Rehearsal Blog Update 11/15/2013

Dear Ensemble and Vocalise Singers and Families,

Just three more rehearsals for Vocalise and two more rehearsals for Ensemble until our Dec. 5^th Dress Rehearsal for the holiday concert!

Please Read The Most Recent SCOOP!

IMPORTANT FOR PARENTS: Cantabile needs parent volunteers for several of our upcoming performances. Look for a link to a volunteer sign-up sheet in the SCOOP. If you are a singer reading this, please alert your parents!

IMPORTANT FOR ALL: The SCOOP that came out this week has extremely important information about upcoming concerts and links to crucial sign-up sheets, so please be sure to read it thoroughly!

Special Rehearsals and Concert Reminders

Nov 24^th – Vocalise/Aria at Pier 39 Tree Lighting Ceremony, San Francisco

Call time: 12:00pm

Performance: 1:00pm

Dismissal: 2:00pm

Program: 40 minutes of music including The Snow, When Christmas Comes To Town, Winter Wonderland, Seal Lullaby, and selections by Aria.

Attire: “holiday-inspired” – black pants/long skirts, black top, red/green scarves, Santa hats. The concert is outside, so dress for the weather!

Transportation: Please carpool if you can! Visit http://bit.ly/cantabile-carpools 

to exchange rides with other families. Paid parking is available at the Pier 39 structure.

Dec. 2^nd – Vocalise’s last regular rehearsal before dress - MANDATORY

Dec. 4^th – Ensemble’s last regular rehearsal before dress - MANDATORY

Dec. 5^th – Dress rehearsal for Holidays With Cantabile, St. Joseph’s in San Jose

Call time: 5:30pm for Ensemble and Vocalise

Dismissal for Ensemble: 7:00pm

Dismissal for Vocalise: 8:30pm

Dismissal for Aria: 9:00pm

Dec. 7^th – Holidays With Cantabile concert, St. Joseph’s in San Jose

Call time: 11:30am

Concert: 1:00pm

Dismissal: 3:00pm

                                   

Dec. 11^th – Ensemble rehearses PACO concert repertoire, Foothills Church, 5:00-7:00pm 

Dec. 12^th – Nutcracker dress rehearsal (mandatory for all Nutcracker singers), Center for Performing Arts, San Jose, 7:00pm start time (call and dismissal times to be confirmed)

Dec. 13^th – Dress rehearsal for PACO concert, Cubberley Theatre, Cubberley Community Centre, 4000 Middlefield Road, Palo Alto

Time: 6:45pm call time for a 7:00pm rehearsal, dismissal is 8:00pm at the latest

Participants: All Vocalise and Ensemble singers minus the 8 Nutcracker singers

Attire: Cantabile T-shirts and black pants

Dec. 13^th-26^th – Nutcracker performances (8 designated singers per show)

Dec. 14^th – Aria performance at the The Villages Golf & Country Club, 2800 The Villages Fairway Drive, San Jose

Call time: 5:00pm

Rehearsal: 5:15-5:35pm

Performance: 5:45-6:15pm

Dec. 15^th – PACO concert, Center for Performing Arts - Menlo-Atherton Auditorium, Menlo-Atherton High School, 555 Middlefield Road, Atherton

Call time: 1:00pm

Concert: 3:00pm

Attire: TBA

What to practice for the next two weeks:

ENSEMBLE

ALL pieces should be memorized by next week, including Silent Night. An email was sent with recordings of all pieces – please, practice diligently and often. Memorization and note checks will be done during musicianship class time again.  

To “clean up” sections that have been memorized incorrectly, isolate and practice them slowly, and check pitches on the piano or your phone app. 

Noel: Review the choreography that we learned in class last week. Review the words and practice saying them in rhythm at a faster tempo.

Donkey Carol: Altos – keep working on verse 4 (page 41-42). Remember at the bottom of page 42, when you come in you echo the soprano entry by starting on a high E! Listen to the recording emailed to you nail this tough section. All parts – review the last page (45), particularly the pitches and rhythm on “Christ is born today”. Altos, on the last page, second system, second measure, on the “ia” of “alleluia”, you have a Bb, but you are mistakenly singing a B natural! Please circle this Bb and practice singing it in context with the phrase.

Jingle Bell Swing: Check your pitches in measures 42-43 (“jingle bell do bee dit”).

Man With The Bag: Look over the last two pages (7-8). Also, circle the measure that says “To Coda” so that you aren’t surprised when it comes along!

