October 27, 2011 Rehearsal Notes

Those of you who were not able to make it to last night's rehearsal missed out! We heard some awesome solo auditions, learned some choreography and had an amazing Halloween spread after rehearsal, thanks to the altos!

In sectionals we first worked on True Light. We reviewed the beginning section making sure to darken our tonal quality (the women had fun with that), made sure to have a short s on the word "this", and make an ah sound in the words "mine" and "shine." We also worked on making the words "true light" more staccato and separate. Next we worked on Judah's Land, the women ran through mm. 32-49 and the men worked on mm. 25-32, 44-49. The women worked on getting their phrasing and notes right in mm.35-39. Finally we worked on Letter C of Go Tell It On the Mountain. The women worked on coming in at the right spot on the right note and accenting the right words.

In SATB we first did a run through of Homeland. This is one of the pieces we will be singing at our concert on Nov. 11. We then worked on memorizing Betelehemu and added the choreography. That was a lot of fun. We also did some solo tryouts for the ad lib section. We then worked on letters B & C for Go Tell It On The Mountain, making sure all of our entrances were correct. We moved on to For Unto Us a Child is Born, where we reviewed mm. 30-72 and Erin decided to have half of each section sing the runs on da da da (ex. alto 1s sing born and alto 2s sing da da da during the runs). Then we went over mm 25-49 of Judah's Land. Erin added some points where we need to watch her so she can take some liberties with the feeling of the song. We worked on adding movement to the phrases. In True Light we had several solo auditions, which were fun to hear! We also worked on our phrasing in that song as well. Then we ran through What Shall We Give? and Barb wants us to watch the MoTab version on Youtube so we can see how she ultimately wants us to perform it.

Just a reminder to use Facebook or email to publicize our Nov. 11 concert. Word of mouth is the greatest way to get people to come. Also, we need ushers still and I emailed everyone about that, so hopefully I hear from some of you soon. Let me know if you have any questions or concernt. I hope you all have a great week!!

~Laura

Concert Music (and a long side note)

I wanted to point out for anyone who was wondering that the Thanksgiving collaboration concert on Friday, November11th we will be singing just four songs. They are:

1. Peace Like A River
2. True Light
3. Home Land
4. Come, Thou Fount of Every Blessing

And while I have your attention, I want to talk about the last one. Come, Thou Fount has been one of my favorite choral works for many years. I first sang it just after my voice changed. As a new tenor I felt keenly that I was prone to wander! Also, the second verse by the men is a cappella until a little after the women come in and the men tended to go flat so that when the organ came back in there was an instant key change in the middle of a phrase. The whole 1st half of the verse was prone to wander! I also made a strong connection with the idea presented throughout this song of dedicating our past good works, and our whole selves to God. At the end of every performance I felt a little more committed to letting the Lord guide my life. I trusted that with His help I could become more than a foolish awkward teenager who was prone to forgetting the Lord and neglecting his ways. If singing this song doesn't have a similar effect on you then you are singing it wrong. Come, Thou Fount has been and continues to be one of the few songs that have truly changed my life.

Best Regards,
Albin Dittli

October 20, 2011 Rehearsal

In sectionals last night we worked on mm.92-end of "My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord." We also went over O Holy Night in the "Carols of the Night" piece.

In our SATB time, we mapped through Betelehemu. We WILL be memorizing this piece and we started to learn the choreography for it as well. It is similar to the choreography found on the Betelehemu link.  We then worked on "Go Tell it On the Mountain." We had to work through the rhythms again. It is very important for everyone to be practicing their music outside of rehearsal. Next we worked on mm. 1-37 of "For Unto us a Child is Born." We worked on building intensity when we say "us a child is born."We also need to remember to cut off on the second beat where the rests are when we say "Unto us...a son is given, etc." We then ran through "Judah's Land." We worked on putting proper crecendo and decrecendos in the proper spots. Next was "True Light." Erin had solo auditions and we worked on having a deeper sound, and not sounding like a high school glee club :)  With our last few minutes we worked with Barb on "Peace Like a River."

