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
Choral Guild 2008
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Concert weekend
I will keep my blog short this weekend as we are in the home stretch both for our concert and our 73rd season. You all are singing so well, and this concert may just be the best of all. I know we will have fun with the Seasonings, and the others so are musically done. Thanks for all your hard work, musicianship and energy. Soloists and ensemble members should rehearse their parts a bit more to add the finishing touches on those passages and pieces. It will all come together as we offer our best efforts in concert! Take time to thank those who are singing for Relay for Life this Friday at 7:30 pm at Old Milton HS in Alpharetta. For all the rest, see you at St. John's at 2 pm on Saturday.
Cheers!
Cheers!
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Final rehearsal
Wow - we have a lot going on to put this final concert together! Thank you to each of you, especially those who are learning additional parts for the ensemble and solo music. It's great to have so many talented and devoted singers in the group. Last night left me feeling fractured at the end of rehearsal, and I missed seeing many of you before you left. I hope you felt as I did, that our pieces for the full chorus are going very well and are quite musical and expressive. With that in mind, here is what I am proposing for our final rehearsal together.
7:00 - I will work with individuals on particular parts and ask those people personally to arrive early.
7:30 - We will rehearse the five-part madrigals, Ecco and Primavera. Those singers should come warmed up and ready to sing together.
7:50 - We will rehearse the Mikado and Curry quartet pieces.
8:00 - This will be the official start of the main rehearsal for all singers. We will first sing through the entire Seasonings piece. Then, we will rehearse all the remaining music.
It is my plan to rehearse the piece for Relay for Life at the end of rehearsal as we did last night. My hope is to not go too much past the 9:30 hour, but we may run over slightly as happened last night. This is an important outreach for us and the community, and I appreciate those singers who are volunteering their time to attend this event and put in the extra rehearsal time.
So, let's plan on the above for next week. Let me know if you have any questions about the schedule.
Finally, if you know of anyone involved in the Boston tragedy, know that our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. The quote by Leonard Bernstein, if you have not now already seen it, is poignant, I believe, at this time.
"This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before."
May it be so. See you on Monday.
7:00 - I will work with individuals on particular parts and ask those people personally to arrive early.
7:30 - We will rehearse the five-part madrigals, Ecco and Primavera. Those singers should come warmed up and ready to sing together.
7:50 - We will rehearse the Mikado and Curry quartet pieces.
8:00 - This will be the official start of the main rehearsal for all singers. We will first sing through the entire Seasonings piece. Then, we will rehearse all the remaining music.
It is my plan to rehearse the piece for Relay for Life at the end of rehearsal as we did last night. My hope is to not go too much past the 9:30 hour, but we may run over slightly as happened last night. This is an important outreach for us and the community, and I appreciate those singers who are volunteering their time to attend this event and put in the extra rehearsal time.
So, let's plan on the above for next week. Let me know if you have any questions about the schedule.
Finally, if you know of anyone involved in the Boston tragedy, know that our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected. The quote by Leonard Bernstein, if you have not now already seen it, is poignant, I believe, at this time.
"This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before."
May it be so. See you on Monday.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
Rehearsal plan
Hi singers -
Good to hear all the music last night. As Sheila mentioned, this will be a fun concert. Consider it a requirement to have at least ONE person in the audience for our final program of the season. Let's go out with a BANG!
That said, I think we should follow the same rehearsal plan for next Monday. We will rehearse together for the first hour or so and definitely include the Banquet Fugue as part of that rehearsal. Then, we will rehearse the small group/solo music. I think the 7:00 rehearsal time for quintets has been a bit problematic, so let's not plan on those groups rehearsing early. If anyone would like to have an extra rehearsal on their music with me at that hour, let me know. Everyone come prepared to put all these pieces together. If you are participating in the Relay for Life on April 26, let's plan on having a brief rehearsal immediately following our regular rehearsal on Monday. Bring your copy of In Remembrance if you have one.
Jean will be emailing the schedule for both our concert weekend including the Relay for Life event as well as a reminder about the extra rehearsals on Mondays following the concert for our upcoming recording session.
Thanks for all your extra effort as concert time nears. See you all next week!
Good to hear all the music last night. As Sheila mentioned, this will be a fun concert. Consider it a requirement to have at least ONE person in the audience for our final program of the season. Let's go out with a BANG!
That said, I think we should follow the same rehearsal plan for next Monday. We will rehearse together for the first hour or so and definitely include the Banquet Fugue as part of that rehearsal. Then, we will rehearse the small group/solo music. I think the 7:00 rehearsal time for quintets has been a bit problematic, so let's not plan on those groups rehearsing early. If anyone would like to have an extra rehearsal on their music with me at that hour, let me know. Everyone come prepared to put all these pieces together. If you are participating in the Relay for Life on April 26, let's plan on having a brief rehearsal immediately following our regular rehearsal on Monday. Bring your copy of In Remembrance if you have one.
Jean will be emailing the schedule for both our concert weekend including the Relay for Life event as well as a reminder about the extra rehearsals on Mondays following the concert for our upcoming recording session.
