Archive for the ‘Fall 2013’ Category

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Thank You

Thursday, October 17th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers-

Thanks you for your splendid performance on Tuesday night. What a rich, romantic sound you made! Our soloist and small groups did a wonderful job–adding a nice variety of texture and tone to the Liebeslieder.

Special thanks to Chris and David for their magnificent playing. It was artistry of the highest order. Such a generous gift to us and to our audience.

We will have sectionals at noon on Saturday. I cannot be there as I am needed to help my daughter Brie get back on her feet. I would like for section leaders to take you through as much of the Haydn mass as they can until 12:45 pm. Then Chris will meet you in the choir room and take you through with piano until 1:15 pm. It’s going to be fun.

Section Leaders- Try to have a boom box and the your reh CD. Should you be unable to be there, be sure to get a substitute. If I nee to help with that , let me know.

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Amended Schedule

Friday, October 11th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers- Bishop Ireton HS has just made a decision not to allow outside groups to perform in the auditorium. Here is our new, amended schedule (.pdf).

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Free Parking

Friday, October 11th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers-
Great news! There will be free parking in the deck for our concert on Tuesday. Miracles never cease.
Please make every effort to be at tomorrow’s noon rehearsal.

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Drafted Program

Thursday, October 10th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Singers- Please look over the program roster (.pdf) and make sure you are listed. I don’t mind if there are names of people who are not sing–just don’t want to leave off anyone who is.

Angela-
here are corrections I have noticed:
Christine Hagan and David Hagan, pianists  (instead of pianist)
Caress, Ed (instead of Ed Caress)

Also- I’d like to list
Christine Hagan and David Hagan, pianists
again after the Neue Liebeslieder

NOVA community Chorus
Dr. Mark Whitmire, Director
Christine Hagan and David Hagan, pianists

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Stage Instructions

Wednesday, October 9th, 2013

From Fred: 1. When Chris and David have finished their part of the concert we will will form up in front of the elevator the same way as on stage but facing TOWARD the elevator. Once we are ready to go onstage, we will turn to our left. The rear row will move down the hall to the stage right (closest) entrance and go up onto the risers. The next row will follow them and the next and so on until we are all on stage. (I’d like to practice this when we go on stage at 6:30 if practical.)

2. We should minimize the amount of disturbance and time this takes. If you need to use the toilet before going on stage, use it well before this break rather than when we gather to process onto the stage. Pick a seat near the aisle so you can get to the gathering spot without having to climb over some of our guests. Yes, it is better to be near the rear exit door rather than down front; but this is not a requirement at this time.

3. We don’t have a secure place to store purses in Schlesinger or any of our venues. Your car is the best place. We may have an opportunity to store them in our rehearsal room but that has not been established.

4. The following is a recommendation to avoid turning several pages of music to find the page you will use next.

I use a paperclip to gather each group of pages that I won’t sing during this concert. For example, I clip the last page of #2 to the last page of #6. When we finish singing #2 and it is time to lower our music; I put a finger on the page that I will sing next (#7) close the book and lower it. My book will automatically open at the first page of #7 when I raise my music. No page shuffling required.

Fred Wulff, Stage Mgr.

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Seventh Rehearsal Preview

Tuesday, October 8th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Welcome to our 7th rehearsal of Fall 2013! Please sign in.

Tonight (10/8) is our 7:30 pm Dress Rehearsal in Schlesinger. Do not miss this rehearsal.

This Saturday (10/12) will be a combined (SATB) rehearsal at noon with piano. Please make every possible effort to attend.

This is going to be a great concert. Invite your friends and family to our Tuesday 10/15 Concert.

Remember, It was a lover and his lass, will be sung by memory.

Please bring your Haydn Mass tonight. I hope to have time to rehearse Kyrie and Sanctus.

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It was a lover and his lass

Monday, October 7th, 2013

From Fred: I found the attached mp3 to be a good aid to memorizing “It was a Lover…”

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Sixth Rehearsal Preview

Tuesday, October 1st, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Welcome to our 6th rehearsal of Fall 2013! Please sign in.

Tonight is our last Brahms rehearsal in the chorus room.

This Saturday (10/5) will be a combined (SATB) rehearsals at noon with piano. Please make every possible effort to attend.

Next Tuesday (10/8) is our 7:30 pm Dress Rehearsal in Schlesinger. Do not miss next week.

