YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review October 27th

We're getting excited with talk of our upcoming performance at the Aurora Concert Band Holiday Market on November 14th, and not long after that, our own Concert. 

Posters and tickets and crafts are all getting done, and there are always lots of announcements. I'll try to give you all the information here, as it becomes clear, and in the YRCC Google Calendar, and of course on the website. 

We are on track to learn all of our music by December 6th, and we'll be fine to provide a 20-minute performance at the market. We only need a few of our songs, and we'll so some sing-alongs. If you're feeling worried, you can always do some extra work at home with the recordings, and the YouTube videos. But, we will be great. You sound excellent already on most of our songs. 

I'll update the November 14th Event with the final order, but for now, it looks like this: 1.The Hockey Song, 2. Edelweiss, 3. O Christmas Tree, 4. Little Tree,  5. Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree (just a sing-along, not the group), 6. Calypso Christmas, 7. Feliz Navidad, 8. Frosty the Snowman (4 of our songs, plus 4 sing-alongs). We'll repeat this 2 or 3 times throughout the day. I'll get a schedule soon.

We did a short warm-up, mostly physical, some dancing, but dancing is supposed to be good for more than just your body, especially when you do it in a crowd, like line-dancing. It was fun and we did a very short vocal warm-up. 

1. The Hockey Song: so good! Lorraine volunteered to be the referee! It's a little weird when I do it and it makes more sense for me to conduct around the speaking parts because the timing is a little strange. Be sure to watch for all entries, so many times in this song, phrases start on upbeats, not on beat one. So, I hold my baton up high for beat 4 and go down strong for beat 1, often holding 4 extra long to get everyone in. We're ready to sing this now, so no worries for the 14th.

2. Nutcracker Jingles: You're doing great! We learned the March of the Toy Soldiers and reviewed the beginning. It sounded wonderful. 

3. Christmas Lullaby: We got all the way to bar 67! I would like to have a soloist for the first verse. All Sopranos and Altos sang it, so you will have a good idea if you can manage it. We reviewed the chorus, and it was pretty good. The second verse starts with Altos, then Sopranos respond. Then we sing the chorus again. It is really pretty. The hard part is coming up next, the verse in 3 parts and then we have a final chorus. This is almost done. 

4. O Holy Night: We're doing solos for this one too, and we'll do it like last year: first soloist sings all three, second soloist comes in and sings 2 and 3, third soloist joins, then they all go back for the chorus. At the last verse, we have all sopranos on the solo, with altos dividing, back row sings the soprano ahs. We've done this so many times and love it so much that it's very strong, and new folks can follow fairly easily. However, we went over all the oohs and ahhs. And, we looked at bars 80 and 81. We're leaving bar 81 in the first chorus the way everyone sings it (not using the timing written, but "interpreting" it the way that is more familiar) and we worked on getting the end of the second chorus right. E-ver-mo-or pro-claim! Robyn is playing her flute on this! It's spectacular. 

5. Angels Among Us: It's good! There's one spot where we're "interpreting" the timing our own way. At the DS al Coda on page 9, we will put a fermata on the word "hope". We let Robyn hold that extra long to let everyone get ready to come in for the chorus when we sang it last. This time there's no solo, but we'll all sit on that note for a couple beats before coming in. Watch me. Tenors and basses, please review your parts at bars 42 and 43, remembering to come in on beat one on page 10. 

Next week, Tuesday, November 3rd: AT CURTISS-WRIGHT (450 Harry Walker Pkwy S in Newmarket.)

6:30 Sharon's small group Maoz Tzur/Rock of Ages 

• Edelweiss
• Little Tree
• Nutcracker Jingles
• So Long, Farewell
• You're a Mean One, Mr Grinch 

We talked about, and we'll talk about again:

For the market, bring your craft donations on November 10th. We will be able to go in on the Friday to set up. We'll determine whether we need that time, and who will be going. 

