YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review March 24th

What a wonderful feeling!

We're ahead of schedule, and sounding excellent. From now on, we're reviewing and polishing, and enjoying our songs. Don't be shy to let me know if you're not sure of what you and your neighbours are singing, or you're singing different things. I said it last night: that's not snitching. We're not pointing fingers, but pointing out where we can use some review. Although, sometimes I'm fine with a little bit of extra harmony ;-)

Our small groups are so good! I can't wait for everyone to hear them. The Circle Game goes round and round in my head all the time now, such a good song, and everyone in the small group is so good. Soloists, please memorize your words. The next small group had their first look at My Life Flows On (How Can I Keep From Singing). I really like the Enya song How Can I Keep From Singing, and I hadn't even heard the Hymn My Life Flows On. We're using the hymn for harmonies and timing (easier timing) and keeping Enya's lyrics, which are also the Pete Seeger lyrics. I keep finding new versions of this song. It's got a very good message, especially in these tumultuous times. 

I wasn't in the mood for the warm-ups I had planned, so with Donna's help we managed a beautiful easy physical warm-up as she played The Music of the Night and then we just la-la'd with that for our vocal warm-up. I love when we improvise. Our creativity is something to nourish any time we can. Donna is an inspiration, and we're so lucky she plays with us. 

1. I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing: This is another song that reminds us that we're so lucky to be able to sing together like we do. If everyone could sing in a choir, the world would be happier and more peaceful.  We cleaned up the echo part at 81. First sopranos will hold that D on the word 'on'. Seconds and Tenors will sing both "that echos on", ignoring the rests. Alto and Bass sing the bottom line as written. And everyone holds that, as if there were a fermata on bar 85 and you need to watch for the next part because it's soft and slower. This is a great song and not too hard. I might change one more thing. Robin was suggesting a greater emphasis on "Peace throughout the land, standin hand in hand." And, I think we can add an echo, a third part. We'll try something next week. 

2. Here's to Song: This one gets stuck in my head too. We sang the whole thing with solos and I love it. We worked on dynamics (loud and soft), and we're doing them as written, so watch out for p, mp, mf, and f and watch me. We reviewed the Tenor and Alto parts at C. It's so hard, and our three tenors are doing a great job. It will help them if the rest of you could be softer on your parts. Something we noticed: some people are singing "songs" instead of "song". There's only one time when it's plural. So, this is about song in its abstract meaning, like dance, art, music. So, were not singing about the songs we sing, but about the act of singing songs, our voices raised in song. 

3. It's a Grand Night for Singing: This is excellent. We're just unsure of the Interlude, after the first ending, where we go to page 6. It's got some tricky Alto and Tenor bits and a bunch of accidentals (sharps and naturals) but it sounds pretty good, and we'll keep working on it. Remember the drama and sharp pronunciation that the rests provide in the main part. Watch your rests. 

4. Canadiana Sing-along:  We had a test run of the sing-along of Canadian folk songs, songs that we sang (hopefully) as children and that people still sing (maybe?) around camp fires. I guess that some people didn't grow up here and others are much younger than me (Colby) so a few people will not appreciate this fully, but I hope that the energy of those of us who do will pull them in. Donna was instrumental (ahem) in making this happen. She's got a way with sing-alongs, doesn't she? It's so much fun. We did this in 2017 for Canada's 150th, the Sesquicentennial. I've chosen the shorter one we used for our seniors performances. We might add a few more verses. 

5. Canon of Joy: You did it! I am so grateful that you trust me on this. I know it feels boring, but it's really a good song, made of two really popular and beatiful classical pieces. We worked on dynamics and tone (sing the melody like cellos, not trumpets). When we sing page 5 twice, sing the first one softer, get louder on the second, both times. Sing those long notes with an accent on the start, so when you sing "joy" the dj sound is emphasized and then you release and fade on the "oy". And, smile. You are singing the word "joy" so feel and show happiness, pleasure, delight, bliss. The high point, the main message is on page 7. Read those words and feel them. That's the message of the concert. Think of I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing, and Here's to Song. And, we have in the small groups How Can I Keep From Singing which also points to singing as a blessing in the seasons of turmoil in our lives. Also, when things are horrible, joy is not disrespectful or irreverent, but necessary, even if just for a moment or a couple of hours. Because, grace and hope and joy are as constant as struggle and suffering. Whatever I'm going through, it is all forgotten while I'm singing with you on Tuesdays, and I remember who I am. 

