Hi everyone,
Congratulations everyone for the wonderful performance of ‘Rise Up’ Saturday! I very much appreciate everyone’s flexibility. For those of you who were unable to make the rescheduled event, we missed you, but we did you proud! If anyone received feedback from friends or family, please share the comments with Sarah Town at pedritasf@yahoo.com
Regular Rehearsal Tomorrow: We will now be able to focus solely on our spring repertoire.
Faces and Stories: On the WVC website, in the Members section, there is a link to Faces and Stories where each member can tell us a little bit about themselves and upload a photo. If you are a new member or have not yet added your story, please take a moment to click ‘Update’, tell us a little bit about yourself and upload a picture. If you have been a member of WVC for many years and want to update your info or photo, please do so. If you prefer to stay young forever, that’s fine too! This is a fun way to get to know chorus members and strengthen our community.
Community Outreach Fund: Based on concert theme, Rise Up, last semester, we chose to donate to both Arise Collective and to Sisters’ Voices. I am thrilled to report that we raised about $600 for each organization!! Thank you for your generosity.
A message from the Inclusion & Outreach Committee: A very helpful comment was left in our digital suggestion box that we wanted to address. Someone noted that it didn’t seem right that we donated both to the Arise Collective and to Sisters’ Voices with our Community Outreach Fund for the winter semester. This person said that after we voted on the Arise Collective, the option to donate to Sisters’ Voices was added without explanation, which didn’t sit right. If this isn’t an issue for you, no problem. If you would like to know more, here is further explanation and an apology for the lack of transparency. As a chorus, we are excited about our partnership with and our support of Sisters’ Voices because it works toward our mission of fostering relationships with members of our community, as described on our website. If you have further questions or comments for the I&O Committee, please let us know!
Winter Listening Party: Sue Gidwitz has graciously offered to host the listening party at her home on Saturday, March 14th in the afternoon. Stay tuned for more details. Thank you, Sue, for your hospitality.
St. Paddy’s Day singalong: This event will be hosted by us at The Glass Jug at Durham Central Park on Sunday, March 15th from 2-4PM. Volunteers from Women’s Voices Chorus will lead ~3 singalong sessions and Eileen will lead two instrumental session sets in between. We have the song sheets from two years ago and can update/ add pages as necessary. All are welcome to join. If you are interested in singing through the music in advance, Laura will host a rehearsal on Monday, March 2 at 6:45PM. If anyone would like to lead a sing-along, a sign-up sheet will be passed around at rehearsal tomorrow night. It should be a fun event – hope you can join us!
Program Ads for the Spring Program: How can I do my part to ensure we have hard copies of our concert programs each season and generate needed revenue from outside of our membership? Start talking to your favorite businesses now about supporting our organization and spreading the word about their business by placing an ad in the spring 2026 program. What kinds of businesses should I talk to? Any! Some previous examples include small businesses like restaurants, hair salons, pet kennels, and local musical organizations, as well as financial advisory firms and retirement communities. Get creative! You never know who will buy until you ask. How do I approach a business to sell an ad? It seems, well, scary…You can do it! Try starting by sharing how much you like their business. What do I tell them about WVC?
1. How great WVC is, and that program ads support our mission and spread the word about local businesses.
2. Each year, WVC serves more than 600 area residents with live music performances.
Then what? Share the ad form with them and ask them to submit it by April 4. If you can, send Rebecca a quick email (rebecca.bruening@gmail.com) to be on the lookout for their form. That’s it! All forms, ad copy, and money should be in by April 4. Talk to Rebecca (rebecca.bruening@gmail.com) with any questions!
Shout-outs: This week, I want to recognize Laura Sam, Leandra Strope, Deb Hollis, Kinley Russell, and Karla Byrnes for making it possible for us to perform our program, Rise Up, with Sisters’ Voices after having to reschedule three times due to weather. So much time and effort went into preparing for this concert and these members worked tirelessly to make it happen! Thank you!!
Zoom: If you need to attend rehearsal via Zoom, please remember to notify Laura, your section leader and membership liaison. You can join the Zoom Rehearsals here. Meeting ID: 858 3293 4624; Password: 121074.
Looking forward to seeing everyone tomorrow night
Janet