Rehearsal Plan APR-MAY 2013

Rehearsal Plan
April 1-May 30

Week Apr. 1-4

Training Choir and IMM-- Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jazz Man, Jai Ho, E Te Iwi E

Week Apr. 8-11 NO REHEARSALS Spring Break

Week Apr. 15-21

Training Choir and IMM—prep for TOUR to Reinhardt College (Waleska) and Gainesville, GA. Staff needs: Paige, Brianne, Caroline, Meaghan, Bill. Millie unavailable to play. Final staffing dependent on enrollment

Week Apr. 22-27

Training Choir and IMM—Millie and Michele at Callanwolde, Paige at Temple Emanuel 4-24. Solfege Tango choreography, Jai Ho, 3 Country Dances, E Te Iwi E

Workbook session Apr 27 ALL Choirs—last at Emory Presbyterian. Bill/Paige, other staff welcome to volunteer. Auditions for new TCC/YC, includes Tour Choir auditions for “move-ups”.

Week Apr. 29-May 2

Training Choir and IMM-- Solfege Tango, Jai Ho choreography, 3 Country Dances, E Te Iwi E, Ah Si Mon Moine with dance

Week May 6-9

Training Choir and IMM-- Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jai Ho choreography, 3 Country Dances, E Te Iwi E, Ah Si Mon Moine with dance, The Fox

Toast the Future May 9 (Thurs) SAVE the DATE

Key Fundraiser for AYS. Wine tasting and auction 5:30-ish-8:00 pm

YC small ensemble a cappella. Reprise 80’s and and preview Dance. As many staff as possible should make an appearance to talk up the program and schmooze donors. This is not a paid call for staff, but you won’t have to pay to attend either. Other arrangements will be made for rehearsal so that staff can attend.

Week May 13-19

Training Choir and IMM—Regular Tues, Wed, Thurs rehearsals. Run program from memory. Take up music. Evals.

Dress Rehearsal May 17 - Druid Hills UMC

• 6:30-8:00 Training Choir and IMM
• 6:30 riser placement and tech
• 7:00 joint rep: 3 Country dances, Te Iwi, Jai Ho
• 7:30 TR/IMM set

CONCERT May 18 - Druid Hills UMC

• 1:30 call for 3:00 pm concert (Caroline out--school musical)
• 7:00 pm call for 8:00 pm concert 

May 19 -- Visit of Ulmer Spatzen Chor from Ulm, Germany

AYS cooperating with Druid Hills Presbyterian and Georgia Young Men’s Ensemble to present this choir and host them.

Performance Team of TCC/YC girls and Young Men’s Power Sing (YMPS) participants to sing on May 19 concert with German choir

YMPS boys:

3:00 pm rehearsal; 5:00 pm concert 

Week May 20-22

Training Choir and IMM—Final Auditions for TCC. ALL Training and IMM come Wednesday, May 22 to Callanwolde.

LOOKING AHEAD

Training Choir Tour Update

4-20            Depart 8:30 am from Callanwolde

10:30 workshop at Reinhardt College with Martha Shaw and student conductor

2:00 Dahlonega mine tour and panning for gold/gems, Bear on the Square Festival

Overnight in Dahlonega

4-21      Lunch and afternoon performance at Lanier Village Estate

Camp Update

Settled on June 28-July 5.

We will need a minimum teaching staff of 5—need to get availability from teaching staff.

Major Tours 2014—World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia July 9-19. Children’s Choir, SSAA, and Young Male choirs all happen in the first week. Folklore categoriy happens in the second week, but Scenic Folklore happens in first week. Pre-festival and post-festival touring is yet to be determined.

Rehearsal Plan FEB-MAR 2013

Rehearsal Plan Master

Feb 25-May 30

Week Feb 25-Mar 2

Training Choir and IMM—Last week of regular rehearsal before the Recital. Millie will be at Temple Emanuel this week on Wednesday.

