Rehearsal Blog Update 10/23/2013

Dear Ensemble and Vocalise Singers and Families,

Our performance dates are approaching!

Schedule Reminders

Oct. 26^th

What: Montalvo Arts Concert

What: Premier of new choral work, Everything That Happens, by NY composer Roberto C. Lange in collaboration with visual artist Nene Humphrey.
Who: selected singers --> please check your email for the most updated rehearsal schedule

Nov. 2^nd

What: Annual Fall Workshop and Potluck

When: 10:30am-2pm (10:30am rehearsal, 12:30pm concert, 1pm lunch)

Where: LAHS

Nov. 24^th 

What: Pier 39 Tree Lighting Concert

When: call time 1pm, concert @ 2:15pm.

Where: SF, Pier 39, open stage

What: 30-minute performance of holiday music

Attire: holiday-inspired: black pants/long skirts, black top, red/green scarves, Santa hats

Tickets: free!

Dec. 7^th

What: Holidays With Cantabile Concert

When: call time 11:30am (in uniform), concert @ 1pm

Dec. 11^th

What: Rehearsal for concert with Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and Pacific Ballet Academy

When: 5:00-7:15pm

Where: regular rehearsal location (Foothills Church)

Dec. 13^th

What: Dress rehearsal for concert with Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and Pacific Ballet Academy

When: 6:00-8:00pm

Where: Cubberly Theatre, Palo Alto

Dec. 15^th

What: Holiday Family Concert with Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and Pacific Ballet Academy

When: call time 12:30pm for run-through, concert @ 3:00pm.  Where: Menlo-Atherton Auditorium

What: 20 minutes of Cantabile holiday favourites: When Christmas Comes to Town, Seal Lullaby, How Many Christmases, Jingle Bell Swing, etc.

Attire: holiday-inspired: black pants/long skirts, black top, red/green scarves, Santa hats

Tickets: free!

Please note:

- Rehearsals the week before thanksgiving (Nov 18^th and 20^th) are our last regular rehearsals before the concert and are MANDATORY.

- In order to participate in the Dec. 15^th concert, you must attend both the Dec. 11^th and Dec. 13^th rehearsals.

- Additional repertoire for the Dec. 15^th concert does not need to be memorized.

Musicianship

Ensemble A: If you had incomplete questions or mistakes, a note was made in the front of your book. Please look there, and look through last week’s pages. Any mistakes that you have made on last week’s homework were circled. Please find them and attempt to correct your errors. If you have questions about the material, do not hesitate to email cassie@cantabile.org. In your email, state the page number and question number and your problem. Also remember that you must complete the questions that involve the CD, and fill in the blanks with the words stated on the corresponding CD tracks. Your corrections will be marked next week, along with this week’s homework assignment. This week’s assignment: pages 4-6.

Ensemble B:  I believe the issues with sonicfit have been fixed, but I will need you to re-register. Please watch your email for further instructions and a confirmation of the new join code. Cassie’s group only: finish writing in the solfege for measures 11-33 of When Christmas Comes To Town. Remember that 28-33 will be in another key!

Vocalise: Your next assignment will be posted by Monday, Oct.  28^th, and due next Monday, Nov. 4^th. In the future, tests will always be posted at the same time as practices for new concepts so that those of you who wish to test out of a category may do so.

What to Practice

ENSEMBLE

Donkey Carol: Altos, focus on pages 41 and 42. Here you are in canon with the sopranos, but the melody is different in several places – not what you’d expect! Sopranos, your tricky part is on pages 43-44. It’s coming along nicely, so now it’s time to start memorizing.

Angels Will Guide You Home: We talked about leaning in and pulling away in some spots. Find and circle as many as you can of those places in your scores.

Man With The Bag: Below is a youtube video in case you’ve never heard this piece before. You will sing this with the Intermediate Choir:

Man with the Bag

Memorization Homework: Agnus Dei and Jingle Bell Swing

VOCALISE

Mass:  We got some great work done on the Mass last Monday. For this week, focus on the Gloria. Page 13 to the end is still the trickiest section, but it’s coming along nicely. Sopranos: make sure the pitches in m. 83, and m. 93 to the end are accurate. Altos: on page 18 be careful that you’re going down accurately from the A to the Ab in m. 81 to 82, and also check your pitches from m. 89 to 95. If you have a piano at home, try to play another part while singing yours. Otherwise, sing your part along with the youtube video posted previously to practice putting it into harmonic context.

Winter Wonderland: Take a look at the jazzy intro. Soprano 2s and Altos, the harmonies you are creating may not be what you expect!

Memorization Homework: Apologies for the error in last week’s blog about memorization – you do NOT need to have Seal Lullaby memorized at this time. The Angel, and The Snow should now be memorized.

Happy Practicing!

