Good Morning, YRCC Muppet Fans

Good Morning, Starshine!

Sesame Street is my inspiration for our small group song, my YRCC Muppet friends. The Sesame Street version of Good Morning, Starshine is the best!

Those lyrics seem to be made for muppets. I wanted a "cute and fun" and possibly "silly" song which is always good to have. This one fits the bill, and our theme, beautifully. 

Gliddy glup gloopy, 

nibby nabby noopy 

la, la, la, lo, lo

Sabba sibby sabba, 

nooby abba nabba, 

lee, lee, lo, lo

Tooby ooby walla, 

nooby abba naba

Early mornin' singin' song

(now you have these lyrics to review)

There's this Sesame Street version and also a radio version by Oliver that I remember more than the Hair version. 

We made a couple of changes to our sheet music. If you want to join this small group, be sure to get those notes copied on to your music. 

I have a few copies still. 

We're meeting early next week, but not starting until 7:00.

YRCC Rehearsal Review 28-Mar-2022

 A big reminder that next week we move to Tuesdays! 

Monday was choir night for so long, it's going to be strange. But, the days of the week are all strange still for me, and I think there's so much transition happening for most people that it will not be a big deal. Put it on your calendars, set your alarms, do what you have to do to remember and to let your people know that Tuesday is now choir night. 

Small Group: Good Morning Starshine

We had our first small group rehearsal this week. Good Morning Starshine is adorable, but not super-easy. We made a few changes to get the melody more like we remember it. We discovered that the door opens at 6:30 sharp, so we'll meet at 6:45 and aim to start at 7:00 next week. It was way too cold to have to wait outside for the door to unlock! Brrrr!

I forgot to mention that we discovered last week that the doors were unlocking at 6:30 and locking at 7:30. So, we need to arrive punctually. Lauren is looking into having the doors open a little longer, but it's good that they lock after we get in. For security, it is best if we are downstairs with the doors upstairs locked. Let someone know if you need to be late so we can look out for you and open a door if necessary. 

1.     On Eagle’s Wings

And He will raise you up on eagles' wings
Bear you on the breath of dawn
Make you to shine like the sun
And hold you in the palm of His hand

So we will shine our lights while being held in care, or maybe because we are held and carried and raised up by each other and given the time and space to shine. You raise me up to more than I can be.

We reviewed all the  "Make you to shine like the sun" they are all a bit different from one another, especially in the Alto parts. This is a well-known and well-loved song, but our arrangement is special and impressive. Even if we don't get it perfect, it will sound great and feel wonderful. We missed the other Tenors and Basses tonight because they get so much melody and their part is really strong in this. Blair is a trooper, and I would give him a hundred gold stars if that was my thing ;-)

Blair found our arrangement on the Alfred.com site. They've got an orchestra, and they sing it too schmaltzy for me, but have a listen:

https://www.alfred.com/on-eagles-wings/p/00-16104/

2.     I Can See Clearly Now

We learned the section at the Segno @25, which is where the blue skies are. Love this section! We sang all the way through, trying to remember last week's stuff and sight reading the rest. Not bad, but we'll be working on this for a while. No worries, but I'd love to be able to share this with seniors, and maybe at an outdoor public performance this year. 

Here's a recording on the Alfred.com website. It's in SATB and with a band, so a little different but it's our arrangement. 

https://www.alfred.com/i-can-see-clearly-now/p/00-41695/

3.     Sunshine Medley

We started the Don’t You Worry section building backwards with melody at 65=69. It went well. This line is pretty cool and not too hard. We sang through the whole thing, remembering and sight reading. I think it's going to be great! I'd like to save this one for December, but we'll keep singing it. 

4.     You’ll Never Walk Alone

Walk on and on and on through the wind, through the rain, dreams tossed and blown

This is one of our favourites and also a fan favourite. We've got this, but we can clean it up a bit too. We've been letting a couple things go. For example, the second sopranos have a few special bits that we've been ignoring. @31 dreams for second sopranos (yes, you get those 8th notes), also second sopranos @41/42 and again @63/64 have the G and the special A onbeat 2 (easier here because it comes out of a divided S1-S2 part). The audience would never miss these bits. Our arrangement is so special and impressive! We have recorded parts of this song if you want to hear this, however, I remember the recordings having some issues. I'll take a listen. (when I figure out how to get access to them- they seem to be gone)

 5.     We Rise Again 

As sure as the sunrise, as sure as the tides and the seasons, we rise again and again- In the voices of our songs.

Marlene is back from the visit with her beautiful new grandson- with pictures (thank you!)

Like You'll Never Walk Alone, this song is forgiving. We sang it without reviewing the parts to see how it felt and sounded, and sure enough it was good. We need a good soloist, which we have, and the first sopranos have to be together, and the rest is oohs that are background and not really listened to carefully, and the melody that everyone wants to hear. Great arrangement, super sound from our little choir! We'll keep working on this, getting it better every time, but it's not a worry.