Pointsettias: Fundraiser and decoration in one. More info coming, but please also volunteer to help with selling, picking up before and bringing to the concert on December 6th (they're big, so you need a large vehicle) and setting up in the church (concert is at Trinity Anglican in Aurora). Better if it's a team, more than one or two.

Decorators: Besides the pointsettias we always have some decorations on the stage behind the choir, for when we're entering and leaving and when there are small groups there, the theme is represented. Jane will help, but it's a job for a team. I want armchairs, trees, a menorah, a big book or two, and a pair of skates or two, maybe a pair of mittens...Jane, do you still have that window, below?

Bake sale help: The bake sale often makes more than the ticket sales. Everyone participates in bringing baking. Coffee and tea and water are set up in the chapel (Lorraine and Debbie could probably use some help) and we need family members to set out the baking and to manage it during the intermission. Harry always sells tickets and watches the doors. 

 

 

 

 

YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review October 20th

Thank you to Lorraine and to the treat providers Debbie and Helene for a wonderful social-coffee time at our break this week!

It's always good to have time to chat and connect with choir friends old and new.  One day, I'll figure out how to plan less music and more time to relax and we can do more of these. I just always want to do so many songs! And more songs. I'm loving our repertoire this season. You're doing great. 

There's Still My Joy met in the early spot and got through the whole song, and even stood in performance position, sounding excellent. What a beautiful song! 

1. Calypso Christmas is done. We finished learning this song, and now we just have to keep it up and maybe just polish it up a bit. However, it's not a show-off piece, but it's a fun and messy one. We'll hand out shakers to the audience and they'll be making noise while we sing. However, there are some things we want to look out for. One of them is the rests, mostly on beat one. Be sure to sing the notes before them short. Don't hold them through those rests. The calypso rhythm depends on that little silent break. I suggested that you think of them as staccato (half-value) notes. We learned from the bottom of page 5 to the end. Altos, tenors, and basses, watch me at the end for when to move up. It's a bit unexpected, the timing there. You were all very good watching me from the middle of page 6 to the end! There's a rit (slow down), and a fermata (𝄐) and then it says freely, which means, I might do anything with the timing, and I slow right down before we get back up to speed (a tempo). It's always best to watch me for timing at the end of a piece, but especially when you have lots of warnings in the notation. 

2. Nutcracker Jingles: We did the whole beginning, pages 3-5, the mostly normal Jingle Bells in three-part harmony. So good! Now we can go carolling! The rests play a big role in this song too. The first one is after the word bright on page 4, and the next one is even more important, after the word night. Night is very short! This gives Donna's accompaniment prominence. Same thing with sleigh on page 5. If you remember our Fa-la-la classical medley, we had the same thing with "la.la.la!" If you missed learning this, and whenever you miss the lessons on this song, please log in to access the Music Library on the website and find your part's recording. There are also good YouTube videos. Here's the Alto one that I saved on my YRCC Winter 2026 Playlist:

 

 

 3. Christmas Lullaby: This is so pretty! It's one of Donna's favourites, and mine too. We learned the chorus, from bar 16-32. In typical Rutter fashion, there are lots of fancy bits. They're mostly in the bass clef, but also the altos have special timing- extra syllables or missing syllables. Believe it or not, I have simplified it. You don't have the accompaniment on your copy, but if you're interested, you can find the original on the website in our Music Library. We have recordings of our version that were made for my church. I haven't yet decided how I want the verses to go. Maybe a solo to start, then sopranos and altos on the second verse is fine. We'll see how it develops.

4. Welcome Christmas: finished! We learned from 35 to the end. Then, we reviewed the beginning too. It was pretty good! We'll continue to review this one. And, we do have recordings in case you are feeling a little behind. Lots of oohs and ahhs, which I know are not your favourite thing, but they're so pretty in this song! 

5. Song for a Winter's Night: The oohs and ahhs in this-especially at the beginning- are a challenge. I really wanted us to take on the challenge of that choral intro this year, but I might let it go. We can ask Donna to give us a piano intro again. What do you think?  There are the ones under the verses, and we're pretty good on those, but the new people have a lot to learn. Help me to decide. Are you feeling like you spent time learning it and if I drop that beginning, you'll be disappointed? Or, will you be relieved? Maybe to make it different, we could have a single soprano solo at the beginning up to 18? 