            Final Program

            Hinei Ma Tov

            The Fox

            Lucky Little Cricket

Children’s Prayer from Hansel and Gretel

Scorpio and Orion

            Victory Chorus from Brundibar           

When I Rise Up

Turn the World Around—form: Verses 1-3 all, instr break, “Wo-ho” all, instr break, “Do you Know” all, instr break, Verses 4-6 all, Repeat of 1-2 then break into partners (A=fire/water, B/C=Wo-ho, D=Do you know)

Week Mar 4-9

Training Choir and IMM—All choirs at Callanwolde this week for Tuesday and Wednesday rehearsals 4:45-6:15 pm,

                                                Saturday at Holy Trinity Episcopal in Decatur

                                                Staff call 1:00 pm, kids call 1:30 pm

                                                Recital 3:00

Week Mar 11-14

Training Choir and IMM—continue work on May program and Tour program: Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jazz Man, Jai Ho. Music collection and distribution in envelopes. Evals.

Week Mar 18-23

Training Choir and IMM—Paige at Temple Emanuel, Millie at Callanwolde Wed 3/20. Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jazz Man, Jai Ho

Week Mar 25-28

Training Choir and IMM—Review 3 Country Dances, E Te Iwi E, Ah Si Mon Moine, The Fox

Week Apr. 1-4

Training Choir and IMM-- Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jazz Man, Jai Ho, E Te Iwi E

Week Apr. 8-11 NO REHEARSALS Spring Break

Week Apr. 15-21

Training Choir and IMM—prep for TOUR to Reinhardt College (Waleska) and Gainesville, GA. Staff needs: Paige, Brianne, Caroline, Meaghan, Bill. Millie unavailable to play. Final staffing dependent on enrollment

Week Apr. 22-27

Training Choir and IMM—Millie at Callanwolde, Paige at Temple Emanuel 4-24. Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jai Ho, 3 Country Dances, E Te Iwi E

Workbook session Apr 27 ALL Choirs—last at Emory Presbyterian. Bill/Paige, other staff welcome to volunteer. Auditions for new TCC/YC, includes Tour Choir auditions for “move-ups”.

Week Apr. 29-May 2

Training Choir and IMM-- Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jai Ho choreography, 3 Country Dances, E Te Iwi E, Ah Si Mon Moine with dance

Week May 6-9

Training Choir and IMM-- Solfege Tango, Ombra, Jai Ho choreography, 3 Country Dances, E Te Iwi E, Ah Si Mon Moine with dance, The Fox

Toast the Future May 8 or 9 (Wed or Thurs) SAVE the DATE

Key Fundraiser for AYS. Wine tasting and auction 5:30-ish-8:00 pm

YC small ensemble a cappella. Reprise 80’s and and preview Dance. As many staff as possible should make an appearance to talk up the program and schmooze donors. This is not a paid call for staff, but you won’t have to pay to attend either. Other arrangements will be made for rehearsal so that staff can attend.

Week May 13-19

Training Choir and IMM—Regular Tues, Wed, Thurs rehearsals. Run program from memory. Take up music. Evals.

Dress Rehearsal May 17 - Druid Hills UMC

• 6:30-8:00 Training Choir and IMM
• 6:30 riser placement and tech
• 7:00 joint rep: 3 Country dances, Te Iwi, Jai Ho
• 7:30 TR/IMM set

CONCERT May 18 - Druid Hills UMC

• 1:00 call for 3:00 pm concert
• 7:00 pm call for 8:00 pm concert 

May 19 -- Visit of Ulmer Spatzen Chor from Ulm, Germany

AYS cooperating with Druid Hills Presbyterian and Georgia Young Men’s Ensemble to present this choir and host them.

Performance Team of TCC/YC girls and Young Men’s Power Sing (YMPS) participants to sing on May 19 concert with German choir

YMPS boys:

3:00 pm rehearsal; 5:00 pm concert 

Week May 20-22

Training Choir and IMM—Final Auditions for TCC. ALL Training and IMM come Wednesday, May 22 to Callanwolde.

LOOKING AHEAD

Training Choir Tour Update

4-20            Depart 8:30 am from Callanwolde

10:30 workshop at Reinhardt College with Martha Shaw and student conductor

2:00 Dahlonega mine tour and panning for gold/gems, Bear on the Square Festival

Overnight in Dahlonega

4-21      Lunch and afternoon performance at Lanier Village Estate

Camp Update

Settled on June 28-July 5.

