It’s almost time to start rehearsing for a very exciting spring season! We will be performing a new, original work by composer Timothy Michael Powell: Consider the Lilies: An Appalachian Requiem. This piece incorporates familiar melodies and texts along with new to create a fresh spin on a traditional requiem mass.

To augment this work, we’ll be performing a selection of other music by well-known American composers and in styles that were born in or are associated with the United States, including several other popular American folk tunes. Concerts will be held at the end of April and beginning of May.

We hope you will join us for what is sure to be a fun and rewarding season!

Hello singers! I’m very excited for our concert!

Please arrive at 5:30 if you can to help set up risers. We will rehearse and sound check from 6-7 and you will have 30 minutes to change and do your own last minute preparation.

Thank you for all of your hard work this semester! I’ll see you tonight!

Hi everyone! I hope you all had a lovely Thanksgiving. I was planning on writing up notes for every piece, but my efforts were interrupted by little fingers that couldn’t stay away from the power button on my computer and upon starting to rewrite, I realized most of them were not necessary. Here are a few things to pay special attention to before Thursday’s rehearsal:

Vowels: Especially on pieces like Of the Father’s Love, Maria Walks Amid the Thorn, and both O Magnum Mysteriums, be very careful to keep vowels tall and pure, with minimal dipthongs.

Watch for cutoffs/special direction: Carol of the Russian Children, African Alleluia, I Wonder as I Wander, Of the Father’s Love, Christmas Day, and the Powell O Magnum have a lot of rubato and/or fermatas that require watching carefully!

Syncopation: particularly in African Alleluia, Rise Up Shepherds, Riu Riu Chiu, Jingle Bells Festivo, and He Is Born. Make sure you’re aware of which rhythms are syncopated and which are not. Don’t “punch” quick phrase endings, as in African Alleluia

Please mark breaths in Maria Walks: m. 2 after thorn; m. 8 after thorn; m. 12 after bear; m. 18 after there; m. 22 after near; m. 28 after appear

We will run through the entire program on the 5th, start to finish. I will record this and provide any additional needed notes afterward. Please plan to remain at rehearsal until 9:30.

Thank you for all your hard work this season! I’m very much looking forward to our concerts!

This week’s rehearsal will again be at the Fairview Loop Baptist Church due to another event going on at our usual location. The church address is 3118 W Fairview Loop. We are sorry for the inconvenience

The goal is to run through our entire program this week, so please review your pieces with the study tracks as much as possible! We have cut A La Media Noche and O Green and Glittering Christmas Tree, but please keep those copies with your music until we collect everything after our concerts. Study tracks for everything except Peace, Peace and African Alleluia are posted on the website to help you.

Happy Practicing! See you Thursday!

Due to a problem with the heating system at our usual location, the board has found an alternative spot for this week’s rehearsal. We will be meeting at the Fairview Loop Baptist Church, at 3118 Fairview Loop Rd, at our usual time of 7pm-9pm. Entry will be through the main doors in the center of the building. I know that this is further out of the way for some of our members and, while I hope everyone will be able to make it, I understand if the extra distance affects our attendance. We expect that the heating will be fixed by next week so that rehearsals will be back to normal.

Please give me a call if you have any questions. Thank you and see you soon!

Hello singers! Tomorrow is the big day! Please arrive at the Willow Community Center such that you are ready to sing at 2:30. If you’d like extra time to rehearse your solo or small group piece, please arrive at 2:00.

Here are a few notes following last night’s rehearsal. Overall, I think we are in good shape.

Song of the Lark: needs to be lighter and bouncier; we slow down and lose the airy feel that we start with. Watch carefully at the end; the part after the fermatas is a tempo and does not slow down until the last two measures.

Cantan Las Flores: Watch for the ritards at mm. 22, 38, and 44. We need to hear the accents of the rhythms, especially the 1 & 4 of 6/8 measures and the 1, 4, & 6 of 7/8 measures. Listen for the other parts on the last page so that we end together.

The Road Not Taken: Overall very good. Watch cutoffs, especially during the last verse. Dynamics on the p/pp sections could be a little quieter.

Who Has Seen the Wind: Watch ritards at the ends of the phrases when we have a 4/4 measure leading into a 3/4 measure. More volume on the forte sections.

Misty Morning: Be prepared for the D.S. and the coda! Watch the balance of the “oohs” against words, especially when the altos are singing part 3 on their own.

The Lion & the Tiger: Please double check your notes! Tenors, “mild” in your melody was often a step too low, which throws off the rest of the phrase. Watch for entrances, as the piano is all over the place.

The Heavens Are Telling: Be prepared for entrances after solos. Remember to emphasis the marked words to give shape to the phrases.

