CE News 18 October 26
"It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas"......okay, well not so much, but our music definitely gets you thinking of Christmas. I haven't even started my shopping yet! Lots of time, I guess as Hallowe'en isn't even here yet. This concert is going to rock with the way the songs are shaping up. I really appreciated Andre's encouraging feedback today about how he feels that we are doing well. Keep up the good work at home, it really shows during rehearsal.
Thanks to the people who brought snacks for the long rehearsal today; I had to nip out to church so I missed the goodies and coffee/tea. It is appreciated how much we pull together with these simple things. Thanks again for the goodies that I'm sure everyone enjoyed. After our rehearsal, a large group of us went to Lawrence and Hilary's to have chili and vegies...even ice cream for dessert. Thank you to Choral Evolution for putting on this event for the choir; it was nice to just hang out together and have some good food. Thank you Lawrence and Hilary for opening your home to the large group.
Not to scare anyone, but did you know we have 6 rehearsals and then the dress rehearsal and shows? Kind of puts things into perspective. If you have tricky spots in your music, now is the time to review them and seek help from your section lead or Andre. Andre also encourages singing out into a large room as we will have to do that when it comes time for the show. Keep working the breathing exercise as it will build your lung capacity as the muscles are strengthened.
We are in Langford this Wednesday, so see you there.
News
You might notice the picture when you click into the blog area. This is a reminder that we won't have an audience if we don't share that we are having a show! Now is the time to speak to friends, family, coworkers, person in line at the grocery store, coffee shop, etc. and tell them about the fabulous show we have coming up. It will be fun for all ages and let them know that they are songs that they should all know! It might even have the audience singing along with us! Physical tickets will soon be available to sell and the board will let you know when that will happen at one of the upcoming rehearsals. Our music is coming together, but keep rehearsing at home and in your sectionals to make it great. Pay close attention to the tricky bits that are pointed out at rehearsal. Our hard work will only made us sound better. If you do miss a rehearsal, you can find the rehearsal tracks in the Practice Tracks. Fraser has done some fantastic editing to make it easier to hear. Thank you for your skills! We are still looking for someone to take on the advertising role: Joscelyn (previous member who wasn't able to join this session) would like to mentor someone in this task; she would work with someone as she knows all that it intails. It involves getting our shows advertised on air, on electronic billboards, getting word out in newspapers as well as free community calendars, etc. The job is not too labour intensive, but needs to happen soon. If this is something you might do, please let a board member know. Thank you to everyone who has found a task to do to keep this choral machine running. If it wasn't for your assistance, so many things would not be able to be done as it would fall to the board and their task load is already very heavy. The board will be able to assist anyone with understanding what the job is, so just ask. I will be sending out a list in email so everyone will know what they chose to help with. A big thank you to the board for all the behind the scenes hard work that you do. Your board has grown with Victoria becoming a new director to help share the load: we appreciate you joining the board and already taking on duties. We will be meeting in Sooke for the next rehearsal. Andre has already sent out the list of what we will work on, so I'll see you in Sooke!
Hey, everyone. Happy Thanksgiving/Friendsgiving! I hope you have the opportunity for Food, Family, Friends and Fun this weekend. I have a houseful coming tomorrow so it's turkey time! We are making great progress on our music, so thank you to everyone who is working so hard to accomplish this. Thank to Andre and Gabe for keeping us on track and teaching us the way of the music so it turns out just right. They are the stars of the photo you see above. Our very own Fraser has mad computer skills and has created all parts of "Child of Wonder". Andre posted a choir singing so use the two to learn. Thank you to both! Click the link below to access the parts one: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1xjTRRlS1Vxq8G-tLWiTq64NcC4cojD1K?usp=sharing Andre's Blog spoke of ticket sales: yes please! Get out there and spread interest. You know the dates of the shows from the calendar (Dec 4, 5) so get people to save the date in their calendars. Let's make us the event of the season that everyone wants to attend. Start talking us up to friends, acquaintances, co-workers, people in line at the grocery store, etc. Sally has worked on an awesome poster and we should get some printed soon so you can post in your car: it is a passive way to share our event. Thank you to everyone who signed up for a task on the "job board". I'll take some time to review it and then share the jobs we still need done. Because we are fewer this session, it might mean that there will have to be more than one job. But I know you are up to it! We are in Langford for the next two rehearsals as well as the SUNDAY "retreat" rehearsal on 18 October from 1-5. Afterwards, those that can make it (and significant others are welcome) will head to Lawrence and Hilary's home for some food and fun times. If you have a portable musical instrument, bring it with you. Please make every effort to be at the long rehearsal as we accomplish so much it is not to be missed! Have a great weekend and we'll see each other on Wednesday in Langford.