We have/should have recordings for each part for this song on the website, but there is something wrong. I'm looking into that.

Other News:

Jane has been busy contacting seniors' residences and she's getting us bookings for June! We'll be performing for seniors this spring on Tuesday evenings. Since we're a smallish group, we should all be able to go to each performance, but we'll confirm this as the dates get closer. We do have to be prepared for things to change, as things have been doing for the last 2 years. 

For a concert, we'll look into getting a park in Newmarket and/or Aurora for an afternoon, maybe a Saturday afternoon or even a Saturday morning during market time? Still need to work on that. 

Carol also shared a baby picture- her new great niece who is named after Carol's mom and born on English Mother's Day. Edie/Edith is beautiful and Great-Aunt Carol is beautifully beaming. 

Next week, Tuesday, April 5th, 2022

6:45 / 7:00 Small Group: Good Morning Starshine

1. This Little Light of Mine
2. I Can See Clearly Now
3. Sunshine Medley
4. You'll Never Walk Alone
5. Somewhere Out There

On Eagles Wings- YRCC will shine like the sun

One of the songs we are singing this season and probably next is On Eagle's Wings. It's a pretty piece, and pretty well-known. US President Biden mentioned it in his victory speech in November 2020. Our arrangement is powerful and it feels great to sing it. I can't wait to sing it again at choir next week!

Here's a video of the us performing it, and you can also follow this link: YRCC singing On Eagles Wings

 This video was taken at our "We Are Winter" Concert in December 2014 at Trinity Anglican Church in Aurora. It was one of our packed December concerts; must have been more than 200 people there in the audience. 

We are really very popular in December. For many, our winter concert has become a family tradition, a yearly outing near the start of the festive season. I've heard people say that it kicks off the holiday season for them. We have all missed so many traditional activities for the past two years! Holidays were very different with celebrations, parties, dinners, gatherings, traditions cancelled or moved online to Zoom. 

I so much want to be there again, in front of a large audience, in front of my big, gorgeous choir!

I had hoped that spring 2022 would be our big reunion with our audience, our We Rise Again concert. But, with the pandemic still lingering, people still staying home, fear lingering, we will put a big concert off again, and will plan the big one for December 2022. We will shine like the sun! 

When we are all together, feeling safe in the palm of His hand, we will stand shoulder to shoulder and sing out to our friends and family, all of our fans again. We will shine like the sun. I promise.

And He will raise you up on eagles' wings

Bear you on the breath of dawn

Make you to shine like the sun

And hold you in the palm of His hand

YRCC Rehearsal Review 21-Mar-2022

Happy Dance

    

Monday, March 21st was WONDERFUL!

1. You Raise Me Up

When I am down and oh my soul’s so weary: pandemic, all the time!  So grateful for those who came and sat a while with us, on the phone, by zoom, in person, to raise us up out of the loneliness. Big love to our besties!

When we sang this, it felt heavenly. We’re back. Donna was fabulous, the choir sounds great! I was so happy! We sat side-by-side, not distanced, but sang with masks. It worked. We could hear each other and sing out with confidence.

For the first two verses, make sure you are holding notes as written, observe rests as they are, just a short breath maybe, and after the second ending, more legato, link the words together without a rest, especially mountains you and middle of page 6 : “You raise me up to more than I can be” all linked and lush and loud, not soft (ignore the “a little less” notation). This time we’re singing it as a big hug, soothing and lush- mark your music, erase notations to cut short, erase notation/notes to sing softly in the middle of page 6!

Thinking about adding an extra verse with an audience, having the audience sing a third verse, repeating the first, with the choir singing only mmm or soft doo-doos. We tried it out and it could work.

2.     I Can See Clearly Now

This is such a fun piece! I love it. We’re doing great so far. We sang all the way to the segno (@25). There are tricky bits: Basically, the whole section from @16 is hard for the sopranos and altos. The hardest, I think, is “It’s what I’ve been praying for.” We’ll have to review that whole section, but it’s pretty cool, and the tenors and basses get the melody, which is a nice change. We “walked through” the whole piece, taking note of the segno, and the coda, and how the repeat happens.

We sang along with a recording that Blair found for us. It’s from the Alfred Music site Alfred.com. It was quite a bit faster than what Donna and I like. We’ll do it slower. Here’s a link to that recording.

My YouTube channel has two choir versions. Here’s a link to my playlists. Click on the POST COVID Playlist and you’ll find all kinds of treasures.

3.     Sunshine Medley

Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s alright, let the sun in, don’t you worry bout a thing. It’s often difficult to relax and open up to good things after going through bad things. 

We reviewed the beginning, Here Comes the Sun, and continued with the transition to Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a thing. We walked through the whole thing, and even sight-read the Here Comes the Sun ending!

