Candid Camera

At the very bottom of this page are the videos from yesterday's rehearsal. This site and my youtube account are private, so they're not available to the world at large unless we share the links. Feel free to share, just be mindful of your fellow singers and their privacy. I just wanted to let you see and hear your progress.

I thought yesterday's rehearsal was very productive--thank you for really focusing and getting off your scores (except a couple people, ahem). Let me know if you have any comments or suggestions about what you see/hear in the videos.

Announcements:

--I have wonderful "bags of tricks" for percussionists, etc. and I will definitely need help transporting some of the items (dulcimer, djembe, bag 'o small percussion instruments, etc). Let me know at the airport or via email if you'll have an extra arm to help carry stuff. I'm in particular need of 2-4 people who can take an instrument or bag as a second carry on (in addition to your messenger bag).

--You will receive copies of "Over the Edge" at the airport or when we arrive in St. John's. I have practice files if you are interested in a CD or transfer to your MP3 player.

--I have some black folders for your Mass Choir Project music. Please try to be totally memorized on your YC music. Really. I have noticed a few folks who just aren't ready, so I hope you're practicing!

--Ginny would like for you to bring bright AYS logowear if you have it--from Spain orange and red shirts, Australia red shirts, Newfie purple (definitely bring!) etc., so that when we are at the festival you are bright and logo-ed up. You're not expected to look identical to each other, but looking like a group would be nice.

--We are STRONGLY discouraging you from bringing cell phones. Not only will you have to pay roaming charges, but you'll also have long-distance charges. It will be VERY expensive, and it might be a new, and perhaps even pleasant, experience in not being connected at all times. If any AYS staffer sees you with a phone at an inappropriate time (rehearsal, meals, performances, in transit or when you need to be paying attention to your surroundings, etc) it will be confiscated and kept until the end of the tour.

--We have solved the problem of per diem money for the Toronto layover, so you don't need to worry about rushing to get cash exchanged unless you really want to. Remember all of your meals are covered by AYS or the Festival.

--Please be ready to share your great photos while we're on tour. I will upload photos daily (or as often as possible) to imagestation so your folks can see how much fun you're having!

Happy Packing!
B

Rehearsal notes 6/26, and looking ahead to Thursday

Thanks to everyone for a wonderful Sing-a-thon last night and a great rehearsal today! The music seems to really be shaping up! Do you know how fortunate we are to know so many fantastic musicians?

For those who weren't at rehearsal (shame on you) be sure you're keeping up! Be in contact with other singers who can help you stay on top of the specific pieces we have been working on.

REHEARSAL NOTES
Paige started rehearsal by asking, "What should the audience feel during these pieces?" Replies listed below:

Appalachian Round--serenity, goosebumps
Bartok--jumpy, shivers, eerie
Kalla Kala--dancing, love
Rakut--contemplative, enlightened wonder
Como Compongo--confused, curious
Prayer--hypnotized, moved
O Yo Yo--laughing with us, not at us, intoxicating, driving
Galileo--expansive, thoughtful, eager

It's our job to find out how to achieve those reactions.

These are the pieces you'll sing on your first concert, but the fun doesn't end there--did you know you'll have 9+ concerts during our 14 day trip? And all pieces must be MEMORIZED. Sorry, didn't mean to shout.

One new tradition we began on the Australian tour is personal rehearsal time. This is how it works: If a singer doesn't know his/her music, as evidenced by not singing during rehearsals or performances, he/she will have personal rehearsal during our allotted free time. Your rehearsals will supervised (but not led) by an adult staff member. Please protect your free time by using your time NOW to learn and memorize your music!

LOOKING AHEAD TO THURSDAY'S REHEARSAL
As you know Paige leaves Wednesday for the festival, so Jeff and I have our gigantic list of things to get through. Please take some time to look over these items if you have a moment:

1. New Piece! "Over the Edge" by Stephen Hatfield--it's a jig and a partner song based on the Newfoundland National Anthem. You don't have this piece yet, but please take a look at the Anthem to get a jump on things!

2. "One Drop" needs general cleaning up.
-->Karen, Mollie, and Rachael will sing the "Guests" part, and on pg. 9-10 Robert, Nora, and Matt need to sing the "Guests" part, then go back to your usual part.
-->pg. 15 Soprano I be sure not to sing too high for your entrance at the key change. Drill this part on your own!

3. Run our Monday concert (all pieces listed above) from top to bottom with instruments and staging.

4. Women read through "Peace on Earth"

5. Run our Tuesday concert:
Maria Matrem
Convidando
Great Trees
Dravidian Dithyramb
Dulaman
One Drop
Walk Together, Children

Other items we need to consider:
Soloist for "Paradise"
percussion parts for "One Drop" and "Como Compongo"
how to pack/carry on instruments

I know this is too much information for you all, but I just want you to rock the house in Canada!

PS Don't forget to check out the pictures from past tours (links at right). You will definitely see some familiar faces!

Rehearsal notes from the Boss Lady

AKA Paige--These are the notes you should have received from Paige via email.

1. Everyone, for Monday—Have Bartok and Hebrew Love Songs memorized before you walk in.

2. MITS gig on Wed. JUN 27 has been cancelled. However, Choir 1 of Flying Dream* (see below) will need to rehearse instead. Time TBD

3. Women, the mass choir music needs your attention this week. I think you’ll find that most of it very manageable, but you need the information below to aid your practicing. The divisi sheet that was distributed yesterday charts out who’s singing what when the parts divide. It might be a little hard to read, so here’s a run down of everything.