We talked about: 

The Concert Poster! It's so cool. Collette's husband Paul designed them for us. (Thank you!). Post them if you have a spot, and share them online. You can copy and save the picture on the website and email it to everyone you know, and share it on your socials. But! 

Tickets: But, let people know that they can save $5 by getting tickets from you, in advance. You can buy tickets for your friends and family on Tuesday nights at choir for only $20 each. The price online through the website is $25, and tickets at the door will also be $25.  

The Concert: new folks will wonder what to expect. We talked about the surprises: small groups and solos/duets, guitar, cello, and flute joining us. And, our repertoire is usually a surprise to the family and friends of new folks. Often people come expecting Christmas Hymns and a very choral sound for two hours. They will be happy to hear lots of variety in themes and genres and sounds. And then, there's the bake sale at intermission. More on that in the next few weeks.  

The Market on Nov. 14: please sign up so I can see which song we can do. We'll do a short set, maybe 20 minutes including sing-alongs and we'll repeat that one set twice, or maybe three times. I'm going to get the plan from the band soon.  Our craft night went really well, and people have come forward with other crafts and things donated for us to sell. A few of us are working on promotional materials too. 

Next week, Tuesday, October 27th: 

6:30 River small group with Alan (guitar). No sign-up. This is a very small, closed group.

7:00 Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree small group with Alan -you can sign up for this one.

• Angels Among Us
• Christmas Lullaby
• Hockey Song
• Nutcracker Jingles
• O Holy Night

YRCC 2026 Winter Concert Poster

 

YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review October 13th

Exhilarating, uplifting, even intoxicating: choir nights are essential to my wellbeing. I am grateful- as thankful as many of you tell me you are- and also gratified, proud of this amazing thing we have. Merely humming or singing has been proven to be good for you, but this work that we do together -learning and teamwork-and the glorious music we create together as a result all support our physical, mental, and emotional health. We are so lucky! (But smart to choose it, right?)

I didn’t write this right after our rehearsal, not Wednesday as usual, but today is Thursday. Yesterday I was occupied with other things, primarily my craft night. I knew it would be great. I always love spending time with choir people outside of choir. I know that there is creator light inside of all of us and we choristers are able to access it and share it especially well. We crafted and chatted and enjoyed a productive and rewarding evening preparing for the market part of our Aurora Community Band Holiday Market contribution. Check out the photos below of the ‘little trees’ we made- painted, glued, assembled, and packaged.

I will connect with the band to get details about our choir performance contribution and you’ll hear more about that soon. Please sign up on the website and book that time to spend at least part of the day singing with us:Saturday, November 14th from 10 to 2.

Another heartwarming thing was the way everyone pitched in to get settled in that unfamiliar room and returning the chairs and tables afterwards. Big thanks to Trix and Curtiss-Wright for providing a perfectly congenial space for us!

Tuesday’s rehearsal was excellent, starting with the small group There’s Still My Joy. We made it through most of the song. It’s not an easy one and it’s a little heavy. Beautiful harmonies.

1. Calypso Christmas: Woo! It's fun and not very difficult but quite effective. We learned all the way to the bottom of page 5! Only one page to go, just the ending. If you missed this rehearsal or found it difficult, please go to the website and use the recording of your part to help you catch up. We will review it, of course.

2. Christmas Lullaby: This is new, and we all had to pick up our copy of the sheet music from Lauren's bin. If you missed today's rehearsal, please be sure to get your music next time. It's a special telling of the Christmas story with a pretty "Ave Maria"angel lullaby chorus, and a focus on what we should find at the manger: a mother and child, humility, love and peace. I have created a simpler arrangement based on Rutter's. The piano accompaniment is missing from your copies. Fear not, Donna has the full version. We went through the first chorus. Let me  know if you think you'd like to sing the first verse as a solo.

