Welcome


Welcome to Renate's Baton. This blog is mostly for and about my choir, The York Region Community Choir.

But, While I'm holding the baton, I'm in charge. So, if I want to talk about other parts of my life, I will. :)

The choir itself is a community and I'm discovering that we have a lot in common with one another besides our love of music and singing.

When I go off on a tangent, there is always a crowd coming along. Join us!

Tuesday, September 19, 2017

YRCC Rehearsal 18-Sep-2017

Another fun, energy-filled rehearsal!

Warm-ups:
We started off with a short physical warm-up and then tried out our new interval exercises. They're meant to help with our sight-reading. If you missed this rehearsal, you'll need to get the hand-out next time.
1. In Our Town in December. Sweet, multicultural holiday song (mostly Christmas). There are 2 storyteller solos. Bill is going to do the first one (Carol back-up) and Trix will do the second at 24 (Lauren back-up). The choir sings at 13 and 32. Alto, Tenor, Bass are all on Part II. We will not do this on October 15. It'll wait for December.

2. Hine Ma Tov: Bilingual, Hebrew and English. We need someone to sing the first solo in Hebrew, also in a storytelling style, and another to sing the second verse in English, clearly translating the first. Think about it, and let me know if you're interested. This song is for October 15 and December 3rd, and for next Spring (Unity/Peace theme). We have Alto, Tenor, Bass all on Part II. We only sang the melody line this week.

3. Noel Nouvelet: French. Like on Hine Ma Tov, there is a guide to the pronunciation. I disagree with a couple things. Take note: chantons ici = shã-tõ-zee-see, gens=zhã, crions=kree-yõ, l'ange disait= lã-zheh-dee-zay... there are a number of other places where there are nasalized vowels and the letter n simply indicated this but is not pronounced. I'll point them out as we sing. Remember to have your pencils handy to mark your music (never pen!). I have lots of pencils in case you forget yours. We have 2 parts in this song as well, and Alto, Tenor, and Bass are down on part II. It's a really cool part! And, there's a beautiful flute part. I'm so happy that Robin is back! It was fun having Joy's friends play flute with us, but this is more comfortable. Altos, if you have trouble with the high notes, there are a couple of things you can do. 1. just don't sing them, those who can will probably need to sing them louder than usual and we won't notice your voice missing, but be sure to pretend to sing them. 2. sing with the tenors, and skip the lowest notes in the same way. 3. do vocal exercises every day to increase your range. This song is for December 3rd only, not for October 15.

4. Song for Canada: Bilingual French and English! There's a short flute part for Robin in the last verse, the O Canada descant. This is ready to perform. Altos, the last verse is a bit high. Same 3 choices as above apply to dealing with the high notes. Everyone, don't stress about the ahs at the end. I like lots of harmony there. The tenor/bass section (men) have added ahs starting at the French verse which I like, but the women in that section are singing the melody an octave down. It would be good if a few altos could join them in that lower octave. October 15, for sure, and Dec. 3.

5. I Will Always be With You: We have to be careful not to sing this too slowly or too loudly. It's sweet and pretty. Be sure to enunciate well so that the words can be understood. They're lovely. The flute is gorgeous and must also be sweet and not too loud. I don't like the ending, so we'll probably add something there. We will sing this on October 15, but probably not on December 3.

Tickets are on sale for October 15th. 
Tickets at the door will be $30.  
In advance, they're $25, with $20 for seniors and students.
In advance there's a family discount $50 for 4. 

There will be a number of songs only sung at the October concert, but not at the December concert. If you want your family to hear them, then you'll want to get tickets. On Eagle's Wings, You Raise Me Up, I Will Always Be With You, Go Now in Peace, as well as a few solos and small groups (Janet and Kevin, Todd, Trix, etc) are just for Enid. I'll have the order set soon. 

Next week: 25-Sept-2017
Small group: Barenaked Ladies starts at 6:30!
Hine Ma Tov
Noel Nouvelet
Somewhere a Child is Sleeping
You Raise Me Up
You'll Never Walk Alone



1 comment:

  1. How would someone buy tickets in advance for Oct. 15 concert? In or choir, and not.

    ReplyDelete