6. Why We Sing: The new beginning is so good! Just one soprano, one alto, one tenor, and one bass up to the section at 42. Since we have all 4 on the chorus at 26, we'll have the 6 first phrases like this: S, T, S&T, A, B A&B, then chorus SATB. This is going to be our opening song, and it's now perfect, building from one voice to a big, big ending. Awesome. 

The tickets are ready. You can purchase tickets for your friends and family at a reduced price and you can pay by credit card. The choir member price is $20, in advance in person only. At the door and website purchases will be $25, the poster price. We're talking about having a reduced advanced and bulk price for our seniors home fans too. We want a nice big audience for this concert. 

The poster is ready too, but we need to be sure the website update is functional before sending those out. We have a plan to distribute them all over. Kim (alto) is coordinating the advertising. If you have an idea or a place to post a hard copy, let her know. Do you know how to find the email addresses of other choir members? You have access to the member listing on the website. I encourage you to find your friends and contact them outside of choir time. 

Next Week, Tuesday, March 31st: We're at Trinity United in Newmarket again 

Remember to give yourself time to find parking. We can use the lift/elevator just inside the Park Avenue doors. If you need it, make sure you let me know, and remind me at the end too. We're in the music room at 6:30 and in the Fellowship Room at 7:00, same as last time.

6:30 My Life Flows On (How Can I Keep From Singing)

• I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
• Grand Night for Singing 
• Hymn to Freedom
• Here's to Song
• Song for Canada 

Heads up: Tuesday, April 7th, we're at the other Trinity, Trinity Anglican Church in Aurora, where we perform our concerts, except we're downstairs in Binions Hall. There is a lift/elevator there too if we need it. 

 

 

 

 

YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review March 17th

Happy Birthday to Melodie and Happy St. Patrick's Day! 

The best things about birthdays and St. Patrick's Days are the singing and dancing. It's so much fun singing Happy Birthday with a choir! Wooohoooo! When I don't have choir on St. Patrick's Day, I go to a bar with my Irish friend Kelli, and a bunch of us drink green beer or Guinness sing and dance to live music. What fun it is to sing and dance with friends! This is a big part of our theme this season, "Here's to Song". 

We thought Here's To Song sounds kind of Irish, and it was written by Allister Mac Gillivray from Nova Scotia. He also wrote Song for the Mira (another one of ours). East Coast folk music, Maritime/Celtic, is heavily influenced by Irish and Scottish traditional music. We Rise Again's composer, Leon Dubinsky was also from Nova Scotia. Everyone is Irish on St. Paddy's Day in Canada, and we saw a good amount of green in the choir, and I think that's a very good Canadian custom. 

Our small groups today were excellent! Both groups learned their songs quickly and collaborated to make their own arrangements. I love when we make songs our own. When you own something, you cherish it. Song Sung Blue is ready, and Circle Game will take only a short time to be done.  

1. Here's To Song: We worked on Sections B, C, and D, with reviewing parts in section C. That's the big fancy part. We talked about making the first chorus soft and wistful. There is some melancholy in this song at the beginning especially. The candle is dying, and "our time together has ended". But, look at the words in C. "The hour has come for sweet adieus...but first unite in hand and heart... for every end leads to a start." Then, we get loud. Then, the third verse is about leaving again, "farewell and thank you", soft and wistful again, but in the end, we're happy to count our blessings: friends and singing songs together. We agreed that we would pronounce adieu with 'you' in it: ah-dyoo. 

2. We Rise Again: SO GOOD! Especially the big ending. I love this song. Ever since I heard protesters in the US singing it, I feel more and more appreciative of this glorius Canadian song. Both soloists are awesome. Melinda and Nadine sang together and it was beautiful.

3. I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing: Wow! We sang it really well after our first attempt. Some of us have sung this many times before, but as usual, the new folks were surprisingly good at following along. This song is in two parts, both written in the treble clef. So, we're going to have the Sopranos and Tenors on top, and the Altos and Basses on the bottom. There's a lot of back-and-forth echoing and overlapping melodies that require one group to hold a note for a long time while the other group sings the melody. Please observe all rests, and by paying attention to the rests, you'll see how long you need to hold your long notes. You sometimes only get time for a really short breath. Check out this picture so you can tell how short your rest is. If there's no rest, there's no "period of silence". 

