CE News 29 March 26

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Hey everyone. A big shout out to Marj for hosting a dessert meet before the last rehearsal. It was very appreciated and delicious! Thank you to everyone who was able to attend and get to know one another better. The next planned activity is a bowling event, which is I believe on Saturday 12 April. More info will be coming for that once details are nailed down.

So....very interesting rehearsal from last week. With us moving all around the room and being next to those we don't normally sing next to. I love it when we shake it up a bit, so I'm hoping that everyone was able to learn something from the action. Good job on the solos for those that sang; it sounded good and can only get better!

If you are reading this, you went through the website and may have seen some changes. The board (after a ton of research done by Adriana) has a Square device to be able to take payment on at the door or from choir members before rehearsal/on break for tickets. You might have seen a couple of new tabs: Advertisement and Tickets: The advertisement is for those who want advertise with us, the tickets is self explanatory. There is also a banner telling people that tickets are on sale as of 30 March (that is tomorrow!!!) Adriana has done a lot of work to get these up and running and will allow our patrons to purchase on the website rather than going through Eventbrite...so spread the word.

Joscelyn is spearheading the search for advertising for the program. If you know someone who wants to advertise/support us, please let her know (joscelyng@gmail.com). If you know of someone who wants to invest in our choir, please let the board know.

We have only a month before our show (4 rehearsals and the long rehearsal on 18 April) so it is time to sharpen our skills as we know the music, and must now perfect it. Read through the notes that you have taken during rehearsal, remember the loud and short bits, get those sectionals in, and keep practicing on your own. As a reminder, Wannabe and Lovely Day (I think!) are off book so please work to memorize them both. We spoke a little about the concert wear for this show, and some decisions were made by the board which will be communicated on Wednesday.

We haven't talked about it much, but there will be a general meeting for Choral Evolution where we get to elect a new board. The current board invites you to join us for our next meeting on 13 April to see what is accomplished behind the scenes. We invite everyone in the choir to attend (you don't have to stay the whole time!). If you have interest in being part of the governing body, please attend or speak to one of the board about a position that interests you. A request for nominations for board positions will be shared soon.

A big thank you to Sally, who has been joined by Tara, for applying for grants to help support our choir. Without these grants, the fees would be astronomical, so her/their work is instrumental in keeping our choir alive. We also spoke about a bottle drive to help support us, but it might not be able to be done before the show. If you have bottles kept for this purpose, cash them in and support the choir, or keep them aside as we will probably be able to accomplish more after the show is done. It may be that we can have the bottle drive....I just don't know the date.

See you on Wednesday in Sooke at 7!

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News

CE News 22 March 26

By Sherry Walters • March 23, 2026

Welcome to the second day of spring. Before we know it, it will be time for our concert!!! Now is the time to ensure we know our music, are practicing at home in a big room and singing out. Remember to practice those breath exercises and follow along in your music so we know the transitions from quiet to loud and back again. Let's try to have more than 3 volumes! We've learned a lot from Gordon's teaching, and I really appreciate the knowledge that he has given to us. Thank you Gordon! Last week was our picture taking time, and thank you to everyone who could be there. I know we missed a few, but your name will still be in the program, even if your face isn't. A huge thank you to Sally's husband, Doug! He was the one behind the camera and his work is awesome so I know we will all look good. Reminder that we are having a get together for dessert starting at 6:30 pm at the Sooke Community Hall dining room. Marj, our social planner, is orchestrating this event. There will be more to come, so we have an opportunity to have fun together besides the fun we have singing. Thanks Marj! Are you enjoying your sectionals? It is really important to us all to have well attended sectionals as they teach us how to blend together and allows us to help each other out with the odd bits that we have trouble with. Keep attending as they only make us better. We are back in Sooke at the SCH dining room for the socials part starting at 6:30 and the rehearsal at 7 pm. See you there.