Next Saturday (10/12) will be a combined (SATB) rehearsal at noon with piano. Please make every possible effort to attend.

Flyers are here (attached) (.pdf). Invite your friends and family to our Tuesday 10/15 Concert.

Pick up a copy of our encore piece: It was a lover and his lass.

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Flyer

Saturday, September 28th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers- Attached is our 10/15 concert flyer (.pdf). Please bring your friends. If each of us brought 6 people, we would have a nice crowd. If each of us brought 12 people, we would have a full house.
I hope to see you today at noon.
Yours-DrW

Click image for Flyer PDF

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Program

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers— Our Art Department has made a beautiful poster for our Oct. 15 concert. I hope to have it to you digitally by the weekend and printed copies next Tuesday. In the meanwhile, start spreading the word. Chris and David have chosen some fantastic music. See you tonight. -DrW

from Souvenir de Russie, Op. 151, No. 3 Johannes Brahms
(1833-1897)
Romance de Warmaloff
(published under the pseudonym G. W. Marks)

from Divertissement à la Hongroise
Franz Schubert
(1797-1828)
Allegretto

Hungarian Rhapsody No. 14
Franz Liszt
(1811-1886)

Neu Liebeslieder Waltzer, Op. 65 Johannes Brahms

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Fifth Rehearsal Preview

Tuesday, September 24th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Welcome to our 5th rehearsal of Fall 2013! Please sign in.

Tonight
-All the Brahms choruses
1-count-singing; 2-on neutral syllable du; 3-with German text
-Haydn Sanctus

I will dismiss at 9:10, except soloists and small groups
#3b alto Ellie, Debbie, Carol P, Annette, Jane, Carol U
#4 bass DeMarcus, John, Mike, Bill R, Francisco, Miguel, Matt
#5 alto Ellie, Debbie, Carol P, Annette, Jane, Carol U
#6 sop Jessi, Peggy, Michelle, Terri, Amanda
#9 sop Jessi, Peggy, Michelle, Terri, Amanda
#10 ten DeMarcus, John, Mike, Bill R, Francisco
#11 sop Michelle
#13 sop/alto Amanda/ Carol U

Attendance
All singers must either (1) be present, or (2) have notifoed your Section Leader in advance of your unavoidable absence. If you miss more than two rehearsals during preparation for a concert, you will be asked to audition to demonstrate preparedness.

Our 2nd Saturday Rehearsal was another great success. Thanks to the Section Leaders for their invaluable help. Everyone is encouraged to attend this Saturday at noon.

Yours-DrW

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Saturday

Thursday, September 19th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers-
Please plan to attend our noon rehearsal on Saturday. I will be away leading a choral workshop. Section leaders and Chris will be in charge.
Altos meet n the Choir room, sopranos next door in Rm 131, tenors in a practice room and basses in a practice room (code 186). I’d like you to work on the Haydn mass from 12 noon until 12:45 pm. Then all gather in the choir room and sing through the Brahms with Chris. My CD player is on the computer table in Rm 131. There is a player in the Choir Room. I need several of you to bring boom boxes and CDs so that we are sure to have what we need. Let me know if you have any question.
Yours-DrW

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Fourth Rehearsal Preview

Monday, September 16th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Welcome to our 4th rehearsal of Fall 2013! Please sign in.

Tonight
-Worksheets (these can be found on Blackboard or www.novachorus.edu; bring them them every class.)
-All the Brahms choruses; learn German text to # 8, 12 and 14. Please prepare by listening to the diction on your CD.
-Haydn Credo, Sanctus

Auditions
Thanks to all who auditioned last week. Here is my plan:
#3b alto Ellie, Debbie, Carol P, Annette, Jane, Carol U
#4 bass DeMarcus, John, Mike, Bill R, Francisco, Miguel, Matt
#5 alto Ellie, Debbie, Carol P, Annette, Jane, Carol U
#6 sop Jessi, Peggy, Michelle, Terri, Amanda
#9 sop Jessi, Peggy, Michelle, Terri, Amanda
#10 ten DeMarcus, John, Mike, Bill R, Francisco
#11 sop Michelle
#13 sop/alto Amanda/ Carol U

Attendance
All singers must either (1) be present, or (2) have notifoed your Section Leader in advance of your unavoidable absence. If you miss more than two rehearsals during preparation for a concert, you will be asked to audition to demonstrate preparedness.

