention to how we were pronouncing "Button Up" ( ba-tin or ba-'n? or some of both?)
2. Magic of Winter was next. We were careful to watch our rests, to make sure we weren't holding our notes too long. There were 2 places where there was some tenor/bass voices holding too long: bar 12 and 31-there's a 2 beat rest, so you can only hold the note for 2 beats. Other than that, it was very good! I'm very happy with how strong the tenor and bass section was last night!
3. We went right to work on the next section of Button Up Your Overcoat, at bar 34. We were careful with rests here too, and noticed that there is a mistake in bar 36. There's an extra beat. We decided to colour in the last note to make it a quarter note instead of a half, and to observe the rest. That makes the first oo shorter than the second, but the Tenor/Bass part is different too, so it makes sense to me. We sang all the way through to bar 55, having gone over the beginning with the Tenors and Basses. We haven't decided yet what to do about those funny little solos in the Soprano line. Maybe Trix?
4.We finished learning Baby it's Cold Outside! All we had to do was learn bars 35 and 71 and the ending, which we did splendidly! It so much fun! What a cute song! We'll keep watching the rests and how long to hold notes here too. To hold, or not to hold: that is the question!
5.The Hockey Song was great, and great fun! Have fun with this one and don't stress. Just watch for when to come in, especially after the announcer bits.
6. Somewhere a Child is Sleeping. I forgot to mention this song when we were talking about solos. Mary Ellen has done the first verse as a solo (up to bar 28) and is willing to do it for us again. I love her voice and this song is a nice showcase for a good soloist. It doesn't look like a hard thing to sing, but it takes good control and a clear lower and higher register. It's also quite long. Robyn bravely gave it a try. Thanks, Robyn!
7. We did a quick preview of O Holy Night, to see how the solos go. It's quite a grand production with lots of stuff going on. Notice that only the first one is a real solo, the next one is a duet over the choir singing oohs, and the third one is a trio over oohs or ahs. I'll assign 3 soloists and 3 back-ups for this song. I've had lots of people come forward to offer their talents, so it will take me some time to decide.
Next week, September 29
Small group: Breath of Heaven at 6:30
- Baby it's Cold Outside
- Button Up Your Overcoat
- Magic of Winter
- We Rise Again
- Welcome, Welcome Winter
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Breath of Heaven Small Group
Here's a video of a small choir doing our version of Breath of Heaven.
We will make sure to have a good strong Alto section for this! The Sopranos should be softer, as they're not singing melody.
Also, I found a post here on my blog with our accompaniment so you can start singing!
I love this song! Can't wait for next week!
We will make sure to have a good strong Alto section for this! The Sopranos should be softer, as they're not singing melody.
Also, I found a post here on my blog with our accompaniment so you can start singing!
I love this song! Can't wait for next week!
Rehearsal Review of Sept.15, and Preview of Sept. 22
In case you missed choir yesterday (rain, traffic,...), here's what we did.
Warm ups included massages and pianissimo (pp=very quiet). We sang mm, oo, aah, like in We Rise Again, to warm up our voices.
Warm ups included massages and pianissimo (pp=very quiet). We sang mm, oo, aah, like in We Rise Again, to warm up our voices.
- On Eagle's Wings was beautiful, and although the altos reported some stress on Sunday (which I didn't hear), we sounded excellent. We didn't review anything. Maybe next time, we will look at the Alto parts each time you sing "make you to shine like the sun". If you have time, Altos, review those bits. Hopefully, we'll have the parts on the recordings page on our website soon.
- We Rise Again is a stunning piece of music! We went directly to the mm-oo-aah section (starting at #13) and reviewed parts there. We were quite loud, but it was okay because when we're learning our parts, it helps to be strong. Remember that we're singing below the solo, only that ah under the f is loud until the soloist comes back in on the pick-up to bar 16. The next section of ahs, at #29 is really hard, but you were all excellent! I was especially proud of the sopranos who don't like this kind of thing. Altos and Tenors, remember to build up and be strong on the last line where you have special bits. Next time we sing this, we'll work on the Soprano1 parts and the Tenor and Bass parts. Altos, you are probably thrilled with all the melody you have!