I had some blank stares during the Don’t You Worry ‘Bout a Thing part. I recommend that you take a look at the video on my Post COVID Playlist (Here’s a link)  to get a feel for what I’ve got in my medley. I borrowed heavily from that version. There’s also a Here Comes the Sun and the Aquarius/Let The Sunshine video there for you. Here’s a link if you want to go straight to Don’t You Worry.

4.     Hallelujah

All TB on first solo All SA on second solo, we stood, some physically distanced without masks and it was so good!!! 

5.     Why We Sing

We had a couple more minutes and decided to sing this. Same idea with the solos: all TB all SA. We remained standing. Donna was sight-reading. It was awesome! What a talent! The choir was fantastic too! I felt a wonderful high that I haven’t felt in such a long time!

Take Note:

During break, we talked about moving to Tuesdays to keep Donna, and we all agreed that it was the best plan, and Lauren and Jane are working to make it happen.

We also talked about working toward seniors’ visits and maybe a park concert instead of our usual big formal concert. With the small numbers and pandemic stress, along with all the transitions happening, we decided it would be best not to have a formal concert.

We’ll have more details on performance plans as they get booked. Seniors concerts are only an hour, from 7 to 8 and we’ll look at Tuesday evenings in June.

Next week, Monday, March 28

6:30:  Good Morning, Starshine Small Group

1.     On Eagle’s Wings

2.     I Can See Clearly Now

3.     Sunshine Medley

4.     We Rise Again

5.     You’ll Never Walk Alone

 

YRCC Rehearsal Review 14-Mar-2022

It was wonderful having Donna accompany us and help us learn parts! You can tell she's been doing this for a while; she's fantastic. Donna is the accompanist for the police choir, so she can only do Monday nights for us until they start up again. We don't know when that will be. The Admin Centre is still closed. 

Someone suggested we blend the two choirs together, but that won't work for many of us YRCC folk who work during the day. The police choir does daytime stuff. And besides, they're a very different choir from us. I've actually been thinking for a while about changing our night to Tuesdays to see if some of those men would choose to sing in both choirs. Some of our women might want to join the police choir now that they're recruiting women. Everyone present thought that moving to Tuesday would work. We'd have to find out if our room would be available here at Trinity and later at the Admin Centre.

Something else that came up was whether or not we think we can perform a concert, or maybe just do seniors' homes since we're a smallish group. It's good to have a goal to work toward, but I guess we could change our goal to small seniors' visits, and maybe a different kind of concert, free, outdoors? 

Exciting. We'll be doing more talking and planning. 

Peggy came with all the new music, numbered and punched and ready to add to our binders. All the binders are ready for members to come back. Spread the word. 

Here's what we sang:

1. Wonderful World

I see skies of blue and clouds of white, the bright blessed day, the dark sacred night. Reminds me of the people walking through the neighbourhood at all times of day, couples, families, fast walkers and slower walkers, andante, adagio, lento even. Our audience would enjoy singing along with us, I think.

2. Blue Skies 

Nothing but blue skies from now on… we hope and pray that the pandemic restrictions can end and we can sing freely again, projecting our voices with confidence, without masks,…a dream for now. We all wore masks or face shields so that we could sit closer together. 

 Melinda and Debbie sang the solos, and were great. Lauren has offered to sing one of the solos, so she could do the first and Debbie is the soloist for the second, but we always need back-ups, so let me know if you'd like to try either of these. 

We did snaps and jazz hands: mark your music where you start and stop snapping. Sopranos snap on page 1, everyone snaps during the solos. Jazz hands on the last word. 

We talked about solos in general. We have 4 songs with solos. Let me know if you are interested in any of these:

1. Blue Skies – 2 soloists (Lauren and Debbie, back-ups needed)

2. Seasons of Love- 1 or 2 solos and back-ups are needed

3. This Little Light of Mine- 1 or 2 solos (Mary-Ellen, another? back-ups needed)

4. We Rise Again- 1 solo (Marlene, back-up needed)

3. Sunshine Medley

Here comes the sun, and I say, it’s alright, let the sun in, don’t you worry 'bout a thing. It can be difficult to relax and open up to good things after going through bad things. We will try to let the sun in and also to let our lights shine. 

The time changes look odd, but we should not have to worry too much about them, because our Here Comes the Sun sounds a lot like the Beatles'. We sang all the way up to bar 42. We'll review all that next week. 

4. We Rise Again 

As sure as the sunrise, as sure as the tides and the seasons, we rise again and again- in the faces of our children, in the voices of our song.

Marlene is an excellent soloist for this! If anyone is interested in being a back-up, let me know. 

We started at C (middle of page 5, bar 19- if you need to add letters to your music click here) :

We reviewed all the parts in C. We need to hear T/B lines, which are cool and different. I need to hear the basses at bar 19 on beat 4. At bar 25, the basses joined the tenor moving on beat 3 in "ocean" and that was a good move. So, basses, please change your notes to a half note followed by a quarter there.

