Notes for Sunday April 29!

Hello everyone!

Thank you SO much for your hard work on Sunday, and for being so friendly and welcoming to our special guests! We were able to get a lot of very important work done, while still showing off how far we've come with this show and how exciting it is going to be! Now we need to dig in and fix all of the little things that are still messy or unfinished.

In particular on Sunday, we noticed that the following pieces needed some more memorization work. Christina has added some notes to help you in your practicing:

• Kocsar pieces (Sea-Wash, Nocturne, Bringers) - please please please work on your counting here - the rests are what are causing messes (you know your notes well!).  All three pieces share this feature and really need work.  They are otherwise really beautiful but they are falling to pieces right now because of bad entries and there are so many entries that I can’t cue all of them.
• Pakkanen - S2s (and S1s) we need your words rock solid by this Sunday.  Really.
• I'll Give My Love an Apple - The memory work overall needs attention here.
• To Be Sung on the Water - The memory work is weak in this piece so all the details we added in rehearsals (like clean cut-offs, dynamics, text expression) have disappeared.  This piece is much harder than it looks so please give it some extra time this week.
• Alone (Choir 2) - You really needs to do some more work on this one (we will give you a bit of time on your own at rehearsal this Sunday but we will be at the church by 12:45 so I’d suggest you try to come early to work together before rehearsal if possible).  
• Alone (Choir 1) - We are going to work on making your sound more pop-epic this week.  You will need some free brain space to think about vocal production so make sure you memorization is comfortable enough that you are having to work hard to get things “right” anymore.

Please devote some time this week to making sure each of these pieces is totally solid in your memory. We will spend some time on these pieces on Sunday, and will take quite a bit of time to work on transitions and movement for Parts 3&4.

We would like anyone with a speaking part to arrive early for rehearsal on Sunday to work on your text. Please arrive at the church at 12:45 pm and be ready to go!

Now is the time to really focus on at-home rehearsal preparation so that you come to rehearsal feeling confident in all your music, movement, speaking parts, and transitions. We know this show is going to be stunning if every person commits to working hard at home and in rehearsals.

Costumes - Thanks to Robin for the beautiful work she has done making all of our skirts for the show!!! This Sunday, please bring some options for shirts you could wear for the show. We'd like to see them on and confirm that what everyone has works. Shirts can be any sleeve length from thick strap tank tops (no spaghetti straps) to 3/4 sleeve and should fit into the basic colour palette (ie- lighter whites/blues/greys for younglings and darker blues/navy/charcoal for elders). Please choose something that you can move in comfortably (ie something stretchy with a bit of spandex will hug your body and stay in place, but should not be skin tight). You can choose whether your shirt is tucked in or not, but it should look graceful and the shirt should hang so that you don't have to fiddle with it during the show.

IMPORTANT - We are singing O Canada this friday evening for the Liberal Party of NS AGM (this is a fundraiser for us!). We will meet at 6:15 in the lobby of the Lord Nelson Hotel. Dress is Xara t-shirts, black dress pants or skirts, black socks/tights, and black shoes with Xara braid and make up (to look polished). We will be done by 7:45. The valley crew can't travel in so it is important that everyone else do what they need to do to get here. Let us know ASAP if you have a conflict that you don't think you can fix.

The Storm "Score"

"The Storm"
(click to enlarge and print)

Notes on Music (to Apr 20)

Hi everyone!


Here are some notes about each piece to help you in your work at home. These are based on last week’s rehearsal - the issues in each piece that still need attention.  Truly, you are doing SO SO well with your music and I’m really excited for the quality of singing that will be happening in this show!!  Let’s get the final 20% of the details really solid so that our performances are stellar across the board!!

