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!

Wednesday, March 6, 2019

YRCC Rehearsal 04-MAR-2019

Small Group Lean on Me met at 7:00, cleaning up timing. Sounding Great!
Melinda, Stanley and Mona had time with Joy to work on their offerings.

Warm-ups included Lean on Me with straws and sirens too, after getting our bodies-our musical instruments- ready to serve us.

1. Bring Him Home: We spent the whole first hour on page 3 and still didn't finish! OMG!
We're getting there, but it is taking some work, some very careful counting and working to stay together with your group and not get pulled into a different timing. Luckily, this is a slow-moving piece.
2. Seasons of Love: I think this will be one of many seasons of Love for the choir. I can see us exploring different angles on the theme. The story of Rent and La Boheme which inspired it are both stories of love and friendship in difficult times. It seems we're in a season of Love Being Tested somehow. I'm trying really hard to think of a title for our concert. If you have ideas, send them by email or message or text. Let me know what you think. Joanne sang the solo and it was lovely :-)
3. Rewrite the Stars:We tried 2 different soloists for the Zendaya solo. Both were excellent. Nicole and Emily sang beautifully. It's more of an alto solo, so lower than Nicole likes, and it also has a couple of higher notes that challenge an alto like Emily. Next time, we'll work on some of the timing that we're a bit sloppy on, in particular when a phrase ends on the + of 4. Lots of +3+4+ where we sometimes want to land on beat 1 of the next bar, and then it throws off the next bar. Take a look and see if you can't work on that on your own.
4. B&B Gaston: We ended the evening with Beauty and the Beast. We reviewed Gaston, but also tried the solos on Something There. Melodie and Joanne sang and both their voices suit the part splendidly. Blair is a very impressive Frenchman and also quite a charming Beast.

Next week is March Break, so we will give Joy a break and have no early rehearsal. 7:30 for everyone!

If you're going away, have fun! If you have time you can work on anything you're finding challenging. March Break Monday, March 11th we sing:

  • Bring Him Home
  • Beauty & the Beast
  • Blue Skies
  • Rewrite the Stars
  • Intro to Somewhere Out There





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