We'll go over it again next week, and we'll review all of the oohs and ahhs. We did the oohs and ahhs on page 7 and it was good to look at them again. 

We sang all the way to the end. We need to review who sings what in the last 2 bars @64, 65

I had planned to sing You Raise Me UP as well, but I guess we did a bunch of extra talking. That's fine. My planning is flexible these days. 

I had hoped to start the small group Good Morning Starshine on March 21st, but let's push that to the 28th. We'll talk about small groups next week. 

Monday, March 21st:

Here's the plan for next week:

1. You Raise Me Up
2. I Can See Clearly Now
3. Sunshine Medley
4. We Rise Again
5. Hallelujah

YRCC Updated COVID Protocols- March 2022

YRCC choir members, please come back as soon as you're comfortable. 

We have plenty of space at Trinity Aurora. We are currently sitting closer than 2M but wearing either a mask or a face shield. 

Here's the list of our updated pandemic protocols. 

1. Wear your mask. Wear your mask any time you are away from your seat. You can sing with your mask on, but you don't have to. We also have plastic face shields for everyone. Give a face shield a try. 
2. Stay healthy and do not come if you are feeling ill; stay home when you're sick. 
3. You can screen yourself online before you leave home here. (The Ontario screening tool. It's so easy! Click on "Start Screening" and keep clicking.) Or, you can screen yourself using this form, attached, a PDF version. We do not have to see your screening. You are responsible for this. 
4. Generally, wash your hands often with soap and water and dry them well. 
5. Use hand sanitizer when you can't access soap and water.
6. Avoid touching your face. 
7. Only go out when necessary (choir is necessary).
8. Keep high contact surfaces (door handles, for example) clean.

The church is asking us to keep our things, including coats, in the room with us. We are to clean/disinfect the high contact surfaces. We set up our chairs and then put them away after. Thank you to everyone who's been helping with that!

We are not asking for proof of vaccination anymore. But, personally, I hope you are all up-to-date on your shots. We will keep up-to-date with and keep following the provincial rules and the rules of our host, Trinity Anglican Church in Aurora. 

Stay safe and healthy, and come back to choir!

YRCC Rehearsal Plan for 14-Mar-2022

My plan for last week's rehearsal (7-Mar-2022) didn't happen. The forecast looked terrible, so we cancelled. Good thing, because the snow came as promised and on top of ice from the melted rain and freezing rain. I was so relieved to not have to go out in those messy scary slippery conditions!

I was also relieved because we had just learned that our accompanist would not be able to join us after all. She was finding school too stressful and time-consuming. I was not looking forward to leading the choir with recordings in the last minute again. It's not awful, but it's not great either. 

The storm outdoors reflected my messy, scary, slippery thoughts and feelings. What now? 

Well, we have a wonderful temporary accompanist coming on Monday, thanks to Blair! Donna is the accompanist for the police choir, so she'll have to go back to them when they get started. We have to find someone new but for a while we're good.  

Here's what we're singing on Monday, March 14th:

• Wonderful World 
• Blue Skies 
• Sunshine Medley 
• We Rise Again 
• You Raise Me Up
• If we have time, we'll sing Hallelujah

Monday, March 7th YRCC Choir Rehearsal Cancelled due to Snow

 

See you next week.

I'll post again before next Monday.

YRCC Rehearsal Review 28-Feb-2022

Monday, February 28th, 2022

Well, while it wasn't the rehearsal I had planned, the joy of reunion and of being where I need to be was there, and the beautiful sound of a choir in front of me was fantastic. 

We sat less than 2m apart, but wore masks or face shields for extra safety. I'm hoping we can sing with naked faces soon. We are all vaccinated and I hope we're all self-assessing (link to the provincial self-assessment site)

Our new accompanist was sick, so I had to switch to Plan B. It was disappointing. I'm so looking forward to working with Weichen! Luckily, the technology was mostly working and we could sing with recorded performances and accompaniments. 

I already knew that the sheet music was late, so our binders wouldn't be complete. Getting binders of music into choristers' hands is always challenging. This season is no exception. Thank you to Lauren who stepped in to bring us our binders which Peggy and Anne assembled (thanks too). 

Here's what we did:

Warm-ups: We had a physical warm-up with the Beatles' Here Comes The Sun playing, for relaxing and opening up our bodies-our musical instruments-to prepare for singing and singing together. We did some breathing exercises, and some vocal exercises on different syllables.

1. Somewhere Out There: How very far apart we were during the pandemic! But, we thought about each other and loved and figured out ways to see one another. 

We will not have a soloist at the beginning. Sopranos will sing softly. You might want to write in the ending, as it's not what's written. I've added the words "come true" on the last two notes, and redistributed and added notes. We'll review it for those who missed it.

