André's Rehearsal Notes for January 14th, 2026
Welcome to our spring season Choral Evolution!
Last night’s rehearsal was an excellent start to our new season. We welcomed several new members that should become new friends and add to our exciting sound. It’s always a rough start as we sing through new arrangements, but things sounded promising right from the beginning. We’ll start to unpack each arrangement and rehearse in earnest this week.
All of you should visit musictheory.net, a free resource that will teach you all about how written music works. There are theory lessons and ear training for every level of musician. Click on the word “lessons” at the top left and do one lesson a day. It only takes a few minutes to complete each lesson and they are fun and rewarding.
Here is this week’s lineup for our next session:
Lovely Day - bar 57 to end. Once we get this learned the rest of the tune is easy
Blinding Lights - Bar 36 to 60, let’s skip the verse and work out the chorus
Biblical - Let’s read through this one and work on bars 16 to 32
Budapest - bars 13 to 33 with the repeat
Wannabe - read through and rehearse to bar 35
Enjoy learning your parts this week and I will see you all at the Westshore Masonic Centre, 2832 Bryn Maur Road in Langford on January 14th, 2026!
André ♪
Tips:
· Sing regularly in a large room. Sing high passages on “OO” at first, it will be easier than the words, then move to an “AH” and then add the words without losing the “OO” feeling.
- Focus on keeping the breath flowing, keeping tightness out of the throat
· 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.
News
Well, we are off to another start. We've got our music, our tracks and our awesome team of Andre and Gabe to get us singing our hearts out. This should be a really fun session with the idea of a call in radio show! Something new and inventive for our audience. If you have thoughts about the call in for any of the songs, please write them down and submit to Andre. Be inventive! This blog's intent is to give reminders, applause and helpful advice. If there is something specific you would like to see, please let me know. Andre shared some of the ground rules with everyone last Wednesday. Please take them to heart so that we can have the best experience for everyone: the code of ethics was signed by all when we registered, so we have a reference. Andre is always open to comments or questions when you raise your hand. We love us some Andre and Gabe: they are the best! This is the first blog of the year (session) for me, so there are a few items that will be old news for most, but good reminders for all. We are all encouraged to bring water to each rehearsal: singing is hard work, and you will need it. Everyone should have a pencil to lightly mark their music with notes to themselves. Warm up your voice running scales or such in your car before you arrive; it makes it easier to get into the right frame of mind as well as warm up your voice. You and your voice are important to us all: please make every attempt to be at every rehearsal. Please see the website for the wellness policy. There will be other policies up there soon. We will be reaching out soon to request section leaders for each section: this is the person who you go to if you have music questions, who will set up sectionals, and basically keeps the section in the know. The members area is the place to go for information: take a few minutes to check through all the tabs. You can also access all the music tracks and from there download them to your phone or computer. Sue has set up a file with instructions for this (to be uploaded right away!). If you have trouble, please reach out to Sue at suemcleodmail@gmail.com. Thanks Sue! Choral Evolution has a good Facebook and Instagram presence (thanks, Joscelyn!) Please set us up in your feed. We also have a "behind the scenes" area that is only accessed by members: Backstage at Choral Evolution. If you would like access, please email Joscelyn at joscelyng@gmail.com. Wednesday, we will be in Langford at the Masonic Centre. Location and maps are in the members area as well. Westshore Masonic Centre 2832 Bryn Maur Road, Langford. We meet at 7pm (but it is always a good idea to get there a bit early so we can set up!) Happy singing! Sherry
Director Notes