VOCALISE

Memorized for next week: everything except the Mass!

Noel: Next week you will learn the choreography. Make sure that you have not just the words but the entire form of the piece carefully memorized. Please note that we are adding one extra chorus at the very end.

Mass: Make sure measures 75 to the end in the Gloria are solid for next week.

Winter Wonderland: 2^nd sopranos and altos – look over measures 15-16. Those harmonies are unexpected! All parts – look over measures 43 to the end to check that your pitches are correct.

Also remember to keep reviewing When Christmas Comes To Town and Seal Lullaby for Nov 24^th. (These do not need to be memorized.)

Musicianship:

Ensemble A: Memorization checks with Elena are happening during musicianship class. Cassie will continue to take out one singer at a time for a workbook review. This week there are no new pages assigned. Please go back and fill in ALL the blank pages and questions, and correct ALL mistakes that have been circled by a marker. Email cassie@cantabile.org if there is anything you don’t understand. The goal is for everyone to have 100% correct pages before we move on.   

Ensemble B: Memorization checks with Elena are happening during musicianship class. Michael and Cassie will continue to take out one or two singers at a time for sight-singing tests. Please continue to familiarize yourself with the current topics on sonicfit. No new topics will be posted between now and next Wednesday.

Cassie’s B group: Hand in your interval worksheets to Cassie at the beginning of next week’s rehearsal to be marked.

SONICFIT: Due Nov. 20^th

-       Additional scale degree notation practice (optional)

-       Scale degree notation test #1

o   Settings to practice: DIATONIC, movable do, up to three sharps (A+) and three flats (Eb+), no time limit per problem. You will be allowed to write the test twice.

Vocalise: Below are your upcoming sonicfit assignments.

           Due Nov. 18^th

-       Scale degree ear training practice log

-       Scale degree notation re-tests (optional, for anyone who wants to improve their mark)

           Due Nov. 25^th

-       Scale degree ear training test – major

-       Scale degree ear training test – minor

Rehearsal Blog Update 11/07/2013

Dear Ensemble and Vocalise Singers and Families,

Can you believe it’s November already? The term is flying by and we’re just a few weeks away from our fall and winter performances! Last weekend we enjoyed a wonderful workshop, informal concert, and potluck with friends and family. Thank you to all of the Cantabile families for sharing such delicious food with us!

Special Rehearsals and Concert Reminders

(please see emails/newsletters for full details)

Nov 24^th – Vocalise/Aria at Pier 39 Tree Lighting Ceremony, San Francisco

Dec. 2^nd – Vocalise’s last regular rehearsal before dress!

Dec. 4^th – Ensemble’s last regular rehearsal before dress!

Dec. 5^th – Dress rehearsal for Holidays With Cantabile, St. Joseph’s in San Jose

Dec. 7^th – Holidays With Cantabile concert, St. Joseph’s in San Jose

Dec. 11^th – Ensemble rehearses PACO concert repertoire, Foothills Church

Dec. 12^th – Nutcracker dress rehearsal (mandatory for all participants)

Dec. 13^th – Dress rehearsal for PACO concert, Cubberly Theatre in Palo Alto

Dec. 13^th-26^th – Nutcracker performances (8 singers per show)

Dec. 15^th – PACO concert, Center for Performing Arts, Menlo-Atherton Auditorium

Uniforms

The pants are in! If you forgot to pick up your pants this week, please see a Choir Parent at the next rehearsal to get them.        

Musicianship

Ensemble A: Review any mistakes on pages 7-10 and make corrections. This week you are working on pages 11-14. Don’t forget to use the CD! Also, a couple of workbooks are still nameless – please make sure your name is clearly marked!

Ensemble B - SONICFIT

Due Nov 13^th:

-       Key signatures test (FINAL DEADLINE)

-       Scale degree notation practice log

Due Nov. 20^th:

-       Additional scale degree notation practice (optional)

-       Scale degree notation test #1 (test posted soon, parameters for test will be described on next week’s blog)

Please note: “scale degree notation practice” and “solfege extra practice” are the same. You do not have to complete both logs. You can do one or the other. The due date for “solfege extra practice” is later in case you need an extra week with this material.

Cassie’s B group: Finish the interval worksheets handed out last week and this week and hand them in at the beginning of next week’s rehearsal to be marked. Don’t forget your name!