3. Shine Hanukkah: also Woo! We've got this! We spent a little time on the ending, page 8. It's going to be slightly different from what we've done in the past. I want more descant, so we'll have all the Sopranos on that, firsts and seconds, and the Altos will divide, with the front row taking the Soprano part. Remember to follow me on the section at 59. Imagine a fermata at the end of every phrase and it's quite slow. Where it says Tempo 1, I usually speed up so that it's faster than before. Woo! Big ending. 

4. Nutcracker Jingles: Brand New! A fun piece of classical music. Only a small number of people have sung this before, people in Donna's Friday choir. So, we're all learning it. We only "walked" through it this time, getting an idea of what is to come. It's quite similar to our Various Themes on Fa-la-la classical medley. It starts fairly seriously with the Jingle Bells song in 3-part harmony. Then, we get 4 different melodies from the Nutcracker ballet sung with Jingle Bell lyrics. Each one will be fun and wonderful, and then there will be a transition that will challenge us. Have no fear, we've conquered something like this before, and Donna is experienced in teaching it. And, she's recorded parts for us!

5. Welcome Christmas: Wow! We got through most of this one! We learned from the oohs and ahhs at the beginning to bar 35 on page 5. Sweet and beautiful without being too complex. I love this. Sopranos, remember your sound should be inspired by little Whos from Whoville, Cindy-Lou Who and the rest. 

6. O Holy Night: We know this very well, but we'll have to go over parts for the new folks. However, I expect that it will be quick, since we're so strong and they can follow the rest of us. And, we have recordings of all the parts. Please take advantage of that excellent resource. Trix sang all the solos, but we'll have a number of soloists. Let me know if you want to be one of them. 

Take note:

Donna's Play:  sign up

Donna is starring in Theatre Aurora's production of Over the River and Through the Woods, running from December 13th to the 21st. We had talked about going together to one of the matinees, but they are selling out, so we decided on the Saturday evening performance on the 21st. I have bought 10 tickets with a group discount. Please sign up in Events on the Member Content website to get the reduced rate. 

Craft Night: done. 

Pub Choir Night: Wednesday, Oct. 21, next week. 

Sign up and buy your ticket to join choir friends for a fun night out singing, but in a very different context. A group of us had so much fun there in July that we had to plan another.

Aurora Community Band Holiday Market Performance:  

Saturday, November 14th from 10am to 2pm. Please sign up for this extra performance. I'm not yet sure when we're singing, but I think we're singing twice. We'll sing a few of our concert songs and we'll do some sing-alongs. I hope that most of you can do this. I can't expect every one of you to be available on a Saturday, but for the choir to sound good, we need people from every section. We'll have the sing-along lyrics printed for you. It may be possible for you to come for only an hour or so, but please sign up for the whole thing and we can work out details when they become clear. The band will be playing 3 sets, and the market will continue the whole time. Enjoy the band, pick up some special holiday items, and spend a day with your choir friends! We'll promote our concert and choir membership as we sell a few crafts at our market table.

Next Week: Tuesday, October 20th We'll be back in our room. 

6:30 There's Still My Joy Small Group

• Calypso Christmas
• Christmas Lullaby
• Nutcracker Jingles
• Song for a Winter's Night 
• Welcome Christmas 

Our work, all wrapped up.

Little Tree

YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review October 6th

We missed our Donna, and hope she feels better soon! However, it was fun to have Tabitha play for/with us. Thank heaven for Tab! She's an excellent back-up and really understands us, having sung alto with us in the past. Such talent. 

We started our Let it Go small group without an accompanist, but were lucky to have both the movie version of the recording and the Musicnotes recording to help us. We made decisions about the arrangement. Look for an email if you're in this group. 

We started the There's Still My Joy small group, but discovered that we had several copies of an old version that we ended up liking better. The arrangement on the website at the moment is not the one we're going to sing. We will sing the SATB version that some of you have. We'll all have the correct one next week.

Warm-ups were brief but loosened us up and warmed up our upper and lower ranges. 