Our first Saturday Rehearsal was great success. Thanks to the Section Leaders ( and subs) for their invaluable help. Everyone is encouraged to attend this Saturday at noon.

Yours-DrW

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Saturday Rehearsal

Friday, September 13th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers-
-I hope to see as many of you as possible tomorrow at noon for our first Saturday rehearsal. Each section will meet in a separate room and rehearse with CDs. Chris and I will come around and help with problem spots.
-Attached is a Worksheet (.pdf) for Brahms #15. We had a hard time counting is 9/4. This will help.
Yours-DrW

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Second Rehearsal Recap

Saturday, September 7th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers-
-Thanks for another very good rehearsal on Tuesday. The Haydn Agnus Dei sounded wonderful, as did the Brahms 15. Zum Schluss (In Conclusion).
-On Tuesday we will work on all the Brahms choruses. We will add the German text to # 1, 2 and 7. Please prepare by listening to the diction on your CD.
-At 9:15 pm we will have auditions for the small groups and/or solos in the Brahms (#3 4 5 6 9 10 11 13). Learn the piece that you would enjoy singing. All Music Majors are required to audition.
-We have a great group this season. Good numbers and nicely balanced. But we must do better with attendance. Of our roster of 86, there were 22 absences on Tuesday. I know some were still on vacation. All singers must either (1) be present, or (2) notify your Section Leader in advance of your unavoidable absence.
-We are a team. We count on every player every week.

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Second Rehearsal Preview

Tuesday, September 3rd, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Welcome to our 2nd rehearsal of Fall 2013! It is going to be a great season.

Please sign in. If you are new and weren’t here last week, give your phone and e-mail. Be sure to write clearly.

Registration. If you are registered as a senior, please consider making a donation to NVCC Foundation in lieu of tuition. Donations of any amount are appreciated.

Attendance
Please try not to be absent. If you miss more than two rehearsals during preparation for a concert, you will be asked to audition to demonstrate preparedness. Please notify Section Leaders of absences:
Soprano-Peggy Harrison, peggyh @ ix.netcom.com, 703-609-6540
Alto-Debbie Peetz, peetz @ rand.org, 703-931-2872
Tenor-Larry Goldschmidt, lgold2 @ comcast.net, 703-527-7447
Bass-Ray Lombardi, rayjoyce2408 @ verizon.net, 703-524-5761

Tonight
Worksheets
Liebeslieder 14, 15
Haydn Agnus Dei

Materials
If you do not have the materials handed out at rehearsal 1, please go to novachorus.org and print them for tonight’s rehearsal.
1. Count-singing
2. Worksheets
3. Schedule

In the Bookstore
Haydn: Mass in time of war

Inside the Choir Room
Choral score Brahms Neue Liebeslieder Waltzer ($5)
Rehearsals CD for Haydn and Brahms ($10)
Cash or check payable to NVCC Foundation

You can still sign up for my Vocal Seminar. First Class is September 14. Let me know if you might be interested.

Don’t forget, our Saturday noon rehearsals begin September 14.

Yours-DrW

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First Rehearsal Recap

Friday, August 30th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire:  Dear Singers-

Thanks for a good first rehearsal on Tuesday. A special welcome to our new members.

I hope you like the music as much as I do. It’s challenging of course, but equally rewarding.

Be sure to work with your CDS before rehearsal # 2 on this Tuesday.

The Alto Haydn Mass CD has an error. It has the bass track for Agnus Dei instead of the alto track. I have attached the alto track (.mp3) to this message, and it will be posted on novachorus.org. I will also make some new alto CDs for those who need them. I’ll have them at NOVA tomorrow 10 am-4:00 pm.

Have a great weekend. See you on Tuesday.

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First Rehearsal

Wednesday, August 28th, 2013

Handouts from the first rehearsal on Tuesday, August 27 (all .pdfs):

1) Welcome
2) Schedule
3) Exercises: Chords | Count-singing | Intervals | All
4) Worksheets: Haydn Agnus Dei | Haydn Kyrie | Liebeslieder 1 | Liebeslieder 2 | Liebeslieder 7 | All

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Saturday Rehearsals

Saturday, August 24th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers-
I would like to have rehearsals every Saturday 12 noon – 1:15 pm beginning September 14 (except Nov. 30). We will divide by section S-A-T-B with the Section Leaders leading the rehearsal using rehearsal CDs. When a Section Leader is absent, he or she can appoint someone to lead or Chris or I will step in. We’ll meet in the classrooms and practice rooms. We’ll try it this way at least until we havelearned the notes. We used this format this summer and it seemed to be veryproductive. As you know, Saturday rehearsals are optional. I know you can’t come every week–just come as often as you can. We will evaluate thisplan mid-semester, and make changes as necessary. I look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday.