We will need a minimum teaching staff of 5—need to get availability from teaching staff.

Major Tours 2014—World Choir Games in Riga, Latvia July 9-19. Children’s Choir, SSAA, and Young Male choirs all happen in the first week. Folklore categoriy happens in the second week, but Scenic Folklore happens in first week. Pre-festival and post-festival touring is yet to be determined.

Fall Update 2012

Off and running this season! All of the groups are settled in, rosters set, music issued. In the Callanwolde and West groups, we've been through all of the music (except for Holiday) at least once. The pieces in yellow should be memorized already and the ones in orange should be learned before the end of October. 

Holiday music will be ready to be distributed the week of Oct 16, which will give us 7 weeks of preparation before the Holiday Recital.

International Dinner

Oct 14, 2012

TR/IMM feature set--Ayele, Lucky Little Cricket

w/TCC--Scorpio and Orion

Holiday Recital

Dec 8, 2012

S’Vivon                 3  = D (mel) C/B (1st counter mel) A (2nd counter mel)

Ocho Kandelikas       2  = A/B--C/D 

Hanerot Halalu      2 =  C/D--A/B

Ayele 

Come In!

On to Bethlehem Town

Cuckoo Carol

Infant Holy         3 = A  B/C  D

A New Year’s Toast/Hoppin’ John

Round of 3 Country Dances    3 =  D (Sing After...) C/B (Robin Hood)   A(Tom)

Tell Me a Story, Sing Me a Song

March, 2013

Hine Ma Tov: A Story of Two Brothers   2  = C/D--A/B

Victory Chorus from Brundibar – with book by Maurice Sendak

Devil and Bailiff McGlynn   divisi @ end

The Jazz Man – Britten

Children's Prayer from Hansel and Gretel   2 =  A/B--C/D 

The Fox   2 = C/D--A/B

Scorpio and Orion

Lucky Little Cricket      2 = A/B--C/D

Ombra Mai Fu 

A Time to Dance

May 11 or 18, 2013

ALL

3 Country Dances  3 = D (Sing After...) C/B (Robin Hood)   A(Tom)

Jai Ho 

E Te Iwi E    3 = A  B/C  D

TR/IMM

Ah Si Mon Moine

Lucky Little Cricket    2 =  A/B--C/D 

The Fox 2 = C/D--A/B

Tango from Solfege Suite  2 = C/D--A/B

Training-IMM Part assignments - Repertoire

PIECE	SOPRANO		ALTO
	1	2	1	2
Dove and Maple Tree	A/B		C/D
Hamisha Asar	D	C/B	A
Hussar	C/D		A/B
Little Birch Tree	A/B		C/D
*Ton The	C	D	A	B
Sesere Eeye	A	B/C	A
Wanderer	A	B	C	D
Sound the Trumpet	A/B		C/D

January Report

January started with some new choristers, so playing some get-t0-know-you games was in the line up for the first couple of weeks.

Concepts

Posture, breathing reinforced constantly. Feet 10 inches apart, shoulders back and down. Keeping the rhythm in the body was a big focus this month. Steady beat in the feet and hands, then subdivision practice to prepare for sections in Birch Tree and Hamisha Asar where 2 + 3 utilized. Audiation with do-la descending was a crucial step this month. Some choristers still singing Do-la and Do-sol descending the same. Explore idea of songcatching: context of songs tell stories about people and their lives. Songs create rallying points for groups of people, instruct children, etc.

Repertoire

Birch Tree--solfege, reinforcing minor scale and Do-la skip. Meaning of song. FAQ--what's a balalaika!? Notes and rhythms are solid. Moving ahead with shaping phrases on the breath, dynamics, diction.

Wanderer--rhythm/diction lesson. How do we know where to put the final consonant? Working from p. 6 to the end with "land" on whole note and "light" on half note. Strong rhythmic pulse reinforced to get the canon going and call/response on "wamara"

Hamisha Asar--put the beat in the hands and feet and listening to the melody. Worked with diction right away--what words do you recognize? what language? What's the story? First verse memorized. Starting 2nd verse pronunciation.