Rehearsal Blog Update 10/16/2013

Dear Ensemble and Vocalise Parents and Singers,

Exciting things are happening in rehearsal as we get closer and closer to our performances!

In addition to our big Holidays With Cantabile concert on December 7^th, here is a summary of our upcoming optional performing opportunities:

1.     Montalvo Arts

When: Sat., Oct. 26^th, 7:30pm

Where: Montalvo Arts Center

What: Premier of new choral work, Everything That Happens, by NY composer Roberto C. Lange in collaboration with visual artist Nene Humphrey.

Who: Vocalise singers who have been previously assigned to this project

Rehearsals: Oct. 21^st, 6:30-8:15pm, regular location; Oct. 26^th, 3-5pm, Montalvao

2.     Pier 39 Tree Lighting Concert

When: Sun., Nov. 24^th - call time 1pm, concert @ 2:15pm.

Where: SF, Pier 39, open stage

What: 30-minute performance of holiday music

Who: all available Vocalise/Ensemble singers

Attire: “holiday-inspired”

Tickets: free!

3.     Holiday Family Concert with Palo Alto Chamber Orchestra and Pacific Ballet Academy

When: Sun., Dec. 15^th, call time 12:30pm for run-through, concert @ 3:00pm. Rehearsal with orchestra Fri., Dec. 13^th, evening (TBC)

Where: Menlo-Atherton Auditorium

What: 20 minutes of Cantabile holiday favourites: When Christmas Comes to Town, Seal Lullaby, How Many Christmases, Jingle Bells, etc.

Who: all available Vocalise/Ensemble singers

Attire: “holiday-inspired”

Tickets: free!

Also, a friendly reminder that the Fall Workshop and Family Potluck is coming up fast on Nov. 2^nd! Be sure to check the SCOOP for instructions on what to bring.

What to Practice

ENSEMBLE

Ensemble A: This week’s homework is pages 1-3 in your A Young Singer’s Journey workbook. If you don’t have a CD player at home, please email cassie@cantabile.org right away. Also feel free to email questions about the work.

If you were given a green Book IV, please email cassie@cantabile.org asap and let me know whether the material is still too easy for you, and whether you can switch to the 7-7:30pm musicianship time slot.

Ensemble B: As you may know, this is the first year that Cantabile is beginning an Online Musicianship Program. Sonicfit.com was developed by theory instructor and choral conductor Dr. Jeff Morton, who teaches here in the Bay Area. On the website you can read/watch theory lessons and complete related assignments and tests. Vocalise has already begun with their first few assignments and now it's your turn! Each week there will be a new, small assignment or test to complete. 

By Monday, October 21st, all members of Ensemble B must register on sonicfit.com by clicking on this link:

http://sonicfit.com/studentRegistration.php

It will only take a minute. You will need a "join code": ensembleb2013

Please be sure to register by the end of the week. Your first assignment is due on Friday, October 25th. Instructions on how to complete the assignment will be sent in a subsequent email.

What to Practice

VOCALISE

Mass: Listen to the recordings posted last week. Go over the first three movements (leave the Agnus Dei alone for now – we may leave it out). Focus specifically on pages 13-20 (in the Gloria). Page 16 is where we stopped in rehearsal, in order to give you more time to go over the notes at home. Speak the text a few times before you review the notes – you will want to master the rhythm within all of those time signature changes (from 2/4 to 3/4 to 5/8 to 4/4!) before you secure the pitches.

Memorized for next week: The Angel and Seal Lullaby

ENSEMBLE

Notes, and tone colour are coming along beautifully for all repertoire. Your next project is memorization. How much of your repertoire can you have memorized by next week? Do your best with Jingle Bell Swing, The Angels Will Guide You Home, and Agnus Dei. I bet you already remember more of it than you realize! :)

Happy Practicing!

Rehearsal Blog Update - 10/10/2013

Dear Ensemble and Vocalise Parents and Singers,

Hope you’re enjoying this beautiful fall afternoon! There are several announcements this week:

Emails

All Vocalise singers MUST be on the vocalise@cantabile.org email list with an email address that they check daily. If you did not receive emails from me this week about sonicfit, you are still not on the list. 

Similarly, at least one person from every ensemble family (either the chorister or a parent) must be on the ensemble@cantabile.org email list. We strongly encourage all Ensemble singers who check email regularly to be on the list. If your Ensemble family member of choice did not receive the messages from me this week about the Agnus Dei recording, you are still not on the list.

If you are not receiving the emails mentioned above, you must contact cassie@cantabile.org immediately. You are missing out on important notifications!

New Upcoming Concerts

A bit of information about a couple concerts that will be added to our calendar shortly:

Oct 31^st  - Optional hallowe’en concert at Stanford involving costumes, an orchestra, and a “monster bash”! There will be a poll shortly to see who is free for this spectacularly spooky evening of singing. :)

Nov 24^th - Annual afternoon tree-lighting concert at Pier 39 in San Francisco. More info coming soon!