2. Seasons of Love: How do you measure 2 years? Don't do the math, measure in love.

We need a soloist for this @33. Nicole and Joanne have done it in the past. It would be good to have some jazziness. The tenor line after the solo can also be a solo. We'll see. We'll need to sing this when we're all back together and preferably without masks so that the balance can be worked on. Be sure to come in with confidence on every phrase, whether it's beat one or two or the pick-ups to one ("how about" and "remember the"). 

3. We Rise Again: Our theme song. As sure as the sunrise, as sure as the sea, we rise.

We need a soloist for this. Marlene has volunteered and she did a great job last night! We will work on the oohs, but they're not super-important. We will work on the first singing of the chorus @19, which is different from the others. Tenor and Bass especially have cool parts. Second Sopranos move around a bit, but you'll be happy because you move to the melody. First sopranos are on the top line of the choir bracket throughout. Remember to ignore the solo line on top. Tenors move a bit too, happily out of the tenor clef and into the bass clef mostly. The accompaniment recording is fast. 

4. Sunshine Medley: My own arrangement! I'm kind of excited and proud of this. I started to plan it about a year ago. I wanted us to sing all of these pieces but not in whole, so I took parts and sewed them together. 

This is very new, so we don't have a recorded accompaniment, so I just kind of walked (sang/talked) through it to give you and idea of how it goes. It should be fun. 

5. Blue Skies: Nothing but blue skies and sunshine from now on, no more pandemic.

We need 2 soloists. Lauren can do either of the solos. We'll do the snaps and the jazz hands.

6. This Little Light of Mine: We're gonna let our big, bright lights shine. It's really up to us to be the sunrise. 

We need a soloist, and Mary-Ellen has volunteered. There's a solo and repeat @35.

7. Hallelujah: We're going to invite the audience to sing with us.

No solos this time. All tenor and bass on first solo, all soprano and alto on second. Fun!

I handed out a few copies of Good Morning, Sunshine to make a small group. They will start rehearsing on March 14 at 6:30. We'll talk about that next week.

Next week: Monday, March 7th

• Blue Skies
• On Eagle's Wings
• Sunshine Medley
• This Little Light of Mine
• We Rise Again
• Wonderful World

Choir is my happy place

My Sunshine Medley- Facing the Sunrise Together

I created a Sunshine Medley just for us for this post-pandemic season, combining three up-beat feel-good songs to represent our return to singing again like a big happy sunrise after a long dark night.

We'll sing parts of Here Comes the Sun by the Beatles, Don't You Worry 'Bout a Thing by Stevie Wonder, and Let the Sunshine In from Hair. 

It was exciting for me to create this arrangement, and I'm excited and nervous to share it with you.

I felt that "Don't You Worry" goes well with the "It's Alright" of Here Comes the Sun. I listened to the fun version of Stevie Wonder's song from the movie Sing (super fun animated film) a lot, singing along to the ba-ba parts and dancing too. I found it uplifting, comforting. I added it to my YouTube COVID playlist (which I just changed to Post-COVID). I wanted to include that feeling of comfort, and needed to address and express the fear that still lingers as we go out into the light. Let the Sunshine expresses that too. The sun shines, but you've got to let it in, or go out to it.  

It's often difficult to relax and open up to good things after going through bad things. 

We are bravely going to go out and we're going to sing together standing side-by-side. We will face the sunrise and feel the warmth. Maybe we should wear sunglasses, maybe we'll squint, close our eyes, but it will feel good. 

More and more, we will be comfortable with going out to choir, comfortable with singing together, and then singing to an audience. We'll do it together, we'll raise each other up, and it'll be alright.

I've added Sunshine Medley to the Recordings and Scans page on the website. Take a look. (you need to log in)

Everybody needs a change

A chance to check out the new

But you're the only one to see

The changes you take yourself through

Don't you worry 'bout a thing

Don't you worry 'bout a thing, mama

Cause I'll be standing on the side

When you check it out

Here Comes the Sun

Let the sunshine in.

YRCC Getting Together Safely Starting Feb.28th

I just saw a post on Facebook about the newest reopening dates and details and it looks so good!

Here's the visual that attracted my attention:

Click to enlarge or go to FB Ontario Ministry of Health 

Monday, February 28th will be our first night back, and (hopefully) the first rehearsal for our first post-pandemic concert! I'm so excited! 

The indoor maximum numbers for social or public gatherings are both going to be 50! We're going to be very comfortable. We'll be signing everyone in for contact tracing and checking Vaccine Certificates, and we'll use passive screening again, where you do your own screening. We'll talk about physical distancing and masks once we're together to make sure everyone is comfortable. We went beyond what was required last time, both distancing and wearing masks. Some choirs are doing one or the other, and there are other possibilities. And, by the time we meet for a second time, restrictions will be loosened again. 

You can take a look at the more detailed schedule with restrictions on the Ontario Health website (link there and here's the link if you want to copy paste: https://covid-19.ontario.ca/public-health-measures)

Join me for Zoom Choir on Family Day Monday, February 21st.

Hopefully, it will be our last Zoom Choir. 

