Solo Assignments- will be updated

I'm posting this but it is a work in progress. I'll let you know when it's final.

Carol of the Bells
Soprano: 9-12 +13-24 +37-44 +37-fine (solo and lead) (Mary Ellen)
Soprano: 13-24 +37-44 +37-fine (Dolores)
Alto: 13-24 +37-44 +37-fine (DEBBIE)
Alto:13-24 +37-44 +37-fine (CAROL)
Tenor: 17-24 +37-44 +37-fine (Todd)
Bass: 17-24 +37-44 +37-fine (important ending, very low) (BILL)

In Our Town in December
 5-12 (intro solo) (Bill)
24-31 ( Hanukkah solo) (SOPHIE V., back-up)
32-39 (Christmas duet) (TRACEY and JANE, back-ups)

Let There Be Peace On Earth
Duet 2 first Sopranos, very strong 9-34 ( Kristen and Mary Ellen Lasota, Anne Marie as back-up)

One Voice
Soprano: 6-15+9-22 (Heather, need backup)
Alto: 18-22 (Teija, Janet)
Tenor: 15-22 (Stanley, need a back-up)

Mamma Mia
Soprano: 23-47 (LOUISA Heather will be back-up)
Soprano: 94-106+199-122 (KIT Sophie will be back-up)
Alto: 124-132 (DAPHNE Trix will be back-up)
Soprano: 200-208 (CATHY Kristen will be back-up)

I Love Lucy/Friendship

Groovy song from Cole Porter's Anything Goes done by Lucy and Ethel.
We'll do this as a small group in the spring. We have a fun choral arrangement.

Mele Kalikimaka

Ok. I won't ask anyone to sing and dance, but maybe a lei, or sunglasses would be fun? What do you think?

Meal Ministry- great ideas to share

Hey Everyone,

One thing I love about Facebook is that people share all kinds of interesting things, and you don't have to agree, or worry about making a face that shows you don't.

I don't want to start Pinning- that Pinterest thing where you share interests by Pinning, which is kind of like Liking on FB. But, I like seeing what other people pin. Is that weird? Maybe just lazy?

So, one of the things that a friend Pinned yesterday is a blog post called "Top 13 Meal Ministry Meals" which gives ideas for meals to take to people or to take to a potluck or church thing. It's from a really cool blog that I think a number of you will like. It's called TakeThemAMeal.com Blog. It's from a website called TakeThemAMeal.com.

The whole thing started when a friend needed help and there were a ton of people who wanted to contribute meals for a family over a period of time and there was a need to coordinate all these people, schedule it in a central place. A website grew and now they also have the blog which shares all kinds of great ideas for helping people, and even just plain practical advice: How to Support a Person Through Loss and Transition, 19 Ways to Help During Crisis, From Your Freezer to Your Family, etc.

I'm looking forward to reading more of those posts and I hope that you might find it interesting. And, if you don't. Don't worry about it. I can't see your face.

Yours in harmony,

Renate

Sept. 17 Fantastic rehearsal!

Wow!!! Tonight was Fantastic! Amazing! Spectacular!
I had so much fun!!!
The YRCC has never sounded better. We are hot, hot, hot :)

Here's what we did:
1. Warm-up included different kinds of voice-stretching, range-expanding techniques.
2. I Will Always Be With You, pp6-9. We are just about done. Sang to the end!
3. Do You Hear What I Hear, section D. And, sang from the beginning to the end of that section.
4. One Voice, p 5 to the top of 6.
5. Hymn to Freedom, sight read through and it was really good!

It was great and we sounded fabulous, but I have to teach faster. I had planned to sight-read through 2 more songs :) But, I was enjoying the amazing sound we had. "Let's do that again!" I really did get the chills several times. Our harmonies were perfect and full and just wow!

Please do work with the recordings if you can find some time! We really have a lot to do, and it's all such great music that we want to do all of it and not have to drop anything because we didn't have enough time. We can do it!

What you missed on Sept. 10

Here's what you missed if you didn't make to choir on Sept. 10:
If you can, have a look at the parts in red to catch up.