Dove and Maple--Analyzing from listening to AYS-North at Holiday recital. Other sections of choir learned quite a bit from not performing it in December. They basically had it memorized by the first rehearsal in January. Worked on security of starting pitches, form, diction. Started Czech language.

Sound the Trumpet--continued where we left off in December. Worked cross-voicing sections and melismas at end of piece.

Ton The--started with language (the piece is a tongue-twister after all) and all melody sections by rote. Taught alto part with solfege to reinforce the Sol-Mi-Sol-Do relationship.

Saman--1st movement section and 1st chant are underway. Several kids learned at camp and are helping move the process along.

MISC REP News:

West Choir has the most number of new students, so Brianne re-visited the pieces from the fall--Sally, Kitty, etc.

HOUSEKEEPING: music folders distributed to new students, new agendas for JAN-MAR to everyone.

Back-to-Rehearsal Update-- North and East

Caroline and Meaghan have had a really great first two rehearsals back! I know it's early, but we are really feeling like the remainder of this season's training performances have the potential to be really spectacular. The repertoire is already coming along so smoothly, and the tone of rehearsals has been set at a higher level from the start of last week's rehearsal. We have high hopes that the singers will continue to meet and exceed our expectations as Young Singers.

We've used solfege to teach most of Birch Tree, and even did it in two part canon on our first sing-through.

We were also able to use solfege to learn Ton The. First they learned the "catchy ending" of the melody, and the entire melody fell into place soon after. Last week we learned the harmony that starts on p. 9, and we heard no complaints, only beautiful high notes :)

Only one of our singers was at summer camp, so Hamisha is pretty new to most of them. So we started with the meter, then jumped right into the text, using the monotone treble I part in the last verse to practice. Then it was no problem for them to go back and put the same text with the melody.

We've learned the melody and some of the harmony to the Wanderer. Our biggest challenge on that one will be making those phrases musical!

We're working on rhythms with IMMs, and using the syncopation the Hussar to practice.

We are continuing work on Sound the Trumpet and Dove and the Maple Tree, of course. We have introduced the concept of Songcatching. We talked about Ton The and Birch Tree, showing the singers where they could look in the front of their octavos to find out information about the song and why it fits the theme of songcatching. They seem to grasp the concept of songcatching, but don't seem to have many ideas so far of what that means for them.

On an informal note... We ended rehearsal with a runthrough of Kitty Alone. They were basically shouting, and after stopping and re-starting one or two times, we continued on. They immediately changed into the most beautiful, pure tone, and I turned to Caroline and said "I could listen to this all day." So we are glad to be working with these singers, and looking forward to seeing where they go musically over the next 4 months or so.

November Report

Things are crashing right along for Callanwolde and West groups. I will have to say that our Wednesday group is the furthest along in terms of memorization of the program. However, as you know, we need to cut bait with these groups on Dove and the Maple Tree. New plan--feature AYS-N and East on Dove since they have it learned, and feature AYS-C and West on Sound the Trumpet. Along those same lines, we have also spent very little time on the Brahms Lullaby. First verse will be solo or small group, and second verse will be everyone. Sorry for over-programming! Doggone Polar Express...

Last week, we did a "No Paper" week just to see where we were with memorization. Wed and Thurs groups seemed to do OK, but Tuesday group seemed behind.

Our biggest trouble spots memorization-wise were:
Tomorrow Shall Be, Deck the Hall (words)
Sound the Trumpet and S'Vivon (melodic/harmonic material)
Fum Fum Fum (Only Tuesday had major difficulty) - Do verse 1, 2, and repeat v. 1. No verse 3 for the Recital

The new plan is below, same concert order as before:

Sound the Trumpet Henry Purcell AYS-C and W; sit after singing

Dove and the Maple Tree Antonin Dvorak AYS-N and E enter and perform in front of seated singers

Lullaby Johannes Brahms soloists come down front

Fum, Fum, Fum Spanish Traditional

Ocho Kandelikas arr. Joshua Jacobson

S’Vivon Betty Bertaux

Deck the Hall arr. Stephen J. Ortlip

Wassail Song from Folksongs of the Four Seasons Ralph Vaughan Williams

Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day John Gardner

Christmas Time is Here Vince Guaraldi

TR-North

This week's rehearsal in Dunwoody went well. We started rehearsal with a decent amount of solfege work, focusing particular on singing with unified, pure vowels. It generally takes our singers a few minutes to settle into choral--as opposed to solo--singing, so as a group we've been spending a lot of time talking about the impact listening has on blend and intonation. Singing the major arpeggios on solfege has been great for this group; we've noticed that once we've run through them, the students are able to sing parallel harmonies with much more accuracy.