Let's keep safe and healthy and hope people are more cautious this time so that we can keep getting back together more and more. 

Old Pollyanna and Musical Empathy: Renate's other blogs

My YRCC choir friends might be interested in reading things I have in my other blogs, Old Pollyanna and Musical Empathy. 

I write because I'm compelled to; it's like a public diary, blogging. I hope that someone sees something that resonates with them. Making thoughts public helps us to feel connected, not alone with our funny feelings and fuzzy thoughts. 

Here's a summary of my recent activity:

Old Pollyanna: Musings on Ageing and Optimism

https://oldpollyanna.blogspot.com/

Singing and Dancing are for All of Us This is my current focus (obsession). It's always been something I get on a soapbox about, people telling other people (especially children) that they can't or shouldn't sing or dance. That's so wrong! It makes me so angry!

Not Giving Up My Snow Shovel for a Snow Blower We've had quite a bit of snow and I love it! I'm known for loving snow, and something else that I like is using a manual tool, a plain old snow shovel. I don't like noisy smelly snow blowers. 

Giving Up: Sometimes the show does not go on and it's okay This was a response to Adele's sadness in having to cancel or postpone her shows in Las Vegas. We're under too much pressure to never quit, to always push through. Sometimes we just need to stop and rest and wait for things to blow over. 

Feeling the Opposite of Pollyanna Optimism doesn't mean always feeling happy. We need to name and deal with negative emotions, and know that they pass. 

Selective Memory This one is about being able to forget negative things, and making efforts to remember good things by paying attention to all your sensations in the moment. Build happy triggers.

Musical Empathy: Exploring the relationship between feelings and music

https://renatesmusicalempathy.blogspot.com/

We Can all Sing- We have rhythm in our blood My current focus is on invalidating the belief that people have that they can't or shouldn't sing. They feel this because someone told them as a child or young person that they were bad singers. NONSENSE! We all have music in our essence.

We Can all Dance-We have rhythm in our blood I want to nullify the messages that people get that they shouldn't or can't dance. PREPOSTEROUS! Our very essence is musical.

Everything's Going to Be Alright One of the post-COVID choir themes is sunshine and positivity. Music can help us feel better, and support our good feelings. I hope that our feelings of relief at singing together will be so uplifting that we'll feel like flying. 

Singing Together has so Many Benefits We know this, and it's one reason that we're so sad at having to miss choir for so long during the pandemic. 

Music During the Pandemic: My Survival from A-Z This was just a fun enumeration of ways that music has been helping us/me survive the pandemic. 

Planning YRCC In-Person Rehearsals!

I'm so happy to be planning in-person rehearsals starting at the end of February!

Tonight, we meet on Zoom, and for the next few weeks. But, on February 28th, we plan to meet in person again!!! If you didn't get the email from York Region Community Choir to announce that, please let me or Lauren know.

I really hope we can keep the pandemic numbers under control and follow the Ontario Reopening Plan (click there if you want to go to the official website) that starts today. 

We can start going out to restaurants at 50% again starting today, but no singing or dancing, and limits on lots of things. Okay, first step. Then, the second step. Starting on February 21st, things should open up a little more, full restaurants, 50% concerts, physical distancing and vaccination proof still needed. This is when we can go back to in-person rehearsals. We have chosen to start on February 28th to give us a little time to get into that new stage, set up protocols, make sure we have things in place so everyone feels safe. Starting March 14th, the Ontario plan is not quite clear but the idea is to open a bit more.

I am confident that we can have a concert in May or June. 

We Rise Again: Here Comes the Sun

Here Comes the Sun!

CNOY Coldest Night of the Year Annual Walk Feb. 26th, 2022

 I thought you'd find this interesting...

Services offered by Inn From the Cold

Inn From the Cold provides emergency shelter and support services for the homeless and those at risk of homelessness. IFTC offers a range of helpful services year round that are designed to assist with finding housing, employment, volunteer opportunities, mental health and addiction support and other necessities such as hot meals, clothing, laundry, internet, voicemail, showers and personal care items. A continuum of services from basic needs to securing housing assists our clients on their journey to wellness and self-sufficiency. (from the IFTC website with my highlights)

On February 26, I'll be walking in the Coldest Night of the Year to support Inn From the Cold and wanted you to...

 

a) Know about it, and

b) Consider joining me, and/or

c) Consider donating to me.

 

The Coldest Night of the Year is Canada's National Walk for Homelessness, and here in my community, it's raising money for people and families experiencing homelessness, hurt, and hunger in our town.

 

To learn more, visit cnoy.org or to support me click the link below:

 

https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/FundraisingPage.aspx?registrationID=5031495&langPref=en-CA

 

Thanks again,

Renate

Screen-Life Balance

Work-life balance, move over, step aside! This challenge is even bigger, harder: Screen-life balance. 

We are missing important moments because we're tied to screens. Life is passing us by. We're looking in the wrong place. We need to refocus.