1. Warm-up (massage, etc)
2. Mamma Mia with past soloists, ending at Dancing Queen
3. Chorus of the Hebrew Slaves, run-through
4. I Will Always Be With You, sight read through, **parts: pp1-5
5. We Wish You a Merry Madrigal, sight read through, **parts: pp2&3
6. Do You Hear What I Hear, sight read through
7. You Raise Me up, run-through

Solos in our Songs

Here's a list of all the various solos that are available. Look at them to see what range is required. They are marked SATB, but you can sing anything that's within your range. If you're a Bass, and you want a Tenor solo, that's fine. Same for Alto and Soprano. It's not usually important where you stand. Please let me know if you are interested in doing one in particular or any one of them. I will need back-up soloists too. I will assign solos as soon as possible.

Carol of the Bells
Soprano: 9-12 +13-24 +37-44 +37-fine (solo and lead)
Soprano: 13-24 +37-44 +37-fine
Alto:13-24 +37-44 +37-fine
Alto:13-24 +37-44 +37-fine
Tenor: 17-24 +37-44 +37-fine
Bass: 17-24 +37-44 +37-fine (important ending, very low)

In Our Town in December
Anybody(SATB): 5-12 (intro solo)
Anybody(SATB):24-31 (Hanukkah solo)
Duet (SA or TB): 32-39 (Christmas duet)

Let There Be Peace On Earth
Duet 2 first Sopranos, very strong 9-34 (I'm thinking, Kristen and Mary Ellen Lasota, but willing to hear your input)

One Voice
Soprano: 6-15+9-22 (Heather, need backup)
Alto: 18-22 (Teija, need backup)
Tenor: 15-22 (Stanley has been assigned, need a back-up)

Mamma Mia
Soprano: 23-47 (Heather will be back-up)
Soprano: 94-106+199-122 (Sophie will be back-up)
Alto: 124-132 (Trix will be back-up)
Soprano: 200-208 (Kristen will be back-up)

Register before Monday

Hello YRCC Choristers!

It's almost time! Monday is only around the corner. I'm super-excited. We've got amazing music planned and   it's going to be so good to see all of you again!

Please come a bit early to pay your registration fees. You don't have to register on Monday, just pay. Because, you can pre-register online!!!

Please register online instead of waiting until Monday, if you have the chance to. In fact, stop reading this and go to the website now and do it. It will only take a few seconds! Click here. Do it.

All you need to do is log in with your email address (the one you've given us before) and make up a password for yourself. The log-in box is near the top on the left.

Once you're logged in, most if  not all of your information will show up. Update it and save it and you're done!

It'll say that you still need to pay. You will do that on Monday. You'll receive an email to let you know that you're registered but you have to pay-a kind of invoice will be sent to you. And, when you log in next time there will be a reminder in the bottom right-hand corner of the screen that you owe $60, until Monday.

Spend some time clicking around while you're there. There's a bunch of cool stuff already online, and more coming! Super-exciting!

Here's a link to the website again: click here.

See you Monday!!!

Yours in harmony,

Renate

Soprano? Alto? What am I? Examples and discussion: Soprano, mezzo-soprano, a...

I am reposting this repost because it's so good.
There are sample clips of singers that fall into each category.
This is one way to try to figure out which part suits you best.
In our choir, we have Sopranos, Altos, Tenors and Basses. Sometimes Tenors and Basses sing a Baritone part together. Our music is SAB or SATB, and sometimes it's only in 2 parts.

City of Dunedin Choir: Examples and discussion: Soprano, mezzo-soprano, a...: The following is a cross-post from my blog The Chorister . I have copied it to here, because I thought members of City Choir might find it i...

WEBSITE!

The YRCC Website is now up and running!

It's still under construction, but already has tons of useful stuff on it. 

For the public, you'll see how to contact us and what events we have coming up and some general information about us. There's a link to this blog, and to our YouTube page where you can see and hear samples of our performances.

For members there's lots more!

YRCC choristers, when you go to the website, you'll see on the left side a white box for your email address and a white box for a login password. Use the email address that you use for the choir and make up a password. Trix has input all of our data, so you'll find your address, phone number etc already there. Thanks, Trix!