1. Siren Song

• Tenille solo
• Small Ensemble (As of a 4pt split only): should only be mp and quite light
• Full ensemble - buoyant and happy
• HUM under Joshua’s opening text in this order:
• Younglings line alone (x2)
• full ensemble (x3)

2. Making Waves:

• good work altos!  keep at it!  
• m. 40 - make the dynamic pp and keep it really light
• m. 51 - decrescendo to nothing before beginning the new section at a pp dynamic (change what’s in the score)
• m. 62 - S2s need to be light and more legato
• m. 78 - more legato required from all S1s and S2s - it’s too bombastic right now!
• m. 90-91: make sure you sing this decrescendo!!!

3. Kiurun Tie:

• I will go back to beating in 4 for the first 4 measures to help set the tempo more accurately
• Dynamics really need your attention in your memorization work.  The whole piece is loud right now and there is a LOT more detail to bring out with dynamics.

4. Storm: I will post something on our facebook group so you have a “score” to refer to as you prepare this element of the show.

5. Sea-Wash:

• Make SURE you have learned the counts for the measures!!  I will put a scan of my score up on the blog so you can double check that you are learning it correctly.
• m.1-3: Altos, you are tending to be quite late on your “never ends”.

6. Transformation: musically fine but the movement needs serious review.  Make sure to watch Claire’s video on facebook to help you.

7. Nocturne: Notes are nicely learned but the counting was problematic.  I heard lots of “stuff of the moon” in the wrong places. Please solidify this.  Also be sure of your dynamics … it’s starting to be mf most of the way through.

8. Woods: Coming along nicely.  Altos, really watch me for the new tempo at m. 20.  Everyone, watch from m. 20-31 for the accelerando … the choir is often way behind me here.

9. Sweet Clover: Sounding really good.  Make sure to really milk the articulation that Deirdre gave you for this.

10. Morning Tide: We are going to stick with the ending we have been doing rather than what’s written (augmented rhythms).  Don’t forget that Deirdre will be doing mm.1-2 as a solo to set the pitch for the piece.

11. Transition to Pakkanen: EVERYONE please look at the transition from Morning Tide to Pakkanen and learn your interval jump!  We will be going straight through without giving a new pitch so this will need to be rock solid.

12. Pakkanen: S2s (& S1s) - the words need a lot of work … please really get the memory solid on this.  The other parts are doing well but are getting thrown when the melody doesn’t progress as it’s meant to.

13. Apple: The sound is lovely but the memorization still needs work from some of you.

14. Swansong 2: Sounding really good!

15. Maiden & the Sea: Sounding really good … keep refining your memorization.

16. To Be Sung on the Water: Keep working on the memorization.  This piece needs to be pristine in order to communicate its text.  Altos, please look at the end of Maiden and practice getting your notes for the start of this piece.  You will be able to hum underneath Erin & Suelayka while they speak here.

17. Swansongs 1:  Coming along nicely!  Keep at the memorization.

18. Raising the Wind: We are going to try raising this a whole tone for the sake of the droners.  I know that makes mm.64-65 crazy-high for the sopranos.  If it’s too high for you, don’t worry - it will be totally fine to sing the octave below there!  Review your movement notes for this.

19. Bringers: Altos, review your rhythm … your line is very different in timing for everyone else’s and you were all over the place last week.  Everyone else, you also need to review your rhythm and memorization!

20. Alone:  Can you try approaching this as if you were singing “We are the Champions” or something?  It still needs more of the epic pop style!!  Choir 2 Quartet - can you see if you can get together for a sectional rehearsal on your own some time so you can help each other with your memorization?

21. Briar & the Rose:  I know we’ve done it a million times but we still have singers adding ornaments where there aren’t any in verse 3.  Just double check this!

May/June Rehearsals and Concerts

Hi everyone!

We just wanted to clarify the various rehearsal/concert dates and times for everything AFTER Wail.  We've just updated the google calendar but we also wanted to list everything here.

