NOVA Community Chorus

(10/1/09) Dear Singers –

Last Tuesday

Rehearsal #6 on Tuesday was very productive. I am sorry that I didn’t rehearse what I told you to prepare. As I studied the score during the week I found some problem areas that had to be addressed. We did some very important work on pp.65-72 regarding breaths. Double-check that you have marked all breaths here and elsewhere in the Requiem.

Saturday, October 3

Men’s Rehearsal 1:40-3:00 pm

This Tuesday, October 6

This Tuesday, October 6 is our last regular Tuesday rehearsal before our performance. We are far from ready but can get there if everyone keeps working. We will rehearse 7, 1, 2, 3,

Music Majors

Mid-term exam will be this Tuesday, October 6 at the end of rehearsal. Be prepared to sing excerpts from #6.

Saturday, October 17

Saturday, October 17 is an important full chorus (SATB) rehearsal. It is important that everyone be there. It has been on your schedule since August. Unless you made prior arrangements with me, I expect everyone to attend.

Saturday, October 24

Saturday, October 24 is an important first Dress Rehearsal. It is important that everyone be there. It has been on your schedule since August. Unless you made prior arrangements with me, I expect everyone to attend.

Tickets

Please sell all five of your tickets. You may want to write a check for them and give tickets as gifts. Make checks to NVCC.

Yours-DrW

PS- Please remember, our website [www.novachorus.org] is a wonderful source of information. Our new poster is up.

Rutter and Willcocks rehearsal music files have been added to the Music Files page.

Corrected Brahms Soprano files finally updated.

(9/25/09) Dear Singers –

Tuesday

We had an excellent rehearsal on Tuesday. I have allotted a total of 8 regular Tuesday rehearsals for the Brahms Requiem. Last Tuesday was rehearsal #5. Now we are in another stage – one in which we only polish and refine. Every singer must now know every note. There can be no followers. If some notes are still eluding you, have a marathon session with your CD this weekend.

Weekly Assignment

Movements 3, 4, 5

Saturday

Women’s Rehearsal 1:40-3:00 pm

Tickets

Please sell all five of your tickets. You may want to write a check for them and give tickets as gifts. Make checks to NVCC.

NOVA Coffeehouse

Mark your calendar for NOVA Coffeehouse on Saturday, November 7. Please plan to prepare some homemade pastries for the event. It will be great fun. Jonathan Vassar and the Speckled Bird will be back!

Carmina Burana

I am planning to do Orff’s Carmina Burana at our Spring Concert on May 4, 2010. If you know good singers who might like to join, tell them about it.

Music Majors

Mid-term exam will be Tuesday, October 6 at the end of rehearsal. (I have a wedding on Oct. 10). As of today, music majors are [edited for privacy]:

I encourage everyone to become a music major. It is a very rewarding experience. However, if you are on this list and do not intend to graduate, it is best that you contact Josh Richey (jrichey [at] nvcc [dot] edu) and change your major to non-curricular. If music majors never graduate, it is not good for the program.

Yours – DrW

PS – Please remember, our website [www.novachorus.org] is a wonderful source of information. Our new poster is up.

From Dr. Whitmire:

Color Brahms Poster, (.pdf) original file size (3,045 KB)

Color Brahms Poster, (.pdf) reduced file size (401 KB)

Regarding the Alto rehearsal CD:

From Chorister Grace: This may have already been noted and I missed it, but the rehearsal CD has a wrong note on Page 34, top system, last measure, where it repeats the whole note G instead of moving to the F on the next to last quarter note. Thought I mis-remembered it until I actually listened with the score in hand 🙂

Regarding ticket sales:

From Chorister Ellie: Checks should be made payable to “NVCC.”

(9/16/09) Dear Singers – I was very proud of your hard work at rehearsal last night. It was very rewarding to sing Movement 4 with the words at the end of rehearsal, wasn’t it? But it also showed how much concentration it will require to maintain the clear, shimmering sound we achieve working with ‘lu-lu-lu.’

This week’s assignment: (1) Brahms Requiem Movements 7, 1 and 2.

We have a Men’s Rehearsal this Saturday 1:40-3:00 pm

Be sure to post you Brahms Requiem flyers in prominent place in the community.

This is going to be a beautiful and emotional concert. Each of us has someone who has died that we will be thinking of. The Brahms Requiem will be a strengthening, healing experience. Your friends and family will be glad they came. Try to sell all five of your tickets. You may want to write a check for them and give tickets as gifts.

Mark your calendar for NOVA Coffeehouse on Saturday, November 7. Please plan to prepare some homemade pastries for the event. It will be great fun.