Review your information and update it, filling in any missing bits, and then you're registered. All you have to do on Sept. 10 is pay your membership fee of $60. 

Once you've logged in, you'll have access to the members only section. Go to links to resources. Treasures! There's all of our music! You can download the accompaniments and your part to the songs we're doing this season. (all the parts are not up yet, but will be soon) You can make yourself a CD of all the accompaniments and your parts to all of the songs, or you can use them on your computer or iPod, or anywhere you can download WAV files. There's also pdf downloads of the sheet music to preview- but you'll get purchased copies in your binders, so you won't need these after Sept. 10, unless you prefer to read them on your iPad, or computer. 

You'll be able to sign up for performances through the events page. And, I'll be able to see everyone that's signed up, so I'll know which soloists I can use, etc. 

Where it says links for members, you'll find our calendar. Click on the calendar to find details about our events, including maps. And, there's also a link to this blog, because I've always got the Nota Bene box which has reminders and the Schedule box with upcoming dates to remember that will help keep you on track. 

Also on this blog, you'll find the box in which I've got links to the blog posts about music theory that are very useful and another box with links to the blog posts that are videos of us. 

So, hopefully you'll never wonder what day our Christmas concert is or what time we have to be somewhere or where you need to be, and have to wait for Monday to find out. All the information you need will be at your fingertips!

Keep checking in for more features as the website keeps growing. 

Happy clicking!

No space for new choristers?

Is it possible? 

The York Region Community Choir has been happily growing for the past 6 years or so, after a period of uncertainty and renewal.

And now, we're at a point where we have to have a waiting list! 

We are very close to the maximum number of people that fit in our rehearsal space, and have already had to limit the number of members going out to seniors' homes because of lack of space. All summer, we've been trying to get a bigger rehearsal space with no success. There are very few options available to us, none of them satisfactory.

We're still going to be very happy to have men join, because our tenor and bass sections are still under-represented. But, we will have to stop accepting new sopranos and altos. Shocking.

We discussed how a waiting list would work at our last executive meeting- very reluctantly. We are very uncomfortable with having to say no to people who want to join our choir. 

We love our choir and would love for everyone in York Region to have the experience we are having. The idea has been that anyone in York Region who wants to have the experience of singing in a choir should be able to. Our fees are low and negotiable, and no previous experience is required. The Region supports us by providing our wonderful free rehearsal space, and we've been very proud to represent York Region at community events and at the seniors homes that we love visiting. We've been very proud and happy to accept new members and to share this great thing we have. But, we are approaching the point where we will have to say no.

We will be posting the details of how our waiting list will work soon. 

Sleeping In: messing with circadian rhythm

Circadian rhythm is not a fancy jazz term.


It refers to something in our biological clock that is a daily cycle, like sleeping and eating patterns. We're influenced by daylight, dark/light cycles, but, the 24-hour cycle is built in to us. Like lots of other things in nature, we have daily patterns of behaviour. Our daily sleep pattern is a big deal.

Jet lag and shift work mess with your sleep patterns. So do weekends, and summer holidays. 

You can read about studies that show that keeping a regular sleep pattern is good for your health, performance at school and work, everything. And, the reverse is also true. Not being in rhythm is bad for your health, performance, etc. Still, many of us sleep in when we can, especially on weekends, and end up suffering on Mondays and whenever we need to get back to our routines. 

School starts next week and I'll be happy to have the regular rhythm of the school week back. Harry and I both have irregular hours, so the girls' school days set the rhythm. Without the structure of a regular day, things get messy. This has been the case for the whole summer. Our sleep patterns haven't had a regular pattern. 

I don't think it's a horrible thing that our circadian rhythms are irregular in the summer. Music doesn't keep the same rhythm throughout a song. That would be boring. A change in pattern is interesting and necessary. Even in Mozart's music (think Mozart Effect)  there are necessary changes in rhythm and tempo. Our summers are more jazzy, with lots of improv. 

So, I'll let my family sleep in. But, maybe just a bit less, so that it's closer to the rhythm of the school year which is just around the corner. After all this free jazz, classical could be a shock to the system.

