YRCC 2025 Rehearsal Review March 25th

 I’m so sad that I missed this choir rehearsal; and, I’m so grateful that Lauren and Donna work so well together to lead you when I’m not there!

They have plenty of experience leading together because of the small group and sectional work they do.

The Lean On Me small group met at 6:30 and decided that it will be best if Kevin and Michael could be there, so we’ll try to set something up for them, and we won’t have them meet for the next two weeks as originally planned.

• Lauren tells me that you worked on the a cappella part of All The Little Rivers of Canada, and it’s really good. When she’s up front, she gets to experience the full sound of the choir, which is absolutely beautiful.

• Song for the Mira is coming along well too, although the soloists, some of them, are finding the notes a little high. Not to worry. The soloists have some space for interpretation since they’re singing alone. We’ll work on getting them more comfortable. 

• ABBA is fun, right!? I can’t wait to hear those last songs of the medley. Maybe there are a couple second sopranos who are willing to sing first on Dancing Queen to help out? I was wondering this for We Rise Again, as well. It would give us better balance to have a stronger first soprano section for these 2 songs. Please think about whether you can help carry those high parts. There’s a solo in Thank You for the Music, which I’d like you to consider as well, sopranos (or altos if you can). 

• You’ll Never Walk Alone is awesome the way it is, but we’re always trying to get the second sopranos doing those little special bits a little stronger. (drea-ea-eams be tossed, and alo-one)

Next week, Tuesday, April 1st

6:30 Melinda and Lauren’s Duet, followed by a tenor and bass sectional at 6:45 to make up for the delay in last week’s early rehearsal.

• Song for the Mira
• Dancing Queen and Thank You For the Music from the Medley
• Monday, Monday
• You'll Never Walk Alone
• Wonderful World

Here's a link to my playlist for you

YRCC 2025 Rehearsal Review March 18th

 It started off shaky, this rehearsal. We had tenors and basses sitting and waiting for Donna and me for 20 minutes or more, while we were each stuck in traffic trying to cross the railway tracks from the west side of Newmarket to the east. How bizarre! So frustrating! It also took us all some time to settle down to get started, so I just skipped warm-ups and we sang Canon of Joy once through as a warm-up. Maybe a little Spring Fever? 

1. Canon of Joy: Important performance notes: you must smile and keep good posture as you sing this. The joy is bouncy and light, not heavy and serious. Bounce on the Joy, Joy, Joy parts. Just clearly enunciating is helpful because the "dj" sound kind of pops anyway. Those slow Canon notes can drag. It's easy to get too heavy in the Beethoven, too, so be mindful of the lyrics and raise your eyebrows as you smile. I was very happy to see nobody get lost with the page turns, at least I didn't see it if you did ;-)

2. Imagine: Our timing is a little different from what is written in a few places but I'm going to roll with it. When everyone is doing it, it sounds perfect. At bars 21 and 23, we come in just after beat one, not on beat two as written. It's fine. I like it. The important thing is that we're together. The notes are coming along nicely. It sounds really good already.

3. We Rise Again: My goal was to review all the oohs and the top of page 9. We did it! The oohs on pages 7 and 8 are the hardest. Please listen to the recordings for help with these. I listened to the tenor part and it's correct. Be aware that the full accompaniment is there and your part is on top of it, so you'll want to count to where you come in. Remember that we've simplified it this season. Tenors and Basses always sing the melody in the chorus. It's in the alto line the first time, but after that you can read the bass line, because it's there in the rest of the choruses.

4. Thank You for the Musicals: We surpassed my goal. We did all of Beauty and the Beast and Joseph. I'm happy to hear that many of you remember your parts. We didn't spend enough time on the ending of GoGoGo Joseph, but we'll review it all, don't worry. Donna and I still have to figure out some transitions, but it's coming along well. You always have to watch for beginnings and ends, so you'll be fine. Nadine and Todd sang the duet, and it was beautiful! I'm going to need back-ups for them, so you'll let me know if you'd like to try one of those next time. I've already heard from one other "Belle". 

Next week: Tuesday, March 25th. 

6:30 We will be starting a new small group: Lean on Me! It will be somewhat improvised, or self-arranged. Donna will be joined by 2 guitars accompanying us. We will have some sheet music inspiration, but will be singing from a lyric and chord sheet. (memorized for performance)

• All the Little Rivers of Canada
• Song for the Mira
• Thanks for the Musicals
• You'll Never Walk Alone

Here's this for Lean on Me inspiration. I want that kind of energy, please. You can see Kevin playing guitar in the video, and I've asked Michael (second from left) to also play guitar. They both have a long history of adding guitar playing to our concerts, for which I have always been very grateful. 

YRCC 2025 Rehearsal Review March 11th

 6:30 Anthem Small Group met and sang beautifully. With the sections grouped together and standing together, it sounded excellent. 

1. Thank you for the Musicals: We started this right away, right after a brief phyiscal and vocal warm-up, since it was in everyone's hands. This is a 35-page medley of songs from our 3 favourite musical medleys: Beauty and the Beast, Joseph, and Mamma Mia, ending with Thank you for the Music. We were surprised at how quickly 35 pages are done. We mostly know all of these, but we'll see if there are YouTube videos of some of these so you can get caught up if you haven't sung these before. There will be some changes in the transitions, the ends and beginnings don't always shift well. You'll need to mark up your music, crossing out some bars here and there. Have your pencils ready. 