I would like to remind everyone that we still need ushers for our Nov. 11 concert. Please email me (Laura) or call me if you know of someone who can do this for us. Also, our first makeup rehearsal is next week with Barb from 9:00-9:30pm, so if you need to makeup lost time, that would be a good time to do that.

I would also like to thank my "poster people" for being so willing to get the concert posters put up in their buildings. You are awesome! Have a great week!

~Laura

October 13, 2011 Rehearsal Notes

Hey there! We had a great rehearsal last night! Whew!

When we all met together in the chapel we reviewed "I Saw Three Ships," and Barb finalized where all of the breathing points were in the song. So the phrasing looks like this during each verse: I saw three ships come sailing in (breath) on Christmas day (breath) on Christmas day (breath) I saw three ships come sailing in (breath) on Christmas day in the morning - emphasizing "morn" and not "ing". The only place where we don't breathe in the same spots is at measure 66 and we carry through from "on Christmas day" to "O, they sailed into Bethlehem."

Then we reviewed "The First Noel" and "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing." We were able to get through "Homeland" which was very exciting for me. That song builds and builds until we all say Homeland! It gives such an amazing feeling every time we reach that point.

We went over "Betelehemu" and quickly ran through "Peace Like a River"

Just a reminder that we need ushers for the November 11 concert, so if anyone knows of a person who is available to do that, please let me know as soon as possible. Also, if you are available to drive for a carpool to our Rochester concert, let me know as well and where you would be leaving from so the people in your carpool can know where to go.

Last night we also found out that we will be doing the Mission Home Fireside on December 11 for sure. Call time is 6pm at the Bloomington building.

Also, I forgot to mention this week's birthday which was Sarah Johnson on the eleventh! So happy birthday, Sarah! Have a great week everyone!

~Laura

October 6, 2011 Rehearsal Notes

This week we reviewed the following:

In sectionals we worked on mm. 111-end of "I Saw Three Ships." We reviewed notes since this is the most difficult section of the song. Barb showed us how to pronounce Christmas using a light tone. We are not flipping the R in Christmas as well as not saying Chreestmas.

We worked on mm. 53-end of "For Unto Us A Child is Born." We started out taking the runs slowly and worked up to a little faster speed. Erin had us emphasize the first note in each grouping within the runs.

We reviewed all of "Go Tell it on the Mountain." We just made sure that we have all of the rhythms right and the dynamics as well.

In SATB we reviewed "I Saw Three Ships," "Peace Like a River," "Homeland," "True Light," "Betelehemu," and "Go Tell it on the Mountain."

Just a reminder that we need soloists for "True Light," so be brave and go to youtube and learn the solo! We need you!!

I would also like to rewish Amy Dierhising a happy birthday and welcome back Christy Holt! Have a great week! See you all next Thursday!

P.S. Remember to review your music at home. This is very important!

~Laura :)

YouTube Links

Dear Choir Members,

I have made a search for YouTube videos of our songs for this semester. There are 3 that I couldn't find, but here are the rest. I'll post the best ones in the side bar. The missing songs are Go Tell It On The Mountain, My Soul Doth Magnify the Lord, and Carols of the Night. * indicates links that are not in the side bar.

Homeland
O.C.M.E.A 2007 Senior High All-County Chorus in Onondaga County, NY*
Buffalo State College Chorale

I saw three ships
Mormon Tabernacle Choir*
Bob Jones Academy Combined Choirs

Come, thou fount of every blessing
BYU Combined Choruses from 1994

Peace Like A River
Roanoke College
Mormon Tabernacle Choir*

True Light
The University of Utah Singers & guest choir Bingham H.S. Madrigals
Texas Two Year College All State Choir*
Massachusetts All-State Choir 2011*

Betelehemu
Mormon Tabernacle Choir

In Judah's Land
The Philharmonic Chorus of Madison

What shall we give?
Mormon Tabernacle Choir

The First Noel
The University of Utah Singers
San Francisco School Of The Arts Vocal Department's Concert Choir*

Albin Dittli