Sep 20, 2012 Rehearsal Notes

We are taking tshirt orders! Yay! I will be taking remaining orders next week and I need everyone's money that night as well because I have to pay upon ordering. If you have checks, make them out to Laura Michels.

Also, just a reminder that next week is the MMC Autumn Party.Altos and Basses are in charge of treats, so let's bring it!

We received two new pieces this week: The Spirit of God (will be performed on Oct. 12) and Angels We Have Heard on High. If you did not receive either of these, make sure to talk to John Horton before rehearsal next week.

In sectionals the women worked on Come Thou Fount with Erin. We need to make sure we have tall vowels and enunciate all of the words, paying special attention to consonants at the beginning and end of words. When words have two syllables, be sure to stress the first syllable and back off on the second.  The men worked on Johnny with Barb.  We then worked on While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, mm. 76-end. It is very important that we all know our notes in this piece. There are a few tricky places, so practice at home and know your notes :)  We then worked on The Spirit of God. The men went over mm. 48-80 and 87-103. The women covered 87-end. Then we worked on The Virgin Mary, mm. 73-end. This piece is going to be memorized, so be sure to work on that during the week. I have found it helps to listen to the Motab version on youtube. I had it memorized in 2 days. If I can do it, anyone can :)  Lastly, we worked on the stomp/clap section in Cindy. This is another thing that will be helpful if you learn it at home. If you need help, please let me know because I am more than willing to help anyone who needs it.

In SATB we ran through A Child's Prayer and While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks with Barb. Then we did mm. 87-end of The Spirit of God, making sure we had the notes down. Finally, we worked on The Virgin Mary, mm 73-end. Erin had us change the pronunciation of Believer to buh-lee-vuh. We also need to make sure to not sing the k for gloria as hard.

Have a great week!

Sep. 13, 2012 Rehearsal notes

In Sectionals we worked on When Johnny Comes Marching Home, While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks, Virgin Mary and Cindy.

In Johnny, the women worked on pronouncing Johnny witha Ch- at te beginning...so it's Chonny. We need to make sure our vowels are tall and that we enunciate.

On Virgin Mary, we rehearsed, mm. 66-96. We need to be sure to note where the staccato notes are throughout the piece and be sure to cut off right away when we sing those notes. We need to have a darker  sound in our voices. We worked on getting our rhythms correct as well as notes.

On Cindy, we figured out who is going to be singing in Choir 1 and Choir 2, so there should be no more confusion. This piece will be memorized.

In SATB, we worked on Johnny, Gloria In Excelsis Deo, The Hands That First Held Mary's Child, and Cindy.

On Mary's Child, we worked on mm. 66-96. Erin had us circle the first and third syllables of most measures so that we can stress the important words. In four four time, the first and third syllables are usually stressed more than the second and fourth. In mm. 70, w need  change the quarter note on side to an eighth note with an eighth rest because there will be a quick break. In mm. 72 we need to change the dotted half note to a half note with a quarter rest. There is a breath afte the word anger in mm 73. In mm. 76 Erin is going to have us break after we sing Let Us, so pay attention to her at this point because she will be stretching out the phrase. We need to be sure in mm. 78 to not breathe between the words "hold" and "the." It is also very important to be completely in unison for the final phrase  starting in measure 84.

We worked on the ending of Cindy. Erin had us imagine a church revival when we sing the Hallelu! (choir 1) We need to be sure to enunciate during this section as well (choir 2).


We were so blessed to have Presidnt Wiberg come speak to us before rehearsal, and I am so grateful for his words. He reminded us that what we are doing is so very important and we do touch lives, even if we don't see it right now. He said that we have become a resource to the Church and we will be called upon to perform more often. He is such a sweet man and he will be missed when he gets released.

~Laura

2012 Chorale Retreat!

Hi everyone! I had a fantastic time at the retreat this past weekend! I am so glad to have gotten to know everyone better! I have a few pics to post right now, but I'm sure more will pop up soon :) Thanks to everyone who helped make the retreat super awesome!!!

~Laura