AD Music Notes
This is where you’ll find notes from Laura Sam about the pieces we’re singing each semester.
April 29, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Wonderful singing at rehearsal last night – we are in the home stretch!
I will listen to the recordings I made and have a short to-do list ready for Thursday evening.
Here is a link if you would like to listen for yourself.
April 22, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
What a fun and productive rehearsal we had last night – thanks to all for your hard work and good humor. We addressed so many of the places that needed our attention and I think that puts us in an excellent position to do a bit more detailed work this coming week.
Here is the link to the recordings from last night if listening is helpful for you. There are a few more places that need our attention but these pieces came a looooooong way. I’m very happy about that and I know you are, too!
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/178vph4FuJOHqgFyGxvz4f_kINr9eVOuv?usp=share_link read more…
April 15, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I’m so proud of us for singing through our concert repertoire with many successes. We have a few ‘mud puddles’ to slosh through ahead of us, but we have so many aspects that we have a ‘check – we’re ready to perform’ mark beside them. I think that we have collectively experienced musical growth through this challenging repertoire and I am so excited to share it with our friends and families in a couple of weeks. Now, about those mud puddles…
Our last regular rehearsal is next Monday, 4-21-25. For this rehearsal, I have prioritized what most needs our attention. We won’t run through everything again until our first tech rehearsal on 4-28-25.
I have the recordings I made last night in a folder if there is anything you want to take a listen to:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/146x6BaBVukuj03D8zNRhoa0B2DtxgvLV?usp=share_link (please don’t share these files – these are only for our rehearsal use)
Rehearsal Reflection
My Name is Lamiya: Don’t Call Me Refugee
– please go through your score and note all of the dynamics.
m. 1 – p
m. 8 – mp
m. 20 – crescendo to f
m. 24 – mp
please continue to look through the score so that we don’t oversing the soft places in this piece
– our first run through mm. 90-97 was a disaster…but I am glad we were able to find our way home to F minor at m. 98. The second time through that section (not recorded) we improved considerably. We have some more rehearsing to do on this part.
– I know you all are counting to stay accurate, especially in mixed formation, this piece is quite a challenge. I will do my best to give a very clear beat pattern so that if you do feel that you have gotten off, you can hopefully find your way back in.
– I have prioritized this piece for rehearsal on 4-21.
The Harbor and the Sea
– we are mostly accurate now on pitches and rhythms…time to make this piece more musical with phrasing, dynamics, syllabic awareness, and tuning
– note all of the dynamics throughout
– the tempo is currently too slow…we need to be at quarter note = 66 at m. 10
– we need to clarify alto and mezzo pitches mm. 39-40
– Julianne, you came in 1 beat too early for your entrance m. 46 – I can help you there, your solo sounds wonderful! Everything is clear and expressive, just that one correction needed.
– pgs 8-9 – we need to tune these pitches
– no rit. page 12
– I have prioritized this piece for rehearsal on 4-21.
Mi Lugar
– I started us out at about 80 beats per minute instead of 72, so I will adjust the tempo to be a bit slower. I think this will actually help us overall…apologies!
– note the dynamic markings throughout.
– our phrase entrances are not always together…we need to breathe and phonate together…at a slower tempo this should be easier
– A1 and A2 parts need to be clearer at mm. 24-28, sopranos softer
– mm. 42-43 are still not as precise as we can achieve
– A1 and A2 parts need to be clearer mm. 43-50, sopranos softer (and more clarity though this section)
– mm. 59-63 we need to check pitches
– I have prioritized this piece for rehearsal on 4-21.
Mae-e
– lovely – the dynamic contrasts are especially beautiful!
– we have really come a long way on this piece and I love to hear you sing it.
Deep River
– mm. 1-2, everyone has a descending line – careful to keep resonance and not let the pitch sink (sing above your hand!)
– flat again in m. 4, again everyone has descending lines
– make sure to circle the breath mark at the end of m. 13, some wanted to jump in early there.
– we ended up singing everything past m. 2 about a quarter tone flat. If you have time this week, practice this one slowly with your tuner.
– the dynamic contrasts throughout are wonderful. This piece has a lot of heart…if we can tune it it will be stunning
Walk Together Children
– dynamics – please note all that are in the score. We will play around with adding some more for contrats, as well.
– mm. 15-28 lower 3 parts need cleaner entrances (the W sound is a challenge to make precise), and also softer! This section also dragged a bit, but if we clean up the rhythm, I think the tempo will remain steady.
– the A2 part is significantly flat at mm. 46-47…throughout I notice that middle C isn’t in tune (it’s So in F Major, so one of our ‘post notes’ for tuning), then when it descends to the A, it is also flat. Try ‘signing above the hand’ there
– breathe at the end of m. 76 before the final chord. I won’t take a big pause, but we all need to be together!
Entrance
– our tempo on the opening section is a bit wobbly. The intro needs to be a bit slower, when voices enter, tempo settles in at quarter note = 64 (yay!) but then we get slower m. 8-10 and there should be no rit.
– need to check pitches at m. 18 – those entrances are not clean
– at m. 20 we were a bit too fast for quarter = 62
– I take responsibility for the tempos being off – I will work on that this week and fix it!
– aleatoric section sounds great
– beautiful ending
Grace Before Sleep
– tuning is excellent with just a few exceptions- page 8
– we need to sing the softer sections much softer! (But then also keep the tuning accurate)
– overall lovely (if we can nail the soft sections!)
Crowded Table
– great solo work, Allison!
– clip your pages together so that you are not turning during Allison’s solo. Go ahead and have your music turned to page 5 at the start of the piece.
– I will write my lead sheet differently so that I can be more helpful with ‘head nods,’ especially on the ending section
– sounds great, (once I fix what I am doing! – which I will)
We Are Home
– our tempo is not as steady as it should be, we tend to speed up and slow down depending on the section we are singing…I will do my best to be as clear as possible (especially problematic on page 5)
– we need to pay attention to the dynamics in the score. For instance, page 4 is sub. p with the crescendo marked in m. 32 up to a mf at m. 35…but we are already at a forte by m. 32.
– we need to check parts on page 15-17 and be BOLD at m. 139. (That’s my favorite part!)
– I decided that we will NOT breathe at the end of m.157 (lots of staggered breathing!) so please carry through to the last chord
Over the Rainbow
– beautiful in so many ways!
– the beginning needs a softer, more wistful tone
– mm. 27-31 is too heavy…we should wait to sing with fuller voices at mm. 32 as we crescendo to m. 34…and then crescendo to fortissimo at m. 37 (that part is gorgeous). We don’t really crescendo mm. 35-36 leading to 37….we’re just loud! We need that dramatic crescendo to bring out the feelings!
– there are some wrong notes in mm. 40-41, check your part there, please, mezzos and altos
– breathe at the end of m. 43….then watch me for your entrance back in on m. 44 so that we are together
– check your dynamics m. 47-end (we’re too loud)
Across the Sea
– Beautiful! Solo sounds lovely, Jennifer
– we worked on the entrances after we recorded – so just remember those improvements
– remember to connect the Z of breeze to ‘on’ so that we don’t have stray zzzzzzz on the dotted quarter note (if you breathe there, don’t put on the Z)
Shenandoah
– the tuning is exceptional – brava!
– the only exceptions I hear are the descending intervals on page 5…then we corrected on the next section
– we need to tune the first chord in m. 42
– A1, check your entrance m. 44. you have the same middle C that the S2s have…maybe it’s timing rather than pitch, but we need to work on that some more
Looking Ahead to 4/21/25
I am going to send Janet an updated seating chart to include in Sunday’s announcements that will be our performance formation. As I listen to the chorus at rehearsal next week, I may yet need to move a few voices around, but it will be close and I will make those adjustments so that we are all set for our first tech rehearsal.
We will not sing everything on 4/21/25, but rather will prioritize rehearsing these pieces:
My Name is Lamiya: Don’t Call Me Refugee
The Harbor and the Sea
Mi Lugar
We Are Home
As time allows, we may touch on any of our other pieces. But, if we prioritize these four, I think we will be in excellent shape for our tech rehearsal on 4/28/25.
Please let your section leaders know this week if you are having difficulties that you are not able to sort out for yourself with the practice files.
Thank you for the compelling, interesting, amazing, beautiful music! It is such a joy to come to rehearsal each week to make music with you all.
Looking forward to Monday,
Laura
April 8, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thanks so much for a fun and productive rehearsal last night! I hope that everyone who was traveling, injured, or sick are able to return next week – we missed you!
We only had 14 singers able to commit to the Durham Community Sing on May 31st. I will let Rodney know that WVC will not be able to be a performing chorus for the afternoon chorus. I will also let you know if I am able to register for you, or if you will need to register yourself. If that is the case, I will pass on the information. I’m glad that some of us can attend, even if we are a small group. It was lots of fun last year!
April 1, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thank you so much for your focused work on not TWO but THREE pieces last night. I know it really takes extra energy and attention to stay on pieces for so long (Entrance and Mae-e especially) but I do think we made significant progress on both, and also made progress on Walk Together Children. It puts us in a better state of readiness for our retreat guests and that is a good feeling!
March 25, 2025, Music Notes
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.
February 25, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thanks for a lovely rehearsal last night. We did well learning new material.
I encourage everyone to continue to review measures we have already covered in rehearsal so that we won’t have to relearn material. Especially in the spring, with fewer rehearsals, we really need to move forward so that we have the time we need to polish. And, working on expression and finer details, especially in mixed formation, is more fun for everyone than drilling down pitches and rhythms!
We briefly worked on resonance/formant tuning as it relates to vowels – noting that in the Ah, we can hear the ‘Oh’ when we bring our hands up to our mouths and in the Ee we can hear the ‘oo.’ If we are singing a resonant vowel, the pitch won’t change. But, if we are not, the pitch drops as dramatically as a half step. So even if we think we are singing on the correct pitch, if there isn’t the resonance we need, ultimately it will sound flat. This is quite a complex topic…and I don’t expect that you take a deep dive unless you are particularly interested…but it does reinforce that our basic technique of singing posture related to resonant singing (open tube, space inside our mouths) makes a big difference in our vowel tuning. Since I have been working on my overtone singing (yes, still annoying Joey with it!), I find that I hear differently – in a good way.
Here is one link you might want to explore…but there are many. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=788HxAisxe4
February 18, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thanks for a super fun and productive rehearsal – we accomplished so much! Thanks so much for your attention and positive energy!
Attached is the Chamber Choir divisi assignments. [See third page of linked pdf.] Thanks so much for being well-prepared for the audition and for staying after rehearsal last night so that we could get it accomplished. Thanks especially for being flexible so that we can make the balance work best. I appreciate those who cheerfully offered to sing a part different from what they normally sing. You will note that Shenandoah is equally divided with 3 singers per part, even though there is no divisi in the Alto 1 part. There really isn’t much divisi in the other parts, either. For singers shifting to a lower part, if there are notes out of your range, we can explore modifications that will make it work for you and the ensemble. For “Across the Sea,” I purposely have assigned more singers to the mezzo part since it carries the melody throughout. This piece does have some low Es for the altos – which may be too low for some (but not all!). We may take this in a higher key because the soprano part is also low – we can experiment together and determine what works best for our ensemble.
We Are Home mm. 1-13, 51-72
– we accomplished pitches and rhythms
– we noted at the cadence we move from A-minor to A-Major (first time voices, after that, piano) and then Ab Major at m. 67.
– note the dynamics – we will need to build as each voice part enters – sopranos, please be sensitive to your volume, especially as you join in the ‘we are’ text.
The Harbor and the Sea mm. 20-32, 43-55
– these sections may be solo…but we will be prepared to also have a small group sing this
– we accomplished pitches and rhythms
Mae-e (Forward) mm. 1-22
– we sang a D Major scale with harmonies at the 3rd, and then at the 2nd. Many of the harmonies in this piece use a major 2nd, so we will want to have that sound confidently in our ears so that we are successful with the close harmonies.
– we accomplished pitches and rhythms
– m. 10 A1 text should be O-bo-e-te-i (instead of O-be-e-te-i) – please make that correction
– m. 17 note the staccato – that indicates a lift which is required by the double consonant
– throughout, the W is silent – the W indicates that the word that came before it is the object of the sentence and is not pronounced (thanks, Kinley!)
– m. 17 the text should be massuguna (instead of massunguna) but I will double check that with Ayumi.
– we did not yet start singing on text, but the Rs are always flipped.
– please listen to the pronunciation guide in our practice files.
Entrance mm. 45-57
– we accomplished pitches and rhythms
– we worked on the aleatoric section for the sopranos. If you were absent, you have written in pencil on your card which of the 5 parts you have been assigned, so you can see that next rehearsal.
Crowded Table mm. 25-40, 58-73
– we accomplished pitches and rhythms for these sections, which are the refrain
– swing the 8th note
– note that in mm. 38 and 71, the syllable, ‘er’ is right on beat 1 and is not syncopated, in in contrast to the many times the notes are tied over the bar line.
Over the Rainbow mm. 1-25
– we accomplished pitches and rhythms
– we used solfege and worked on moving our air to support singing the higher notes of the ascending skips. You can pick up a sheet from the supply bin if you were out, and I also sent it in an email right before rehearsal last night.
– we also used solfege to help us recognize and tune the accidentals.
Deep River mm. 28-37
– reviewed pitches, especially the A2 entrance on Ab at m. 29
Looking Ahead to 2/24/25
My Name is Lamiya: Don’t Call Me Refugee mm. 43-88 (review mm. 1-42 as time allows)
Mi Lugar mm. 35-50 (review mm. 1-34 as time allows)
Deep River mm. 19-28 (review mm. 28-37 as time allows)
Walk Together Children mm. 15-29 (review mm. 1-14 as time allows)
Grace Before Sleep mm. 21-34 (review mm. 35-50 as time allows)
We Are mm. 14-44, 73-107 (review mm. 1-13, 51-72 as time allows, and we may not get all the way to m. 107, depending on how fast we move through the material)
Below is the information that composer Michael Bussewitz-Quarm shared with me regarding the names in My Name is Lamiya: Don’t Call Me Refugee
Inspiration for the Names of the Refugees in the Song, “My Name is Lamiya, Don’t Call Me ‘Refugee’”
Guled, Nisho, and Professor White Eyes were residents of Dadaab in the book “City of Thorns: Nine Lives in the World’s Largest Refugee Camp” by Ben Rawlence as of the publication of the book in 2016.
Angela, Alejandro, and Miguel were inspired by the young reader’s novel, “The Only Road” by Alexandra Diaz.
Wyclef is inspired by musician Wyclef Jean – Haitian-American, best known as a member of the Fugees, left Haiti during the Duvalier regime and re-settled in New York City.
We will review any of our other pieces as time allows.
I’m looking forward to seeing/hearing you at our next rehearsal – I truly enjoy our music-making!
LJ
February 11, 2025, Music Notes
Hello,
What a wonderful rehearsal! Thank you for your attention and beautiful singing. I loved the energy and excitement in the room – I think that we are off to a great start. We have fewer rehearsals in the spring semester so we have to work fast and maximize efficiency – be prepared to use the practice files if you need repetition or have questions. Please ask your section leader if you have questions/concerns that you can’t answer via the practice files/reference recordings. It is a mountain of work for Karla to create the practice files – let’s use them to our collective advantage!
Welcome to our new members – we are glad to have you with us! Welcome back to our members who were on a leave of absence – glad to have you back.
February 4, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I had so much fun reading through our music last night – what a wonderful and interesting adventure we have ahead of us, exploring the theme of Home.
Special thanks to Karla and Marsha for getting us up and running with all of our new repertoire. And thank you to Kate and all of our buddies for welcoming and guiding our guests.
January 28, 2025, Music Notes
Good morning,
What a fun listening party! I enjoyed the good food, good company, and EXCEPTIONAL music!
Here is the link to the recording – please don’t share it on social media.
The videos will be delivered to us in a few weeks and then I will need to do some editing – I will let you know when they are posted to YouTube.
See you Monday for the start of our next grand adventure!
Laura
January 14, 2025, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for a lovely rehearsal last night – especially your positive spirits and attention to detail. It was a long rehearsal but I think we made the most of our time together. I also appreciate your thoughtful observations at the end of the rehearsal.
January 7, 2025, AD Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thanks for a fun and very productive rehearsal last night – so many wonderful aspects of our singing to celebrate and significant progress made regarding our challenges.
December 17, 2024, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for an outstanding rehearsal last night! It was such a treat to hear all of our music sung (and played – thank you, Deb!) with such sensitivity and expression.
Over the next few weeks, please take time to sing through your music so that we remember all that we have learned. Everyone should be individually secure on all parts so that we can make the most of our few remaining rehearsals in January – so please use your practice tracks as needed. The New Year is always a great time to reflect and set goals – as you have time, please review the personal goals you set for yourself at the beginning of the semester using our self-assessment tool and think about your personal growth this semester.
I have not yet planned the rehearsal for 1/6 but it is highly likely that we will focus on some and not all of our pieces, so plan to not sing through everything. Please don’t let this throw you! If we sing everything we run out of time to truly work on specific issues. We will use our next rehearsal to iron out our last (and few!) remaining challenges. Then for our tech rehearsals, we will certainly sing through everything.
I heard positive reviews of the ginger cookies I brought (glad you enjoyed them!). It was my first time making that recipe and I think it is a keeper. Here is the link if you are interested in making some for yourself – Ina Garten’s Ultimate Ginger Cookies. (I got the candied ginger at Whole Foods but you can probably find it in other places, as well).
As we approach the longest night of the year, I am grateful for the light and love that I experience with the music-making and friendships of WVC. Wishing everyone Joy in the New Year!
Laura
November 27, 2024, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Thank you for a wonderful rehearsal last night. I know it felt like an odd seating arrangement, but you all handled it with flexibility and good grace – thank you! We will continue to tweak the arrangement (thank you, Kinley!) but I am so appreciative that we are approximating our performance set up early so that everyone can get used to the voices around them and be confident in our upcoming performance.
November 19, 2024, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I loved hearing our music last night – wonderful music making!
I think you will enjoy the recording Kelly made of Here in My Heart. I have listened several times and really loved hearing it – makes me feel so joyful!
Here is the link – see what you think! (let me know if you have trouble accessing the recording – I uploaded it to Google Drive). Thank you, Marley for including us in your journey – we all wish you the best and are glad that you are singing with WVC.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15ASqvzGwlzkQ4m4TVALdVXHYu4Rxc-2P/view?usp=share_link
(PS: If you were unable to access the Drive link for Here in My Heart, I uploaded it (unlisted) to the WVC YouTube channel. You can view it here: https://youtu.be/VwylQ2Nn054)
Thank you, Leandra, for your guidance on overtone singing. I have had the most fun working on it – I continue to drive Joey nuts but he is tolerating it. Attached is my overtone singing progress – haha – hope y’all are having fun practicing, too! I have discovered that in addition to making a voice memo to better hear my progress, I can also hear the overtones better if I put my finger(s) in one or both ears. Also attached is our rehearsal of overtone singing – you can really hear some of the harmonics popping out once we get going – yay!
Consider the following opportunities:
We need a narrator for the opening of Honour the Earth (inside cover of your music). If you would like to audition, please email a voice memo by Sunday, November 24th.
You can refer to this performance for review:
We will have singers play the 5 harmonic whirlie parts – we can see who is interested at rehearsal and take turns. They are fun, but it can be tiring after an extended time of twirling…so let’s see who is interested and go from there.
Rehearsal Reflection
Here in My Heart – We spent some time singing Here in My Heart for Marley’s video. Have a listen and see what you hear – obviously, we are hearing the singers closest to Kelly the loudest (y’all sounded great!) but especially listen for those consonants we are working on. Dynamics and phrasing are really coming along.
