Nothing in my pockets?? Coulda sworn I at least brought my car keys!

Briefly,
We have a lot of the difficult music rehearsed, but need to work on polishing all what we are singing for the concert from here on out. Let's get to as much of the music as is possible next week with minimal note learning. Reinforcing what we already know and singing musically. This is always the most challenging part, but never ceases to be the most rewarding!
Thanks for your time and talents in making it all possible. See you next Monday!

What rhymes with Satyr?

We rhymed till we were blue in the face last night! Thanks to Jerry for sharing his Satyr encounter as well. Not much to say this week that I didn't say last time (see below). Please send me a message or call if you cannot access the rehearsal files. Everyone practice! Next Monday, we will review the music we rehearsed last night as well as:
finish Lift Boy
sing the beginning section of Rejoice
rehearse the new sections of Jubilate
I hope we have time to review a couple others that we haven't sung in a couple of weeks as well.
Happy October, especially you government workers! See you next week.

Important stuff (as always)

Great to have us at - pretty much - full force in rehearsal last night. It will be a good group of singers this year. I will keep to the business at hand this week since there are so many important things to let you know about.
BLOG
You have found it! Before you leave this page, please scroll to the bottom and either click the blue button that says "join this site" if you have a Google account or type in your email address in the box under "follow by email" so you can get these messages directly and as soon as they are posted.
DROPBOX
Look in your email for a message from Jean Nash through the CGA Yahoo group either today or tomorrow. You should receive one if your email address appeared on the roster circulated last night. There, you will find included the link to my Dropbox files. (I won't post that link here on our public blog.) Once there, click: Choral Guild; Rehearsal Files; Britten. Feel free to COPY and PASTE the correct files for your voice part onto your computer. Please do not DRAG the files over as this action removes them from the Dropbox completely. Use pervasively!
AUDITIONS
Returning members can go to the following new sign up for auditions over the next few weeks held prior to Monday rehearsals.
http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0A4EAEA72E5-auditions2
REHEARSAL
Good progress last night. Next week, we will rehearse the following:
Rejoice in the Lamb - all choral sections
Part Songs - yet unrehearsed passages in both
Choral Dances - especially numbers 1 and 2
Jubilate - unrehearsed soft passages
See you next week!

Gaining momentum

I was excited by the new singers in our midst last night - Wendy Cook, Duhi Schneider, Danielle Maurer and Charlie Harner. Welcome!
Two new things are also on their way - CD copies of the recordings from last season and rehearsal tracks. Jean mentioned that she would send the Dropbox link once again in her message to you, so look for it there and please "bookmark" that link in your computer's browser so you can keep finding it all year.
For next week's rehearsal, let's plan on the following:
Jubilate - begin rehearsal on this piece through page 6
BOTH part songs - Lift Boy and I Lov'd a Lass
Choral Dances - numbers 1, 2, 3 and 6
Rejoice - beginning through page 13
I will alert you as new rehearsal tracks become available for consumption. See you Monday!
Clair

Back in the Saddle (or Possessed of a Cat)

GREAT to hear you all singing again last night. We were certainly not in full force, but we had a good rehearsal. Thanks to Sheila and John for getting things off the ground in my absence. Next week:
Old Joe - begin to put the round theme together as a round. Know that tune!
Fisherman - good rehearsal on this. Maybe we will rehearse some of the harmonies if there is time.
Dances - refresh #1; rehearse #2 and #3.
Lift Boy - more rehearsal on this one with and without piano.
Jubilate - begin this one through page 4 (first section).
Rejoice - iron out the first 10 pages; rehearse "Hallelujah" section (through page 13).
That's all for now. I'm gone fishing now that Joe has found that shoal!

Britten, summer and US!

Hope you are enjoying what's left of summer. Couldn't have imagined all this rain, but not super hot for the most part at least! I have to tell you I am as excited as ever about our new season lineup. As singers, I hope you are too. An anniversary celebration, Christmas carols, Russians and a concert operetta. You should notice we incorporated many of your comments from last year's survey on what you want to sing and what you think others would enjoy singing with you. I will look forward to catching up with you all shortly. Meanwhile, please keep these important items in mind:
1 - Plan to attend the summer sing on August 17 from 10 to Noon at St. Luke's and bring a friend. Seriously. If you're not there, people get the wrong first impression of our group. Unless you let me know otherwise, I will expect to see you!
2 - Decide in what growth area you can best help the Guild - publicity/communication, fundraising or recruitment. Everyone will participate in some way in at least one of these areas this year. I will ask you about it at your audition.
3 - Sign up for an audition. The schedule is at http://www.signupgenius.com/go/20F0A4EAEA72E5-auditions1
4 - Put our first rehearsal on your calendars: August 26 at 7:30 pm.
5 - Tell me who you are going to ask to sing with you this year. I can't wait to hear from you!
See you all on the 17th for a great time together - Happy August!
Clair

Reflections

Well, another season has ended. Congratulations to you all on a successful season of singing, fund raising, audience recruiting, publicity, rehearsal, attendance and overall music making! It is always humbling for me to witness so much dedication and commitment to the group from volunteers such as yourselves. Your work and contributions do not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Thank you from your grateful conductor who remains motivated and inspired by each of you.
I have copied tracks from our most recent concert into the dropbox for your listening pleasure. It is always fun for me to relive these musical moments and make sure that you actually did sound how I remembered during the performance. There are some sound level issues with the "Curry" movement because of the foghorn, so I adjusted as much as was possible. Thanks to our sound man Barry Brennan for these invaluable records of our concerts.
Mark Ericson is working on our recorded tracks as we speak and will forward them to me soon. Each of you will receive a copy of the final product for your own personal and private use.
Much of what we will do next season will have a dual purpose: (1) to grow and increase the presence, membership and scope of the Guild, (2) to prepare for our 75th anniversary season the following year. We will need the help of everyone to accomplish our goals over these next two years.
I have been looking again at our 2013 membership survey for repertoire ideas for the anniversary season. In addition to many of those good suggestions, some particular people had very good ideas in areas we have identified as ones where we would like to focus our energies moving forward. If you feel a particular passion to help in the areas of either publicity/communication, fund raising, or recruitment, I would personally appreciate you letting me know sometime this summer so we can expand on the ideas in the survey as we move forward.
Remember the date of our Summer Sing, Saturday, August 17 from 10 am to Noon at St. Luke's. Invite friends and others that may enjoy a morning of singing especially if you know they could be potential members of the Guild. We will be singing Benjamin Britten and learning some fun facts about him and his music in honor of his 100th birthday!
Have a wonderful summer. Keep in touch. See you all soon!

  https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6nv7a7hpoj917tj/Faf_Kf2FPi