Alleluia—this one only looks bad, but it’s a canon and very easy to learn. When the soprano splits 3 ways at letter E, S1-- H. Lowery, Cox, Harmon S2--Click, Brown, and Purser S3—Jain, M. Lowery, Kokenes Semi-chorus at m. 47-48 Lane, Brett, Quesenberry

Peace on Earth—Consists of an “A” “B” and “C” theme. Each time the themes come in there is a new harmony or a canon (you can figure it out). The eighth-note rhythms are grouped in 2’s and 3’s. There’s a semi-chorus “on high” beginning at Letter K-- S1 Brett, S2 Jain, A1 Taylor, A2 Alexander

Wanderer—mostly an easy 2-pt piece. Where it splits into 3 or 4 parts, the “extra” parts canon with another part (e.g. S2 imitates the S1 pattern; A1 imitates A2, etc) so there’s not any new material to learn.

*The Flying Dream—DON’T NEGLECT THIS ONE. Clearly the hardest of the four pieces, and very artsy. We’ll split into 2 choirs. I made practice files for choir 1. We'll get them to you asap. BT

Choir 1:

Lane S1—stems up

Cox S1—stems down

Jain S2— stems up

M. Lowery S2— stems down

Brett A1— stems up

Taylor A1— stems down

Quesenberry A2— stems up

Alexander A2— stems down

Choir 2 (unison):

H. Lowery

Click

Brown

Purser

Kokenes

Lomsadze

McCord

Brantley

Hughes

Boyer

Cuthbert

See you Monday at Red Light! 5:30, right? ;-) *wink, wink*

Paige Mathis

Rehearsal notes 6/19

GENERAL NOTES:
***PLEASE be on time to rehearsal with your music and a pencil. Even the best musicians need to mark their scores.
***If you have to go to the restroom during rehearsal wait until break or between songs. If it is an emergency, or you are not well, be sure to tell someone on music staff.
***If you miss a rehearsal you are responsible for covering what we did in rehearsal on your own, or call a friend who can help you.
***All of this music must be memorized. It will be apparent to everyone if you are not practicing in between rehearsals.

"Ar Lan Y Mor" pg. 6 verse 3 count singing then Welsh text, next verse read through, then English
"Spring the Sweet Spring" count singing, then full run through in English
"Kalá Kallá" (Hebrew Love Songs) on text with violin
"Rakút" on text with violin
Bartok #148 Full run through with cello and Mollie singing

Sectionals:
Men--"O Yo Yo" with clapping, "Dulaman", "Dravidian"
Women--"O Yo Yo" & "Como Compongo" review

Ginny and Christy gave out rooming requests, reminded everyone about the Sing-a-thon, basic info about flights.

"Young Galileo" run through

Let me know if I forgot something.

Welcome to the Newfie blog

Hi YC singers. I want you to be as prepared as possible for this tour so you can have a great time and represent yourselves and AYS well. This site is purely for information and I hope it will be useful and interesting for you. PLEASE let me know if you need any extra help or if you think of something that will help you be more comfortable with the music we're working on. You can leave me messages via this site in the comments area or by email BrieT70@hotmail.com.

The links on the right are are all youtube clips of choirs performing. Some of them are very, very good, and others are choirs that we can learn from--we can always focus on what to learn from other groups. At any rate, I didn't put anyone on here just to make fun of them.

The last several clips I just put on for fun.

In 2005 a Birmingham, England choir recorded a song consisting of complaints they had about their community. It started a rash of complaint choirs in different parts of the world in which folks got together to vent, make music, and record. The Helsinki Complaint Choir is the best I've seen of the bunch. Plus, Finnish is cool.

Scala is a Belgian choir we met at the Kathaumixu festival in British Columbia years ago, and they just blew me away with their artistry in "regular" choral music and the arrangements Stijn and Steven Kolacny do for the choir. Stijn and Steven are brothers, virtuosi on the piano, and practically rock stars in Belgium and they have built their choir program into something quite amazing. They perform with rock bands regularly.

The last clip on the list is from a choir I just read about called young@heart, and they are all 70+ years old. Their director purposely finds modern music for them to sing, and it makes for very interesting and, to me, significant changes in the original intent of the song. Have tissues ready unless your heart is made of stone.

Keep me posted on what you need. This site is for you.

--Brianne

Rehearsal notes 6/14

These are the pieces we covered, and what Paige's focus was:

"Spring the Sweet Spring" count singing
"Beside the Sea" solfege
"Kalá Kallá" (Hebrew Love Songs) count singing
"Rakút" language
Bartok #148 Full run through

Sectionals:
Men--(in search of piano) "Te Deum" (?)
Women--"Young Galileo" review

Recordings of choirs who will attend Festival 500

The following are links I followed from the Festival 500 site. If any of the choirs had interesting websites or sound clips I included them here, but I didn't include sound clips you'd have to download.

See? I did the work for you!

Festival 500 Festival site.

Elektra--recording excerpts. Their repertoire includes "Nigra sum" and "Deo Gracias" from A Ceremony of Carols by Britten.

English Montreal School Board Chorale--winner for most cumbersome (edging out the Honors Concert Choir of Southeast Minnesota), funniest name, considering the French/English debate in Canada. This link is to their concert etiquette page. Even though they are a children's choir these are good things to consider for concerts and on tour; although, the wording sounds almost as preachy as I do when I talk about this stuff.

Gondwana Australian Choir--Recording excerpts: Their repertoire includes "Festive Alleluia," "Ngana," "Imberobera," and "Wir Eilen."

La Ceilagh Recording excerpts: "Ubi Caritas"

Lady Cove women's choir. Their repertoire includes a treble version of "Mata del Anima Sola."

Les Ms an audio recording of "O Sapo" by Stephen Hatfield

Linden Singers of Victoria they have a recording of one of my favorite TTBB songs ever, "A Red, Red, Rose" by Mulholland, but they do an SATB version.

The Mornington Singers Irish choir