Exciting Project- New Recreation and Event Centre in Aurora

Our good friend and fellow chorister Bill Reid is involved in an exciting project in Aurora. The plan is to build a new Recreation and Event Centre in Fleury Park that can be used by a variety of sports clubs (in particular the Aurora Tennis Club) and community groups, and will include an amphitheatre where people can come and hear us sing! We loved our experience singing in Newmarket's Fairy Lake Park Amphitheatre and look forward to performing at this proposed new park!
Check out this newspaper article: click here
And keep up-to-date with the progress of the project on the Facebook page: click here
Here's the picture from the newspaper article that shows Bill with the model of the building. Check out all the playing surfaces inside.

More Support for Singing in a Choir

Through Facebook, I read another good article about the benefits of singing in a choir. 

Here's a link to the article called "The Choral Cure": click here

Like I said on FB, we just do it because it feels great. You don't have to convince us. 

 Indeed, in the article it says "Singing is the best free drug going."

Here's the best part: 
"Like walking, singing has always been taken for granted – it's just something people have always done," says lead author Professor Stephen Clift. "But just as walking is now prescribed, the benefits of singing for health are slowly being rediscovered by health practitioners."

Like walking, singing is something that everyone should be doing. 

Another Olympic Success!

Another group of YRCC Olympians made us proud. The York Region Community Choir participated in the Olympic Finale Event at the Upper Canada Mall in Newmarket yesterday, Saturday, August 11th, 2012. 

This time, our choir was asked to sing more, because they loved us so much the first time. What an honour! 

We were told that our O Canada "gave the community a feeling of patriotism", which we all felt when the crowd cheered at the end of our beautiful a cappella version of our national anthem. What a thrill! 

I'm so proud to be part of this wonderful group of people, the York Region Community Choir. 

Here's the picture of the group that performed at the Olympic Opening Event. 

YRCC Olympians return to the Mall Saturday

Come to the Upper Canada Mall on Saturday, August 11, 2012 at 11:00am!

Hear the choir sing to celebrate the excellent work of our Olympic athletes in London.

We're part of another Olympic Event at the Mall.

There will be commemorative medals and photos and a gymnastics display in addition to our performance- all happening in Centre Court.

Go, Canada, Go!!!

Sing to Your Sweetheart

I was thinking about campfire songs, and Googled it. Most of the campfire stuff was for girl guides and boy scouts and children in general.

So, I got to thinking about what you sing when you're not a kid anymore. 

My teenage daughters sing with their friends- pop songs from the radio, mostly with the radio. They sang well past midnight at a sleepover in our basement recently. I loved it. 

My husband and I break out in song frequently, singing bits of things from all over the place- old and new radio, musicals, movies, TV commercials, anything. That's one thing I love about Harry. He's a great singer and knows tons of songs and is playful and confident enough to sing anytime, anywhere. He doesn't have to sing anything romantic or even sing it to me for his singing to make my heart flutter. Hmmm...

I Googled a bit more and I came across this article:

Songs To Sing To Your Girlfriend

By: Matt Ralfe


The writer suggested that when guys think they should "do something sweet for their girlfriends to enhance their relationship," they should sing something romantic. 

He says that it's great if you can play a guitar or piano-"Luckily most girls like simple songs with simple chords." (what?!)- And, if you don't, he suggests you get a karaoke version of the song. 

"Don't worry if you think your voice sounds like a frog. It will not matter to your girlfriend if you can't sing, just the thought of doing this for her is enough. Just be confident. Make sure to practice first, though."(my italics) 

He goes on to suggest a number of suitable "romantic" songs.


Aside from his weird notions about girls liking simple songs and the idea that you have to practise first before singing for a girl and need accompaniment, Matt's got the right idea.  

Sing to your girlfriend. Sing anything to your girlfriend. Try it. I bet she'll like it. 

Sing to your boyfriend. 

Sing together. 

We sing to and with our babies all the time, and it's a great expression of love. We know babies love to hear your voice singing, the voice they love. So, sing to your sweetheart.

Summer Singing

We just had a long weekend and I'm sure that lots of people had campfires. I see and hear about more and more people having outdoor fireplaces in their backyards too. So, I'm wondering whether there was a lot of singing going on. And, what were people singing?