- Button Up Your Overcoat was fun! We learned 2 pages, and sight-read through the whole thing. Your sight reading is getting really good! With only a handful of people who had ever sung this piece, it actually sounded quite good. It's not an easy piece, but it's fun and cute!
- After our coffee break (Thank you, Debbie!) we sang You Raise Me Up, and it was really special! I decided to change things by having the first verse sung as a solo. Stanley is going to be the soloist (we love to hear his voice) and Bill will be the back-up (he introduced us to this song years ago, around the time we sang Button Up). It will be so much more dramatic, and it becomes something new for us and for our audience.
- Baby It's Cold Outside is so much fun! We sight read through it, and it was pretty good already! Everyone gets tons of melody!!! There are only 3 places where there's harmony (on the words cold outside) and they're not hard. We actually learned half of the song in a short time!
- They All Call it Canada is such a strong piece, and we keep getting better with it. The things to review here are "from the Atlantic to the Pacific" and getting the Tenors and Basses to come in strong at their special part, and to blend together for a good solid sound. We want that to sound like one man singing the words nice and clear.
At break time, Lauren shared Enid's words of thanks for our contribution to her last service on Sunday and for the flowers we sent. We also heard from Trix, who was very happy with our performance at her wedding. We looked and sounded fabulous! Lauren announced the equipment set up people for the next 2 weeks. Look for that list to go up on the website soon. I talked about solos and small groups, and got a few more suggestions. I should be able to let you know soon which ones will be in the show. The solos in songs are very limited, there are only 3 in O Holy Night, so I'm afraid some people will be disappointed. I'll choose 3 back-ups too, but that's still only 6 people.
Remember to check through your binder and let Trix know if you're missing any of the music. Send her an email before next week, please!
Remember to check through your binder and let Trix know if you're missing any of the music. Send her an email before next week, please!
The first small group rehearsal is next Monday! Breath of Heaven starts Monday, September 22 at 6:30, or as soon as you can be there. Sign up for that, please, and keep your eyes on the Calendar for small group info.
Next week's songs will be:
- Baby it's Cold Outside
- Button Up Your Overcoat
- Hockey Song
- Magic of Winter
- Wonderful World
Monday, September 15, 2014
We Rise Again notes for new folks
If you're new, and you're a Soprano or Tenor, you'll need to read this post on We Rise Again, or ask someone in your section to help you to be certain where you sing. Only the Altos and Basses are singing their usual lines. Tenor and Soprano move around a bit, and that post from last year will tell you where.
You can also find the post by using the "Search This Blog" box.
You can also find the post by using the "Search This Blog" box.
Saturday, September 13, 2014
Solo songs and small groups: please contact me asap
This was part of my last post, but I thought I should make a separate post just for this. Please think about adding a solo song, or duet, or small group to our concert. Let me know soon so I can figure out what best fits our theme and plan the show.
Our concert on December 7th will be called: We Are Winter: Survive, Celebrate, Sing!" We'll have fun singing about winter weather and our Canadian response to it.
If you have a song that you think fits our theme, I'm looking for a couple of solos and/or duets, and maybe another small group.
I've asked Trix to sing River for us again, since I think it fits perfectly with our theme (Joni Mitchell, skating, Christmas).
We have 2 small groups planned: Breath of Heaven (SSA) and Christmas in Our Hearts (SATB). And, Janet and the Kevins will cook something up for us as usual.
A traditional Christmas song would be a good addition (a hymn or something like I'll be Home For Christmas), and how about something 'multicultural' (we only have Shine Hanukkah)? Also, maybe a beach escape song (Margaritaville?).
Let me know ASAP if you have a song you'd like to sing for us. Normally, several people come forward with ideas and I choose a few that fit in with how I see the show coming together. If I don't get enough volunteers, then I start scouting.
Our concert on December 7th will be called: We Are Winter: Survive, Celebrate, Sing!" We'll have fun singing about winter weather and our Canadian response to it.