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Mailing Lists

Saturday, August 24th, 2013

From Peggy to the (old) Yahoo Groups mailing list:
Dear NOVA Community Chorus member:

We are likely going to move the NOVA Chorus email list from Yahoo Groups to Google Groups. This is because of some changes Yahoo made that will make it harder to add new chorus members to the mailing list.

I have added all of last semester’s chorus members to the Google Groups list and have sent a message with TEST in the subject line.

1. If you sang with us last semester and did NOT get the Test message, please check your spam filter and make sure the new email address (novachorus@googlegroups.com) is on your approved senders list.

2. If you did NOT get the test email and want to be added to the new list, please reply to this message and say you want to be added to the Google Groups list mailing and I will add you.

3. We will add new Fall Semester NOVA Community Chorus members to the Google Groups mailing list only.

3. For a short period Dr. Whitmire will send chorus messages to both the Yahoo and Google Groups mailing lists. However, once we’re confident the new list is working properly, chorus messages will be sent only to the Google Groups list.

From Peggy to the (new) Google Groups mailing list:

Dear NOVA Chorus member:

This is a test of the new google groups email list. If there are any problems please email me directly at the address below.

Between now and the first week of the semester, Dr. Whitmire may send emails to both the new list and the old list, until we’re sure all chorus members are on the new list. We apologize in advance for the duplication, but promise it won’t last long!

Please make sure this email (novachorus@googlegroups.com) is on your spam filters approved senders list.

See you next week!

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Vocal Repertoire

Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire:
SINGERS

PLEASE NOTE THIS 12-WK FALL CLASS

If you are a singer who would like to improve your performing skills, register for Vocal Repertoire.

Mus19801a Seminar and Project: Vocal Repertoire
(74673) Saturdays 2:00-4:30 pm

Topics will include vocal technique, musical style, and expression.

The course will include one individual 25-minute coaching session with Dr. Whitmire.

Class will meet
Sept.14, Sept.21, Sept.28, Oct.5, Oct.12, Oct.19, Oct.26, Nov.2, Nov.9, Nov.16, Nov.23, Dec.7 (10:00 am until 12:30 pm on 12/7 only)

The course will be limited to twelve students.
Register now.

Christine Hagan will be the accompanist.

If you have any questions, contact
Dr. Mark Whitmire
703-845-6097 or mwhitmire@nvcc.edu

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Shuttle Service

Wednesday, August 21st, 2013

From Peggy: A new service for those who travel to campus via public transportation. You need a student ID which you can get at Bisdorf when you register if you don’t already have one. See this link to the college web site for more info.
http://www.nvcc.edu/about-nova/maps-directions/shuttle/

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Beginning Class Voice

Tuesday, August 20th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers- I need about ten folks to sign up for Mus131o1a Beginning Class voice. They need to be paying students. This is an important class and I don’t want it to be cancelled. If you decide you don’t like the instructor (me) you can drop and get a refund. If you can do it, act immediately.

Also, I have received the ok to offer my vocal seminar as a 12- wk class. This is for more experienced singers who would enjoy coaching and working with an excellent accompanist (Chris). More info to come.

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Haydn Mass

Friday, August 16th, 2013

From Fred: If you were not able to buy CDs from Mark of this mass on Friday you can at least listen to a performance of it on line.

I downloaded the audio of this mass a few weeks ago from youtube.com and edited it into 1 file per movement (.mp3 files). I found it very useful to listen to it while reading through the score, especially how the solos are woven into the choral parts. So – I sent it to Kate who loaded them onto our chorus web site at: http://www.novachorus.org/music-files/

This is from a performance directed by Bernstein.
There are 6 movements = 6 files. The entire work is 45 minutes long.

From Admin: Movement Kyrie | Gloria | Credo | Sanctus | Benedictus | Agnus Dei

[Admin: All music files will be posted to the music files page (see menu bar above) as they become available.]

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Office Hours

Wednesday, August 14th, 2013

From Dr. Whitmire: Dear Singers- My schedule has changed. I will not be in tomorrow. I will be in on Friday. If you plan to come get materials let me know so we can make arrangements. Yours -DrW

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