YRCC 2023 Rehearsal Review October 17th

6:30 All That Holiday Stuff: Super! And, 7:00 Marlene and Blair were also Super!

We started our time together this evening with a prayer and a lit candle to join people all over the world who were asked to pray for peace, observe a day of fasting, and light candles at 6:30 our time in response to the Israel-Hamas war. 

Mindful breathing, relaxation, and grounding were part of that meditative time. After that, we stood and sang Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah, from memory, which gave us a positive boost.

1. Little Tree: was a perfect thing to help me feel good. I love this little song, and it always brings back memories of our dear friend, Enid Maize. It's excellent already. The only thing we had to review was when the sopranos come in with Don't be afraid at 25. This has to be strong, and the next section is my absolute favourite, an expression of love and devotion that sounds like a mother singing to a child: lift up your arms and I'll dress you in every beautiful thing. 

2. Do You Hear What I Hear?: Love this! We learned page 7 and then sang the whole thing- so powerful! Sopranos, pay attention to the places where you don't have the melody. It's marked in the music, but maybe circle it or make your own note. Tenors and Basses, you have a lot of melody! Enjoy it and sing out strong. 

3. Somewhere in My Memory: We started at the beginning, pages 1-5. Everybody is in right from the start in a beautiful harmony. 

4. Mele Kalikimaka: We learned the beginning, which is a little introduction, supposed to sound like angels. It's very important though, because it expresses our theme: we see the same bright star. It was very good, but a few people in the tenor and alto sections asked for a review, so we had them sing the whole thing with Donna playing their part. Sometimes this is a perfect way to get more comfortable with a song. 

5. Christmas Waltz: We looked at the weird bit at 65. I avoided it until now, but now that we've done it, we've looked at the whole song. Now we just have to review and perfect this fun waltz, get it feeling like a dance around a ballroom. Remember, you can always go to the website and listen to your part. If you haven't updated your password this year, then you will find that your password doesn't work. They need us to have longer, more complex passwords now. 

Next week: Tuesday, October 24th

6:30 Canon of Hope Small Group (sign up on the website event, listen to a recording there)

• Somewhere in My Memory
• One Voice (assemble soloists)
• Winter Song (assemble Treble Group: we need a few more, and they'll rehearse early)
• We Three Kings (Star of Wonder with harmony)
• Deck the Halls (Fa-la-la with harmony)