Bulletin #5
Joyful News
October 23, 2013
This week the newsletter is based on notes taken by John Neilson and
Shelagh Hamilton. A big thank-you for helping with this!
November 10 concert
Repertoire: In your binders you now have Hear my Prayer, Soldiers Cry, O Canada,
Anthem, I Dreamed of Rain, and Hymn to Freedom. The singers who attended the
weekend workshop also have a copy of the Hymn from Finlandia. Please remember
not to punch holes in I Dreamed of Rain since this music is rented from Concordia
College. Many thanks to Rob and Tricia for their assistance with the binders.
Tickets: For this concert our Ticket Masters are Mark Freeman (men), Monica Lang
(soprano 2), Shelagh Hamilton (alto) and Grand Ticket Mistress Beth Allen (soprano).
For the concert we will be joined by several guest performers and our audience will be
invited to join us in singing some popular wartime songs. As always, we want to
perform for a full house so please share the attached concert information amongst your
friends and family.
A Quote from John: Eugene will sing Oh How I Hate to Get Up in the Morning
composed in 1918 by Irving Berlin as an expression of protest against the indignities of
army routine shortly after being drafted in the United States Army in 1918. Note: This
is NOT intended in any way as a commentary on rehearsal routine!
Program: This year our concert programs will be professionally designed and
produced. To help offset the production costs we are encouraged to identify businesses
that are interested in placing an ad in the program (a business card sized ad is $40).
John Kilduff is the contact person for this project. Deadline for ads is October 31.
10th Anniversary Season
Building Community: Eva spoke about the chance to build connections and
community during our anniversary year. This year the members of the two Joyful
Choirs will have several opportunities (joint concerts and workshops) to get to know
each other better.
Alumni: We are also compiling a list of Joyful Alumni who will all be invited to our
concerts. We are especially looking forward to seeing many of our retired singers at the
May concert.
Volunteers: During the year Eva will look for opportunities to invite choir members to
volunteer for different support positions. If you think that there is a task that has “your
name written all over it” please let us know! 
Bulletin #5
Season Bookmarks: We have now distributed more than 1200 season bookmarks!
Keep a bundle of bookmarks handy so that you can place them in strategic locations.
Rehearsal culture
Eva spoke about the fact that A Joyful Noise is a teaching choir, a hybrid between a
choral class and a choral community.
Notes from Eva: When I was working on the newsletter I came up with a new image – I
hope you like it. We come to a class the way we come to a smörgåsbord (a Swedish
word!). We choose how much and what we want to put on our plate. Some people try
every dish, others just a few.
When we belong to a choir community we acknowledge that we are links in a chain,
working together towards a common goal. At this point in the semester when we are
getting close to a concert it becomes more important that we are less of a diner at a
smörgåsbord and become members of a choir community where we all are dependent
on each other. We have less than three weeks until our concert. It is now crucial that
each member takes responsibility for their link in the chain by listening to the recordings
and cds, arriving on time for rehearsals, being fully present at rehearsals, and practicing
music at home to the best of their ability.
On Thursday I will tell you about my friend Ken and how he demonstrated how all links
in the chain, regardless of how strong they are, are equally important for the success of
the project.
Another Quote from John: “Chat not lest you or your neighbor misses
something.”
Fort Edmonton Workshop
Thanks to all the singers who were able to attend the Saturday workshop. What a
fantastic venue (thanks to John and Susan who suggested it), what an enjoyable and
effective rehearsal (thanks to our guest conductor Joy), and what a well-organized
event (thanks to Cheryl). We learned so much. Here are just a few reminders:
1.
2.
3.
4.
Keep lots of space at the back of your mouth
Keep lots of space in your chest
Use “tall vowels” (think of a British accent)
Do not pronounce the R in most words (again, think of a British accent).
When we start again on Thursday it will feel as if we have to start from the beginning,
and we will, but this time the process will be much faster!
Bulletin #5
A Special Note: As many of you know, Susan Cribbs is unwell and will be away from
choir for a while. The singers who attended the weekend workshop had the opportunity
to send their greetings on a card provided by Sandra Croll. We are all thinking of you
Susan. We wish you a speedy recovery and we look forward to seeing and
hearing you as soon as you’re able!
Here are the sound files that Shelagh Hamilton has found for us:
HEAR MY PRAYER: Practice your individual parts with this link:
http://www.choralia.net/mn06mp3
Hear My Prayer pages 1-6
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBYYM2B41U&list=PLRy0vSua6CmAVgSr_YmadOOtJuE4y4EwY&feature=mh_lolz
For The Wings pages 7-11
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GCIKdjVooQ0&list=UUt8lutcj7chUWSSzt6XKhdA&in
dex=119
SOLDIERS CRY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQ7z_eANAP4&list=PLRy0vSua6CmAxgXiUsj9MfVWgGIrzR18
http://www.rolandmajeau.com/store.html
Through this link you can listen to part of the song, and then can purchase it if you want.
The song is also available for sale on iTunes.
ANTHEM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7QJe1oxpps
HYMN TO FREEDOM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_RnJFMX2kc
I DREAMED OF RAIN
http://larrynickel.com/CypressAudio/Dreamed.html
VIMY RIDGE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VqA0jvCfFCg