Welcome


Welcome to Renate's Baton. This blog is mostly for and about my choir, The York Region Community Choir.

But, While I'm holding the baton, I'm in charge. So, if I want to talk about other parts of my life, I will. :)

The choir itself is a community and I'm discovering that we have a lot in common with one another besides our love of music and singing.

When I go off on a tangent, there is always a crowd coming along. Join us!

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

YRCC Rehearsal Review 08-JAN-2018

First post of 2018!
We're back! And, we're sounding fantastic!
Our theme this season is Unity and Harmony.

First rehearsal, Monday, January 8th, 2018

  1. Wonderful World: done. It's always wonderful.
  2. Dona Nobis Pacem: almost done. We just have to work on making it sound interesting and pretty. Part 1 is Soprano, part 2 is Alto, part 3 is Tenor and Bass. 
  3. I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing: We sang all the way through and it was pretty good already. We're going to try to make it more interesting and less repetitive by having 2 soloists sing until bar 40. I'm looking for volunteers for those 2 parts, a woman and a man and two back-ups. 
  4. One Small Step: This will also start with a woman and a man, 2 very short solos, and then they come back for a line just before the end. This is such a powerful song and has excellent harmonies that are not very difficult. We learned from the pick-up to bar 15 to bar 23, and sight-read the whole thing a couple of times. It won't be hard.
  5. Let There Be Peace on Earth: We're doing this a bit differently from last time, so get your eraser out and start erasing the last page notes. We're doing the big ending, not the quiet optional ending. Also, we're going to use alternative lyrics which are accepted by copyright. They are: with Earth as our mother, her children all are we. There is an extra note for the word "her" and it is just a pick-up note before the first note of page 4. Use that note. 
  6. Hine Ma Tov: Bam! We got it. It was never better. We're going to add a tambourine this time.
  7. Why We Sing: I'd like to have Kit and Stanley start again and we'll need back-ups. We'll have to replace Enid and Rob and have back-ups as well. I'm looking for volunteers. This is our finale song. When I sang through the final set for myself, I started to cry. This is why we sing.
I'm going to post about small groups and solos and duets. I've got a couple of songs and some ideas too.

The first small group will be What the World Needs Now is Love, starting on the 22nd. 

Next week's songs:
  • From a Distance
  • Imagine
  • Nella Fantasia
  • Unity

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