This will be updated each week following the most recent Monday night rehearsal.
For the first rehearsal on Monday, August 26 the routine will be different from all subsequent rehearsals. For this rehearsal only, the recorded samples will be played through as the choir sings along as best they can. This is primarily intended to introduce each selection and give choir members a chance to hear what it will sound like once we have prepared it during the coming weeks of rehearsals. As time permits for this rehearsal, we may attempt to sing along without the recording using our accompaniment combo for some of the selections. This is not intended to be an exercise in frustration. It is not expected that it will be perfect in any way, so do not be discouraged as we will have 17 weeks of rehearsals to learn and perfect each selection. I just ask for your patience as we complete this process of learning each selection over the coming weeks.
Rehearsal format for the next series of rehearsals will follow a similar pattern each week as follows: brief opening comments, warm-up, review and focus. There will usually be a 7-minute break roughly halfway into the rehearsal preceded by any announcements by members of the Executive Board. Here in the Director's Notes selections that were focused on will be listed and some notes may be included regarding notable outcome of the rehearsal. Additionally, the upcoming rehearsal plan for the following week will list selections by number that will be reviewed and those that will be focused on. The selections to be reviewed will simply be read through near the beginning of the next rehearsal. No attempt will be made to work on or make corrections to selections being reviewed. The selections to be focused on will undergo analyses to include interpretation, teaching correct pitches, rhythm, diction, and any other needed corrections for musicality.
Samples of all selection included in the Christmas 2024 "Sounds of Christmas" season are available on the Music page accessible from the menu on the website main page.
Your comments are welcome and can be added at the bottom of this page.
08/26/2024 rehearsal (Registration is from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm):
Attendance was a little lighter than expected but we know of several more that will be joining us in the weeks to come.
For this first rehearsal we read through the entire program (almost) singing along to a recording and sometimes additionally with our own instrumental accompaniment. We were unable to get to the final selection as we ran out of time due to extra-long announcements, but the good news is the selection contains a collection of old favorite Christmas Carols that most people already know.
It was immediately apparent that some of the selections will require some extensive work, but I am confident that we will achieve this in due time. We will get to work next week by beginning the rehearsal with a warmup exercise then review of three songs, during which there is no attempt to fix anything. We will then focus on three songs where we may divide up (if we have the resources to do so) and concentrate on individual voice parts working on blending and correcting rhythms and pitches. Then come back together to put it all together with the full choir. Speaking of resources, there is currently an opening for Assistant Director.
Be aware that later in the season, as the weather conditions and access to the parking lot become an issue, be sure to check the webpage and watch for an email notification in the event the rehearsal must be cancelled. If the Prince William County government offices (not public schools) are closed our rehearsal will be cancelled.
Also note that those that participated in the Spring 2024 concert season there will be a special 30 minute rehearsal at LCOC at 7:30 PM on September 9th to refresh our memory of the following selections:
The Circle Game
Desperado
You Say
Break My Stride
Let the River Run
Dancing Queen
Help!
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): 7, 6, & 12. The focus will be on selections: 11, 1, & 3.
09/2/2024 rehearsal (Second registration date is from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm):
This was the beginning of the first cycle four rehearsals in which we will have the initial focus of each selection on the program. After the warmup we begain by reviewing three selections, numbers 7, 6, & 12. Then we broke out into two groups during which Meredyth worked with the basses and tenors in the sanctuary on three selections, numbers 11, 1, & 3, while the remainder of the choir including all sopranos, altos, Nancy and me worked on the same seletion of songs. The Holiday Tango requires emphasis on dynamics and the basses and tenors to prefect the gliss effect. O Bethlehem requires a gentle angelic spirit. Angels We Have Heard On High is a very spirited piece with 4-hand accompaniment not at all like the version your grandmother sang.
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): 3, 1, & 11. The focus will be on selections: 9, 4, & 5. Note the regular rehearsal start time will be delayed until 8:00 PM. At 7:30 PM those involved with the Arts Alive will meet to review the music to be preformed at the festival. Be sure to bring your Spring 2024 music as listed in the 8/26/2024 blog note.
09/9/2024 rehearsal (Third and final registration date is from 7:00 pm to 7:30 pm):
We used the first 30 minutes of this rehearsal for the preparation of the Arts Alive! event. The start of the regular rehearsal was delayed until 8:00 PM. For the Arts Alive! review we read through the following in the order shown (note order change from previous announcement):
The Circle Game
Desperado
You Say
Help!
Let the River Run
Dancing Queen
Break My Stride
We then went straight into the regular rehearsal by first recognizing the birthdays of three of our current members. Following that with a brief warm and then then review of the three selections that we worked on last week, 3, 1, & 11. Then Meredyth along with the bass and tenor sections went into the sanctuary to work on selections 9, 4, and 5. While likewise Nancy and I stayed with the sopranos and altos to work on the same selections. Number 9 has a brief soprano solo passage starting at measure 42. The soloist will be selected by peer judges during the Line Solo tryouts on October 7. Number 4 seems a bit complicated in that the meter keeps changing back and forth between 6/8 and 9/8. Just remember and perhaps mark your music everywhere you see the 6/8 that means there will be two beats per measure and where there is 9/8 there will be three beats. Sopranos if you are not confident to sing the high "A" in measure 73 of selection 4 drop down to the "E" as indicated. Finally, we finished the focus part of the rehearsal with selection 5 of which most of us are familiar. Again, sopranos if you are not confident to sing the high "A" in measure 66 in selection 5 drop down to the "E" as indicated. Before closing out the rehearsal we came back together to read through the three selections that we focused on.