Songs of Nature: We’re doing quite well with this overall. The transistions between pieces could be a little more solid.
Melodies Steal: Tenors, sing confidently on your exposed lines!
Vesper Bells: more volume on the forte parts so we get a better dynamic contrast
Golden sunlight: ritards in both verses! Watch!
Slender Young Birch: keep it light & dancing
This Day: watch on ritards; tenors, confidence on your exposed lines. Very quiet when we start the ending section at m. 79 and get all the way to forte at 85.

For the Beauty of the Earth: Watch cutoffs on “praise” – very short “s” and all together. Rhythm on last page and watch carefully for the ritard at the end.

Africa: Please double check your rhythms. “Hundred men” in the refrain especially is different from the recording you’re familiar with. Be ready for the repeat and the coda. We need a few brave souls to do some ad libbing art m. 93!

Stormy Weather: Make sure we’re all ready to go on the “oohs” at the very beginning. Breathe early. Otherwise, this sounded great!

Afternoon on a Hill: I am really pleased with this as our closer. It will leave an excellent impression! The only note is to watch very carefully, and double check your entrances on page 5.

Alaska is a Rainbow: Don’t stress about this, it’s meant to be a fun, sentimental ending. Enjoy it!

I hope you have had a wonderful holiday and haven’t strained your voices too much singing carols! We’re ready to kick off our spring season on January 10th. Please note that our rehearsal location has changed. We look forward to seeing you next week!

Hi folks,

There is a new post about a request for carolers on our private Facebook Group. Please follow this link to request to join the group if you’re not a member already: https://www.facebook.com/groups/284748535670378/

And then let us know if you’re interested in taking on this last-minute challenge!

Thanks!

Thank you again for another very productive rehearsal! If you missed tonight, please make sure you review these notes and make the appropriate markings in your music so that you will be caught up when we resume on the 29th. Work with those study tracks and of course, have a very happy Thanksgiving!

Rehearsal Notes

S’vivon
Pay attention to dynamics throughout, especially last page
Page 4: this section should be smoother & sweeter than the beginning and end
Pronunciation: “ch” is always a gutteral “k” sound like the German “Ach” – never “ch” as in cheese!
Breaths as marked throughout
Watch for cutoffs on fermatas; break & breath after each one
Last “sov” – accented attack, then quiet immediately, then crescendo until cutoff

There Shall A Star From Jacob Come Forth
Dynamics as marked throughout; beginning needs to be very quiet to allow room to grow
Breaths on page 6-top of 16 are only at rests or before the repitition of “there shall a star”
Page 10: substantial change in tone and emotion; needs to be intense and emphatic, accented as marked
Bring out all instances of the beginning of the phrases (“there shall a star” and “and dash in pieces”)
Page 13 – stays forte! Do not decrescendo until top of 14
Chorale, page 16: needs a clear, rounded, bell-like tone quality; listen carefully and sing as one voice
Breaths page 16-end: ***These are edited from what I gave at rehearsal because I am a dope. Please correct your markings!***
top of pg 18, after glowing; top of 19, after Jesus; bottom of 19, after bestowing

Summer in Winter Carol
Think light & dancing; enunciate words and be precise on rhythms
Dynamics as marked: each verse gets softer!
Watch for 9/8 measures
Measures 33-end are very hushed, like a lullaby, with just a slight swell on “Lifts earth to heaven”
Breaths and no breaths as printed

Solstice Song
This piece needs a rich, lush, chest-voice feel, especially in the alto melody
Rehearsal letter B: Altos still have melody; other voices hold back a bit
Be very careful with syncopated rhythms at rehearsal C and F
“Do do dos” at rehearsal E need to be very light, a little staccato; listening & counting carefully; we will do this part a capella!
Watch for ritard at last four measures, but not before

Christmas Candles
It’s a cheesy piece; embrace the cheese! Look like you are enjoying it!
After rehearsal D: slow down a little and give it a hymn-like quality; slight ritard at m. 54 when tenors resolve the chord, then a tempo at E
Page 6: lower voices, bring out the echos & embellishments
Rehearsal G: careful with rhythms at m. 77, 84, and 86
Soprano I sings the top line at rehearsal H; Soprano II on the lower staff with the altos
Fake whistling if you can’t whistle!
Rehearsal J: Soprano I on top again (and through to the end)
Watch for the ritard & fermata leading into rehearsal K
Last page needs to be strong and confident!

Peace, Peace
Be careful of the entrances; hear the pitch in your head first
Repititions of “peace, peace” need to be connected so there aren’t extraneous “s” sounds

We have had to move our final rehearsals for this semester to a different location. This Thursday, Nov. 15th, we will be rehearsing at our concert venue, St. John’s Lutheran Church in Palmer. We apologize for the inconvenience and thank you for understanding!