CE News 15 March 26

By Sherry Walters • March 16, 2026

First off, I feel compelled to say: "Beware the ides of March"; for all those literature buffs, you will know what I mean. Hint: All hail Caesar! Another great rehearsal under our belt, even if it was really taxing for the last half hour. I'm hoping that we all made notes in our music for what changes we have to make to perfect the sound. Thank you to everyone who continues to show up to rehearsal every week; I know sometimes we can't, but for those that are there weekly, you need to be applauded. So thank you, and it is recognized. We are more than half way through the session, so the music should be familiar, the words starting to be remembered, and we can work on the perfecting of the sound. If you want a great challenge, sing along with the recordings with your section voice muted. It will show you the areas that need to be worked on, so be sure to mark your music for the areas that are troublesome for you. You can play closer attention to focus on those areas in homework as well as at rehearsal. And feel free to share with your section as it is possible others have the same issue. As a reminder, we are taking the group photo this Wednesday with Sally's husband Doug as our photographer. This is your reminder to wear BLUE. The small group singers will be meeting at 6:30 pm in the small room attached to the rehearsal space, so please quietly set up when you arrive. We are at the Masonic Centre in Langford and meeting at 7 pm as usual. Question: have you been practicing the "moose call"? That is what I think of when I do the breath exercises that Gordon taught us. At least, I feel like a moose calling when I do it. Sounds funny, but it is strengthening my abs and expanding my lungs. Great technique, even if I get a bit light headed! We have also learned some great ways to track rhythm, and even though we don't get to tap, you will feel the rhythm pattern in your body. There is a lot of music out there that can teach you how to feel it in your body: Reggae, HipHop, songs with Spanish and Italian influence, for example. Just put on the music and walk around and you will find the beat. Then try it with the songs we are learning. It will help keep your entrances on time! Thank you to those that have signed up for the last few tasks on the participation boards. There are still a few people who haven't got a job, so a board member will be connecting with you. We shall see everyone, I hope, on Wednesday!

Director Notes

Rehearsal Notes for March 18th, 2026

March 17, 2026

Warm up: 7:00 to 7:10 - 10 min - More Than Words hmmm ... if you wonder why I haven't worked on this song, it's because (I think - subjective I know) there's nothing to it. My hope would be that you sing it once every day with the rehearsal files and then we just sing it together on Wednesday. The more you look at me the tighter we will be. ... I will have it memorized by tomorrow. Let's just enjoy it together. 7:10 to 7:20 - (10 min) Fix the cascading 'Good Nights' in Emotion 7:20 to 7:35 - (15 min) Shine pick up to Bar 52 to Bar 78 7:35 to 7:55 - (10 min) Hotel California . just run bar 89 to the end ... did we remember anything of the work we did last week I wonder? then fix a few things and move on. 7:55 to 8:15 - (20 min) Somebody To Love 8:15 to 8:30 - (15 min) Break and Announcements 8:30 to 8:40 - (10 min) more work on Somebody to Love 8:40 to 9:00 - (20 min) Good Vibrations (bar 9 to 35) (bar 55 to 70) 9:00 to 9:15 - (15 min) Budapest with Soloist (we will work on the whole song) 9:30: Browns Social House Gordon LINK: Gordon Notes LINK: YouTube Playlist

Rehearsal Notes for March 11th, 2026

March 11, 2026

7:00 to 7:10 Rhythm Exercises (16ths 8ths and quarters) 7:10 to 7:30 - 20 min Hotel California - working from the back page and working our way forward. 7:30 to 7:50 - 20 min - Wanabe - by memory to bar 35. then open books work bars 35 to 51 7:50 to 8:10 - 20 min - Emotion - we will work on trying to get some pathos out of this poppy tune 8:10 to 8:25 - BREAK 8:25 to 8:45 - 20 min - Biblical with Soloist 8:45 to 9:05 - 20 min - Somebody to Love 9:05 to 9:15 - 10 min - Lovely Day Gordon LINK: Gordon Notes LINK: YouTube Playlist