26 Oct 2025 CE News

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Some calculations: 5 regular rehearsals, 1 long rehearsal, 1 dress rehearsal; then the shows on Dec 5/6. How are you feeling about that timeline? Optimistic, panicked, calm and confident, unsure? We've made it through all the pieces, and now we can start on the perfecting of them. Andre will direct us over tricky spots, but make sure you mark your music on what you find as a tricky spot so you can review it on your own time and get it right. There are some very interesting patterns in the music, so I encourage everyone to listen to the "all voices" and to the music links that Andre has supplied, as it gives you a good feel for the pattern. I marked some of my tricky bits from last weeks rehearsal and took the time to review it until it is solid. As they say, practice makes perfect.

Now is the start of the rush to get us to the end where we present wonderful music to an audience. Tickets will soon be made and printed, so we can start selling the show. Let's all try to find 2 new people to come see the show; we have our regulars, but would love to expand our audience. Consider this a challenge! If you can bring 2 or more, you win! Well ok, we all win as we will have a larger audience.

With the start of the rush we need people to speak to businesses and friends with businesses to see if they want to place an ad in our program. The money from these ad placements supports the creation/printing of the program. No ads means potentially no program, and that would be unacceptable. If everyone spoke to someone they new or a business they frequent often, we would be able to accomplish this. Consider speaking to the vet, the pet store, the grocery store, chiropractor, etc. Any business! Diane has the details of the prices of the ads per size, so please see her for details.

Thank you to everyone who signed up for a task. Your board is not only active in the management of the choir, but takes on most of the tasks to bring this show together, this includes Andre. Every little bit helps and as this is a volunteer organization, we hope everyone is knows they are expected to take on a task. Please share the load. Tasks that are not yet filled will be shared with the choir in email.

Our Purdy's fundraiser is underway; the link is https://fundraising.purdys.com/1367940-130838. Please feel free to order and tell friends about it so they can get great chocolate too. As another fundraiser effort, if you have bottle or cans laying around, please consider cashing them in and sharing with the choir. Every dollar ads up, and as we weren't successful in our grants, we really need some inflow of cash to help even out the expense of the shows/venues/equipment rentals.

Keep singing! And see you Wednesday in Sooke!

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News

30 Nov 2025 CE News

By Sherry Walters • December 1, 2025

Two more sleeps until the dress rehearsal (at Sooke Community Hall at 6 pm) and then the show starts on Friday!!! Please make sure you are on stage, ready to sing at 6 pm. The Hall will be open at 5:30 to get the risers in place. You could come early and lend a hand! What an exciting time when all our hard work gets shown to the community. Have you people coming? Did you find 2 new people to ask to the show? It is always better to sing to a full house, so spread the word, email or phone call. The look of the choir on stage was great on Wednesday.... with a few exceptions. We want to look like the flag, so please make your red (sop and alto) or white (tenor and bass) a solid colour . Black on the bottom (pants, skirt). If you need help, please reach out. If you offered to bring "Canadiana" items for the show, please bring them with you on Friday and we will set up a vignette of Canada. I haven't heard of what is being brought, other than at the long rehearsal, but please remember to be sensitive about the items as to how the item's presence might land on someone else. Keep reviewing your music this week to solidify it in your head. If you haven't yet put it in concert order, check out Andre's blog to see the order it should be placed in. For those new to us, the elastics in the centre of your binder hold the middle of a piece of music; just slip the papers under one of the elastics and you are set. The new music tracks are up on the website; have a listen and we'll see you in January! Lots of cool music. See you TUESDAY! Sherry

22 Nov 2025 CE News

By Sherry Walters • November 23, 2025

If you are counting, you will know we have one more rehearsal, the dress rehearsal and then the shows! It is so close! I hope you are getting excited to present our show to friends, family and the community. During rehearsal, Andre makes comments/notes about some of the trickier spots. Make sure you document those and refer to them when rehearsing so it comes easily during rehearsal. My music is full of notes: tricky spots, when to breathe and when not to, HALL instead of HALLS, and things like that. If you are unsure, reach out to a fellow section member or your section lead to get the scoop. I am requesting that we all wear our colours this Wednesday at our Sooke rehearsal. Reminders: tenor and bass wear white shirt (button down or dressier shirt), black pants, socks, shoes. The alto and soprano will be in red dressier shirts (please stay as close to the colour red as you can, so no burgundy, wine or orange), black pants, socks, shoes. If you want to wear jewelry, keep it to gold and silver so colours don't clash. The idea is that we will look like the Canadian flag. As mentioned last Wednesday, our set will have Canadian memorabilia. We hope to put the items around the choir. If you have something to share, I would request that you send me an email and I will advise if it will work or not. I would request that those with cherished items be responsible for them. I will send out a list of what I have so far. As suggested last week, I'd like to continue to capture the names of our marvelous volunteers. Linda will once again look after our book lights, Mary M, Jacqueline and Emily will be setting up our pre-concert lawn signs, the riser team headed by John and Tony: Thibault, Sebastien, Caleb, Mary W and Jan, Sebastien is helping Andre with the lights and sound, Mary W, Maureen, Nicole, Joy and Gwen are helping with the set, Jan is overseeing the volunteers for front of house, and our front of house will be previous members: Mike, Sheila, Naseem, Christiana and Amanda. Anne and Evangelina will also be helping! And the list goes on! Everyone can also help by getting more people into the audience. If you haven't convinced 2 new people to come, get out there and start selling this show. We want to ensure we have a full house at each venue. An email will be shared soon with details about the show: when to be there, where to be, etc, so be watching for it. Thank you all for being such an amazing part of this organization. And we get to have fun singing, too! See you Wednesday in Sooke!

