my first performance in thirty years

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: keberoxu
Date: 01 Jun 25 - 07:49 PM

Stilly, there will be a YouTube video, but it will have to be waited for patiently.
The conductor says it will be ready in five to six weeks' time.
They use multiple cameras and it will take some editing,
and the person doing the editing has got a day job which affords him little time.

We just had the performance today,
and I am a funny combination of tired and keyed up.
At least I just had a nice supper out with a friend who showed up to give moral support, and enjoyed the concert.
So I'm not hungry anymore, that's something.

It looked like we had a good turnout of people,
and the applause was warm and hearty, so I think they liked it.
This was not an easy piece to pull off,
and several of us made mistakes with entrances at different times.
We were comparing notes afterwards about coming in at the wrong times.
But it is beautiful music and rarely heard,
so we were privileged to participate in such a performance.

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: Helen
Date: 02 Jun 25 - 04:33 AM

Congratulations keberoxu! A great result built on creativity, musical capability, and working together with like-minded people. A win for all of you!

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 05 Jun 25 - 06:05 PM

Not to brag, but
all week long people have been coming up to me to say
how much they enjoyed the concert, which feels really good.

The chorus is now off for the summer, to resume in September.
Meanwhile we need a new place to rehearse every week.
For many years, the chorus would rehearse in the same church building.
But the church has come upon such hard times that
the building is all but falling down around our ears.
So we have had our last rehearsal there, after all this time.

The most likely place for us to resume rehearsals is
a rehearsal studio with a theater company one town over.
The theater company is in reasonable health and they take care of their property.
So hopefully we can resume there in September.
The chorus board looked around at other churches,
but nothing worked out.

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: JennieG
Date: 06 Jun 25 - 02:48 AM

That's wonderful, keberoxu....positive feedback is very heartwarming!

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: GUEST,keberoxu
Date: 12 Jun 25 - 07:50 PM

The chorus director says it may be August by the time the video of the performance comes out,
as a lot of editing is required, both visual and audible.
The director was complaining to me that
the mikes in some places picked up
the worst singers in their respective sections,
instead of the better singers in their sections.
It was funny to witness the director imitating the awful noises
that some of the choristers were making.
I know what he means because one of those choristers was directly behind me!
He was bawling in my ear from beginning to end.
Ah, the pleasures of an amateur community chorus.
But maybe my singing bothers someone else just as much, who knows?

I know that my second soprano section includes a singer whom I think of as "the mosquito,"
because her voice whines just like the pesky insect.
There are enough singers in each section who have a decent vocal quality
to support and somewhat mask the inadequate voices.
We are fortunate to have the balance in voices that produces a good overall sound.
And we have a director who is not only a good musician
but has a special gift for finding the best in people and getting along well with everybody,
which I think is somewhat rare.
I hate to think what would happen when the chorus loses the director,
and he is getting old enough to think about retiring one day.

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: keberoxu
Date: 11 Dec 25 - 07:02 PM

Update:
our new rehearsal space is a studio within a theatrical complex;
the studio has a decent piano so it works for the chorus.
We've been rehearsing there since September.

Tomorrow night we have our first holiday concert,
largely a cappella works with a few carols thrown in (keyboard for those).
It will be held in a large Catholic church with great acoustics.
Word has it that someone will videotape this concert
and it will be available online at some point next year.

Our repertoire includes the famous Randall Thompson "Alleluia"
which is closely associated with the Tanglewood festival in the summer.

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: Stilly River Sage
Date: 11 Dec 25 - 07:37 PM

Good news! Please share a link when they finish processing it. (You keep those cards close to the vest - all of this rehearsing and not a peep about it!)

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: keberoxu
Date: 13 Dec 25 - 07:22 PM

One concert down, two to go, for my choral group.
The weather is cold, but fair, so I hope it stays that way until we are done performing for the season.
We had a good turn-out of audience and a warm reception.
Even though there were a few flubbed moments in the performance...

Subject: RE: my first performance in thirty years
From: Sandra in Sydney
Date: 14 Dec 25 - 05:06 AM

congratulations to you & your fellow choristers