 

 

 

 

 

4. Song for Canada: This is a wonderful song, and I love the flute at the end!!! Another excellent big ending. I'm not sure about the logistics of having the French singers on Verse 2 standing at the front. The ahs are so much better since we've worked on them, so maybe we don't need to be separated? We'll try it with them in their usual spots too. We looked at the ahs at the end, on page 13 again. We made some decisions on the notes on page 13, so you don't have to worry about "picking a note". So, here's what we've got, remembering that the top two lines are the flute solo and the unison line. We're all in the choir bracket on page 13. First Sopranos are on the top of the top line of the choir bracket. Second Sopranos are on the bottom of that line, right under the firsts. Altos are on their line in the choir bracket and we chose your notes: for the first ah, stay on Eb, then, take the bottom notes: Db, Db, F, Eb. Tenors are taking all the top notes of the bass clef, except the Ab-middle note-in bar 115. and Basses take the very bottom notes.

5. Hallelujah: New format for this year: Tenors and Basses sing the first solo. Watch out for the timing, so you are all together. You've probably all sung this as a solo, so it didn't matter, but now it does. Look especially at "for music". Also, blend your voices; avoid pushing your voice. You can be softer because you're not fighting the whole rest of the choir, and you're not singing a solo. Then, only a few others join the Tenors and Basses at the pick-up to bar 7: Sharon and Lauren sing Alto, Robyn, Cathy, and Ellie sing Soprano. And this small group continues through the first chorus. Brilliant. This way the song stays softer at the beginning, so it has lots of room to build up. This group needs to listen to eachother to blend, also watch me in case I ask you to sing louder or softer. All Sopranos and Altos sing the second verse solo. 

6. One Voice: We had two minutes, so we sang this, and it's excellent. I love the big ending so much! And, it was lovely to hear Melodie sing a solo on her birthday. 

We talked about:

1. The upcoming room changes. There are two Tuesdays coming up when we can't have our room in the Admin. Building. Check the website for the next few weeks before you come to choir. I'll also post on Facebook and on this blog. 

2. We talked about needing a few volunteers. 

-The PR position on the Executive is still vacant. We would love to have more people come to our concert; the last one has disappointing attendance. Kim is asking her daughter to look into all the possibilities for advertising, sending our poster out electronically, and maybe coordinating the posting of physical copies. Our old notes still have the Month Ahead paper and the Era Banner which are out of print, that's how long ago we needed to advertise. Please consider joining the Executive to coordinate our PR activities. This would include coordinating, but not necessarily doing, the poster, program, and tickets, and communicating with seniors homes. 

-Stage Manager for the concert: We are looking for a mature/older child or spouse who can come to the run-through rehearsal the week before the concert and come early to the concert to help us with moving the microphones around and helping to guide our movements off-stage and on-stage. 

-Bake Sale Helpers at the concert: We need 2 or three people to help put out and manage the baking for the bake sale, and then box up the leftovers and help clean up. Someone to help Harry with ticket sales would be nice too. These folks could all work together with Lorraine who is coordinating the coffee and tea. I think Debbie is helping with that too. If you're not in a small group, coming early to help them would be nice. 

Next week: Tuesday, March 24th

Small groups: 

6:30 Circle Game 

7:00 My Life Flows On (How can I keep from singing?)

• Here's To Song
• Grand Night for Singing
• Why We Sing
• Teach The World
• Canon of Joy
• Canadiana Sing-along?

YRCC 2026 Spring Solos

Here are the solos for this season with main soloist and back-up soloist.

These are the solos in our choir pieces. This does not include any solos in the solo and small group segments of the concert.  

As much as possible, please memorize your solo, so that you can look up at the audience instead of into your binder while you are singing your solo. Let me know if you need more rehearsal time for your solo as we get closer to the concert. Make use of the recordings as well. 

Thank you for your courage and generous service to the choir! Most people are uncomfortable standing out, but you are kindly stepping forward.  

Here’s To Song: 1. Wintston (Colby) 2. Sharon (Nadine)

One Voice 1. Soprano: Melodie (Cathy) 2. Tenor: Stanley (Jane) 3. Alto: Lorraine (Lauren)

Thank You For the Music: Robyn (Cathy)

We Rise Again: Melinda (Nadine)

Why We Sing 1. Soprano: Mona (Cathy) 2. Tenor: Stanley (Jane) 3. Alto: Lauren (Debbie) 4. Bass: Colby (Winston)

 Please let me know if I missed anyone or misplaced anyone.