Director Notes

André's Rehearsal Notes for November 26th, 2025

By Andre Clouthier • November 24, 2025

Concert time Choral Evolution! This week, we will practice with the choir risers. We’ll practice entering, starting a few tunes, looking at some tricky moments and exiting. Here is what might happen: 7:00 Warm up and Locus Iste – Practice Enter Sing the Winter Away Indian Summer - Letter F to end Solstice Carol - a Capella Away from the roll of the Sea - Exit choir Thank you - Places for small group. Exit 8:10 Break Enter Un Canadien Errant Christmas Trilogy – Exit to sing: Carol of the Bells I will see you all at Sooke Community Hall dining room at 6:45 pm, Wednesday November 26 th . André ♪ About singing “high notes” There is a physical element to singing that can’t be imagined or explained, it has to be experienced. When you sing higher pitches, the vocal chords tighten in order to vibrate faster. Your breathing system has to respond with more breath pressure in order to overcome this tightening. When singers and teachers talk about supporting the tone, this is what they are often referring to. You must blow more air with more force in order to get the high notes to speak. Conversely, your vocal chords must be strong enough to resist that higher breath pressure. Practicing and trying are the only way to learn this balancing act. Once you get the hang of this, it becomes second nature and the 2 systems, vocal chords and breath work together in harmony. But you must try to sing out regularly to develop that coordination. Imagining or singing quietly in your car will not do, you must experience and practice the skill. You must find a big room and sing those rising phrases repeatedly, even if you fail. Eventually, the systems will balance themselves and you will develop strong high notes. · Sing regularly in a large room. Sing high passages on “OO” at first, it will be easier, then move to an “AH” and then add the words without losing the feeling. · Don’t worry about cracking or sounding bad, that is part of the process. Over time, strength and coordination will build and you will gain confidence when attempting higher passages. · Sing those higher passages multiple times and return to them regularly. Sing a comfortable Mezzo Forte at first, then get softer for passages marked Piano. · Use Locus Iste as a practice piece, there is lots of variety.

André's Rehearsal Notes for November 19th, 2025

By Andre Clouthier • November 17, 2025

Crunch Time Choral Evolution! Our time is getting short. We have 2 more rehearsals before our dress rehearsal on December 2 nd and concerts December 5 and 6. It’s amazing how the time has flown by. Only a few months ago most of this music was a mystery to us, now we can't get the tunes out of our heads. You can each make an enormous difference in the quality of our performance in the coming weeks. Pay attention to your practice, really critique your knowledge of the music. Focus on passages that are fuzzier for you and clean them up. Listen and sing along with the recordings and do your best to sing out and commit to every entrance and cutoff. Please put your music in the following concert order: O Canada Sing the Winter Away Indian Summer (Echoes of Summer) All the Little Rivers Locus Iste Solstice Carol Away from the roll of the Sea Thank you Intermission Un Canadien Errant In the Early Mornin’ Rain Make and Break Harbour The Field Behind the Plow Christmas Trilogy Carol of the Bells Here are the arrangements we will work on Wednesday evening: 7:00 Warm up and Locus Iste – 7:30 Sing the Winter Away 7:50 Solstice Carol 8:10 Break 8:20 Un Canadien Errant 8:40 Early Mornin’ Rain 9:00 Christmas Trilogy – I will see you all at The Masonic Hall in Langford at 7 pm Wednesday November 19 th . André ♪ About singing “high notes” There is a physical element to singing that can’t be imagined or explained, it has to be experienced. When you sing higher pitches, the vocal chords tighten in order to vibrate faster. Your breathing system has to respond with more breath pressure in order to overcome this tightening. When singers and teachers talk about supporting the tone, this is what they are often referring to. You must blow more air with more force in order to get the high notes to speak. Conversely, your vocal chords must be strong enough to resist that higher breath pressure. Practicing and trying are the only way to learn this balancing act. Once you get the hang of this, it becomes second nature and the 2 systems, vocal chords and breath work together in harmony. But you must try to sing out regularly to develop that coordination. Imagining or singing quietly in your car will not do, you must experience and practice the skill. You must find a big room and sing those rising phrases repeatedly, even if you fail. Eventually, the systems will balance themselves and you will develop strong high notes. · Sing regularly in a large room. Sing high passages on “OO” at first, it will be easier, then move to an “AH” and then add the words without losing the feeling. · Don’t worry about cracking or sounding bad, that is part of the process. Over time, strength and coordination will build and you will gain confidence when attempting higher passages. · Sing those higher passages multiple times and return to them regularly. Sing a comfortable Mezzo Forte at first, then get softer for passages marked Piano. · Use Locus Iste as a practice piece, there is lots of variety.