After warming up, we jumped immediately into Dove and Maple Tree. The students are able to sing through the first two pages with some degree of confidence, though there are certain areas that still catch them off guard. We asked the singers to identify areas in which the notes are the same and areas in which the notes change. While they understand the movement of the notes conceptually, they are still guessing a bit when singing through the piece. Using Dove and Maple Tree as an introduction to marking up scores would probably serve the North students quite well. Sound the Trumpet went fairly well this week, too.

It took us a bit of time to get the holiday music handed out and accounted for (A special shout-out goes to Meaghan for a job well done!). That said, we were still able to dive into the meat of a few of the songs. The entire group learned the melody for Brahms' Lullaby. Afterwards, they took turns reading the text in German (with a few corrections made by Meaghan). Their instincts were spot on, and they seem to have a good handle on the pronunciation. We look forward to combining the German with the melody next rehearsal. In addition to learning the melody for the Brahms, we learned both the melody and harmony for Ocho Kandelikas. We also talked about Ladino and the ways in which the pronunciation of the text differs from Spanish. This is already a group favorite! Next week, we will begin to work through Polar Express.

We are going to begin our next rehearsal with a big heart-to-heart about respectful rehearsal etiquette. Our talk should tie in nicely with a review of the rubrics. The group may or may not have to do a bit more standing than usual, too ;). We're on the right path for an incredibly successful holiday performance, and with a little more attention, the singers will look as wonderful as they sound!

Week of OCT 11-13 and 18-20

Our International Dinner was a great success and the kids sang well. Still have a lot of work to do on basic performance rituals: riser behavior, what to do with hands, feet etc., taking direction during a performance. Overall, though, they did well with lining up during warm-up and pulling things together in a short warm-up time allotment.

Last week was Holiday music distribution week. All groups, except for North and East checked out music. Those groups got a nice introduction to the music by rote and a general overview, and will check out music this coming week (OCT 24).

Tried a new thing with the West choir this week to motivate them to memorize music faster. There's a poster that has a pocket for each child. When they memorize a piece of music and sing it for me or an "experienced" singer (could be someone who already knows the piece--Tomorrow or S'Vivon, for example) to hear them. Challenged them each to memorize one piece the first day. It was interesting hearing what they thought was memorized! ...very telling about the kids' overall perception of what it means to "know" a piece.

Part distribution for Holiday Music--

Sound the Trumpet - AB/CD

Dove and Maple Tree – AB/CD

Brahms Lullaby – CD/AB

Fum, Fum, Fum – unison

Ocho Kandelikas – CD/AB

S’Vivon - IMMs on melody all the way through; then A B/C D = S1, S2, A2

Wassail – Unison

Deck the Hall – CD/AB

Christmas Time is Here – Unison

Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day – Unison. Choose singers to do descant

Polar Express – AB/CD

Housekeeping: Still wrapping up odds and ends of Informal Uniform pieces distributed to singers. Sing-a-thon packets going out this week (OCT 24). Remind kids to register practice time on Charms.

Week of OCT 4-6

This week, International Dinner preparation took center stage. We have done lots of drill on recognizing basic rhythmic patterns at sight and singing them with names that sound like the rhythm (strawberry for triplet, etc), and basic audiation exercises for Do-Sol.

Music for Int'l Dinner: Kitty, Sally, Sesere, Give us Hope. We also assigned each singer a letter ABCD for part distribution. Tuesday choir also got through Sound the Trumpet on the sop part. I gave them an extra group check for writing in all the solfege. We aslo sang the Wanderer and reviewed the first hand movements of Saman.

