HAVE YOU HEARD?!?!

Recordings are being mailed--possibly you received yours??

Ladies, my colleague called tonight to say she received her Honors Choir Recordings!! Snowy weather send many of my colleagues home early from the conference, so they're hearing you for the first time by recording. One colleague was backstage when they were mixing the DVD video. He wanted to assure that I ordered my DVD, saying it was very artistically mixed.

I hurried home from our festival concert to find mine had not yet arrived. (sigh) Aren't all of you just on the edge of your seats in anticipation of listening to your performances?!?!!? We've all heard snippets on Youtube, but I'm so excited to hear the professional CD & DVD recordings!! I think listening to your wonderful voices may possibly move me to tears! It will be lovely for me to listen without having to worry about the music! I had such a wondereful time making music with you gals! I hope your musical memories of 2008 SSAA are as precious as mine!! Once again, I reiterate my gratitude to you for taking your choral art so seriously and for your outstanding level of preparation! If your director helped you with preparation, be sure to let him/her know how much appreciate him/her care in supporting your success!! :If you prepared yourselves, you're absolutely amazing!! o)

We're still in festival flurry this week, as we're hosting the MS Choral festival at our school on Friday and Saturday. Once this event is in place, I'll begin uploading photos. If you have any photos to share with the others, feel free to send them my way and I'll post them on your page! BTW, I'm judging State Solo and Ensemble Festival at Roscommon HS in April! If you'll be singing there, be sure to stop in and say "hi!" "Happy St. Patrick's Day!!"

"Kyrie"

Section A is somber and a bit dark. Section B must be light and fluid. Place the tone forward and try practicing those melismas in a round ee (German Umlaut) bringing tone to a forward position. To clarify, the German umlaut requires us to shape oo and sing e. Thus, the tone is placed in the mask, utilizing your face as your sounding board while releasing tension in the throat and base of the tongue.

"A Child Said"

Long beautiful phrases and sustained notes

Be sure to practice your staggered breathing technique before you arrive! Otherwise, these long phrases could see you gasping for air! The tempo of this piece is slow, so you'll be utilizing staggering as you sustain through multiple 5/4 and 6/4 measures under the haunting oboe solo line. My colleague, Ms. Kempken will be playing for us! This text is so lovely I may ask one of you to recite the poetry before we perform the piece. If interested you may want to practice expressive enunciation.

"Ave Maria"

Lush expanding phrases

Dolce - sweetly. Start each phrase pp and expand to dramatize each phrase. Tip of the tongue should be forward in Latin for dental "d's," "t's," "n's," etc. These are long phrases. After "Maria" in m. 3, articulate a light lift for a partial breath to carry you through to the end of the phrase. Altos do the same in m. 9. Sops in m. 22 Daw - mi-nus -- a burst of color. Altos in m.23 - echo sopranos in your own range. Alto I's listen to SOP II's on the page turn (5 to 6) to hear your entrance in m. 49. At m.53, let those sustained lines float beautifully up in the dome! Top of p.7, dramatic crescendo on "Sanc-ta Maria." Sop II and Alto I's phrase on the 3rd beat to prepare for your entrances in m. 92. Soprano I's must float ever so softly above the melody sung by lower voices. If necessary, I may reduce this to a small group until the entrance at m.95.

"Sunrise"

Hauntingly etherial and unrushed ...

This piece does NOT want to be rushed. Prepare for lots of rubato and a broad range of dynamics. To sing softly, try whimpering the tone. This concept allows the bigger voice to lift the tonie high and forward, releasing tension in the throat. When you hear the recording, following the 2nd solo entrance, you'll hear a tendency to rush and hopefully you'll want to make it even more beautiful! This young composer plans to visit our Saturday rehearsal to meet you!!

"Punching the Dough"

Rhythmic challenges

The key to success is simply by counting the eighth note. Mixed meters may seem more difficult than they truly are and we'll have a great time with this piece! Where you have triplets followed by two doted eighth notes, it may help to think of the dotted eighth notes as a triplet divided in half. When singing parts separately, entrances may seem obscure, but when parts are put together, everything gels beautifully. Be prepared for lots of facial expression and upper body movement to help your audience have fun with you!! I've had some visuals about how we can better portray the belligerence of this pioneer woman through stance or a few simple gestures; however, we wouldn't have enough time for full-blown choreography. Put on your thinking caps for some minimal movement. We'll talk! Much is based upon how well you're prepared when we come together!!

Bring your pencils!

Be sure to pop one or two in your folder before you arrive! In songs like "Mornings Innocent," I will do a good deal of expressive interpretation, etc. Be prepared to move swiftly away from the unexpressive digital CD recording when we come together!!

Rule of Thumb for Divisi

Voices with last names ending in A-L will take upper notes; and voices with last namese ending M-Z should plan to take lower notes.

Solo Opportunities

Come well-prepared for SOLO auditions!

I will be listening for clean diction, well-supported clarity and easy freedom in your tone.