Vocalise – SONICFIT

Due Nov. 11^th:

-       Scale degree notation practice log

-       Scale degree notation test – major

-       Scale degree notation test – minor

Due Nov. 18^th:

-       Scale degree ear training practice log

-       Scale degree notation re-tests (optional, will post after next week for anyone who wants to improve their mark)

Due Nov. 25^th:

-       Scale degree ear training test – major

-       Scale degree ear training test – minor

What to Practice

By now, both choirs should be working hard on memorization at home!

ENSEMBLE

Memorized for next week: Jingle Bell Swing, Agnus Dei, Noel, Angels Will Guide, Call of Wisdom, Donkey Carol

Donkey Carol: Altos – keep working on verse 4 (page 41-42). There are some alterations to the tune in your part! All parts – review the last page (45), particularly the pitches and rhythm on “Christ is born today”.

Jingle Bell Swing: Check your pitches in measures 42-43 (“jingle bell do bee dit”).

Man With The Bag: Look over the last two pages (7-8). Also, circle the measure that says “To Coda” so that you aren’t surprised when it comes along!

VOCALISE

Memorized for next week: The Snow, Angel, Salve Regina, Vivos Voco, Call of Wisdom, Night of Silence, Noel

Mass: It’s sounding great! Measures 75 to the end in the Gloria need the most work this week.

Winter Wonderland: 2^nd sopranos and altos – look over measures 15-16. Those harmonies are unexpected! All parts – look over measures 43 to the end to check that your pitches are correct.

Also remember to keep reviewing When Christmas Comes To Town and Seal Lullaby for Nov 24^th. (These do not need to be memorized.)

Happy Practicing!

Rehearsal Blog Update 10/31/2013

Hello Ensemble and Vocalise Singers and Families,

Happy Halloween! We hope you had a fun and spooky night!

Tomorrow is the annual Fall Workshop and Potluck where both choirs get to rehearse and perform together, and then enjoy a delicious meal. We encourage all singers and family members to mix and mingle and make some new friends. Don’t be shy – say hello to an unfamiliar face. J Please remember to review the SCOOP for instructions on what to bring.

Musicianship

Ensemble A: Please review pages 1-6 for any mistakes and make corrections if you haven’t already done so. This week you are working on pages 7-10.

Ensemble B (*BOTH GROUPS*): The key signatures practice log (for anyone who needs the practice) and test are due this Monday, November 4^th. 

Vocalise: The scale degree ear training tests are due this Monday, November 4^th. The scale degree notation practice log is also “due” for anyone who needs the practice. After the deadline, you can go here for more practice on scale degree notation:

http://sonicfit.com/index.php?cmd=launchExercise&eid=5

Next Monday, November 11^th, the scale degree notation tests are due.

What to Practice

  

ENSEMBLE

Angels Will Guide: This is sounding better and better each week. Our next “project” with this piece is the diction. When you practice this at home, try over-articulating everything. Think about where all of your final consonants go and put them on the appropriate beat with confidence! (For example, clearly pronounce the “z” sound in “skies” on the 8^th rest in measure 8.) Don’t just think about final consonants – the ones in the middles of words are also really important, like the “f” in “life”.

Jingle Bell Swing: This is a fun piece but don’t get so excited singing it that you forget about making a beautiful “Cantabile tone”.  Try singing this piece very slowly at home with your loveliest choral sound. We need to infuse a little more of that into the piece!

Donkey Carol: Keep reviewing page 41 to the end, and start to memorize it. There are a lot of verses and you may not be able to memorize them all in one sitting!

Winter Wonderland: Go over your notes slowly with a piano to help you. You may know this winter carol but this arrangement contains some tricky harmonies! Focus particularly on pages 6 and 7.

And finally, spend some quality time this week on Man With The Bag. Watch your email for recordings to help you!

Memorized for next week: Noel, Angels Will Guide You Home

VOCALISE

Vivos Voco: If you have a metronome at home, try practicing with it so you can get used to the tempo changes.

Mass: The Agnus Dei may be on the program after all, so make sure you go over it this week.  In the Sanctus-Benedictus we worked a lot on being light and buoyant. Make sure that you are articulating each of those sixteenth notes and not blending them into a legato sound. 

Angel: A few of you were not quite prepared for the memorization check. Please make sure that you know this piece extremely well by heart for next week!

Also don’t forget to go over your notes in Winter Wonderland and Seal Lullaby – these are for the Nov. 24^th Tree Lighting concert!

Memorized for next week: Angel, The Snow, Call of Wisdom

Happy Practicing!