Hello Everyone,
Thank you for your hard work and attention to detail at rehearsal last night.
Attached is a Spring Retreat Schedule.
I will make adjustments as needed after our rehearsal 3/31.
Attached is My Name is Lamiya: Don’t Call Me Refugee S1 Altered Text
The composer invites ensembles to substitute names of refugees with whom they have a personal connection. Rachel offered her parents-in-laws, Saada and Mohamed. S1s, please have a look at the attachment. Your pitches are the same but I have substituted in Saada (pronounced in 3 syllables Sa-a-da) and Mohamed so the rhythm changed slightly to accommodate that. I will print out copies and bring them to rehearsal next week.
Rehearsal Reflection:
We Are Home
– we worked on reviewing all of the ‘we are’ sections and then sang through the piece
– we are still having difficulties making some transitions between sections – please review your individual part as you can give it time this week.
Entrance
– we reviewed and worked on pitches and rhythms (mostly pitches).
– since we don’t have a performance recording of this piece (we will be the world premiere!), this one is perhaps more challenging to get a sense of the whole piece. Please use your practice file for this.
Grace Before Sleep
– we used a 2-part drone (Do and So) to anchor us in the key of D Major for the beginning section. But, we found that even as we sang the first measure, we sang the triad, D-F#-A out of tune (flat). Some strategies to improve this tuning:
- sing with your best posture (especially rib cage lifted and back of neck feeling tall)
- prep for singing with an energized breath
- practice a D Major triad with a tuner (for some, the F# was not high enough so then the A was also flat)
- if you have a piano (that is in tune), play and A while you sing the triad D-F#-A to make sure you have arrived!
- awareness – if we know this is an issue, we can aim to sing those intervals a bit wider so that we are not flat
– we will work on phrasing (breaths and syllabic emphasis) and dynamics next time we rehearse this piece
Mi Lugar
– we worked on pitches and rhythms mm. 64-84
– note the part crossings in mm. 62, 65, 67, 71, 78 – those are tricky!
Mae-e (Forward)
– we worked on pitches and rhythms mm. 42-65
Walk Together Children
– we worked on pitches and rhythms mm. 52-77
– as we gain confidence, we will speed this up a bit.
Looking Ahead to 3/31/25
We will work on the following pieces that we need to have ready for our retreat performance:
Entrance – we won’t perform this at the retreat concert, but we need to make a recording for the composer.
My Name is Lamiya: Don’t Call Me Refugee
Mi Lugar
Mae-e (Forward)
Deep River
Walk Together Children
Crowded Table
Over the Rainbow
I know we have busy, busy lives, some more than others, but please give your music the individual attention that it needs – you know where your questions are and we have wonderful practice files with which to work (thank you, Karla!). I am absolutely confident that we can be ready for the challenges ahead so that we can sing with confidence and joy!
I love making music with you all and look forward to our next rehearsal.
Laura