An amazing start to the season Choral Evolutioneers! So many new, talented faces have joined us. So much promising music. We are going to have a blast with this show. Don’t be frustrated because things are confusing at the beginning. Here is a breakdown of how our rehearsal process works. 1. Reading through the arrangement to get an idea of the form, the road map, the blueprint. This takes up the 1 st few weeks and things will be rough. That is to be expected. 2. Breaking down complicated sections so you have a grasp of the structure when you practice on your own. Same 1 st few weeks. 3. Learning your parts! This bit you do at home on your own. We will also have regular sectional rehearsals where you can solidify your parts with your fellow section members. 4. Putting it all together again at rehearsal once the parts are mostly known. Here you will learn what you need to focus on in your private practice. Bring a pencil! 5. Repetition and polishing of the piece getting it to performance level 6. Sharing all our hard work with our audience at a very satisfying concert! For those of you who missed it, here is our plan for the actual Spring shows: 1. It will called “All Request Radio”. A radio DJ seated at a table with lighting, props like an “On Air” sign and a mic, will be running an evening request radio show on “🎶CJOY FM🎶”. We will find someone with actual radio DJ experience or an actor to play the part . 2. People (fictional) have written in requesting the tunes in our lineup with a dedication. The DJ reads the request then talks a bit about the original tunes as set up. He then introduces the tune and the choir performs it. We may prerecord some of the requests or have planted audience members request the tunes. 3. I will write a stinger: “🎶CJOY FM, All Request Radio🎶”. Most likely performed by the Dinos (my name for the small auditioned group, Dinos – Evolution – my sense of humour) 4. We could also work up a couple of short commercial jingles for real or imagined companies and products. 5. If this brings up any ideas, please feel free to share them with me by email. Solo Auditions: Please prepare one of the following excerpts: 1. Tenors and Basses: Blinding Lights, solo line bar 11 to 25, where it is written where it sounds on the recording, middle of your voice, not low, 2. Altos: Blinding Lights, solo line bar 27 to 36, as written 3. Sopranos: Biblical Bar 3 to 10 as written Please focus your practice on the following sections that we’ll look at Wednesday: Lovely Day We should be able to finish this one! Yay. Practice clapping on beats 2 and 4 at bar 83 and repeat Blinding Lights Bars 84 to end, very similar to what we worked on last week Somebody to Love 1 st 34 bars Emotion to bar 32 Good Vibrations to bar 35 Enjoy your week of practice and I will see you all in Sooke at Christian Life Assembly, 6851 W Coast Rd on January 21 st , 2026 ready to go at 7! André ♪ Tips: · Sing regularly in a large room. Sing high passages on “OO” at first, it will be easier than the words, then move to an “AH” and then add the words without losing the “OO” feeling. - Focus on keeping the breath flowing, keeping tightness out of the throat · 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. musictheory.net is a free resource that will teach you all about how written music works. There are theory lessons and ear training for every level of musician. Click on the word “lessons” at the top left and do at least one lesson a day. Each lesson takes just a few minutes to complete and they are fun!. Click on the sentences at the bottom of the page to advance through the lesson. Spending a few minutes a day here will help you become more comfortable with written music.
Happy New Year Choral Evolution! I trust you are having a relaxing Holiday surrounded by those you love. Our 1 st rehearsal of the New Year is coming up fast. I hope that you are excited working thru our new repertoire and learning your parts. We're going to try things a little differently at the start of the season. We’ll play the rehearsal track and sing through the whole tune to start, so we get an idea of what the piece should sound like before taking it apart and rehearsing section by section. I’m hoping this will speed up our learning of the parts and how they weave together. Please focus your practice on the following sections that we’ll look at Wednesday. Everyone will sing the solo lines until we have a chance to audition soloists. Lovely Day bar 57 to end Emotion to bar 32 Somebody to Love to bar 34 Good Vibrations to bar 35 We'll also read through 2 new tunes that will be handed out at the reheasal: Blinding Lights 1st verse and chorus Budapest to bar 32 repeat Enjoy your Holidays and I will see you all in Sooke on January 7 th , 2026! André ♪ Here's an easy to keep New Year's resolution! Visit musictheory.net and expand your musical knowledge. You'll be happy you did. musictheory.net is a free resource that will teach you all about music rudiments. There are theory lessons and ear training for every level of musician. Click on the word “lessons” at the top left and do at least one lesson a day. Each lesson takes just a few minutes to complete and they are fun!. Click on the sentences at the bottom of the page to advance through the lesson. Spending a few minutes a day here will help you become more comfortable with written music.