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): 5, 4, & 9. The focus will be on selections: 8, 13, 2, & 10.
09/16/2024 rehearsal:
We had to set up in the sanctuary due to the fellowship hall being prepped for a reception. After the warmup we reviewed the selections 5, 4, and 9 that we focused on last week. We split up for sectionals and the basses and tenors had to use the basement fellowship room, a bit inconvenient but it served the purpose. For sectionals we worked in two phases on selections 8, 13, 2, and 10. Before ending the rehearsal we put the four selections together with the full choir. All went surprisingly well considering these were some of the more difficult selections on the program. Hopefully by now everyone that has an interest in accessing Voice Tracks has been able to do so. If you are still having difficulties, send me a message.
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): 10, 2, 13, & 8. The focus will be on selections: 12, 6, & 7.
09/23/2024 rehearsal:
It has been decided to take advantage of the better lighting in the sanctuary. So, if it is available we will continue to use it for the main part of the rehearsal. For the sectionals part of the rehearsals to come the basses and tenors will meet in the fellowship hall to focus on the assigned selections.
For this rehearsal following the opening announcements and warmup we proceeded to review selections 10, 2, 13, and 8. We then broke out into two groups to focus on selections 12, 6, and 7. It quickly became apparent that number 6 is an extreme variation of the favorite Christmas carol Joy to the World that will be a challenge in the weeks to come.
Next Monday the review will be on all selections in concert order. There will be no focus and only a limited amount of time to fix a few things along as we read through each selection.
09/30/2024 rehearsal:There is much to discuss here. Comments about this rehearsal. Plans for going forward. Line solo auditions to take place next Monday. Fund raiser. Touching on music reading best practices. Let's begin with this week’s rehearsal. I felt that the music in general is right on point. Yes, there are details that still need attention but in terms of the overall season we are I believe right where we need to be. This was the first full run-thorough of the entire concert program since the first rehearsal and the first round of focusing on each selection during sectional rehearsals. We will begin round two of focusing next Monday that will continue for the next three weeks followed by another full run-through on October 28. This coming Monday is the one-shot line solo tryouts. Thank you to those that have already signed up. Although the deadline to sign up has passed if you were not at this rehearsal, you may still be included by speaking with the director before the rehearsal begins next week. We will need volunteers to serve as peer judges and based on your feedback on the tally sheets the soloist will be determined from among the candidates who tryout. The joint Fundraising Chair team has come up with an event that will require you to commit to participate as part of the minimum number to meet the requirement. Listen carefully to the announcement about this to be given next Monday. Reading musical notation is not a requirement to be a member of the WCC but it helps. Here are a few pointers:
When you look at the sheet music the most obvious is the title which may sometime include a subtitle and always the name of the composer. If it is an arrangement the arranger's name will be included. In some cases, the composition may be a joint effort in which someone writes the words of the song while someone else writes the music.
All the selections on our program are indicated as SATB meaning there are individual voice parts for Soprano, Alto, Tenor and Bass
On the first page just above the top line there will be a tempo and metronome marking. This may be a word or phrase in English, Italian, French or German most frequently that describes in general the speed of the selection. This often will change throughout the selection and will be indicated by another tempo marking just above the staff at the point of the change. The metronome marking gives a more precise indication such as 84 beats per minute.
Below that is a series of staffs made up of 5 parallel lines running horizontally across the page. And the text is usually found below the staff of your voice part but occasionally it will be above the staff. We will get into details about the staffs in a later comment.
Next Monday there is no review. The focus will be on selections: 8, 11, 12, & 10. This is the date of the Line Solo tryouts.
10/7/2024 rehearsal:
This was the Line Solo tryout week. After opening comments and warmup, we began work refining four selections. We first worked on #8 "Deck the Halls", which has no line solo, and it is coming along quite nicely. Next, we worked on #9 "Somewhere in My Memory", instead of #11 as announced last week, because #9 includes a line solo while #11 does not, which was the focus of the evening. The choir is doing very well with this selection too as we spent a little time refining it and the one applicant for the line solo did a very nice job. Following that we turned to work on refining #12 "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and as it turns out it is very popular for those seeking to try out for the line solo. Again, the choir did well and are on point for this selection and the line solo applicants were quite diverse in their style. We closed out the evening by refining #10 "The 12 Days of Christmas" including tryouts for the line solos. This has eight unique voice lines but there were only five applicants. The choir is doing a great job on this, and the line solo applicants were up to the task.
Next Monday we will be refining selections: 2, 11, 1, 6, & 7.
10/14/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
Next Monday the focus will be on selections: TBD.
10/21/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
Next Monday the focus will be on selections: TBD.
10/28/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
Next Monday the review will be on all selections (in the order listed): TBD.
11/4/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): TBD. The focus will be on selections: TBD.
11/11/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): TBD. The focus will be on selections: TBD.
11/18/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): TBD. The focus will be on selections: TBD.
11/25/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
Next Monday the review will be on selections (in the order listed): TBD. The focus will be on selections: TBD.
12/2/2024 rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
12/6/2024 MANDATORY on-site rehearsal:
Comments to be added later.
12/7&8/2024 Concerts at Ferlazzo:
Comments to be added later.
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