When I think about campfire singing, it's mostly the girl guide stuff I think of first:

• Fire's Burning 
• My Eyes are Dim 
• Make New Friends 
• Land of the Silver Birch 
• Kumbaya, etc. 

Then, there's pop stuff like:

• American Pie 
• Stairway to Heaven 
• Bridge Over Troubled Water
• Hey Jude (wasn't that cool at the Olympic Opening Ceremony?)

And what about:

• the Gilligan's Island and Brady Bunch theme songs
• I wish I were an Oscar Mayer Weiner ; )

And my kids might sing:

• Pumped Up Kicks
• Somebody That I Used to Know

Do you sing around the campfire? What do you sing?

Olympic Athletes Making Us Proud

Following the Olympics a bit. Isn't it awesome? Feeling proud!

Olympic Stars

Friday's Opening Ceremony event at the Mall was excellent!

The members of the York Region Community Choir who were able to come out and sing had a great experience. It was fun and very rewarding.

It was such an honour to represent our community that way. You could hear the power of the moment in our O Canada. It has never sounded better! A CTV camera was there to capture the event and we were on the news Friday night! Here's a link to that broadcast: click. The event is mentioned right at the beginning and you can hear a snippet of O Canada at 2:27.

We sang You Raise Me Up to open the event. It was beautiful. We're so lucky to be able to share such wonderful music.

The Olympic gold medalist who was there gave a wonderfully inspiring speech and we were able to see her gold medals.We were each given a commemorative medal and then we had our picture taken. My family was there and we had our picture taken too.

Everybody, Come to the Mall on Friday!

Tell your friends and family to come to the mall to hear us sing at the Olympic Opening Ceremony Celebration.
They are giving away commemorative medals and souvenir photos to the first 150 visitors. You can meet two Gold Medal Olympians, Anne Ottenbrite-Muylaert and Larry Cain. And, there is going to be a gymnastics demonstration as well.

Update on the Olympic Event

Oooh. Now there are 2 Gold Medalists coming to hear us sing!

Choir Olympic Event

Hey Everyone, the choir is in an Olympic Event!!!
400m sing? Note holding? Voice throwing?
Nope.
It's the 2012 Summer Games@UCM Opening Ceremony Celebration Event.
We'll be singing our National Anthem and You Raise Me Up at Upper Canada Mall to help Newmarket, York Region, and all of Canada cheer on our athletes in London on the day of the Opening Ceremony.

Music in the Park, Fairy Lake

Wednesday, July 4th, 2012, weather permitting, the York Region Community Choir is going to perform at Fairy Lake Park in Newmarket.

The concert will be the first of the Music in the Park season. Every summer, the Town of Newmarket has free outdoor concerts every Wednesday and Sunday evening throughout July and August.

We're the first one this year!

YRCC is going to put on a show similar to our spring concert: SHOWBIZ! We're featuring songs from stage and screen: opera, musical theatre, movies, television, and YouTube.

We have a great selection of choir, small group, and solo pieces mostly accompanied by our amazing pianist, Sapphire Navaratnarajah, and also featuring some guitar accompaniments.

The concert starts at 7:00 pm and runs about 1 1/2 hours.

Bring a lawn chair or blanket to sit on to watch the concert. The rocks are pretty, but I prefer a soft seat.

Main Street, Newmarket

Just in time for Canada Day, Harry has made the move to Main Street Realty in Newmarket!

We love our great country and we love our hometown. We can't wait to join in the Canada Day celebrations- as we do every year- on Main Street and in Fairy Lake and now in Riverwalk Commons too!

We love our home in Newmarket, and are both active in this community. The Main Street name resonates with us because Main Street, Newmarket is where the spirit of the town resides. Walking or driving down Main Street always feels special.

When you're thinking about buying or selling a house in Newmarket, or anywhere in York Region and the GTA, talk to Harry Naghavi at Main Street Realty in Newmarket.

