April 26, 2012 Rehearsal Notes

In Sectionals last night the women worked on For The Beauty. Barb reminded us to be sure to stay on top of those higher notes so we don't sound flat. We also need to make sure there's movement in each phrase. The men worked on Pirate Song. Then we worked on memorizing the second half of Cindy and reviewed the stomp/clap section.

In SATB we first worked on Little Potato, sections J-end. Barb emphasized that we need to get our entrances on the first note. We also need to pay attention to the what volume we are supposed to sing at. The only time we should be at a forte is at section K. At the last couple of measures we need to watch Barb for the slower tempo to the end of the song.
Then we worked on My Soul's Been Anchored. We mostly concentrated on mm. 83-end. Once again, we need to be sure to come in strong on our first notes so the phrases make sense and sound good. We need to have a dark tone. At mm. 86 we are at pianissimo, 87 piano, 88 mezzo piano, 89-90 mezzo forte, 91-93 forte, and by the time we get to the end of mm. 94 we should be at a fortissimo. We hadn't gone over this piece in a few weeks, so please make sure to go over it at home this week to make sure we know it well by next week.
Next we went through A Child's Prayer. Barb had us add I Am A Child of God to the beginning of the song. We will be singing the first verse in parts before starting A Child's Prayer. I will make copies out of the hymnal this week so everyone has a reference if you can't remember your part.
We then did a runthrough of It Takes a Village. Erin is hearing auditions for the solo parts, so if you're interested, please be sure to contact her this week. This piece should be memorized by now.
We memorized the second half of Cindy as well. Be sure you know the lyrics well by next week.

Also, just a reminder that if you have a story you're willing to share at the concert, please get it to Erin by next week at the latest. I will post the email I sent out yesterday below:

We are looking for individuals to briefly write to us your experience with the following:

·      A funny story about wooing or being wooed :) Could even be a failed attempt.  :) 

·      Learning from the example of someone other than family (Ex: I thought I was my 3rd grade teacher's favorite student and I even called her for years after thinking she'd be so happy to hear from me!  She even helped me with my math homework.)

·      Something you experienced with your child or learned from them

·      A faith building experience / or a time you felt God's love for you (Ex: When I got lost as a child and found my way home.)

·      Something your parent did that means a lot to you (could also be funny) (Ex: Larry's dad did something very funny at his Ph.D ceremony - he'll have to share it with you all).

·      When you knew you were in love / Falling in love (Ex: On my first date with my future hubby, I physically had to turn around and mouth the word, 'WOW!!!!!!!', when he was busy setting up his dad's telescope!)

·      Tribute to your mother 

I included a few of my own experiences to give you an idea of what we're looking for.  Since time is limited, we won't be able to share everyone's experiences but we'll do our best to use as many as we can.  We may even ask that you read your experience (it may be edited).

Thanks everyone! Have a great week!
~Laura

April 19, 2012 Rehearsal Notes

Great rehearsal last night, everyone! A couple of things before I begin the synopsis: Erin was requesting any feedback that people have from past concerts - any good memories or things that touched them so we can keep a record of it. Please email her if you think of any stories or thoughts about past concerts. She also brought up that the board is going be looking to have an historian starting in the fall, so if anyone is interested, please email me and let me know. This is a great way to preserve memories and remember our choir's history.
I also wanted to thank all of those people who helped set up and clean up the party last night after rehearsal. It was greatly appreciated!

Okay, so first of all, Erin announced that Cindy and It Takes a Village need to be memorized. We were able to memorize the first part of Cindy including the clap/stomp section and the entire score of It Takes a Village last night, so if you were not at rehearsal or if you didn't quite get it last night, then please work on it this week so we can move forward next week. We will be expected to have the entire Cindy song memorized by next week. Thanks in advance for all of your hard work with these two pieces. They are sounding wonderful!

In sectionals the women worked on For the Beauty. We worked on our phrasing and making sure each phrase had movement. We need to try and make sure our vowels are tall and that we have resonance. Be sure to review the last two pages of that piece since we seemed to have the most trouble there.
The men went through mm.52-75 of Pirate Song.
We then worked on memorizing It Takes a Village mm. 25-76 and Cindy mm. 1-135. We practiced the stomp/clap and the women perfected it! Woohoo! We then worked on trouble spots in Little Potato, making sure we were getting the right notes and dynamics.

In SATB we memorized It Takes A Village. We need to make sure we watch Erin for the specific dynamic elements of this piece. We need to have a dark gospel sound and we need to crescendo on notes that are held out. I would suggest to everyone that we work on this at home and be super awesome next week!
We then memorized the first half of Cindy including the clap/stomp section. We need to whoop and holler during the clap/stomp section. When we sing the phrase "Get along home little Cindy" we need to crescendo on the work Cindy so there's a little change in dynamics. We also need to make sure we pronounce "purdiest" correctly, not prettiest. This is a hoe down, people; so let's pull it off! :)
We then worked on section I to the end of Little Potato, making sure everyone had the correct notes and rhythms. This is the trickiest section of this song, so be sure to review is during the week as well. Then we ran through A Child's Prayer. Be careful to not sing it like the primary children do.

Thanks everyone, and have a great week!
~Laura

April 12, 2012 Rehearsal Notes

Okay, so one final reminder that the Temple Devotional Fireside is this Sunday, April 15, at the Oakdale building and call time is 5pm. The pieces we will be performing are Lamb of God #4 and #12, Consider the Lilies, and Pilgrim Song.

The Makeup rehearsal will be held next Thursday, April 19 at 6pm. Also, after next week's rehearsal, there will be a spring party which the altos and basses are in charge of treats. Let's bring it!!

I also need 6-8 ushers for the spring concert, so if any of your family members are available and willing, please let me know asap. Thanks!

So during sectionals, the women reviewed For the Beauty and the men reviewed Pirate Song. Then we went over It Takes a Village. In mm. 1-20 we do a heartbeat rhythm with one palm on our chest. We reviewed the entire piece after that, working hard on getting the rhythms correct. Then we worked on the stomp/clap in Cindy. It's a little tricky, so be sure to practice this at home (along with your other pieces of music). Then we did some spot checking with Little Potato, making sure our entrances aren't timid and making sure we are getting the correct rhythms.

In SATB we worked on Little Potato, Consider the Lilies and It Takes a Village. We also did a quick runthrough of Lamb of God #4.

Have a great week, everybody!
~Laura

April 5, 2012 Rehearsal Notes

As requested, here is the list of pieces we will be performing at the Temple Fireside:

Lamb of God #4: I Am The Resurrection
Lamb of God #12: Gloria
Consider The Lilies
Peace Like A River

Also, if you did not receive the email I just sent out, the time of the fireside is actually at 6:00 rather than 7:00, so that makes our call time 5:00. Just another reminder that we are meeting at the Oakdale building. Sorry about all of the confusion on that!

Okay, so in sectionals we worked on the following pieces:
(Women) For The Beauty Of The Earth ~ We ran through the entire piece and worked on getting the rhythms right and giving the phrases movement.
(Men) Pirate Song ~ mm. 60-end.
It Takes A Village ~ mm. 45-84. Work on the rhythms!!
Cindy ~ mm.171-end.
Little Potato ~ The women did a complete runthrough of this piece making sure they had the notes and rhythms correct.
Pilgrim Song ~ mm. 43-end.

In SATB we worked on Consider the Lilies, Peace Like A River, Little Potato and It Takes A Village. Things are starting to come together for our spring concert! Exciting!!
~Laura