Director Notes
Hello Choral Evolution! One of the most important skills a chorister brings to rehearsal and performance is listening. Listening is not easy, it's hard to hear the other parts when your section is singing away. Sitting in a circle like we did on Wednesday makes it much easier to hear the other sections and achieve some balance. We'll set up the same way this week and continue to listen, tune and balance our parts to achieve an exciting and effective sound. Maybe it's time to start singing with the balanced track, listen to how your parts interact with the whole arrangement? Try some drills: how much of a song can you sing without checking your parts? Learn the endings to your piece so you can look up. Learn/memorize lines with page turns to help you look up when you sing. Memorize bits where we'll be slowing or pausing so you can watch the conductor. Here's what we'll work on this week: Child of Wonder - Warm up Like It's Christmas - Clapping, Dynamics Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) All I want for Christmas is You I'll release some of you at 8:45 and keep the small group: Christmas Time is Here Grown up Christmas list And any of these pieces :) Festive Christmas Trilogy Christmas Morning Underneath the Three Christmas Canon White Christmas River Happy New Year Carol of the Bells See you Wednesday evening in Sooke, André ♪ The choir's sound is only as good as the singers making it. Start exercising your voices regularly. Find a nice big space where you won't be disturbed and sing some of the parts you are working on at full voice. Imagine you are in a big hall, really sing out and enjoy the feeling of making a free and open sound. The halls we perform in are large and require a lot of sound to fill. We need each voice to contribute to our exciting live sound Breathing is the rhythm of music – singing is tone on breath – practice the complete breath – be conscious of each breath – then put breath on pitch – let the breath make the tone - release vocal tension, stiffness - trust the breath Start your practice every day: ✓ Complete breath – Low – Med – High, then all together. ✓ This will Coordinate – innervate – strengthen your breathing ✓ Keep chest high – sigh to start tone – start relaxing right away ✓ Sing 5 notes down on oo, then oo – ah. Like a sigh ✓ Now you are ready to start singing ✓ Practice – know your parts – use the practice tracks. If you have trouble accessing them, please ask. Reminders: ✓ We have Excellent New music, mark lightly with pencils only. ✓ Please bring a pencil to rehearsal ✓ Mark your parts – score is a road map to beautiful music ✓ In long passages, decide where you will breathe, mark it down and practice it. ✓ Practice – know your parts – use the practice tracks. You will get an email explaining how to do this.
Hello Choral Evolution! We are having a run of really productive rehearsals this month. It's encouraging to hear that we have learned our notes this early in the process. We'll continue to root out wrong notes and add important details along the way. As we get settled on each arrangement we'll spend more and more time fixing ever smaller problems. Ultimately, we will have time to polish each piece so that we present a truly beautiful and memorable sound. Here's what we'll work on this week: Child of Wonder Christmas Morning White Christmas River All I want for Christmas is You And any of these pieces:) Festive Christmas Trilogy Underneath the Three Christmas Time is Here Christmas Canon White Christmas Break Christmas (Baby Please Come Home) Like It's Christmas Grown up Christmas list Happy New Year Carol of the Bells See you Wednesday evening in Sooke, André ♪ The choir's sound is only as good as the singers making it. Start exercising your voices regularly. Find a nice big space where you won't be disturbed and sing some of the parts you are working on at full voice. Imagine you are in a big hall, really sing out and enjoy the feeling of making a free and open sound. The halls we perform in are large and require a lot of sound to fill. We need each voice to contribute to our exciting live sound Breathing is the rhythm of music – singing is tone on breath – practice the complete breath – be conscious of each breath – then put breath on pitch – let the breath make the tone - release vocal tension, stiffness - trust the breath Start your practice every day: ✓ Complete breath – Low – Med – High, then all together. ✓ This will Coordinate – innervate – strengthen your breathing ✓ Keep chest high – sigh to start tone – start relaxing right away ✓ Sing 5 notes down on oo, then oo – ah. Like a sigh ✓ Now you are ready to start singing ✓ Practice – know your parts – use the practice tracks. If you have trouble accessing them, please ask. Reminders: ✓ We have Excellent New music, mark lightly with pencils only. ✓ Please bring a pencil to rehearsal ✓ Mark your parts – score is a road map to beautiful music ✓ In long passages, decide where you will breathe, mark it down and practice it. ✓ Practice – know your parts – use the practice tracks. You will get an email explaining how to do this.