This week Meaghan came down to do the Central rehearsal on Wednesday and Paige went to North. North Choir worked on all the music for Int'l Dinner plus Dove and Maple Tree and IMM learned Son Macaron for maintaining a steady rhythm. They also did basic rhythm patterning with colors, fruits, etc. but instead of seeing the patterns, they made up movements for each pattern.

Thursday got through all the music for International, but since there are so many new students there, it's still slow-going.

All sections started work on the Singer Progress Chart and Rubric (1st and 2nd column for AUG-OCT) that should be completed and turned in the following week.

Housekeeping: First round of Informal Uniforms have been distributed. The trying-on and returning/keeping process will continue until OCT 16. All Int'l Dinner forms are available on Charms: member log-in> Files and Handouts> International Dinner>info and dessert donation forms

North/East September Update

An update from the North TR/IMM group:

Repertoire:

• We did a lot with Sally Gardens the first two weeks, then put it aside. Pulled it out this last week in September and it was beautiful! They have it well-learned and memorization should be no problem. ---What worked as far as phrasing was "painting" the phrase in the air. I have tried various ways of getting them to sing the phrases, and this was the first that got immediate results.

• The North kids know Kitty Alone really well. It's a big group-- and a very consistent group-- which means we were able to get into two parts really quickly. They maintain their parts well. But we are having a hard time with musical details such as cutoffs because they won't read it in their scores and they won't respond when we give it to them in our conducting. It makes it especially tricky in the verses where the two parts are in canon, if they aren't counting how long to hold a note. I did finally get them to hold out some of the long-duration notes yesterday, but only when I had them put down their music and watch me. With a bit of focus, this is a really solid piece for them.
  
• Give Us Hope-- we have done each section, and done the alto part. They just need to experience the song in its full form. They all want to sing melody on this anyway, so no problem for int'l dinner.
• Sesere Yeye-- They can sing it well, but we haven't added any movement. (I can do the movement, but I need to clarify if what I know is the mirrored version or the correct version, so I don't teach them left/right incorrectly.) I actually did introduce the soprano part on Wednesday, which they picked up immediately and sang well.
  
• Caroline and I had great success teaching the Dvorak melody at camp, using count singing. So we went ahead and started it with these kids; so far they have made it through the first two pages, soprano, count-singing. We figured that even though the IMMs aren't singing it, it doesn't hurt for them to learn the melody.

Other:

• We've worked a lot in warm-ups on breathing and vowel shape, and it has really showed during rehearsals.
• Lots of solfege practice. Learning arpeggios and intervals with hand signs, and mystery tunes at the beginning of rehearsal and after break.
• Again, the size of the group and their good attendance has really benefited us. We're making a lot of progress. Looking forward to getting them part assignments: the consistency will help some of our youngest new friends, and some old friends with talking problems!

East:
We're making good progress on the repertoire, but we are having to spend a lot of time on the basics of theory. Solfege and intervals are a real struggle, as is reading simple rhythms. The ability is there, we just need continued work and persistence!

Fall Kick-off

Well, September is about to bid a hasty farewell and the Young Singers are off and running. Repertoire-wise, we've got a good start from work done at Camp and Mini-camp.

Sally Gardens is in good shape and it's time to get everyone memorized on the piece and really work phrasing.
Kitty Alone is moving along pretty well on the S1 part, and kids have been introduced to the Alto, but not trained on it.
Camp kids also learned Give Us Hope and Sesere Eeye pretty well--again, parts introduced, but not trained.
Bist Du Bei Mir and Sound the Trumpet and Pergolesi Amen were worked at Camp Woodmont, but only limited work by Mini Camp kids
Saman had one or two introductory lessons--basic move and chant--and one ensemble performance of it at Woodmont
Hamisha Asar had an introduction at Camp
Polar Express was rehearsed daily at Camp but not at all at Mini-Camp

So the September report to date for Callanwolde/Mable House rehearsals:
Lot of work on audiation to get the choir, particularly IMMs to start solidifying basic intervals (Sol Mi) and diatonic steps within the scale. We've done the Name Game song/Luriala Le as an intro to Mi Re Do patterns and basic harmony. Also a little "simon says style" drill on Mi-re-do patterns. Have done some training on score-reading with Sound the Trumpet score--measure, bar, measure numbers, system, beat numbers. All TR/IMM singers should be able to look at a score and find a measure number for a particular spot. Also with Sound the Trumpet, we've been memorizing the solfeggio for m.29 to the end. TR Singers have been asked to write this in and sing it individually. about half have mastered it so far.