 

YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review March 10th

Wow! I'm so impressed with the progress we made at this rehearsal, and also generally with how well eveyone is learning the music this season! I hope that these reports every week have been helpful, and I can tell that people have been reviewing parts at home, so I'm confident that the recordings we have and that Donna has made are also being used and appreciated. (I can also sometimes tell when people have not been availing themselves of the resources.) I do these rehearsal reviews mostly for myself, so that I can keep track of what was done, what we need to work on, and generally to help my scheduling. I also want people not to feel bad when they need to miss rehearsals. We all have times when we're away for all kinds of reasons, and I want to be sure that you know it's okay, and I want to help you to catch up, if you need help. 

One of my goals with this rehearsal was to assign the solos for all the songs. I will publish a second post today with all the soloists and back-ups. 

The Song Sung Blue small group met at 6:30 and waited patiently for the music to arrive. Once we got it, we worked on adapting the arrangement to our liking. We added some harmony in the alto section, and created a bigger ending, of course.  

Our warm-ups included stretching, breathing, and our mummies going to Miami. 

1.  Why We Sing: We tried out a new approach to this song. We've sung it so many times that we need to give it a new spin every once in a while. This time, we'll have 4 soloists, a quartet at the beginning, and we'll have them sing the first chorus too. So, up to the pick-up at bar 42 on page 5 it's just 4 voices, one from each section. This time, we heard Mona, Stanley, Lauren, and Winston. It does add quite a bit of drama to the piece, as it builds up from single voices to two to four to everyone, and finally the very loud and complex last chorus and ending. I love it. 

2. One Voice: There is the solo/trio section at the beginning in this piece too. It's a good way to start a song of soft, so that it can build up to a dramatic loud ending. This time, we had the 3 soloists stand at the front so that we could hear how difficult it is, to appreciate their work. The alto part is the most difficult, as is often the case. But, the soprano solo has tricky timing, coming from the accompaniment, mostly. I need to hear more soprano when we all come in at 23, so we reviewed that page a few times. Sopranos, make sure you're clear on the words and learn that part well. Altos, tenors, basses, not so loud there. You're the background. I'm very happy with this song. I love the ending!

3. Here's to Song: There are two solos here, and remember that we're eliminating the oohs under the second. We heard Winston with Colby on the first, and Sharon on the second. We reviewed the chorus, remembering that the first time we sing it, it's very soft, right after the first solo. It sounds really cool when it's soft, and just this big difference in volume gives it a very different sound. We also reviewed the second verse, the one where all four parts sing different things. It's amazing, so good. I love this song, and it was the one that was stuck in my head all night. 

4. We Rise Again: There are two solos in this song, but I think we've always done it with one soloist singing both. It's a very high soprano part, and we're hearing one of our tenors sing it! Melinda has astounding range, and wonderful volume and control at the high end and the low end. We're so lucky! We reviewed the ahs under the solos (mm-oo-ahs) and I'm delighted with how well it went. I guess you must have learned it so well in the past that the new folks can easily follow you now. So happy with this. The chorus building up to the key change and big ending makes this song really rewarding to sing, and a beloved Canadian song. I heard Americans singing it at a demonstration (on Instagram) and it made me proud. 

5. Hymn to Freedom: I was very happy with our performance today! This is also an excellent Canadian song that fills me with pride. I wondered if we should jazz it up a bit. But it's really good the way that we sing it. And, we're supposed to "own" our performances of these songs, make them our own. You are awesome, and I love how you sing it.  You got the tricky ahs! Remember at the end, we're all together singing the same words on the last "we'll be free", (not free, free, free in the bass clef) loud with big harmony on the last note. Also, if you haven't already, be sure to add the missing words in bar 66: first soprano, "free", second soprano we'll "be" free. 

6. Thank You for the Music: We fixed it. It was excellent. We heard Cathy sing the solo on the third verse, without oohs underneath, and with everyone coming in at the chorus with "so I said" and the timing was much better. We've got this!  Remember at the ending that second sopranos and altos can move and choose notes that feel good, tenors and basses too should sing freely in the "me" at the end. Something I didn't say, but you always follow me at the end anyway, is that we will not be ending at pp. It's written as mf with a crescendo to f and then a decrescendo to pp. We will get louder and softer, but ending with some good volume still. 