Screens have taken over our lives. People even take their phones to the bathroom, can't be without them for an instant. People look at their phones while they're looking at a bigger screen, scrolling while watching a movie or working at a computer. In fact, I think some people might scratch their heads and wonder about the concept of life and screens being separate things. How is that possible, life without screens, and why would you even consider it? 

I don't take my phone everywhere. I often have no pockets, and that's okay (I wish more women's clothing had pockets, but that's another story.). I often miss a call or text or message, and my kids sometimes roll their eyes because they know that I regularly put my phone down and forget about it. The fact that it's always on silent makes it hard to find (more eye rolling).

I'm not a luddite, not anti-technology, but I think this screen focus is dangerous. Many people are overly attached to what other people think and get addicted to the dings of notifications on their fashionable new phones and tablets. I can enjoy things I see and hear and eat without taking pictures of them to share. It's not anti-social. Sometimes I share. But, it's my life and I want to live it. I like real live life.

Maybe I like things old-fangled.

I don't usually know what the most popular movies or TV shows are, but sometimes I read about them, and sometimes I watch them. I've always been this way. It's not something related to my age, but it's not a big deal now that I'm older. 

I like cooking and gardening, reading and writing, singing and dancing, having dinner and drinks with friends, and I like doing these things, not watching them on a screen.

Life is there, in the things I do, especially the things I love to do. 

When the pandemic is over, we'll have more opportunities to do more things without screens. More life, less Zoom.

When I was working, I drank a lot of tea so that I'd have to step away from the computer screen intermittently. I made sure to take a lunch break downstairs too. Now, I still make sure to step away from the computer to stretch my legs and to do something else, something I can do standing preferably. That could be age-related, because my body complains when I do anything too much. But, it's a lifestyle thing, a not-sitting thing.

Sometimes, I spend way too much time looking at Pinterest, or Instagram and Facebook. I can get stuck there for hours if I'm not careful (ga!). I set a time limit on my phone for social media because I noticed that I was sitting and scrolling for hours every day. And, I thought I didn't have time to exercise (or clean)!

I walk every day without a step tracker. My phone doesn't come with me, and my Fitbit has been living in a drawer for quite some time now. I don't need to know how many steps I've taken. I just need to walk every day, and try to get up and move as much as I can. When I walk, I look at the sky, trees, flowers, snowflakes, footprints, pawprints, people, dogs, houses, birds, squirrels... My gaze can wander everywhere, and I can also watch where I'm going so I don't walk into things. 

Life is there, away from screens. Lift your gaze. Refocus.

Current Ontario Public Health Rules and YRCC

I don't even know what to say here. I really just want to know when we can meet to sing and rehearse and what the chances are for us to have a concert. 

I thought I'd go online and look up some information to share with you. This Ontario Government Public Health COVID-19 page said I would be able to:

Find out about the latest public health measures, advice and restrictions. (https://covid-19.ontario.ca/public-health-measures)

Basically, since January 5th, we've been in a modified Stage 2 which is supposed to last until January 27th, "subject to trends in public health and our health system". So, we have to wait and see what happens. Listen for announcements, check on that page once in a while. 

Ultimately, we have to wait and see what the church we rehearse at or the regional building we rehearse at say. Our choir is recreational, so our rehearsals don't really fall into the entertainment rehearsal category. People are still supposed to stay at home as much as possible, going out to work only if working from home is not possible. Makes sense to me. I'm happy not to go out except to walk Dexter. Harry's been doing more of the grocery shopping again. He's had his booster. I'm on a wait list. We're doing our part. 

The word "pivot" is now a bad word, something people don't want to hear in polite conversation. We all feel like superstar basketball players, reacting and pivoting quickly to keep in the game, wide-eyed and sweating. Only, we didn't choose to play this game, don't want to even be in this arena, on this court, and the jerseys are not our best colour. 

For the choir, our pivoting is very easy compared to teachers and students and families with little ones, for restaurants and places of business. We're on Zoom again until further notice. 

https://covid-19.ontario.ca/public-health-measures

2021 The Year of Zoom for YRCC

For our choir, the YRCC, 2021 was almost entirely a year of Zoom. We met twice in Fairy Lake Park and twice at Trinity Anglican in Aurora. Other than that, we only sang together and saw each other with computer screens and webcams. 

We thought our Zoom Choir days were over, but they're continuing into 2022.

We certainly aren't alone in having zoom meetings. We're not alone in having pets show up and take the spotlight once in a while. If you take a look at the 2021 Zoom statistics from a Zoom study, you'll see that 36% of Zoom users have had pets show up at Zoom meetings. Click on that link. It's a fun summary of some of the things that Zoom meetings are famous for. 

2021 Zoom Stats

"You're on mute." is going to be the 2021 phrase of the year. 71% of Zoom users reported saying that phrase at least once. I think we said it at almost every meeting. 