Cutting edge news: I am planning to do Orff’s Carmina Burana at our Spring Concert on May 4, 2010. We haven’t done it since the Schlesinger opening, and the time is right, don’t you think?

Yours-DrW

PS- Please remember, our website [www.novachorus.org] is a wonderful source of information.

Brahms Worksheet #5, (.pdf), from Dr. Whitmire

From rehearsal on September 9

Dear Singers-We had another excellent rehearsal this week. We continued to work on music reading, plus establishing a rhythm and pitch discipline that will lead to a clear, shimmering rendition of the Brahms Requiem. We will keep working with ‘lu-lu-lu’ for several weeks to learn to sing with an easy, focused, shimmering sound.

This week’s assignment: (1) Brahms Requiem Movements 5 and 6, (2) Worksheet 5

(1) With your Rehearsal CD and score, work on movements 5 and 6 over the week-end.

1. Just listen as you follow along in the music (listening without the score is less helpful).

2. Sing through the movements (on ‘lu-lu-lu’)

Find the problems spots and begin to focus on them.

(2) Locate the passages of music in the worksheets on your Rehearsal CD. Practice singing the pitches and rhythms with the CD.

If everyone completes this week’s assignment, we will have another excellent rehearsal next week.

I have ordered 15 copies of the Brahms. However they will not be here in time. I have permission to make 15 photocopies pending the arrival of the scores. Now I need a volunteer to make the copies. I will pay the cost. Let me know asap if you can help.

From Alto section leader Debbie: Dear All,

Alto extraordinaire, Ellie Briscoe is offering to host ‘extra’ rehearsals for interested altos. These are not required and attendance is totally optional.

If you are interested in any of the dates listed below, please reply to [the e-mail message, or contact Ellie]. Thanks and keep singing, Debbie

Ellie writes: If there is any interest, I will host practice sessions for the Brahms Requiem, and looking ahead, for the Rutter Gloria.

Allergy warning: I have two cats. Let me know if you prefer that I sequester them. One of them is excessively friendly.

Brahms: Sunday, Sept. 20; Monday, Sept. 28

Rutter: Sunday, November 1; Monday, November 9

Time for all: 7:30 to 9 p.m.

(9/10/09) From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers – If for any reason you have had to drop out of chorus this semester, please bring me your Brahms Requiem score. I will gladly pay you for it. Please let me know if will do this. It would be a big help. Thanks

For the performance of the Brahms Requiem, a promotional flyer (.pdf), provided by Dr. Whitmire.

From Chorister Grace:

Something our members might find interesting and worth having a link to find: Minnesota Public Broadcasting has produced a documentary called “Never Stop Singing”. It was featured on the CBS Sunday Morning program a month or so ago. You can view the CBS features with clips from the documentary or listen to a feature done on Minnesota Public Radio about it from http://www.neverstopsinging.org. I searched the web sites for WETA and Maryland Public Television and don’t see anything listed to indicate either of them plan to air the documentary. Maybe if people inquired about it they would schedule it 🙂

(9/2/09, 6:33 pm) From Peggie and the NOVAChorus Mailing List:

For those of you I just added to the mailing list, below is the message the Dr. Whitmire sent to the chorus earlier today.

(9/2/09) Dear Singers –

What had another excellent rehearsal we had last night. We continued to work on learning and improving our music reading skills, plus establishing a rhythm and pitch discipline that will lead to a clear, shimmering rendition of the Brahms Requiem. We will keep working with ‘lu-lu-lu’ for several weeks to learn to sing with an easy, focused, shimmering sound.

This week’s assignment: (1) Brahms Requiem Movements 3 and 4, (2) Worksheet 4

(1) With your Rehearsal CD and score, work on movements 3 and 4 every day.

1. Just listen as you follow along in the music (listening without the score is less helpful).

2. Sing through the movements (on ‘lu-lu-lu’)

Find the problems spots and begin to focus on them.

(2) Locate the passages of music in the worksheets on your Rehearsal CD. Practice singing the pitches and rhythms with the CD.

If everyone completes this week’s assignment, we will have another excellent rehearsal next week.

Yours – DrW

PS – As always, Kate Cantrell has done as incredible job with our webiste (www.novachorus.org). Check it out.

Dear Singers-

The Brahms Requiem (Bullock edition) is in the bookstore for pick-up. The price is around $20.

I have requested that the bookstore not mail any pre-ordered copies since thy might not arrive by Tuesday. Everyone must pick-up in person.

Question to DrW: Why have you selected a different edition than we used before?

Answer: The Bullock translation is widely considered the truest to the original German text. Its Preface will give an extensive explanation.

Question to DrW: Why are we singing in English?