Sonicfit Musicianship Program

Vocalise has already started Cantabile’s new online musicianship program and Ensemble is next!

Sonicfit is the brainchild of composer, conductor, and music educator Dr. Jeff Morton, who currently works as a choir director and theory instructor here in the Bay Area. Cantabile is using Dr. Morton’s program to provide online theory instruction to our singers.

Vocalise singers, please make sure that you read all emails regarding sonicfit thoroughly, and that those of you who did not receive a message exempting you from the program are already registered and working on this week’s assignment due Monday, October 14^th.

Ensemble singers, you will be receiving instructions next week via email about how to register and begin your coursework.

Other Reminders

1. Don’t forget to a) bring your water bottles, and b) take them home at the end of the night! There is a box full of bottles that singers have left at the church. Check the box if your water bottle is missing!

2. There is a large, black plastic bin where parents can both drop off gently-used uniforms, and go shopping for them.

What to Practice

ENSEMBLE

Ensemble A: you have theory homework this week! Now that we’ve gone over your key signatures test, please re-do it and hand it in next Wednesday for me to mark again. If you have any questions about the material, please email me immediately.

Agnus Dei: listen to the recording I sent you this week and make sure that all notes and rhythms are perfect by next week so that we can start to make real music with it. :)

When Christmas Comes to Town: In case any of you haven’t see the movie Polar Express, the song is below in two forms:

Scene from the movie

Choral arrangement

VOCALISE

Don’t forget to finish your work on sonicfit.com!

Mass No. 6: New this week. Here are the recordings I found on youtube:

Kyrie

Gloria

Sanctus-Benedictus

Agnus Dei

Happy Practicing!

Rehearsal Blog Update 10/02/2013

Dear Ensemble and Vocalise Singers and Families,

Fall is officially here, which means we're just over two months away from the holiday concert!

A couple notes:

- Many of you are leaving water bottles and music binders (!) behind. Please make sure that you have all of your belongings with you before you leave. You can't practice very well without your music!
- Don't forget to sign in when you arrive! The sign-in table is placed right at the door and you must visit it before coming in to put down your stuff.


What to Practice

VOCALISE

The Snow: We talked about infusing some drama into the piece! Think of it as a mini opera and tell the story in an exciting way. To do this, you must first of all pronounce every consonant - especially the ones at the beginnings and ends of words. The audience will not get excited about a story if they can't understand what you're saying! Use the consonants to add character to the words - the ft in soft, for example, actually makes the word sound soft. Next, remember that quiet does not have to equal boring - you can still put intensity behind your sound on dramatic phrases like "O snow in thy soft grave" and "thou'rt white no more". And finally, think about the mood you are trying to create in each moment. For example, add warmth and richness in your tone on the word soul. Be gentle and light in "then as the snow all pure" to reflect that purity in your sound.

We talked in general about times in the music when a crescendo is happening across different parts. An example is on page 6-7, where the S2s enter first, followed by the As, then the S2s again, and then the S1s. Each time a new voice part enters, that part's line must be louder than the previous part's line in order to create the crescendo. You must always listen to what the other voices are doing and react/build on what you hear musically. You cannot perform your lines in isolation of the other parts.

We also talked about how to approach moments where the music is peaking in excitement. During these moments, the S1s often have high notes, while the other parts have notes that are in their normal range. This means that it's easier for S1s to notice when an "exciting part" is coming. S2s and As, it's important to notice when the S1s are leading up to a high note so that you can also get musically excited by crescendoing simultaneously with them. For them, a crescendo will be automatic - you will have to create one more deliberately. Examples are measure 13, 37, *49*, 53, and 67.

The Angel: We added words this week. Practice your part slowly with the text and make sure you are shaping the vowels in the way that Elena showed you. In general, you will use many dark, and round vowels.

ENSEMBLE

Call of Wisdom: Keep listening to the youtube recording to help you. It's coming along nicely, but it could be more secure.

Call of Wisdom on youtube

Donkey Riding: S1s, practice page 43 to the end and make sure you're secure with the notes by next week. Here was the recording I posted last time:

Donkey Carol on youtube

Both parts - practice the last page. Make sure you know your notes on "alleluia, Christ is born today".

Agnus Dei: Page 8 is the most challenging, so focus on that this week. A few points:

- In your score, change the eighth notes in measure 32 from a straight rhythm to a dotted rhythm.
- Remember that the D in measure 34 comes on beat 2!
- In measure 36, you land on the B natural on the first beat.
- In measure 39, we practiced the rhythm of the "mi-se" (of "mi-se-re-re") - it's "three-and-a".

That's all for now, folks! Have a great weekend, and happy practicing!