May 13 (Sunday): No rehearsal
May 20 (Sunday): No rehearsal
May 26 (SATURDAY)): Special rehearsal, 1:15-4:45 PM
May 27 (Sunday): No rehearsal (Camerata's fund raising concert - please come!)
June 2 (SATURDAY): Wail in SHELBURNE (block off this whole day - more details will follow)
June 3 (Sunday): travel back from Shelburne; no rehearsal
June 10 (Sunday): regular rehearsal
June 17 (Sunday): regular rehearsal
June 24 (Sunday): regular rehearsal
July 2 (MONDAY): Special rehearsal, 5:30-8:30 PM
July 6 (FRIDAY): Mahone Bay Concert, arr. at venue 2:00 PM

Unless otherwise indicated on facebook/email, all rehearsals will be at Fairview United Church.  Directions to our Shelburne and Mahone Bay venues will be provided closer to the dates.

We will post a separate blog entry about "Wail Week" rehearsals!!

Lt. Governor & Titanic Dates

Hi everyone!

Here are the dates and times for the Lt. Governor's installation and the two Titanic events this coming week.  We hope your memorization has been going really well and that you are excited for all that is to come!!!

THURSDAY, April 12: Lt Governor's Installation
Itinerary/Repertoire: Morning Tide
Arrival Time: 11:20 a.m. (dressed and ready)
Location: Province House on Hollis Street
Dress: Xara gowns (long), black hose, black flats, Xara braids, formal make-up
Finish Time: 1 p.m. (approximately)
Details: There are numerous protocols required for this performance.  We will be briefed on all of them when we arrive.  We sing near the end of the installation.  We will have green room space while we wait.

SATURDAY, April 14: Titanic Event - Night of the Bells - Sound Check
Itinerary/Repertoire: Sound Check for Making Waves & Briar & the Rose
Arrival Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Grand Parade Square
Dress: casual
Finish Time: 4:45 (approx.)
Details: We have 15 minutes on stage for our sound check.  There will be many groups on the roster and it's possible that they will not be running on schedule.  Please be on time but know that our finish time is dependent on how well organized the event managers are.

SATURDAY, April 14:  Titanic Event - Night of the Bells - Performance
Itinerary/Repertoire: Making Waves & Briar & the Rose with narration
Arrival time: 9:00 p.m.
Location: Grand Parade Square entrance to City Hall
Dress: BRING your formal Xara outfit (as listed for the Lt Governor's installation).  There is green room space in City Hall where you can change.
Finish Time: 12:30 a.m. (approx.)
Details: We perform at approximately 11:30 p.m.  Finalized time will be confirmed later this week.  There will be international media present and the event is being broadcast live on numerous TV stations across Canada.

SUNDAY, April 15: Titanic Event - Spiritual Ceremony - Performance
Itinerary/Repertoire: Briar & the Rose
Arrival time: 1:15 p.m. (as per a normal Sunday rehearsal)
Location: Fairview United Church (we will carpool to the graveyard at the appointed time)
Dress: Xara T-shirts, black DRESS pants, black shoes, black sweaters as needed
Finish Time: 4:30 p.m. (but then we head back to Fairview United Church for rehearsal)
Details: We will rehearse for 1 hour at Fairview before we head to the Titanic event.  We may be standing for the whole service (1 hour); international media (film crews) will be there, the event is being broadcast live across Canada via CBC radio and TV.

SUNDAY, April 15: Xara Rehearsal
Itinerary/Repertoire: Do a full run of Wail!!!!
Times: 5:00 p.m. (approx.) to 7:30 p.m.
Location: Fairview United Church
Details: Bring a bagged supper.  We will take a bit of time to eat when we get back from the Titanic event.  Then we'll do a complete run of Wail and have a chance to do some fixes/feedback at the end.

Tips for Memorizing!

Hi everyone!

I hope you are all having a fabulous long weekend :) With our WAIL off book date coming up (April 15!) I know everyone is hard at work memorizing their music. Christina and I wanted to share some memorization strategies to help you along in this process! Of course, everyone learns in different ways, so some of these may work for you, and some may not! But, maybe there will be a new idea that will help you to get all of your music really solidly memorized!