Apparently happy hour drinks on Zoom was a popular thing, and some of our choir nights did feel a bit like happy hour. Quite a few of us would have a glass of something to say "cheers" with. Drinking at choir and being able to go to choir on stormy nights were two bonuses that made me grateful for choir on Zoom. Seeing and talking to choir friends and singing our choir songs together made Zoom choir necessary for me. I needed that connection. 

I'm grateful for Zoom again, as we step back into Stage 2 of the reopening plan for Ontario. We really hoped to be meeting for real again and we have a new accompanist and everything! I hope we don't have to wait long for things to open up so that we can have real choir again. There is an "Event" set up on the website for you to let us know if you think you'll be coming back when we can meet again. We will follow any and all recommendations for meeting safely, including wearing masks, checking vaccination certificates, contact tracing, whatever. We really, really, really want to sing together, so we will do whatever it takes to make it possible. 

Stay tuned. Lauren and I are keeping you up-to-date via email, Facebook, this blog, and of course, the YRCC website. There are links all over the place for you to click and get information. 

I miss you and want to see you again soon. Stay well.

Time to Feel the Hidden Holiday Feelings

 Christmas 2021 was jolly and merry in my home because we all worked together to see everyone, even if it was just FaceTime or Zoom and driveway visits. I cooked the turkey and all the trimmings for 4 instead of 12. I took the leaf out of the dining table, and it’s hidden away in the basement again. We spiked our eggnog and our hot chocolate, and laughed and sang by the fire. The tree twinkled and so did we.

Today, however, I am going to sit, breathe in and out, relax, and make room for the feelings that I’ve been tucking away over the last few days. I’m feeling sad and disappointed, and I feel cheated, so I’m pouting and slumping and cuddling my old puppy. Life is not fair. I hate COVID.

I’m going to read to escape, and maybe I’ll watch a movie later if I feel better. I’m sure I will. I don’t usually stay slumpy for long. Thank God for the pretty new snow! How can I be gloomy for long when the world is sparkly and fluffy?

Christmas Wishes and New Year Dreams for YRCC

 Merry Christmas, friends!

It’s not turning out the way we planned in our house, but Christmas will be merry and bright and we will count our blessings. I wish you all merry and bright celebrations over the holidays.

I’m always dreaming of a white Christmas and I think I’ll get my wish this year! My new year wish is not going to happen though. I wished for no more Zoom Choir.

The new year is not looking as good as it seemed a month ago, or even a couple weeks ago. Suddenly,  we are back in pandemic restrictions. We will not be able to meet in person on January 10th, or even the 17th. We hope to be able to meet on the 24th, and that’s the current plan, but I’m not counting on it. We’ll see. Again, we have to move cautiously and have plans for Zoom meetings for a while. As soon we can meet in person again, we’ll be ready.

I dream of our big return concert “We Rise Again” in May. And, I’m planning it. Let’s do our best to stay safe and healthy and support others and encourage others to work together to squash COVID.

Lauren and I will be keeping the choir informed. Watch out for emails and my usual posts. The calendar will have Zoom links, etc again.

YRCC December 13, 2021

I'm so happy just thinking about the fact that we can meet next Monday! 

You know, they say that planning a vacation is as good a mood lift as the actual vacation. Having happy plans is definitely a good thing. I've felt uplifted since we heard we had the rehearsal space in the church. And, I'm feeling super-positive about choir resuming in 2022.

In response to my more upbeat mood, I've added Mele Kalikimaka to the YRCC calendar on Monday, Dec. 13, and a pdf of sing-along lyrics!

Let's have fun! (safe and comfortable fun!)

Holiday Concert Recommendation for YRCC

YRCC member Pat Richards is recommending a holiday concert for a good cause. It also looks like it's going to be a fantastic show. Go take a look at the website for descriptions of the performers. I've snipped a sample, see below.

LOFT 31st Annual Home for the Holidays Benefit Concert 

Click on that link to get all the details and to buy tickets either online, by phone, or by email. $40 includes access to the show and a charitable donation.

It's a virtual concert, so you don't have to worry about crowds. 

LOFT is a provider of community services in Toronto. Here's what the website says:

LOFT Community Services provides support and hope to people facing complex mental and physical health challenges, addictions, dementia, homelessness or risk of homelessness. LOFT stands for Leap of Faith Together and we’re there where there are few others, reaching out in response to unmet needs. Our goal is to help them live independently at home or with us.

Tune in on your choice of three dates to see esteemed Canadian jazz singer and host Heather Bambrick, and a glittering array of other exceptional artists as we celebrate the year that was and look forward to better days ahead.

Thursday December 9th, 2021 at 8:00 pm
Sunday December 12th, 2021 at 2:00 pm
Wednesday December 15th, 2021 at 8:00 pm 

On the date of the show, click on the unique link provided to you in your email. The concert will only be available during the scheduled times, with login starting up to 30 minutes before the start time.

 Here's a sample of the performers. Wow!