NOV/DEC YRCC Schedule: Check our Calendar regularly

Please keep checking the YRCC Calendar for info on where you're supposed to be for the next little while. 

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YRCC 2024 Rehearsal Review November 5

I’m feeling very positive about our upcoming concert. I have to admit, I was feeling a little frightened. I was worried that we wouldn’t have enough time to get all of our songs in shape for performing in less than a month. But, I’m happy with the progress we made yesterday. I was thinking I’d have to scrap Santa’s Wish in addition to For Unto Us. We still have work to do, for sure, but we’re going to be fine.

Partly, the time I spent with the Alto section in our early rehearsal starting at 6:30 helped me to feel better. Those Altos are truly a special group of singers. A little bit of focus on the tricky bits in When You Believe and Song for a Winter’s Night, Groovy Days, and Your Song made a huge difference. Well done, team!

Christmas Lullaby was also much better in our short rehearsal before choir. One thing that made a difference was standing up closer together. Also, having Donna there was a huge help. 

1. After a brief stretching and stress-releasing physical warm-up, we went straight to work on Why We Sing. This is our finale piece, and one we’ve done very often. So, we need to shake it up a little. We’re going to have a soloist on the first section, where we sometimes had 4 soloists. Just one clear voice singing those words will have a special power and tenderness at the same time. We will use little lights on this song, right after When You Believe which introduces them. The soloist alone will hold the light up, and the rest of us will join in after. I’d like to add some movement with this too. I have to figure out how and when. I’d like us to move on the chorus, stop for the “music builds a bridge” part, then start at the chorus again. Maybe we sway two times per bar to match the cut time, or just one per bar? I’ve removed the descant for this season. I want this to be clear and strong, not too showy. I think that the descant is cool, but I want a unified sound instead of a fancy one. 

2. Song for a Winter’s Night is so beautiful! We reviewed page 9 and 10, with some time at the page-turn and top of page 10. Remember that you are singing the words that the altos have, just with your notes, and adding a finishing note on the last word, drifting. You need to watch me for the timing of those words. I’ll give a beat for each word, they slow down somewhat, and we need to be together. You can watch the video linked from the website. It's lovely. The soloists were excellent. Both were the back-ups. This is why we have to always have a back-up soloist. 

3. Your Song had a few messy parts that we fixed! I’m very happy with how well we did. 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? Also here, we did a little bit of math. Two eighths equal one quarter. The words "not much but it's" are all equal in length (look at the tied eighths) and on they fall on the off-beat. 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. Altos, Tenors, and Basses, please support this timing but observing that rest accurately-don't hold that note too long! You must stop singing to give the Sopranos time to come in on beat 4. Sing with them "I" in your head. We worked on the CODA too. The notes for "Words" needed fixing, and from that moment on, you need to watch me for the timing. Things slow down and speed up and slow down again. That last note is not P as written but a sforzando piano. Hit the note, come off of it to soft and a quick crescendo-diminuendo. Watch. Watch throughout for those sforzandos. Donna has recorded parts for you. Go to the website to download yours and listen to review. Watch the video and sing along. I'll post the video below again. 

4.Santa's Wish: Soloists tried their parts and sounded very good. We're looking at this song as a solo/duet with a choir singing back-up. We're just the back-up vocalists. This is going to be simpler than written. Whenever the choir comes in, we sing the melody, I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing and softly at first, only getting "choral" toward the end. Here, we are interpreting "in perfect harmony" to mean peace and unity rather than musical harmony, so unison is stronger anyway. There's a little bit of special stuff at the end, but no harmonies to learn. Please watch the video of the Tenors singing Santa's Wish, below. It's sweet and it will give you the ooh and ahh part. I'm happy that we're going to be able to perform this. 

5. Twelve Groovy Days: It’s a little chaotic, but that’s part of its charm. Jane is making signs to hold up so that the audience gets the words, which are funny and sweet. That will add a little timing craziness which will hopefully put the audience on our side, feeling our challenges and proud of our successes. I’m pleased with the work the sections are doing on their parts, coming in on time. The key changes are something to look at but not worry too much about. Donna has those under control but you need to listen to her and to each other too. We had to review that “leventh day of Christmas” section. (Complete Disco!) If you’re stressed about it, or missed the rehearsal, listen to the recording please. Boogie down, chicka-chicka.

At break, tickets were sold, for cash and cheque, but some of us waited for the Square machine to pay with a credit card next week. Please be sure to invite family and friends to the show! Buy them tickets in advance to make it easy for them. Paid tickets can be left at the door for people. Pay for your poinsettias too with a credit card next week. 

Liz handed out paper to write your top three YRCC choir songs of all time to help the Music Selection Committee choose our 30th Anniversary season music. 2025 is the 30th Anniversary of the YRCC. You can provide input until next Tuesday. 

Robin has booked our seniors' tour! I'll have those entered on the calendar and in the Events section of the website as soon as possible. Please start watching the calendar for details on timing in the next few weeks, and up to the end of the year. 

Remember to hand in your binder before you go away for the holidays! The Music Selection Committee and Peggy and Anne will be working hard to select and order music for the spring and to fill your binder with the spring music. Please cooperate with this huge task by getting your binder in as soon as you're done (after the concert or after your last seniors' visit). 

Next week, Tuesday November 12th Buy tickets and pay for poinsettias

I want to be able to appoint all the soloists and back-up soloists.

6:30 The Twelve Pains of Christmas (please bring props) 

7:15 Christmas Lullaby

• Grownup Christmas List (soloist)
• Peace on This Silent Night
• Santa's Wish (two soloists)
• Song for a Winter's Night (two soloists)
• We Wish You a Merry Madrigal
• Why We Sing (soloist)

(note: All That Holiday Stuff soloist is Melodie with Robyn as the back-up, When You Believe soloists are Mona and Stanley with Robyn and Blair as back-ups)