Rehearsal 4-22 clips

Recording quality isn’t great and balance not so accurate but we did work on that throughout rehearsal. Here are a few snippets:

A Boy and a Girl
October
All Hallows

All good work in progress!

Wednesday:

  1. A este sol (or at 5:30) with instrumentalists
  2. Take What You Need (or at 5:30) with instrumentalists
  3. Hush
  4. Come Away Death
  5. October
  6. All Hallows
  7. When the Earth Stands Still
  8. Run from the top whatever time permits!

See the revised program order on “Repertoire and Programs…” link!

Recordings from 4/15:

Take What You Need

When the Earth Stands Still

Monday April 15 – Concert Hall

Rehearsal in Concert Hall this week and next – please allow for travel time!

  • Beatus vir
  • Harris “Shakespeare Songs” – run all four
  • Fukuda pieces – run/work all four

BREAK

With dancers:

  • If ye love me
  • A este son peregrino (or another)
  • When the Earth Stands Still
  • Take What You Need

PHOTO!

Rehearsal Monday 4/1:

  • Harris (all four)
  • Fukuda (all four)
  • Monteverdi
  • Velasco – solos, anyone?!?
  • Esmail (“Take What You Need”)

NEXT:

  • Wednesday, 4/3: much of the rest of the repertoire
  • Monday, 4/8: Eclipse. You said we could go without rehearsal!
  • Wednesday, 4/10:
    • Hour 1 TBD – possible program run!
    • Short break
    • Hour 2 – conversation led by steering committee
    • Whitacre (for Thursday performance)
  • Thursday, 4/11, 4?30 PM Chapel: Zoom lecture/presentation by Eric Whitacre/College Choir, performing. Please dress up just a little bit.

Rehearsal recording: A Boy and a Girl (03-27-24)

Terrific work today in sectionals, and together!

  • Critical Listening
    • Follow in your music, or listen only and read the words (below, thanks to SG for typing up).
    • Listen to the sonorous quality of your vowels in so much of this recording.
    • We can still cultivate dynamics but listen also to the expressive quality that is present already.
    • We have a lovely rehearsal recording to work with: listen for the changes in sound color of the piece from phrase to phrase, even word to word, and think about how we each can be more aware of that in our performance.
    • Listen for positive aspects of our ensemble singing. We do yet need to balance across all singers, tighten up certain things, move the tempo slightly, and we can expand dynamics, color and phrase shape, but our sound is developing beautifully. This is challenging music!
  • Next
    • Memorized by 4/10. Progress checks next week. When we sing on 4/11 for the Whitacre lecture, we will need to have our folders handy in case we demo any passages, but we need to perform from memory. (We will decide what other rep we do from memory very soon.)
    • We won’t rehearse too much more before performance. Let’s let this (and ultimately all of our music) develop in our minds as we prepare our entire program, and bring renewed energy and creativity in polishing stages.
Eric Whitacre: "A Boy and a Girl is such a tender, delicate, exquisite poem; I simply tried to quiet myself as much as possible and find the music hidden within the words.”
Stretched out on the grass, 
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their oranges, 
giving their kisses like waves exchanging foam.
Stretched out on the beach,
a boy and a girl.
Savoring their limes,
giving their kisses like clouds exchanging foam.
Stretched out underground,
a boy and a girl.
Saying nothing, never kissing,
giving silence for silence.
Octavio Paz, 1914-1998

Fancy Bread

Here is our latest rehearsal clip! 02-19-24 mixed seating. (The recorder wasn’t placed very carefully but still sounds lovely.)

Spring 2024 is upon us!

Time to sing! I look forward to seeing everyone this first week of our new semester.

Auditions are open for all voices, by appointment. Please encourage choir-minded friends to go/choralauditions, and to contact me! Call back (ensemble) auditions begin this week.

Wednesday rehearsal is 4:30-5:30 PM only.