1. Edelweiss: Correct copies were handed out. If you have the new version, just be aware that in the soprano line, there is one note that is incorrect. It's in bar 51, beat one should be a C (like bar 59 and 75), but it's written as G. We learned the special alto verse and ahs at 49. One important note for all the ah people: remember to be fairly quiet there, it's written as mm so that you are quiet, but come in with confidence on every beat one. Altos: nice and loud please. It says mf, but even if you're loud, the next section will be louder because everyone will be singing loud at 88. So, enjoy your special section and sing it out loud. We reviewed parts at 112 again, so please use the wonderful recordings that Donna made if you've been absent or if you're still unsure. (Log in and go to the Music Library, quick link Music Recordings on the main website).

2. Song for a Winter's Night: My focus for tonight was the a cappella verse on page 9. We went over parts and it sounded very good. We showed off to Tab how beautiful it's going to be this year, singing it as written. I love this song. The first page is new for everyone, so we'll go over it again another time, don't worry. And, don't worry about the ahs. We'll review them too. But, if you're worried about this song or missed this rehearsal, you can use Donna's recordings for help, or follow along with a YouTube video of your part. There's a word document in the folder in the Music Library with links, or you can go find it on my YouTube YRCC 2026 Winter playlist.  Enjoy all the songs we're singing there!

3. You're a Mean One, Mr. Grinch:  So much fun! But, not easy. Wow, some of those sections were quite difficult. Pay attention to all the rests, and they'll help with the timing. Watch me for cut-offs too. Carol is going to read those spoken parts. Thank you, Carol! You're always good at creating a humorous moment. We got all the way to "Stink, Stank, Stunk!". We'll need to review all of this, but you can go on and work on your own with the recordings, or sing along to this YouTube video:

 

 

4. Welcome Christmas:  Adorable. Who doesn't love the Whos from Whoville?! Even the Grinch can't resist in the end. We successfully read through the whole piece and learned the section at 10. Yes, we started at 10, skipping the oohs and ahs at the beginning. They're not hard, but it's more fun to learn words, especially nonsense words, right?! Fah who foraze! Dah who doraze!

 

We talked about: 

• Next week we're bumped out of our space again, but this time we're going to Trix's workplace, Curtiss-Wright in Newmarket at 450 Harry Walker Pkwy S. No stairs and more parking. Yay! We will need a few people to start early-before 6:30- to set up the room, and a few people to stay late-after 9:30 to clean up. Thanks for helping out!
• Anne Copsey is at home now and Michele sent a beautiful bouquet to wish her a speedy and thorough recovery. Anne passed along her thanks to all of you. She would welcome contact from choir friends. If you need her email address, I think you can still find it on the website, but if not, just let me know.
• Sign up required for the Events coming up: next week's craft night, pup choir experience on Oct. 21st, and most importantly, Sat. Nov. 14th 10-2 singing at the Holiday Market to promote our concert and choir membership. Also small groups have started. If you joined a small group, make sure you're signed up so you can get those group emails.
•  Make sure you can log in to the website, and your profile is correct. Let Carol know if you're having trouble. If you forgot your password, you can get a new one.

Next week, Tuesday, October 13th 

at Curtiss-Wright at 450 Harry Walker Pkwy S in Newmarket!

6:30 There's Still My Joy (SATB) 

• Christmas Lullaby 
• Calypso Christmas
•  Nutcracker Jingles
• O Holy Night
• Shine Hanukkah
• Welcome Christmas 

 Wednesday, October 14th: Craft night at Renate's, preparing crafts for Nov. 14th. Please sign up in Events. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

YRCC 2026 Rehearsal Review Sept. 29th

I'm sorry I had to leave, but I knew you'd be in good hands. I didn't want to share my germs. If you are sick on choir night, don't hesitate to stay at home, or wear a mask and sit away from others. 

I'm spending another day at home, resting. But, I'm doing a little bit of choir work and a little bit of church work. I try to write my review as soon as I can so that I remember what we talked about, the things that were difficult, and the things that went well. This is late but I hope it's okay.