Answer: Brahms wrote his Requiem not in Latin, but in the language his listeners could understand. We will sing in the language our listeners understand,

I regret that the Brahms Requiem (Bullock edition) is more expensive that some others (though not compared to may daughter’s $215.00 calculus book). I hope that your copy will get many years of use.

(8/27/09) Singers: See the (online) flyer, here.

This is a lucky break for us to have an opportunity to actually sing the Brahms German Requiem, for fun, in English, with Piano 4-hands accompaniment, this MONDAY, surrounded by experienced singers. This usually happens years after you have learned it with your own chorus.

Bring your own music if you have a copy or rent from them. Any English language version will do (I checked with them). Don’t know it? You can attend a wonderful concert, on stage with the chorus, in your voice section and even hum along with them. It really beats a practice CD. Arrive Early. They sent notices out to every chorus in this area.

www.fairfaxpresby.com/about/direct.html <------------ for directions. Did I mention this is my all time favorite piece of music?

Dear singers – I am afraid there is a problem with the soprano reh CD (It is actually the alto part) I will bring new soprano reh CDs on Saturday. If your would like to practice in the meanwhile, go to www.cyberbass.com

(8/26/09) Dear Singers – What a wonderful first rehearsal we had last night. It was great to meet so many new singers and equally great to see so many familiar, smiling faces.

We got some excellent work done as well. We are not only learning and improving our music reading skills, but establishing a rhythm and pitch discipline that will lead to a clear, shimmering rendition of the Brahms Requiem. We will keep working with “lu-lu-lu” for several weeks to learn to sing with an easy, focused, shimmering sound.

This week’s assignment: (1) Brahms Requiem Movements 1 and 2, (2) Worksheets 1-3

(1) With your Rehearsal CD and score, work on movements 1 and 2 every day.

1. Just listen as you follow along in the music (listening without the score is less helpful).

2. Sing through the movements (on “lu-lu-lu”)

3. Find the problems spots and begin to focus on them.

If you do not have a score, go to the Choral Public Domain Library, and use the score; http://www.cpdl.org/wiki/images/c/c8/JB45-Ein_deutsches_Requiem.pdf

(2) Locate the passages of music in the worksheets on your Rehearsal CD. Practice singing the pitches and rhythms with the CD.

If everyone completes this week’s assignment, we will have an incredible rehearsal next week.

Yours-DrW

Chorus Schedule (.pdf) for Fall 2009, from Dr. Whitmire

Brahms Worksheets #1 – 4, (.pdf), from Dr. Whitmire

Link Repost: Choral Public Domain Library [www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Brahms], to download .pdf files of the complete Requiem or selected movements.

Brahms rehearsal music files have been added to the Music Files page.

Rutter and Willcocks coming soon.

Dr. Whitmire mentioned a professional recording of the Brahms Requiem by Harry Christophers and the Sixteen. Please find below an iTunes link to this recording.

iTunes allows users to preview songs for free by offering 30 second samples of each track. Users can also purchase individual songs and albums.

Please note: When a user clicks on an iTunes link, the web browser will try to detect whether the user already has iTunes installed on their computer. If they do, the user will go directly to your intended destination on the iTunes Music Store. If they don\0xEDt, they will automatically be directed to the iTunes download page.

Ein Deutsches Requiem, composed by Johannes Brahms. Recorded by Harry Christophers and the Sixteen.

Info on the NVCC Naxos Music Library, as located on the Music Files page:

Go to www.nvcc.edu/library

Select "articles and more" and from the drop-down menu, select "more"

Under the heading "Fine Arts", click on "Music and Performing Arts"

Click on "Naxos Music Library"

Enter your NVCC username and password

In the "Keyword Search" window type Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony (or other text)

Pick a recording and enjoy.

From Dr. Whitmire: Please help spread the word!

See attached Flyer (.pdf)

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers – I have 45 borrowed copies of the Brahms Requiem for tomorrow night. If you can find a copy to bring, that would be great. Also, you can go to the Choral Public Domain Library [www.cpdl.org/wiki/index.php/Brahms] and download pdf files of the complete Requiem or selected movements. So that you don’t use all your paper, we’ll work on only on movements 1-3 tomorrow. Hopefully the bookstore will have our music soon.

From Fred: For those who asked:

Senior Registration is in the Student Services Center which is Bisdorf 194. That’s in the East most cluster of rooms on the lowest floor of the new building addition. You can avoid walking the entire length of Bisdorf by cutting through the “A” parking lot to the East door.

Registration time is:

– 8:30 AM until 7:30 PM, Monday – Thursday.

– 8:30 AM until 5 PM on Friday.

The lines were forever long and there were no spare chairs so I left. Things should be better a day or two from now.