For rhythm skills, we've been doing some patterns and giving them fruit or color names and them reading them off the board, then identifying them in the score.

Last week, we did a lesson with improvisation during the warm-up and used the Brahms lullaby as an example of how to use ostinato.

More on solfeggio...
Sally Gardens scavenger hunt for sol-mi was OK. Tried it only by ear rather than by sight. I'd like to try it again at another time once the audiation for that particular interval is more developed, but for now, it was a good way for new kids to pick up on the melody.

Kitty Alone is still a favorite piece and the kids are on the way to having the S1 part memorized. And now for the Alto part...

The last two weeks, we've done The Wanderer--introducing the idea of syncopation--and have gotten though 2 out of 3 melodic themes. Tried to do a little of the canon last week, but rushed into into it and they got lost.

We've been hitting Give Us Hope, Saman, Sesere Eeye as we have time, but not consistently. The next big priority for Training Choir will be Dove and Maple Tree for the December Recital. Holiday folders will be distributed the week of OCT 17--7 weeks before the recital.

Now that auditions are over and rosters set, we'll be assigning each chorister a letter. Assignments will be a little different this year. We need each chorister to be assigned a letter A-D with more A's and D's than b's and c's. E.g: the combined number of b/c should equal the number of A's or D's. Thus, in 2 parts the configuration is A/b c/D; in 3 parts is A b/c D. since we don't do 4-part music in Training and IMM, the only other division we have to worry about is a four-pt round and we can always borrow singers to balance it.

Housekeeping-a-thon: tis the season for paperwork and uniform.

• INT’L Dinner rep: Sally Gardens, Kitty (A/b high c/D low), Sesere Eeye (unison on melody), Give Us Hope (no parts)
• ANNOUNCEMENTS: Turn in Yellow sheet (Scheduling), Uniform Order forms—turn in if you haven’t done so already, International Dinner coming up OCT 16—families look for dessert donation forms via email, extra hard copies of available at rehearsal next week.

Week of FEB 8

Continue with rhythm studies. Incorporate rhythm flash cards, rhythm rounds with body percussion. Pitch--solfege "Name that Tune"

Repertoire:

Bist Du Bei Mir--fine tuning of pitch and phrasing. Review pronunciation and diction

When You've got an Elephant--assign parts today and put it together

Alphabet Song--Review with all singing each part, separate, then try parts together with assignments

Tree Toad and Lone Dog--review parts separately, then put together

Housekeeping: Reminders about Madrigal auction donations. Taking reservations still if family members want to attend. Call office to reserve: 4/ 873-3365. Next Recital March 27.

Revised Part assignments. Items w/asterisk for March. All others prep for May.

*Alphabet Song--A=S2, B=alto, C=sop

*Alunda Song--A/B1=alto B2/C=soprano

Baidin Fheilimi--unison
*Bist du bei Mir--unison

*Little David-- A=S2, B=S1, and C=alto

*Pupu Hinuhinu--unison with echo. Choose 1-2 in each division (ABC) to do echo

Stabat Mater--A/B1=sop B2/C=alto
*Inflammatus--A/B1=sop B2/C=alto

Amen--A/B1=sop B2/C=alto
*Tree Toad and Lone Dog--A/B1=sop B2/C=alto

*When You've got an Elephant--A=alto, B=S2, C=S1

*Singabahambayo--A=S1, B=S2, C=alto

Fancie--A=alto, B=S1, C=S2

*Hey, Ho Nobody Home--round

*10K Fireflies pop song?

Weeks JAN 25-FEB 2

These two weeks were really focused on reviewing diction skills and part work, especially for the groups meeting on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. Lot's of drill in each choir on reading rhythms. Improvisation with body percussion on rhythmic patterns makes a great warm-up.

