I wish you could hear what I hear! The choir sounds beautiful. I know you get worried because you can hear the people around you and sometimes they're not singing or making mistakes (mistakes mean you're trying, you're on your way). But, I hear lots of people getting the parts and I hear all the sections harmonizing and blending together. It's awesome.
The Christmas Lullaby small group met early and they've finished learning the song. Now, we just have to polish it up and get more practice with it. Rutter songs have a special choral sound which is really pretty, and you are nailing it.
The choir warmed up with stretches and breathing and rhythm exercises to a groovy version of Your Song by Billy Paul (known for Me and Mrs Jones). We all clapped and snapped on beats 2 and 4 with confidence and some bouncing and dancing.
1. We sang Your Song beautifully. There were a couple spots where Sopranos (maybe Altos too) didn't come in with confidence consistently. At the top of page 4, before bar 36 on beat 4. It's weird how the I comes on beat 4 and then you have a rest on beat one before the rest of the sentence. Maybe listen to the tenors and basses singing "Show" and count show-2-3 "I". Or, sing your oohs: ooh-1-2-3-I/ or ooh-sho-oh-oh-3-I? Middle of page 6, Soprano solo on the word "how" of how wonderful life is. You have to come in strong on that beat 4 too. Think "words-2-3-HOW wonderful". That one happens twice. The ending is excellent. You're watching and doing exactly what I want you to do! Yay!
2. For Unto Us: It's coming along. We spend time on the last section, bottom of page 7 to the end, with lots of time on the last system of page 8 (pay attention to this line when you're reviewing on your own, especially if you missed this rehearsal) If we get the ending strong, people won't notice -and won't remember if they do notice- messy bits along the way. And, really, Handel is messy, with all the parts doing different things most of the time.
3.Twelve Groovy Days of Christmas. This was our first time looking at it and we did great! We started at page 13, bar 79, to learn all the 12 days first. It was not too hard. We learned parts up to bar 94, and then we sight-read the whole piece. It's fun and special and I think I want whole sections where solos are indicated, so that it sounds stronger and clearer. We might want to hold up signs with each of the 12 things so that the audience understands what we're singing. So, you can have a non-vocal solo, if you get to hold up a sign.
4. Santa's Wish. We walked through the lyrics to get an idea of what's going on here. It's kind of a solo/duet with choir back-up. There's a storyteller and the Santa character that he/she meets, and the choir joins the Santa part singing I'd like to teach the world to sing, and there are some oohs in a bridge that we all sing. We looked at the parts from 53-68, and sight-read to the end.
5. The Medley (Christmas Auld Lang Syne): We looked at parts from the beginning to the Christmas Waltz. We're almost done! It's pretty easy and sounds really good.
6. We didn't get to Grownup Christmas List. Please take a look at this at home if you're feeling nervous about this one. It's really good already since many of us have sung this recently.
We talked about: The Website. The executive met last week to review the work we (mostly Jane) did researching options for updating or overhauling our website, the quotes we have from website developers and app providers, and the costs. We decided to continue using Wild Apricot but pay for a re-design with better mobile function. The designers will also teach the admin members how to use it more effectively. We will need to increase our membership fees a little. Starting September 2025, one year will cost $100 (still a steal) and one season will be $60. Considering that many activities cost $20/ evening, this is still a very affordable community program.
We talked about: spreading the news of the concert. Jane designed posters and tickets, and they'll be available in hard copy next Tuesday. The pdf and jpg/picture versions are attached here and here.
I've created a Facebook Event that you can send to people on Facebook. Go to the Event, and share from there, instead of the choir's post. That way, people can respond with "Going" or "interested".
For everyone who's not on Facebook, you can send them an email with the poster attached as a pdf or with a picture of the poster embedded in the email (my preference).
Of course, another nice way to invite people to the concert would be to send them a card in the post with tickets included as a gift. Wouldn't that be deluxe? Invite them to dinner after too! With champagne. I can dream, can't I?
Next week: Tuesday, October 29th Halloween at Choir
We're having an extended break with social time, coffee and treats! Treats will be supplied by the executive. If you need an excuse to wear a costume, here it is. Let's celebrate Halloween at choir.
6:30 Christmas Lullaby Small Group
- Christmas Auld Lang Syne
- For Unto Us
- Santa's Wish
- 12 Groovy Days
- When You Believe
No comments:
Post a Comment