Thanks for all your extra effort as concert time nears. See you all next week!
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
Busy and Holy Week
Happy Easter and Passover to all those celebrating this week! I know it is a busy time, so I won't take up too much of your time here. Continue to spend time listening to the rehearsal tracks available at least once this week. Also, practice your French pronunciation on the Faure in the rhythm of the music to help eliminate that hurdle. We are doing well on the chorus music, but we still need work on much of the small ensemble and solo pieces. With that in mind, I propose that we rehearse as a group from 7:30 to 9:00 next Monday and reserve 9 to 9:30 to either rehearse with your respective quintets/quartets or sing your solo/duet with Wooyoung's accompaniment. We will know better where we stand if we spend a little more quality time on those pieces. I would be happy to find time to rehearse any solo/ensemble music with you that we can work out between us. Just let me know. Think about if you would like to fill one of our dramatic roles as sneezer, weeper, or belcher. Someone with the right sound and an aptitude for having a little fun is all that is required! Finally, I will be out of town next Monday, and Emily Floyd will be with us. I know you look forward to her coming, and she will lead us excellently as always. Thanks for all your efforts and sharing your gifts weekly. See you soon!
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Listened and learned
Hi all -
I think we learned some valuable insights into our singing last night by hearing the recording. We learned to blend our voice with the voices of the rest of the group. We learned to make sure to keep the parts balanced, which sounded different on the recording than how it sounds when actively singing. We learned to be more in control of the pitch and more prepared for our entrances. We also learned about expression of the music with a more energized sound. I still think we could be more conscious of breath support, especially in our higher ranges, because unsupported tone will never blend, balance, tune or sound energized.
That said, we are in good shape with a lot of the music. You really MUST spend time on the notes using the tracks outside of rehearsal. Go back over parts that you feel insecure on. You can use the tracks to feel more confident in rehearsal on your part which will help us achieve ALL of the above musicality. Here again is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6nv7a7hpoj917tj/Faf_Kf2FPi
Quintets and quartet - if at all possible, please be here at 7:00 pm next Monday. We will find individual rooms to rehearse your individual pieces. Let's at least have a couple of run throughs of these together. Again, use the tracks to know your part before Monday.
Soloists - let's find a time when we can rehearse your parts outside of rehearsal. It may be that we can only get together individually until closer to the concert, but that's OK. Contact me when you feel ready to sing your parts with me.
Thanks all. Hope St. Patrick's Day was good to you. See you next week!
I think we learned some valuable insights into our singing last night by hearing the recording. We learned to blend our voice with the voices of the rest of the group. We learned to make sure to keep the parts balanced, which sounded different on the recording than how it sounds when actively singing. We learned to be more in control of the pitch and more prepared for our entrances. We also learned about expression of the music with a more energized sound. I still think we could be more conscious of breath support, especially in our higher ranges, because unsupported tone will never blend, balance, tune or sound energized.
That said, we are in good shape with a lot of the music. You really MUST spend time on the notes using the tracks outside of rehearsal. Go back over parts that you feel insecure on. You can use the tracks to feel more confident in rehearsal on your part which will help us achieve ALL of the above musicality. Here again is the link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6nv7a7hpoj917tj/Faf_Kf2FPi
Quintets and quartet - if at all possible, please be here at 7:00 pm next Monday. We will find individual rooms to rehearse your individual pieces. Let's at least have a couple of run throughs of these together. Again, use the tracks to know your part before Monday.
Soloists - let's find a time when we can rehearse your parts outside of rehearsal. It may be that we can only get together individually until closer to the concert, but that's OK. Contact me when you feel ready to sing your parts with me.
Thanks all. Hope St. Patrick's Day was good to you. See you next week!
Tuesday, March 12, 2013
Luck o' the Irish
That title has nothing to do with nothing - just felt like saying it! Anyway, as we discussed at rehearsal, please make use of the rehearsal files in my Dropbox folder at the following link:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6nv7a7hpoj917tj/Faf_Kf2FPi
Quintets - let's arrange a schedule for rehearsal hopefully at 7 pm most Mondays. If both groups would plan to be here by then, you can rehearse simultaneously at different locations in the church. I can assist each group as needed (although not at the same time! If I could do THAT.....never mind.). Try to get a sense of your own part on your own before rehearsing with the group. I will look over The Seasonings this week and begin to assign suggested solo parts. Please let me know if you have interest in doing any particular parts in the solo movements.
Thanks for a great rehearsal last night. Happy St. Patrick's Day! See you Monday.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/6nv7a7hpoj917tj/Faf_Kf2FPi
Quintets - let's arrange a schedule for rehearsal hopefully at 7 pm most Mondays. If both groups would plan to be here by then, you can rehearse simultaneously at different locations in the church. I can assist each group as needed (although not at the same time! If I could do THAT.....never mind.). Try to get a sense of your own part on your own before rehearsing with the group. I will look over The Seasonings this week and begin to assign suggested solo parts. Please let me know if you have interest in doing any particular parts in the solo movements.
Thanks for a great rehearsal last night. Happy St. Patrick's Day! See you Monday.
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