ISLAND CITY CHORUS

GREATER MONTREAL CHAPTER

Northeastern District

SPEBSQSA Inc.

The Little Chorus that could!

MINI PITCH

Date: February 9, 2004 Volume 2004 -Issue 6

COMING UP - ROB'S REQUIRED EVENTS*

Friday, February 13 & Saturday February 14, 2004 Singing Valentines Sign up and sell!

March 19-21, 2004 Spring Prelims and Western Regional Convention NED Albany, NY

March 27, 2004 ARCIM Competition, Collège Jean Eudes, 3535 Rosemont Blvd, Montreal

Saturday, May 29, 2004 Annual Show Salle Pierre Mercure (UQAM) with 4 Voices and The Gas House Gang

"That's Entertainment"

October 8, 9 & 10, 2004 Fall Forward Cap St-Jacques (Details below) ß NOTE

October 22-24, 2004 District Convention Lowell, MA

*NOTE: It is your duty to inform Rob as soon as you know you will miss any rehearsal or event.

COMING UP - OPTIONAL, BUT FUN and EDUCATIONAL EVENTS

February 20 & 21, 2004 West Island Chorus - Sweet Adeline Show "Cabaret Circa 1929" Tickets (514)733-4052

Monday, June 28 - Sunday, July 4, 2004 66th Annual SPEBSQSA International Convention Louisville, Kentucky

July 3-10, 2005 67th Annual SPEBSQSA International Convention Salt Lake City, Utah

I played a blank tape full volume. The mime next door complained.

Another GNHW Success.

Congratulations to Steve Wheaton for another great school. Our featured guest quartet, MatriX were great ambassadors of harmony along with NED's own Overdrive.

Champlain College was an excellent location, and was easy to find your way around after the initial panic at such a large facility. The accommodations were very good and each of the classrooms had the latest in audio/visual equipment.

Over 125 students and a great faculty enjoyed a full day of teaching and learning. Quartets and choruses were coached and then got to show off the tings they had learned.

The comments received at the end of the School would lead us to believe that we will be back at the same place next year for mere.

CBC Competion Recording done

We recorded our entry in the CBC Choral Competition on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 at Church of St. Augustine, Pointe Claire, QC. The songs were: If I loved You, Before the Parade passes By, Sixteen Tons and Witchcraft.

Director Rob Mance said, "The CBC recording was mailed off earlier this week. I thought it turned out quite nicely! Doing live cuts is so challenging... but I think we pulled it off very well.

"I will bring the laptop on Monday night so that I can burn a CD for whoever wants. Included will be the 4 live cuts from this year's CBC submission and the four live cuts from the CBC submission of two years ago.

"As you will hear, Sixteen Tons turned out really nice! And, the other three had their moments as well. With live takes, it is always a compromise between the best chorus or the best tag or the best introduction. As you will also hear, Church of St. Augustine is a lot more 'direct' and 'less forgiving' than Northlea United Church that we used two years ago, that seemed a little more warm.

"Well, we'll see what the CBC does with us. As previously mentioned, they got rid of the category we were in last time. Hopefully they find some spot for us J Also, I made a mistake about the previous contest. There were actually 4 different levels of competition: Regional, quarterfinals, semi-finals and National Finals. Believe it or not, we actually made it all the way to the semi-finals with 4 other choirs. Pretty cool, eh? However, if they do put us in the men's equal voice category this year, I suspect that the competition will be pretty fierce. So, we'll see what happens.

"If you do want a copy of the CD with the 8 tracks on it, just bring your 2 dollars Monday night (what a deal J )

Show time is coming.

It's Show Time! Have you sold any ads yet? How about tickets? Have you thought about people you would like to invite to see you do "that thing you do on Monday nights?"

If we start now, we should be able to sell out the Salle Pierre Mercure, and have a great program.

Sign up for Singing Valentines.

One of the best activities we carry out is the Singing Valentines. It is an opportunity to share our hobby with people celebrating their love, and at the same time making some money for the Chapter.

Now is the time to sell a few Singing Valentines. At $50 they are priced right.

The Ten Vocal Commandments

I. THOU SHALT keep the vocal cords moist at all times:

II. THOU SHALT get at least 8 hours of sleep a night.

III. THOU SHALT not smoke.

IV. THOU SHALT not overuse or mistreat the voice.

V. THOU SHALT protect yourself from stress and nerve attacks prior to performances.

VI. THOU SHALT NOT eat or drink milk products before performing.

VII. THOU SHALT keep thyself healthy and virus free.

VIII. THOU SHALT never sing without properly warming up.

IX. THOU SHALT SMILE.

X. THOU SHALT enjoy life and celebrate every accomplishment no matter how small they may seem.

(Details will be provided in up coming issues.)

Here is our current repertoire list: [mp3] means that the mp3 file is on the Members Only web site

Overture

Witchcraft

Hello Mary Lou

You'll Never Walk Alone

Que reste-t-il ?

If I Had My Way Dear

Sixteen Tons

O Canada

Steppin Out

The Star Spangled Banner

Orange Coloured Sky

If I Loved You [mp3]

Roses Of Picardy

It Had To Be You [To be learned]

Old Black Magic

Before The Parade Passes By [To be learned] [mp3]

Hello [mp3]

Chances Are [To be learned] [mp3]

Summertime

Give My Regards To Broadway. [Learning]


Luck Be A Lady Tonight [To be learned]

Schedule for

February 9, 2004

7:30 – 7:50 Warm-ups

7:50 – 8:15 Repertoire:

8:15 – 8:35 Sectional: Chances Are

8:35 – 8:55 Chances Are

8:55 – 9:10 Summertime

9:10 – 9:25 Business & Break

9:25 – 9:35 Quartetting

9:35 – 9:55 If I Loved You

9:55 – 10:10 Choreo: Sixteen Tons

10:10 – 10:25 Before the Parade Passes By

10:25 – 10:30 B-Bye

 

February 16, 2004

7:30 – 7:50 Warm-ups

7:50 – 8:15 Repertoire:

8:15 – 8:35 Sectional: Give My Regards to Broadway

8:35 – 8:55 Give my Regards

8:55 – 9:10 Choreo: Witchcraft

9:10 – 9:25 B&B

9:25 – 9:35 Quartetting

9:35 – 9:55 Before the Parade Passes By

9:55 – 10:10 Tag du jour

10:10 – 10:25 Steppin’ Out

10:25 – 10:30 B-Bye


Practice is something we do at home, every day, between rehearsals!

Rehearsal is where we reinforce what we have been practising every day!


Alan Mackenzie, President

Murray Phillips, Editor
(514) 626-1781