If you have a song that you think fits our theme, I'm looking for a couple of solos and/or duets, and maybe another small group.
I've asked Trix to sing River for us again, since I think it fits perfectly with our theme (Joni Mitchell, skating, Christmas).
We have 2 small groups planned: Breath of Heaven (SSA) and Christmas in Our Hearts (SATB). And, Janet and the Kevins will cook something up for us as usual.
A traditional Christmas song would be a good addition (a hymn or something like I'll be Home For Christmas), and how about something 'multicultural' (we only have Shine Hanukkah)? Also, maybe a beach escape song (Margaritaville?).
Let me know ASAP if you have a song you'd like to sing for us. Normally, several people come forward with ideas and I choose a few that fit in with how I see the show coming together. If I don't get enough volunteers, then I start scouting.
Monday, September 1, 2014
September! Exciting New Beginnings!
I"m so glad September is finally here!
It's not that I don't love summer, but I've always loved school and the beginning of the new school year. Now, I also have the beginning of the choir year to love! I've been anticipating this September more than most. It's not just "back to school" for us in my house. Soraya is going to University and Victoria is starting High School.
For the past few weeks, we've been preparing for Soraya's move to Toronto. Making lists, buying things, gathering things, laundry, packing, stressing, ... it's been fun and nerve-wracking. We finally moved her in yesterday. Wow! They do a good job of making you feel welcome in residence! It was awesome. I didn't fall to pieces. We didn't forget anything major. Soraya's already planning to come home for Trix's wedding, on September 12th, so I'll see her again soon.
Victoria's first day at Newmarket High will also be exciting. They have all kinds of fun things planned and we don't have to worry about lunch on the first day, because they're having a barbecue.
I'll be happy to have routines again. I've got a lot of work to do that I've put off while the focus was on the girls. And, my regular choir life will start again. Back to Choir!
I've been busy with choir things all summer, and tomorrow Sapphire will be here making recordings with me, but it's not the same. I miss our Monday nights. I miss everybody. I can't wait to see you all again and start rehearsing the "We Are Winter" music!
Our concert on December 7th will be called: We Are Winter: Survive, Celebrate, Sing!" We'll have fun singing about winter weather and our Canadian response to it.
If you have a song that you think fits our theme, I'm looking for a couple of solos and/or duets, and maybe another small group.
I've asked Trix to sing River for us again, since I think it fits perfectly with our theme (Joni Mitchell, skating, Christmas).
We have 2 small groups planned: Breath of Heaven (SSA) and Christmas in Our Hearts (SATB). And, Janet and the Kevins will cook something up for us as usual.
A traditional Christmas song would be a good addition (a hymn or something like I'll be Home For Christmas), and how about something 'multicultural' (we only have Shine Hanukkah)? Also, maybe a beach escape song (Margaritaville?).
Let me know ASAP if you have a song you'd like to sing for us. Normally, several people come forward with ideas and I choose a few that fit in with how I see the show coming together. If I don't get enough volunteers, then I start scouting.
It's not that I don't love summer, but I've always loved school and the beginning of the new school year. Now, I also have the beginning of the choir year to love! I've been anticipating this September more than most. It's not just "back to school" for us in my house. Soraya is going to University and Victoria is starting High School.
For the past few weeks, we've been preparing for Soraya's move to Toronto. Making lists, buying things, gathering things, laundry, packing, stressing, ... it's been fun and nerve-wracking. We finally moved her in yesterday. Wow! They do a good job of making you feel welcome in residence! It was awesome. I didn't fall to pieces. We didn't forget anything major. Soraya's already planning to come home for Trix's wedding, on September 12th, so I'll see her again soon.
Victoria's first day at Newmarket High will also be exciting. They have all kinds of fun things planned and we don't have to worry about lunch on the first day, because they're having a barbecue.
I'll be happy to have routines again. I've got a lot of work to do that I've put off while the focus was on the girls. And, my regular choir life will start again. Back to Choir!
