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 14^th, 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.

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News

CE News 22 Feb 2026

By Sherry Walters • February 23, 2026

Another great rehearsal under our belts! Thank you everyone for the work you are doing at home and at sectionals to make this music POP (pun intended....sorry). It is starting to show the dedication to learning the music and makes Gordon's directions more easily understood and followed. Per the schedule, we will be in Sooke for the next 3 rehearsals: Wed 25 Feb Sooke Community Hall dining room, Saturday 28 Feb Rose of Lima church, March 4 Sooke Community Hall dining room. Please make every effort to make the long rehearsal especially as we accomplish a lot in those 4 hours....and have a great time getting to know one another more over coffee and snacks. Thank you to those that have used the attendance email to register your absence (attendance.ce2023@gmail.com). This allows us to keep track of members and ensure you are keeping up when you are away. Remember, if you are feeling better, you can join the choir with a mask and sit to the side. That way you still get the opportunity to learn. As a fundraiser, please consider donating your bottles: you can return them and gift the money to the choir, or we are working on a day for everyone to bring bottles to rehearsal so we can cash them in. Thanks for supporting your choir! Have a great day and we'll all meet again on Wednesday, in Sooke.

CE News 15 Feb 26

By Sherry Walters • February 15, 2026

It's another beautiful day, although a bit cold, but a great time to go for a walk. And do you know what works great when walking? Keeping step with your music. If you don't know all the words, da-da-da, or la-la-la works great. Take some great deep breaths and sing. Pop in those earphone/earbuds and sing with your tracks or with the all voices track. Some of the songs are "earworms" so it is easy to learn and sing them. Last week I spoke out of turn by putting attention on the possibility of shirts for the choir for this show. It may occur, but I don't want anyone to be alarmed about the prospect of the shirt. We are still fact finding and are early enough in the season to be able to do something about an added cost. As we have more details, I will ensure they are shared with the group. Thank you to those who shared thoughts. Our first retreat/long rehearsal is fast approaching (Feb 28) so make sure you keep that day free and are able to attend. We accomplish a lot at these 4 hour sessions, so it is very appreciated when everyone comes. Section leads will keep notes so if there is anyone who cannot attend, please speak with your section lead to get the scoop. I have 1 person (thanks Mary) who is bringing goodies to the event. Any more takers? I will be asking at rehearsal for help. Everyone should have received the email from Andre to say he is healing remarkably well. I spent some time with him yesterday and can confirm that he is doing very well. Although he is on his healing journey, he will participate in some regard for our shows so we will get the opportunity to see him before next session. Just a reminder, this is flu and cold season....I let myself get stressed and run down and a cold found me. Now I get to deal with post nasal drip and sounding like a bass! If you are not well, please see the wellness policy and stay home to take care of yourself. If you are feeling better, please attend, wear a mask and sit off to the side/back so that you get the benefit of the lesson even if you can't (and probably shouldn't, as I learned) sing. Prevention is the best way to remain healthy, so wash your hands often. Hoping to see everyone in Langford on Wednesday at 7! Enjoy family day tomorrow.

Director Notes

Rehearsal Notes for February 24th, 2026

February 24, 2026

I noticed that we never did get to SOMEBODY TO LOVE. The first 30 minutes of this week will be on this piece. Gordon LINK: Gordon Notes LINK: YouTube Playlist

Rehearsal Notes for February 18th, 2026

By Adriana Test • February 17, 2026

Please look at all the words and associated rhythm of those words in SOMEBODY TO LOVE. My experience of this song with a previous choir was that I was NOT able to teach this to you in rehearsal. I became a success ONLY through your individual hard work and the work you did at sectionals. I will take NO credit for your ability to sing SOMEBODY TO LOVE. Yes, I can and I will help. But ... ... ... it's really all about you. Truly, don't worry about the rest. I am feeling comfortable with you and with the repertoire chosen and I am beginning to look forward to my Wednesday evenings with you. Gordon MORE THAN WORDS it was just a run through through last week ... we need to seriously look at the road map. SOMEBODY TO LOVE BLINDING LIGHTS BIBLICAL WANNABE LINK: Gordon Notes LINK: YouTube Playlist