This Tuesday, we spent a little too long moving ourselves into sections and talking about my cold, so we didn't do a warm-up. I guess the moving into clearer sections, getting closer to your fellow sopranos, tenors and basses, altos, is a way of doing a bit of physical work that takes us away from our "everyday" and into "choir night", becoming choristers. So, it's not too bad.

1. The Hockey Song: We started right away with a sing-through, and then moved into a review of each part during the verses. We'd done the chorus and it sounded great. You’re following my cut-offs and volume prompts really well (or you’re following those who remember from before). We talked a little about keeping some words short, mentioning words like staccato and tenuto. We looked at the vamp on page 4 under the little referee guy. The tenors and basses need to watch me for the up-beat, "where" on beat 4 before E and then for the down-beat on beat 1 "play-ers". Donna will vamp until I hold my hand up for that beat 4. Imagine a fermata over "where". At the top of page 7, we skipped the rest of the page and went directly to the last choruses. But, this time, we're singing page 7. I love it. Drama and the organ from the hockey arena. So, the music feels like it's going to go into the chorus, but instead we suddenly go soft "subito piano" instead. Almost whisper "Do you know the name..." And, we get slowly louder until we're really ready for that last page, and it's really big, starting with "Sid-ney-Cros-by!". Fun!!!

2. Little Tree:  Probably my favourite YRCC song for fall/winter. Such a big contrast to Hockey Song! Sweet and pretty, and so interesting, unusual and unexpected (unless you've heard us sing it in the past). I interpret it as a story of love, and maybe a passion that is almost an obsession. The singer seems to have adopted this stray tree, like a pet, and fallen in love. The harmonies are charming and the echoing of melodies is effective. One important thing that you seem to have figured out already is that there are powerful moments where the two parts come together, and holding notes to the same moment and taking our breaths there is cool. You watch me, and I do make a fuss for those. The first one of these is in bar 22. We're all together, stopping our layering after "I'll comfort you," and then crescendoing together over "little tree" before the big climax coming up. I love page 5! We talked about how the second "I'll give them all to you." is soft and slower and the notes and decrescendo combine to provide to much emotion there. This is an expression of love, and maybe the writer/creator has just grasped the depth of their love. The next section, at 39, is adorable, and it reminds me of the little songs we sing to our puppies or children, maybe giving them a boop on the nose. Philip noticed that the piano introduction sounds like "Close to You". And, I'm reminded of the words of that song "... so they sprinkled moon dust in your hair of gold and star light in your eyes of blue." 

3. Edelweiss: I left Lauren the job of teaching the middle part where the altos get the melody and everyone else sings ahs. I was in no shape to do ahhs, with an achy head and chest. But, I had no idea that the ahs were different in the new version we got. I’m sorry! Lauren is going to make sure we all have the same version next week. We do have recordings of parts if you want to hear what it's supposed to sound like. Check out this performance video. It was a small group. Isn't Robyn amazing? Look at where Melinda and Lauren are singing. 

 

4. So Long, Farewell: Lauren tells me it’s good, you got through the whole thing. There are parts that will need cleaning and polishing but we have time. We sang this in 2013. You can find it on my YouTube playlist. I just watched it. I conducted it, and yet have no memory of it. Funny. OMG. We waved good-bye at the end. I guess we should do that again. It was effective. The audience seemed to like it. I wonder if there will be people in our audience that remember it. 

Sign-ups: I see that some of you have started signing up for the performance at the market in November, for our craft night and pub night this month, and for the small groups. Thank you! Please sign up and book those dates on your calendars. 

The website:  If you haven't yet, please go to the website and log in. Make sure you are able to, and if not, we can help you. Log in and look at the Music Library, poke around and see all the stuff that is there is for you. Update your profile with your binder number, contact info, and maybe a picture of yourself.

Next Week, Tuesday, October 6th 

6:30 Let it Go and 7:00 There's Still My Joy 

• Edelweiss
• Song for a Winter's Night
• Welcome Christmas
• You're a Mean One Mr. Grinch