"Mornings Innocent" - If I decide to utilize a soloist in the opening phrase, I will be seeking a mature tone with excellent syllabic stress and beautiful expression. The solo trio will require tonal balance, confident entrances and clean diction.
"A Child Said" - Possible solo in the opening phrase. Will be seeking smooth and fluid freedom in the tone. Director's decision will be made at rehearsals.
"Sunrise" - The soloist(s) must provide a hauntingly beautiful tone with a narrow vibrato.

International Phonetic Alphabet

Prepare Yourself Early

A printable IPA Chart is posted below on this page. Take some time to review and understand the lower chart translation table before you arrive. For some this may be review and for many it's altogether new material. I'm confident that our use of IPA will surprise you and become your friend!! A corrected chart has been posted to the website. Please confirm the correctness of yours! Does i = see and e = say rather than the reverse? If so, you have the corrected copy!!

SSAA Performance Uniform

Long Black Concert Formal w/ pastel scarf

While I prefer long skirts or dress pants, T-length (below calf) will work fine. Options are as follows:

Long or T-length black gown/dress with short, 3/4, or long sleeves OR
Long or T-length (below calf) black skirt OR
Long black Palazzos OR
Long black dress pants (no crop pants)

Conservative loose-fitting black knit top without buttons, with short or 3/4 to long sleeves--please, no sleeveless & no bare midriffs.

Please accessorize with:

Long and narrow silk scarf (choose pastel blue, aqua, or lavendar)
Scarves should be plain (no prints or fuzzy winter scarves)
Small jewelry (optional)
Black nylons (be sure to bring a spare)
Black comfortable flats, low heels, or character shoes

We will determine how the scarves are to be worn when we come together. You'll look just great!

2007 MSVMA Region A SATB Honors Choir

Region A singers performed fabulously at Roscommon High School!! Special thanks to Ms. Georgia Fisher for her hard work and diligence toward making this a successful and efficiently run event! Thanks also go to Mr. Doug Armstead and to the Roscommon HS Administration for hosting this oustanding event! Your facility was perfect for us in every way! We thank you for your hospitality!

The Region A singers, their parents and their teachers, thank you for your fine preparation and for making the trek to Roscommon HS. A heartfelt thank you to the singers for your flexibility in working with me throughout our rehearsals and performance. You were just awesome! You made this a very special day for me and your fine performance gives me excellent anticipation of working with many of you again in Grand Rapids!! Some of you made it into a State Honors Choir--a hearty congratulations to you. To those who did not, you have my best wishes for successful singing throughout the coming months! I certainly hope you'll give Regionals another go next year!

2008 MSVMA State SSAA Honors Choir

DeVos Auditorium, Here we come!!

Essential Honors Choir Materials

Letter To Directors

IPA Chart for H/C rehearsals-

Please note that the basic IPA chart provided has been corrected from that which was distributed at MSVMA Siummer Workshop in East Lansing. The trapezoid-shaped chart represents the tongue. Placement of the vowels on the trapezoid show us where (in relation to the tongue) the vowel resonanates. As you pronounce each vowel (utilize the lower chart to determine how each symbol sounds in our language) and take note of the minute changes in tongue position from vowel to vowel.

I understand there may be apprehension or panic about using IPA, but I certainly don't expect you to memorize the chart. If you will merely spend time with it now and again throughout the next few weeks, you'll find my modifications quite fix trouble spots very easily and we'll hear an immediate improvement in intonation and vocal technique. Do NOT fear! My goal as a voice teacher and choral conductor is in better facilitating a healthier free and resonant tone--especially important when you will be singing for long periods of time in rehearsals. Often where one feels the tone resonance pull back into the throat near the passaggio, or when a note is too low to produce much more than air, a simple vowel modification can easily make the correction based upon the voice type, the syllable your singing, and where the pitch sits in your vocal range. Hopefully use of IPA will provide a whole new world of resonance as it has for my own performances!! Feel free to communicate with me further if you have questions or concerns.

Additional Honors Choir rehearsal notes to come.

Please note that when you were provided your State SSAA Honors Choir folders, "Sunrise" was not included as I thought it would be. There is a directive on the MSVMA Honors Choir Concert Program list indicating that music should be acquired from me. We can handle this one of two ways. The easiest way of making this transaction will be for directors to email me at karen@karennevins.com. From home I can attach the pdf file in a response email. Due to copyrights, however, we have permission to print only the number of copies which will be required for your State SSAA Honors Choir singers. Please adhere to this request by the composer. Anyone wishing to produce more copies can acquire the composers contact information from me. I will be happy to provide it, allowing you to make your own arrangements for reproduction. Thank you, in advance, for keeping to these copyright restrictions. Karen Nevins

The above PDF Director's Letter has also included a note regarding login passwords for my singers. My son-in-law and website designer/manager is facilitating the addition of mp3 samples of my concert program. Due to the recent birth of my latest grandchild, my son-in-law and new daddy has not yet completed recording uploads. The password process has been slightly delayed but will be forthcoming. Please be patient as we get this done. Also, please note the following: These recorded samplings should merely provide examples of the literature and should NOT replace rehearsal Choral Tech CDs utilized in learning your parts. Thank you for your patience.

Regards,
Karen Nevins, Director
2008 SSAA State Honors Choir