• Listen lots! Put your WAIL playlist on your iPod when you're on the way to school or work or keep it on while you're doing stuff around the house. Amazing how much you can absorb just by listening!
• Sing the piece through with the recording (remember we use the recordings for notes, words, and rhythms, not expressiveness). See if you can do sections without the score, then work up to the whole piece
• For tricky bits, learn the piece in sections (a section can be as small as a few measures!) and then gradually knit the sections together until you're feeling solid about the whole piece
• To help with memorizing words, write out the words to a piece of music on a separate sheet of paper. This helps not only with learning the flow of the text, but also with understanding the meaning of the piece if you can see the words as poetry!
• Practice both by yourself and with others. Working in same-section groups can help solidify your part as a section, and working in a small, mixed-part group (ie SSAA) will help you to feel independent on your own line! You can feel free to make mistakes in a low-pressure environment, plus it is just fun to get together :)

Remember that it's not just music - movement has to be extremely solid as well. Here are some tips:

• For each piece, listen to the recording and do a "walk through" first in your mind, then with your body.
• Double check all cues (ie "hands come down on beat 3" or "start moving when you start singing")
• Draw yourself a map for each piece of where you move throughout the song so you know where you start and end up
• Make note of any places where you need to be by specific people or a specific section
• Again, practicing in groups can be a great way to facilitate movement memory and make you feel really independent - especially if you have mixed groups where people are doing different things at different times.
• Don't forget expressiveness! If it helps you, reference the story chart that we gave you at the beginning of the rehearsal period, and write in what is happening in the story at the top of each piece of music!

Hopefully this is helpful! I know you are all working hard and that we are going to blow our audience away on May 11 & 12!!!!!

Have a great rest of your weekend and see you soon!

xox Claire

Movement Notes!

Hi Ladies!

I have been taking lots of notes during our recent runs, and since we didn't have time to go over any movement notes on Sunday, I thought I would give you some of my notes from both the runs of Part 1&2 and 3&4. These are just to help clarify a few things and solidify movement as you are memorizing and practicing over the next week and a half!

I know we have been feeling the pressure to get all this music memorized, but with the memorization also comes expression. Practicing this at home while you learn your music will only make it all the more natural when we are running pieces in rehearsal. In particular, I noticed that Making Waves, Sea Wash, Morning Tide, To Be Sung on Water, and Raising the Wind needed to be pushed to the next level. Some notes to help you:

• Making Waves: the feeling of soaring over the earth, the sun warm on your back, calm, peaceful, pure joy
• Sea Wash: exhausted, in pain, in a new and unfamiliar territory, uncertain and in fear
• Morning Tide: curiosity, excitement, welcoming to a new friend
• To Be Sung on Water: tenderness and sadness at the love you feel
• Raising the Wind: conjuring a storm to try and keep Joshua on the island, so there is a feeling of casting a spell, a little bit of evil. Check the Facebook group for the Philomela video to help with some inspiration here (only less vampire please!)

I know that committing to the pieces emotionally can be challenging. But I hope these little notes will help and as we move forward it will only become easier!

A few other more general notes that you can work on or make note of at home:

• Transition between Siren Songs and Making Waves - altos need to lead down the stairs
• Nocturne - make certain of where you are in the clump, and when you move backward; by the end of the piece the group should be very far back, right up against the bottom of the stairs
• Woods - review when you step forward on the first page so that we all move in unison
• Pakkanen - group of dancers on the first page (S1, MS1, MS2) you're doing great but remember - LIGHT on your feet! :)

Also, please remember to memorize the group texts: Sea Bred, Mermaid, Lost Autumn, To Heal My Heart

Thank you all so much for your hard work on this show. It is going to be AMAZING!!!!! Happy Easter and I'll see you soon!

xox