2. Imagine: We sang all the way through, and decided not to worry too much about singing it exactly as written. When everybody sings the same thing, then that's what's most natural and we're going to say that's our interpretation. We're not wrong; we're interpreting it a little differently. That being said, we do have to agree on how things go, so try to mostly count and observe the rests, but follow me. It's best to follow me so that we're together. Something most of us did that was actually wrong, was to go down too far on the word one in "but I'm not the only one". Every line that ends in the word 'one' has everyone on the same note, so we shouldn't have harmony, and that note isn't what you expect. 

3. We Rise Again: So good! We decided here to 'interpret' the arrangement in our own way too. There are some interesting tenor and bass parts in the first chorus, and a couple of special tenor bars in a later chorus, but we're going to have tenor and bass on the melody, an octave down. It's what they have most of the time in the choruses, and the special bits are not going to be effective with the small number of bass clef singers we have. Let them enjoy the melody of the chorus. The oohs are soft, and sound very good. Don't worry about them too much. The part that's interesting that we're singing is at the end of the second verse (solo and oohs), from the bottom of page 8 to the middle of page 9. We reviewed that together, and it's very good. The thing to remember is that the second sopranos are singing with the altos, and the altos here don't have the melody. It's a lower harmony, under the first sopranos. 

4. Song for the Mira: We did it with the soloists! Here's what we've got: 1. Carol, 2. Cathy, 3. Melodie, 4. Lauren, 5. Debbie. Jane is back-up for all parts, but I hope that all can back up any of the others. Up to page 8, only the soloists sing. So, when we perform, open your music up to page 8 from the start so that you're not rustling pages during the solos. 

5. Hallelujah: We did it with soloists. Winston was awesome on the first solo (It's his, but I'll need a back-up), and Kim was excellent on the second. I know there are lots of people who have sung and would like to sing that second one, so let me know and I'll give you a shot at it. I won't decide on that one yet. 

6. What a Wonderful World! Super. Don't forget to sing a big ending.

Next week, Tuesday, March 18th

6:30: Tenor and Bass sectional rehearsal (Be prepared with requests. What are the bits that you find difficult?)

• Canon of Joy
• Imagine
• Thanks for the Musicals
• We Rise Again

It's starting to feel like spring. We Rise Again

YRCC 2025 Rehearsal Review March 4th

 A choir is a team, a wonderful, excellent team. Melinda was away, so Lorraine carted the equipment around, and, as always, people helped to carry in and carry out all the stuff and helped to plug in and unplug things too. Donna was sick, so Tabatha stepped in. We helped each other learn our parts. We had lots of lively conversation. We had a two-hour break from the worries of the world. We are so lucky to have our choir!

6:30 The Anthem small group met and did very well. It's a beautiful song and a lovely arrangement.

We did a brief physical warm-up, just to get the kinks out and to release some tension.

1. Blue Skies is a fairly gentle warm-up, especially after practising finger snaps first. I surprised a couple soloists, and they were game. Let me know if you'd be interested in one of those scat solos. Remember, you're not snapping for great sound, you're snapping so that we all look synchronised. Your hand goes away from your body, where it can be seen. 

2. O Canada/ The Hockey Song: The O Canada will be a surprise for the audience. The program will say Hockey Song, but we will start with O Canada, and I think it will be a cappella, like we sang at that hockey game. We will go straight into The Hockey Song but we'll skip that intro and start at C (Verse One). "Hello out there! We're on the air" We will also skip most of page 7. We go straight from "the good old hockey game" at the top of page 7 to page 8, at H with a big "Oh! The good..." Colby can whistle so loud! Wild.

3. All the Little Rivers of Canada: We learned the a cappella section on pages 5&6. Also, there's a "fancy ending" double forte "over this land so strong and free" at the top of page 7. Be careful and watch for the timing of that a cappella section. It's quite a bit slower, and dramatic. Very cool.

4. Monday, Monday: We did really well, many of us remembering how this goes. It's special because the altos get the melody most of the time, and it's special because Monday used to be our choir night. It was Mondays for a very long time. I loved Mondays when almost everyone dreaded them. We'll slow it down a bit so that you can all get those "every other day, every other day" parts. Hey, did you know we have recordings of this for practice on our website and on my YouTube Playlist? Here's the Soprano video.

5. Shenandoah: We got to the end! And it was excellent. I love our arrangement of this pretty song. I love endings with fermatas and caesuras. You have to watch me. 

6. On Eagles Wings: Another really great arrangement of a really good song. We reviewed the ending, which I absolutely love: so much drama! 

7. You Raise Me Up: This is a fan favourite. Everyone loves this song, and our arrangement is, again, outstanding. We changed it just a little bit, to make the last two repetitions of the chorus broader. On pages 6&7, we don't observe the rests after mountains and between 'up to'. On pages 4&5, mountains is short and up is short in 'up to walk' and 'up to more.' We observe those rests, as written. 

It was fun to have Tab play with us, and she'll be playing You Raise Me Up and Anthem at Bill's Celebration of Life in May. 

Next week: Tuesday, March 11, 2025

6:30 Anthem Small Group

• Imagine
• Song for the Mira
• We Rise Again
• Thanks for the Musical Music