And a huge thank you to all the parents who made the retreat possible!
Check out this picture - I couldn't quite get used to all the gunk left on my hands after our Saturday night spa!
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
MHC Girls' Choir Retreat
What a fantastic weekend! The retreat allowed us to get a running start on 11 pieces!!! Thank you for all your dedication and hard work ladies!
And a huge thank you to all the parents who made the retreat possible!
Check out this picture - I couldn't quite get used to all the gunk left on my hands after our Saturday night spa!
And a huge thank you to all the parents who made the retreat possible!
Check out this picture - I couldn't quite get used to all the gunk left on my hands after our Saturday night spa!
Vivaldi and his ladies...
Check out the two videos below to get some insight as to who Vivaldi was and why he wrote the music that he did.
Monday, September 21, 2009
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Welcome Back MHC Adult Choir!
Hello MHC Adult Choir!
I hope you had a wonderful summer and are now ready to get back to singing! As you most likely already know, we are going to tackle Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria (RV589) this semester! I have chosen this piece for several reasons. First of all, it is a fantastic piece for a Christmas concert. It is festive, happy, and easy for an audience to listen to - this is largely due to the fact that most of the sections are in a major key, have a quick tempo, and are repetitve. I realize that many of you are familiar with the piece, and that is a good thing! Hopefully this will allow us more time to become very comfortable with the pitches, rhythms, and texts and therefore be able 'fine tune' our sound in the later rehearsals. It is my goal to spend at least half of our rehearsal time working on more artistic aspects of the music: dynamics, timbre, diction, interpretation, etc, instead of 'note-pounding' in the final rehearsals.
If you have never sung Mr. Vivaldi before, fear not! You will find that it is simpler than the previous works we've done and you will catch on quickly. And, of course, I have linked some very helpful youtube videos which you can find below.
I am excited for a new year and am looking very much forward to working with you all again! Please check back here often as I will likely 'geek out' and write some more about Vivaldi and his Gloria. Also, please feel free to leave comments on the blog, email me, or call me if you have any questions at all, or even if you just want to tell me about your day.
Christmas Concert: Tuesday, December 15, 2009. Please mark it on your calendars!
Lets Sing!
I hope you had a wonderful summer and are now ready to get back to singing! As you most likely already know, we are going to tackle Antonio Vivaldi's Gloria (RV589) this semester! I have chosen this piece for several reasons. First of all, it is a fantastic piece for a Christmas concert. It is festive, happy, and easy for an audience to listen to - this is largely due to the fact that most of the sections are in a major key, have a quick tempo, and are repetitve. I realize that many of you are familiar with the piece, and that is a good thing! Hopefully this will allow us more time to become very comfortable with the pitches, rhythms, and texts and therefore be able 'fine tune' our sound in the later rehearsals. It is my goal to spend at least half of our rehearsal time working on more artistic aspects of the music: dynamics, timbre, diction, interpretation, etc, instead of 'note-pounding' in the final rehearsals.
If you have never sung Mr. Vivaldi before, fear not! You will find that it is simpler than the previous works we've done and you will catch on quickly. And, of course, I have linked some very helpful youtube videos which you can find below.
I am excited for a new year and am looking very much forward to working with you all again! Please check back here often as I will likely 'geek out' and write some more about Vivaldi and his Gloria. Also, please feel free to leave comments on the blog, email me, or call me if you have any questions at all, or even if you just want to tell me about your day.
Christmas Concert: Tuesday, December 15, 2009. Please mark it on your calendars!
Lets Sing!
Saturday, September 12, 2009
MHC Girls' Choir Newspaper Article!
MHC Girls' Choir sings loud and proud at Vimy Ridge
ZOE SZUCH
zszuch@medicinehatnews.com
A few dozen members of the Medicine Hat College Girls’ Choir recently returned from a two-week tour through France and Holland where they were invited participants of the 2009 Europa Cantat festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The group, along with their choral director Brad van Middlekoop, accompanist Constantine Shandro and several chaperones, traveled to Europe in mid-July to perform at notable locations including Euro Disney and Vimy Ridge.For first time Europe traveller Avery Taves, 17, the Euro Disney performance was her highlight.“It was all really exciting. It was a great opportunity for our choir, especially considering that it was our first year with our director Brad,” said the Medicine Hat High School student.“It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.”The Medicine Hat group worked under the direction of Venezuelan vocal instructor Cristian Grases during the Europa Cantat festival to learn five performance pieces in five days — three of which were in foreign languages.Taves said she learned a lot while at the festival and thoroughly enjoyed performing with other choirs from around the globe.“It was a very neat festival,” said the second soprano.Crescent Heights High School student Meagan Thorson was hard pressed to pick a highlight from her trip to Europe but she managed to narrow it down to seeing Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam, singing at the Europa Cantat festival or sightseeing in Paris. “It’s been my dream to go to Paris since I was four,” the 15-year-old said. “Yeah that was quite fun.”Both Taves and Thorson said they’d jump at the chance to perform in Europe again with the Medicine Hat College Girls’ Choir.“It was just a fantastic trip,” Thorson said.You can watch uploaded videos of the festival online at www.youtube.com by searching ‘2009 Europa Cantat.’
ZOE SZUCH
zszuch@medicinehatnews.com
A few dozen members of the Medicine Hat College Girls’ Choir recently returned from a two-week tour through France and Holland where they were invited participants of the 2009 Europa Cantat festival in Utrecht, The Netherlands. The group, along with their choral director Brad van Middlekoop, accompanist Constantine Shandro and several chaperones, traveled to Europe in mid-July to perform at notable locations including Euro Disney and Vimy Ridge.For first time Europe traveller Avery Taves, 17, the Euro Disney performance was her highlight.“It was all really exciting. It was a great opportunity for our choir, especially considering that it was our first year with our director Brad,” said the Medicine Hat High School student.“It was a lot of fun and I learned a lot.”The Medicine Hat group worked under the direction of Venezuelan vocal instructor Cristian Grases during the Europa Cantat festival to learn five performance pieces in five days — three of which were in foreign languages.Taves said she learned a lot while at the festival and thoroughly enjoyed performing with other choirs from around the globe.“It was a very neat festival,” said the second soprano.Crescent Heights High School student Meagan Thorson was hard pressed to pick a highlight from her trip to Europe but she managed to narrow it down to seeing Anne Frank’s house in Amsterdam, singing at the Europa Cantat festival or sightseeing in Paris. “It’s been my dream to go to Paris since I was four,” the 15-year-old said. “Yeah that was quite fun.”Both Taves and Thorson said they’d jump at the chance to perform in Europe again with the Medicine Hat College Girls’ Choir.“It was just a fantastic trip,” Thorson said.You can watch uploaded videos of the festival online at www.youtube.com by searching ‘2009 Europa Cantat.’
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