One In A Million

Hello Everyone,
We were just talking about how the choir is a community, and really more like a big family, at our last performance. We were all proud and happy when Jonathan sailed through his performance of Love Changes Everything and nailed the challenging last notes.
We love our choir and celebrate when one of us does well and mourn together when someone suffers a loss.
I had an email from Elliot, former Tenor and friend of Karen and her dad, Bill. I felt his pride and had to share it here with you. It feels great when one of us does well, even in our extended family.

Dear friends and family,
>
> My son, Ron Fromstein, is fortunate to have his first musical, ONE IN A
> MILLION (a micromusical) running at the Toronto Fringe from July 6-16.
>
> It is the story of four very different sperm on a quest to the egg, who
> may or may not be all they imagined. Direction and choreography are by
> Steve Morel, who directed the original Fringe production of the Tony-award
> winning The Drowsy Chaperone.
>
> I hope you will be able to make it to a performance! I will probably be seeing several performances and would enjoy sharing the occasion with you.
>
> All performances take place at Randolph Academy for the Performing Arts
> (formerly known as the Bathurst St. Theatre)
>
> 736 Bathurst Street (west side, south of Bloor)
>
> The show runs 60 minutes
>
> Toronto Fringe Festival Performances:
>
> Friday July 6 8:45 PM
> Saturday July 7 1:45 PM
> Sunday July 8 10:30 PM
> Tuesday July 10 3:15 PM
> Thursday July 12 7:30 PM
> Friday July 13 3:30 PM
> Sunday July 15 12:00 PM
>
>
> http://oiamillion.wordpress.com/creative-team/

Congratulations, Elliot! We share in your pride over your son's musical!

Yours in harmony, 
Renate 

Music for Healing

We know that music is magical. It affects our health and well-being. Singing in the York Region Community Choir is a wonderful, healthy activity that we enjoy every Monday evening.
Lately, our Mondays are even more rewarding.
We're on our seniors' tour. We're visiting retirement residences and nursing homes in our community. Last week we visited Doane House Hospice in Newmarket.
When we visit seniors to sing for and with them, we feel great because we're doing what we love to do, and it's good for us, and we can feel great about contributing to the health and well-being of our audience members.
I just read about The Vancouver Chamber Choir's Music For Healing recordings:
 a series of three discs designed to accompany people facing serious life challenges. It has been funded entirely through generous donations by individuals and organizations who want to be part of an important and ongoing gift to the therapeutic process in their communities.
The first two discs look amazing and are available on their website. The choir is presently working on the third CD. It's an impressive project. I can totally relate to their desire to connect with the community in this way, and can imagine that it's a very successful and satisfying mission. They say:
It is our way of saying through our music, “You do not stand alone”. 
Choral music can do that best. The sound of a community of singers, people's voices joining together in unison and in harmony, is special.
Check out the sound clips on the website. They are really extraordinary. There are samples of all kinds of music the choir sings.

Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul. (Plato)

Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul. (Plato)

When our music makes people laugh and cry, when people stand up and start to dance in response to our music, when we can see that our music has touched someone's soul, we have shared a little of what we feel when we make our music. This giving and sharing is immensely gratifying. Each laugh, each tear, every dance step is a great gift to us. Sharing an hour of music with seniors reminds us of how very lucky we are to have the privilege of immersing ourselves in music together every week.

YRCC sings "Mamma Mia" - ABBA Medley (May 2012)

After the big show: "down" time

Hey, Everyone,

Do you feel like I do after the big show? A little down?

It was fantastic. We were wonderful. The audience was wonderful. They loved us. A standing ovation! (I told you so. Glad we had the encore ready.) The second standing ovation, we bow again and say our thank-yous, and clean up.

And it's over.

For the next few days there's relief, but also a sadness.

We worked really hard and gave our all, and the joy is intense, but so short-lived!

It's got a name, this feeling: Post-Show Depression. Really. Some people get hit really bad.

We're so lucky to have the seniors' visits lined up so that we can continue to perform our music for a while, so all is not lost. And, we know we'll be back in rehearsals in September. But, the big show is over. And, it makes most people feel at least some sense of loss.

Rest assured, it's normal and most of us were affected in one way or another.

Even if the thrill is fleeting, it's totally worth it, isn't it?!!

Yours in harmony, 
Renate