An evening of music, connection, harmony, and spirit.
Note: next week I'm away and we decided not to meet and there will be no review Feb. 1st.
What fun we had singing along to these!
- Stand by Me by Kingdom Choir, video, and by Boyce Avenue
- Nella Fantasia by Jackie Evanco, and by Gimnazija Kranj Girls Choir videos
- Gabriel’s Oboe by Ennio Morricone
- Anthem from Chess by Rodrick Dixon, video, and by Lind Eder
- Happy Together by Ray Conniff, video
- Tijuana Taxi and Spanish Flea by Herb Alpert & the Tiuana Brass
- Fanfare for the Common Man by Emerson, Lake & Palmer
- Get Outta My Dreams, Get into My Car by Billy Ocean
- I Can Dream About You by Dan Hartman
- Dream On by Aerosmith
- Come Sail Away by Styx
- Dream Weaver by Gary Wright
- More than a Feeling by Boston
- Fantasy by Earth, Wind & Fire
- Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft by Klaatu
- Orinoco Flow by Enya
- Last Night I Had the Strangest Dream by Simon & Garfunkel
- Winken, Blinken And Nod by the Irish Rovers
- Sh-Boom (Life Could Be a Dream) by The Chords
- Do Wah Diddy Diddy by Manfred Mann
- Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing by Eclipse 6
As you'll see by those titles, we're still on the theme of dreaming and wishing and stars, but, we went off on an instrumental tangent, to a nonsense lyric theme, and then ended up on a space theme, reminiscing, laughing and singing. I'm not sure how we ended up in outer space, but it was funny and surprising that we were suddenly seeing UFO's on album covers and hearing synthesizers. The biggest laughs were for Tiuana Taxi and Spanish Flea. When I played the Ray Conniff version of Happy Together, we remembered the Ray Conniff Singers and that led to Herb Alpert and other memories of our parents' or grandparent's albums. We sang along, of course, remembering so much detail, and details of the surrounding memories! Fantastic.
You know it's not just "Renate's" Singing Night, but it's My Singing Night and that means each of you too. So, I have playlists prepared, but when you see something you like, that's what we sing, and we have the power to look things up and find your music to share. I encourage you to go off on a tangent, let your memories guide you. Chances are, we remember too, or forget in the same way, haha.
I remembered times in my teens sitting in a friend's basement or bedroom on a couch or sitting on a bed or on the floor, gathered around the record player, singing, chatting, and snacking. Good memories. And, now we're creating new ones. The Fellowship Room at church is so nice! We have sofas and armchairs and the big smart TV which we watch together.
Alison had recommended Stand by Me for the Black History Month Service, and I found the video of the performance of Stand by Me by a choir for Harry and Megan's Royal Wedding. It's so good! It wasn't easy to sing along with, so we listened to the Boyce Avenue cover. Boyce Avenue is always so chill and clear and easy to sing along with. I won't be here for that service, or the rehearsals for it, so I hope that Kevin can find a good arrangement for us. His plan had been The Goodness of God, which we started learning at Praise Team, and is also excellent.
One of the things that we talked about is how I prefer songs that can be sung along to, (or danced to), so most choral works are not my favourite. It's funny that choir is so huge a part of my life but I don't listen to choral music. I do appreciate things like Eric Whitacre's stuff and Voces8, for their complex beauty, but I prefer more accessible stuff. For My Singing Night, I try to choose pieces that we won't have a hard time singing along with.
This Sunday, January 28th, Praise Team and Trinity Choir rehearse at 9:30, and we're leading this week. Wear black and white or black and black.
If you enter by the elevator instead of by the washrooms, you can hang up your coat in the closet there and leave wet boots there as well. If you want, you can leave a pair of "indoor shoes" in the closet. Aim to come early (9:15?) to relax and chat and have some tea or coffee (new coffee maker!). The hymns we're going to sing on January 28th are Make a Joyful Noise, Go Make a Difference, Spirit Open My Heart, and Give Thanks. If we're quick, we can go over Canon of Hope together.
Next Tuesday, Praise Team sings at 10:00 and YRCC rehearsal is at 7:30. I'm going to miss Praise Team, my "happy hour". I can't miss YRCC because it's Lauren's birthday, and we're starting small groups at 6:30. Maybe I'll leave at breaktime. I'll be away on Sunday, February 4th, and Tuesday, February 6th.
I'm leaving Wednesday morning (31st) for Punta Cana for a week. I'm so excited! I'm turning 60 on February 5th. Best birthday present ever from my handsome and handy husband. So, I'm going to miss a bunch of stuff. Praise Team and Trinity Choir will have Kevin taking care of everything as usual, YRCC will have Lauren helping Donna. Lauren is my Assistant Director. For My Singing Night, we decided not to meet on Feb. 1st. We'll be back together on February 8th, the evening after I return from my trip. I will be singing and dancing as much as I can, helped by the all-inclusive beverages. Cheers!
 |
| Hanging out listening to records :-) |
No comments:
Post a Comment