Part-singing is going well and it's time to reinforce part assignments now that everyone has had a chance to sing all the parts in all the pieces.

LONE DOG--A/B1 sings alto; B2/C sings soprano

Pass out FANCIE to all Training choir members. Begin work on it, emphasizing the drama and contrast of Britten's writing.

Thursday classes have had a number of new choristers, so going back over music from the fall just to get it in their ears has been crucial to bringing the new students up to speed.

We have new students in all the classes. Learning names using the Finnish "Lurialale" game song has been useful to getting to know the new ones as well as introducing solfege and harmony to new and old singers.

We've been using the "Hey Ho, Nobody home" round for a warm up and the kids can't seem to stop singing it!

Housekeeping: Welcoming new members, Measuring for uniforms, distributing music folders to new singers. Madrigal invitations and donor sheets distributed.

Week of JAN 18

Rehearsals this week focused on Diction--mostly emphasis on initial consonants and using the neutral vowel after a final consonant.

Alunda Song--some work on parts, but focus on diction on each of the lines of text
Lone Dog--How does the way we enunciate the words lend to the character of the dog?
When You've Got an Elephant--counting, counting counting. All singers on the S2 line, then split the group into 2 parts and put things together to see if it can line up.

Housekeeping: Madrigal Forms, reminder of Workbook JAN 22

Week of NOV 23

Memorization of text is critical this week.

Order of program--

Suo Gan

Deck the Hall

On to Bethlehem Town

Tomorrow Shall Be My Dancing Day

Mimo Oluwa

Christmas Time is Here

S'Vivon

Ocho Kandelikas

Housekeeping: reminder that there are 2 rehearsals next week--Tues and Wed at Druid Hills Presbyterian Church 4:45-6:15. Recital on Saturday AM -- Dress Rehearsal 9:30 am, concert 11:00 AM. Uniform skirts will be distributed next week.

Week of NOV 16

Mimo -- start working the round (4pt.)

S'Vivon -- independence on parts
Ocho Kandelikas -- memory on verses; choose soloists next week
Suo Gan -- TR work Welsh

Deck the Hall -- independence on part work and memorize text

On to Bethlehem Town - run v. 2 for memory and phrasing
Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day - memorize words

Christmas time is here - text and intonation

Housekeeping items: Sing-a-thon NOV 19/20-Tr and IMM time slot is 8:00-11:00 am on Saturday the 20th. Thanksgiving week- all singers come to Tuesday rehearsal, either at Callanwolde (at the "Retreat" house) or Porter Sanford.

Week of NOV 9

Practice divisi assignments this week:

Deck the Hall high=B2/C low=A/B1

S'Vivon

Main Melody=IMMs +B2

Alto=C

1st Countermelody=A

2nd Countermelody=B1

Deck the Hall high=A/B1 low=B2/C

Ocho Kandelikas high=B2/C low=A/B1 start to hear soloists on v. 3

Suo Gan unison. TR only on Welsh verse

Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day unison; select no more than 3 per choir to sing descant

On to Bethlehem Town unison

Mimo African Round Order of Entrances=C, B2, B1, A

Recital is less than 1 month away. Start to work memory on all songs.

Housekeeping items: Pull out those agendas!! Workbook on Saturday 10-12 Emory Pres. Sing-a-thon NOV 19/20-Tr and IMM time slot is 8:00-11:00 am on Saturday the 20th. Thanksgiving week- all singers come to Tuesday rehearsal, either at Callanwolde or Porter Sanford.

Week of NOV 2

Tuesday, Wednesday choirs at Callanwolde and Thurs Mable House choir focused on listening this week: Listening to each other sing, listening to Instructors model tone and expression, listening to themselves on recording.

Ocho Kandelikas--listened to verses, sang all refrains memorized. Learned the "band" section in the 3rd verse

S'Vivon--reviewed main melody, learned 1st countermelody

Suo Gan--review solfeggio, memory on English verse

On to Bethlehem Town--pure vowel sounds, record and critical listening, re-record to see if anything changes

Tomorrow Shall be My Dancing Day--Thur choir memorized 1st verse and refrain