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, October 25, 2023

YRCC 2023 Rehearsal Review October 24

 6:30 Canon of Hope- this small group did an amazing job of learning this pretty piece in one session. 

Warm-ups included grounding and breathing with gentle stretching and then singing with Imagine. Melinda recommended it. Great idea to sing about world peace right now. Donna played our arrangement’s accompaniment and some of us remember the parts. We remembered Janet with great fondness.

1. One Voice is a gentle and powerful reminder that each of us has the power to be light, hope, love, to inspire others, so everyone will sing together/live in harmony. We had 2 people sing each of the 3 solo parts at the beginning. Cathy and Melinda, Blair and Kent, Lauren and Nadine. Those solos are recorded to help you out. Check them out on the website. We reviewed the alto and baritone parts all the way through and spent quite a bit of time on the one-one-one-one voice before 39. It sounds so good! Make a note on your music to turn to page 4 immediately on concert night if you're not singing a solo. We don't want page turning during the solos. It's distracting and totally unnesessary. I will remind you when to start, but you'll know by then. If you missed this rehearsal, I suggest you review your part using the recording on the website.

2. Winter Song: we also identified the soloists for this one. There’s the Treble Group that sings the melody at 35 and 59 and the building/layering repeat part on page 12 (starting with Part 1 at the bottom of page 11) Part 1 will be Cathy and Kit, Part 2 will be Lauren, Part 3 will be Marlene and Kim. The rest of the choir can simply repeat your page 12 until the piano stops, and then there are the 3 last Is love alives a cappella. Please be sure to watch for my cut-offs, especially at "inside your arms". Also, watch out for holding notes too long and not holding them long enough. Look at the rests. If there's a rest, you are silent for the rest, if there's no rest, you're singing through. If you’re still feeling uneasy about this song, please listen to the recordings on the website. The recording cuts of just at the end of the first ending on page 12, but it will help you to hear your part all the way to there. ("I love soft bum-bums, doesn’t everybody?")

3. Star of Wonder/We Three Kings of Orient Are. We played with harmonies for that chorus, which perfectly expresses my theme. This will be an audience sing-along, but I’ll play with the verses, I’m still deciding how to do them. 

4. Fa-la-la/Deck the Halls: also an audience sing-along and we’re going to harmonize on the fa-la-las. We will also sing White Christmas with the audience. Probably with a small group on the intro?

5. Somewhere in My Memory (my keys, my phone…) We learned everything except the oohs in the middle! We are doing great on this one. It’s also one that has recorded parts to help you learn at home, thanks to Tabatha.

Next week, Tuesday, October 31st Halloween 🎃 

If you need to come late because you have to shell out or accompany little ones, that’s okay. It gets dark early, so it shouldn’t be too late. Please come in costume if you feel inspired to do so. 

6:30 Canon of Hope 7:00 Winter Song Treble Group

  • Christmas Waltz
  • Do You Hear What I Hear
  • One Voice
  • Somewhere in My Memory
  • Winter Song
The Posters and Tickets will be ready for distribution and sale on Halloween Tuesday. You can buy tickets for family and friends for $20 each, cash, cheque, or credit (no debit). 

Poinsettia sales will start soon too. $30 each. This is a choir fundraiser. You get a beautiful large plant to keep or give as a gift, and, as a bonus, our concert is beautifully decorated (thanks, Jane!)




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