7.  O Canada: Bonus. We had time so we stood and sang our national anthem, proudly and beautifully. 

 Next week: Tuesday, March 17 (St. Patrick's Day, so party on the weekend)

6:30 Song Sung Blue and 7:00 Circle Game (and the seasons they go round and round...) 

• Here's to Song
• Hallelujah
• Song for Canada
• I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing
• Canon of Joy
• We Rise Again 

 

 

YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review March 3rd

I'm grateful for my church for providing the space for us to rehearse, and thankful to you all for your patience, generosity, and creativity with parking and setting up and taking down our space there. 

The small groups had their patience tried. We sang My Heart Will Go On beautifully. It's such a good song. We're not all fans of the movie the Titanic, but Celine Dion and her song stand somewhat apart from that, in that the song is a huge pop hit, one of the best-selling singles of all time and Celine is the most successful, the best-selling Canadian recording artist and a Companion of the Order of Canada. We will have to start Song Sung Blue next week, as we didn't have copies of the music on time. We had some time to sit and relax.

Warm-ups included breathing and releasing air and sound with control. We did a couple of things we used to do all the time: me, may, my, mo, moo and Maybe my mummy will go to Miami, and maybe my mummy will not. Fun, and helpful.

1. Hymn to Freedom: We reviewed the tricky ahs, and the second soprano parts, and sang through beautifully.

2.  We Rise Again: We looked at parts at "That as sure as the sun rise" starting at the pick-up to bar 40 on page 9. First sopranos are at the top of the Soprano line in the choir bracket, but sing the bottom of that line at bar 42, the melody. Second sopranos join Altos on the alto line, the second line of the choir bracket, with melody in 40 and 41, harmony in 42. Tenors are at the top of the Bass line, in the bass clef, Basses at the bottom. And, we looked at the ending, page 12. We're all in the choir bracket. First sopranos are on top, at the top of the Soprano line, the top of the choir bracket. Second sopranos start with Altos on the second, but move up to the top at the pick-up to bar 60, "and then". At 62, the second sopranos are on the bottom of the top line, their usual place. Tenors are at the top of the bass clef line, and basses are at the bottom, but free to improvise a good low note. There are lots of notes to choose from and you land on: any Ab, Eb, or C.

3. Song for Canada: Robyn brought her flute and it was really cool! We sang from 81 to the end with the flute coming in at 89. Our focus was the end of the song. On page 13, we're all in the choir bracket for this song's ending. On page 12, we're all singing in the second line, the tutti line, and then we all move down into the choir bracket for a big ending. Sopranos in the first line, divided, as written. Altos are in the second line, and it's divided but if you want, you can stay on the Eb in bar 114, and sing only the lower notes in the last system. However, altos can choose to sing any of the alto notes. So, if your neighbour is singing different notes, do not worry. Tenor and Bass, same thing. You're dividing. Tenors on top and bass on the bottom, but there are 3 notes in 115 and 4 in the last bar. Tenors can chooe the highest notes, and basses the lowest, but if a tenor chooses the middle note, it's fine. It's a big ending, and look at how many notes there are to choose from in bar 115 Bb, Ab, C, Db, F, Ab. And on the last note: any Ab, Eb, or C. You will land very well, no worries. We talked about how you have an instinctive feel for endings, and it's hard to mess them up. 

4. Thank You For The Music: My focus in this song today was the third verse, particularly how to get from the third verse to the segno/chorus. I decided to simplify that section, by eliminating the oohs. We'll have just the soloist and the piano, and when the soloist finishes "chance", we all go to the bar before the segno, on beat 2, the beginning of the chorus, "So I say Thank you..." Remember to go to the CODA on page 8 after that chorus. We can fake the ending here too. Funny, it's the same key as the other two songs, so we can end on any Ab, Eb, or C again. Second sopranos can take the top alto part, but you don't have to. Altos might want to? 

5. Grand Night For Singing: It was a grand night for singing! We went over parts in the Interlude, and sang the whole song. It's really very good already!

Next week, Tuesday, March 10thWe're back in our room.

6:30 Song Sung Blue Small Group

• Here's To Song
• Hymn to Freedom
• One Voice
• Thank You for The Music
• We Rise Again

Here's a video with a really fun Mi Me Ma Mo Mu exercise: