AD Music Notes
This is where you’ll find notes from Laura Sam about the pieces we’re singing each semester.
January 15, 2021, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I received an email this morning regarding recording ‘From Now On.’ The submission deadline has been extended if you would like to record but didn’t have time to record by today. The new deadline is Monday 5PM (Ireland time).
Also, Virginia pointed out that there is a discrepancy in the score that I didn’t alert you to at our last rehearsal: in addition to the corrections you shared, there is an additional measure at the end, (before the repeat and the end is also held out).
Now you know everything that I know about ‘From Now On’!
I will look forward to seeing you on Monday.
Laura
January 13, 2021, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
It was so nice to see you on Monday at rehearsal. It was a wonderful 90 minutes of music in the midst of the turmoil our last couple of weeks…and oh yeah, the pandemic.
We spent the bulk of our rehearsal working on The Angel and Izar ederrack, focusing on the Russian and Basque pronunciation. We then sang as Deb played voice parts – Yay Deb! – and with The Angel recording.
We also reviewed the details for the collaborative piece for the Choirs for Cancer – ‘From Now On.’ If you want to participate in that project, review my last email for details. There are two corrections in the score: delete m. 42 and add a measure after m. 69 so that there are 3 measures of whole notes. Don’t send me your recording – follow the instructions from the festival organizers (check my last email).
January 7, 2021, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
Happy New Year, although we are certainly off to a rough start today in our country and world, I am so very sorry to say. I am looking forward to brighter days ahead.
I look forward to each Monday evening when I can see your faces (wish I could hear your sing!) and we can immerse ourselves in music for a time. This past week I had the good fortune of being assigned to Brenda Edward’s break out room – it ended up just being the two of use. Brenda spoke so eloquently of her feelings for WVC and how it has sustained her mind and spirit, especially during the pandemic. Listening to Brenda’s beautiful and heartfelt words, I felt a sense of deep gratitude for Brenda and for being part of such an amazing and wonderful organization. I can’t imagine the pandemic without having music to look forward to, and having the company of the lovely human beings in WVC makes it beyond special. This afternoon I recorded several pieces for virtual projects and it felt good to sing beautiful music with meaningful texts while chaos was happening beyond my doors. For me, making music with WVC is a way to stay grounded with an artistic purpose while being part of something bigger than myself.
December 9, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed seeing you all Monday night. It was nice to have a visit from Ginger Wyrick (UNCC) who hosted our collaborative concert and hear her kind words. I have received several emails from folks who tuned into our concert and happily pass along their compliments as they thoroughly enjoyed our wonderful evening of shared music.
I’ll try to post the rehearsal link soon…it has to be pieced together from when I zoomed out.
December 1, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed seeing you all Monday night. Yay us!
PLEASE CHECK THE PARTICIPANT LIST at the end of this email to make sure that I have included everyone who submitted recordings for Snow Angel 4. Sweet Child. Please email me immediately if you don’t see your name where you expect it because once I put our lovely faces in a grid I will be past the point of no return and I am working on the project now and hope to have it ready for Saturday. Thank you!
Our concert is Saturday, December 5th!
Here is a link to the program order https://gingerwyrick.com/program.pdf (it will last around 1 hour).
Register on our website under the Concert tab and feel free to share this information with your friends and family. There is no admission charge but everyone needs to register. Our collaborative Rise and Stand (110 singers!) will be the finale of the concert.
November 23, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed seeing you all Monday night. Yay us!
If you missed rehearsal, the link is below if you would like to see what we were up to in your absence.
November 17, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed seeing you all Monday night. Yay us!
If you missed rehearsal, I am sorry to say that I recorded exactly 8 seconds of me staring blankly into my computer screen…not helpful to anyone. I paused the recording during our Happy Half Hour and when I THOUGHT I restarted it at 7:30ish I apparently was not successful. Ah well, apologies.
Karla has updated our website with all of the project information and guide tracks that you will need to record movements 3 and 4 of Snow Angel. Movements 3 and 4 due 11/23/20 (deadline extended to 11/25) Thank you, Karla!
November 11, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed seeing you all Monday night. Yay us!
If you missed rehearsal, the link is below if you would like to see what we were up to in your absence. I would direct your attention to the end of the rehearsal – Kay shared with us all a wonderful breakdown of our leadership structure as a reminder of who we go to when we have suggestions or concerns regarding the various facets of WVC. It’s easy to find if you scroll over – blue and white PowerPoint. This is also going to be on the website, I do believe, so you can check it out there.
WVC Rehearsal 11/9/20
October 27, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone!
I enjoyed our rehearsal last night – thanks to all who were able to be there.
If you missed our rehearsal, I am sorry to say that I did not record it so there is no rehearsal link to share. I left Zoom to restart my computer during the happy half hour and when I came back my Zoom didn’t automatically record since I was no longer the host….and so there you go. Sorry about that!
October 20, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone!
Thank you so very much for your congratulatory signs (and cheerful noise). You made me feel celebrated and loved. I had all the feels. THANK YOU!
If you missed our rehearsal, here is the YouTube link.
October 17, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I hope you are doing well! I have a correction for rehearsal 10/19/20:
Looking forward to our next rehearsal – Oct. 19th – we will have an All Hands Meeting from 9-9:30 PM after we finish singing. Important information will be shared regarding WVC goals and logistics.
We will work on our Angel Gallery the last half hour of our 10/26/20 rehearsal.
Looking ahead to 11/2, our very own superstar, Kathleen J., is going to teach us techniques to extend our higher ranges. Can’t wait!
Cheers!
Laura
October 13, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed our rehearsal last night and was grateful for BOTH Internet and electricity for the entire rehearsal (electrician is coming out to check our breaker box – until then, fingers crossed!).
If you missed us, please know that we missed you! Here is the link to the rehearsal.
I most definitely recommend that you watch Deb’s Dishin’ segment and her helpful advice of score mapping (thank you, Deb!) and the final 1/2 hour to hear Jacke Walter’s Red Cross presentation. It was so inspiring to hear of Jackie and her mother’s work as well as all of the wonderful people who work and volunteer for the Red Cross. THANK YOU Jackie for enriching our rehearsal and for your inspiration…and most of all for your lifetime of dedicated service with the Red Cross.
October 7, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone, Once again, I enjoyed our rehearsal! If you missed (we missed you!). Here is the YouTube link of our rehearsal: https://youtu.be/mQFl6v4PM9Y. Because I was with the A2s for sectional rehearsal, that is what is recorded. If you don’t have time for anything else, I encourage you to watch the second half of rehearsal when we had Sarah Quartel as our guest artist. Hearing from Sarah was such a lovely treat as she gave us many insights to her creative process and information specifically about her composition, Snow Angel – and all from her home in Canada. Thank you to Deb, Laura D. and Lara for your contributions in leading our sectional rehearsals and thanks to all who participated in our music-making. Our next recording project is Angel of Mercy. Recordings are due on Monday, October 19th. For this project, wear either red or black, please. We won’t need images from members (unless you have some of yourself involved in the work of the Red Cross). 10/12 Rehearsal Focus: All: Angels of Mercy Sectionals: (S, M, A): Rise and Stand (I will have part specific recordings ready by next week) All: Snow Angel (sing through all 5 movements – mark your scores regarding any challenges with which you would like some help) Jackie Walters will lead the second half of our rehearsal with her Red Cross presentation (can’t wait!) 10/19 Rehearsal Focus All: Rise and Stand Sectionals: (S1, S2, A1, A2): Snow Angel (answer any remaining questions) Our second half of rehearsal isn’t confirmed so stay tuned! I look forward to seeing you at our next rehearsal! Cheers! LJ Hello Everyone, Me again! I forgot to include the link to the virtual project that Sarah Quartel mentioned – a virtual premier of a commissioned project she worked on earlier this year. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpZcWwOEwqY Cheers! LJ
September 30, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I enjoyed our rehearsal – I’m so glad that you were able to join us for an evening of music (and Deb’s pie!). If you missed (we missed you!), here is the YouTube link of our rehearsal: https://youtu.be/hkDcq7_13cQ. This email is delayed because it took multiple attempts since Monday night to successfully upload our Zoom rehearsal to YouTube (struggles – it’s a large file!) but finally, success. Because I was the person recording the meeting, the sectional portion of the rehearsal is A2 and the small discussion group is the one to which I was assigned.
Thank you Deb. Kay, and Laura for your contributions in leading our sectional rehearsals and thanks to all who participated in our music-making.
September 22, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I had a lot of fun at last night’s rehearsal and I hope that you did, too! It was great to see everyone. Once again I was sad to not hear you sing but exceptionally happy that we are keeping our chorus as strong as we can during these challenging times. We will one day again sing in the same room together, and I think we will be stronger than ever because of the effort we are making now. I celebrate us – Yay us
Whoops! I inadvertently recorded our Happy Half Hour last night but not our rehearsal. Sigh. Therefore, there won’t be a zoom rehearsal link. The good news is there was only one view of last week’s rehearsal and that was me checking to be sure that the video was playing properly so this is most likely not an inconvenience to many. I’ll provide links to Kathleen’s videos below so that you can catch up with the substance of her presentation if you like.
Four things are most on my mind this morning:
September 15, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
It was wonderful to see you at rehearsal! Wish I could have heard you sing, too! It was lovely to hear some of the favorite and legendary stories of WVC’s early days that have been passed down over the years. We had our technical challenges but when you consider that no one had to have their forehead stitched up with green thread, I say, “Yay us!”.
September 2, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
What a thrill to have our first virtual rehearsal of our season last night! Although I certainly missed the sound of our voices I loved watching you sing and loved seeing your smiles and engaged faces.
It is very inspiring to know that Women’s Voices Chorus is strong in spirit even these challenging times.
There are so many wonderful and exciting plans for the months ahead – I am so looking forward to our virtual musical journey.
August 25, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I am so looking forward to our first rehearsal! Welcome back to all of our returning WVC members and welcome to our guests who are joining us for our virtual season. A very special welcome to Mary Lycan – WVC Founder and Artistic Director (1993-2006) who will be joining us along with founding and current members, Elisabeth Curtis, Patty Daniel, and Jaqueline Little. Such fun!
We will most definitely sing on 8/31 but first we will need to build a solid understanding of how we will best use our technology during the season ahead. Some of our first rehearsal time, therefore, will be spent on important logistical matters, led by our president, Kay (thank you, Kay!).
August 7, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I hope that you are doing well. It was wonderful to see so many of you at our sample rehearsal on 8/3/20.
Attached is a PDF with rehearsal links – it’s self explanatory – you can click through the links and/or watch the Zoom rehearsal video. There is a “bonus link” at the bottom of the page to one of Roger Hale’s warm up sequences. He does a nice job and I think you will enjoy “dusting off your voice” if you have taken a rest from singing these past months. Also, working on Cheryl Porter’s “niiiiiiiiiiiiineteeeeeeen” a few times a day will get your voice moving!
May 4, 2020, Music Notes
Hello Everyone,
I hope that you are and your families are all doing well. I continue to miss you all and our music.
I didn’t think to sing to our April birthday sisters last month so here are both April and May birthday songs with the list of names so that you can sing along (click the links). I apologize to the sopranos, but I couldn’t sing your glorious A3 in the key of A so I took the liberty of moving it down a 3rd to the key of F, especially since I know most of our A2s have beautiful C3s. And this will give you coloratura sopranos the perfect opportunity to pop out your F2s!