I've been busy with choir things all summer, and tomorrow Sapphire will be here making recordings with me, but it's not the same. I miss our Monday nights. I miss everybody. I can't wait to see you all again and start rehearsing the "We Are Winter" music!
Our concert on December 7th will be called: We Are Winter: Survive, Celebrate, Sing!" We'll have fun singing about winter weather and our Canadian response to it.
If you have a song that you think fits our theme, I'm looking for a couple of solos and/or duets, and maybe another small group.
I've asked Trix to sing River for us again, since I think it fits perfectly with our theme (Joni Mitchell, skating, Christmas).
We have 2 small groups planned: Breath of Heaven (SSA) and Christmas in Our Hearts (SATB). And, Janet and the Kevins will cook something up for us as usual.
A traditional Christmas song would be a good addition (a hymn or something like I'll be Home For Christmas), and how about something 'multicultural' (we only have Shine Hanukkah)? Also, maybe a beach escape song (Margaritaville?).
Let me know ASAP if you have a song you'd like to sing for us. Normally, several people come forward with ideas and I choose a few that fit in with how I see the show coming together. If I don't get enough volunteers, then I start scouting.
YRCC Executive 2014/2015
Introducing
the Executive of the York Region Community Choir
for the 2014/2015 Choir Year:
The Executive works together with the Director and Accompanist, and the Reading Committee, to choose music, decide when and where we sing, and make sure people are there to sing and to hear us sing, and take care of our equipment, finances, website and music library.The Executive is elected and the Reading Committee, Conductor and Accompanist are appointed.
Our Vice-President is Heather Vickers (hvickers@bell.net). With experience as President and Public Relations Chair for the YRCC, Heather will be there to help Lauren and anyone else on the executive when they need a hand. Heather is also one of the Assistant Directors, helping to rehearse small groups.
Our new Public Relations Chair is Roxanne McCormick (roxannemccormick@rogers.com). If you need to contact us regarding advertising, or to book us for a concert, or just need some information, contact Roxanne. The PR role is to keep us connected to the community.
Daphne Young (youngdc@rogers.com) is our Secretary/Treasurer, having taken over from Michele Horton 2 years ago. If you want to write us a cheque, make it out to York Region Community Choir, and Daphne will put it in our account. We accept cash too. Daphne will keep our paperwork in order, creating and maintaining records like the minutes of our meetings and accounting stuff. Michele will support Daphne and will continue to represent us when we share condolences and congratulations.
Trix Verge (trix.verge@gmail.com) is our Music Librarian and Webmaster. She has our music collection in her basement and makes sure we all have music to sing every Monday, and has extra binders made up for guests, or people who are checking us out. If you have a binder of music that belongs to us and want to know how to get it back to us, contact Trix. Trix is the one to go to for help using the website (although any member of the executive can also help you), and she makes sure that it's functioning properly.
Carol Ford and Debbie Hood are the Registrars. They make sure the membership list is up-to-date and coordinate our Coffee/Social hours, among other things. They will be calling you if you're on the waiting list. Debbie's had our coffee (and tea) equipment and supplies in her basement for many years. She buys good Decaf.
Heather Vickers, Teija Cumming and Enid Maize are the Reading Committee. They help choose music and order it from the publishers, shopping in person and on line. They are chosen for their ability to read music and knowledge of our strengths and weaknesses.
Renate Naghavi (That's me.) is the Conductor/Musical Director of the YRCC. The Conductor chooses a theme and selects music for each season, with the help of the Executive and the Reading Committee, and with input from the Accompanist. The Conductor teaches the music with the help of the Accompanist, and leads the choir in performances.
Anne Marie Vandekemp has been the Assistant Director, officially and unofficially for at least a decade. Since she is one of the original members of the choir, Anne Marie is consulted on everything from music to venues and managing member politics. Together with Heather Vickers, Anne Marie leads the small group rehearsals.
Sapphire Navaratnarajah is our Accompanist. She is a talented pianist who helps Renate teach the music and accompanies the choir in rehearsal and in performances.
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