Honour the Earth – overtone singing work with Leandra – thank you! So much fun to try something different and/or different. Our voices can do amazing things!
I Am – I’m thrilled with the progress we have made on this wonderful piece – I hope that you are, too. Please review the performance recording – we need to progress to a much faster tempo and I think we are ready to do that. If you have time, please sing with and/or listen to the recording to internalize that faster tempo. https://graphitepublishing.com/product/i-am/ Listen to how exciting the ’round the wind’ is – we can do that! Thanks to both Darcy and Shira who did some expert sleuthing and found that Catherine deVink’s poem, Woman Singing, is from the collection God of a Thousand Names, published in 1993. I knew if I asked the chorus someone could help me find that information – thank you Darcy and Shira!
I Love You/What a Wonderful World – Great work on this – we cleared up some mystery notes and improved the ensemble cohesion at the tempo changes page 16-end. We will definitely need to work throughout on balance and make sure that we can clearly hear all parts.
Sing Wearing the Sky – Great review m. 87 to the end. The portamentos sound terrific. We will review all of this piece at our next rehearsal.
Chamber Choir
Sing, My Child – opening solo and duet – sing either part or both parts with the practice file in the background. Please email me a voice memo by Sunday, November 24th.
Earth Song info link – interview with composer/lyricist Frank Ticheli
Looking Ahead to 11/25/24
Honour the Earth – add harmonic whirlies (yay!), review overtone singing, sing through all
I Am – review all and rehearse at a faster tempo, building up to the performance tempo
Sing, Wearing the Sky! – review all (especially opening section)
Measure Me, Sky! – review all
Nigra Sum – review all
Sky Dances – review all
Some Glad Morning – review all
I Love You/What a Wonderful World – review as time allows
Chamber Choir
We will sing in mixed formation…stay tuned (haha – pun intended)
See you next week!
Laura
November 13, 2024, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Apologies for not sending this yesterday! I got busy with Governor’s School work (and walking in the woods!) and woke up this morning realizing that I had not sent rehearsal notes!
Let me know if the mixed formation is not working for you and I will make adjustments, as needed. If you are worried about hearing your part, try to give it a few rehearsals to get used to the sound. But if it’s really not working or there is another factor that is problematic, let me know and I will see how I can best make adjustments so that everyone feels comfortable and fully enjoys rehearsal.
October 29, 2024, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
It was so much fun hearing our music last night – thanks so much for your attention to detail and focus on expressiveness.
I meant to share with you what Jennifer Stasack emailed after the retreat:
I think I floated home! The demeanor of your group was so welcoming and enthusiastic, your artistry as their director truly beautiful…. I am honored to have a place in the community and camaraderie of Women’s Voices Chorus.
October 22, 2024, Music Notes
Hello,
Thank you for your dedicated work at rehearsal last night – so fun! So challenging (I Am)! And always so joyful and fulfilling.
This is the link for Sing 4 Joy, the service project undertaken by the youth chorus, Voices in the Laurel (our outreach focus). The area school principals have identified up to 90 students who would be appropriate recipients for this helping hand as they have lost their homes and belongings to Helene.
WVC is assisting in providing $100 to the general fund of Voices in the Laurel (specifically helping Legacy – their adult women’s chorus, as well as the youth) through our outreach. If you would like to make additional contributions, you can do that through the WVC website and earmark your donation to Voices in the Laurel. Thank you to our diversity committee for your leadership and to Karla for organizing the donations. And on behalf of Martha Brown, Artistic Director of Voices in the Laurel, thanks to everyone for your receptiveness regarding this project.
October 15, 2024, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Beautiful work at rehearsal last night! We sang with a very high level of musicianship and are making wonderful progress on all of our music.
Thank you for giving Sky Dances such attention so that we are ready for Jennifer Stasack’s visit at our Retreat.
If you would like to audition for the I Love You/What a Wonderful World solo, please email a voice memo to me by 10/25. Play the practice file in the background and sing along. Be sure that I can hear your singing louder than the practice file. I’m looking forward to hearing your submissions!