Greetings
from the President, JoAn
Segal
I am writing this message on Mozart’s 250th birthday—a
momentous musical occasion. A few
of us had the precious opportunity last June to visit Salzburg, Mozart’s birth
city (which he grew to hate as too provincial and limiting) as well as Vienna,
which he adopted heartily and where he lived the last ten or so years of his
life. The spirit of the composer
was strong everywhere we went and construction for the events of this birthday
year actually impeded our views, especially in Salzburg, which, despite all, now
seems to love the son who rejected it!
Our May 6th concert, though not the one originally
planned, gives us a wonderful opportunity to pay homage to a composer who – in a
life spanning only 35 years – gave us over 600 pieces of music, many of which we
have sung together. The Solemn Vespers work is one not many of
us have sung. I am hearing many
Chorale singers comment on how beautiful the work is and how unfamiliar much of
it is to them. It is a delight to “discover” this work as
singers!
The 40 years of the Boulder Chorale pales in comparison
with 250 years of Mozart, I know.
But I’m happy we can join in the celebration of Mozart as well as of our
own anniversary with our spring concert.
Greetings
from the Artistic Director,
Tim
Snyder
“My spirit sang all day, O my joy. Nothing my tongue could say, only My
Joy!”
Gerald Finzi’s setting of
these words by Robert Bridges is famous for good reason—the music pays homage to
every nuance of syllable and stress in a perfect and lovely way. It’s a mini-masterpiece.
I am so enjoying our rehearsals this year, and I want to
thank you for your attention, sense of humor and discipline in our work
together. More of you are taking
advantage of the resources on the website in preparing for rehearsals, and I can
hear and see the results. A
detailed rehearsal plan for the following week is usually online by Friday. The midi sound files are a great way to
study on your own. I’d like
to encourage more of you to make use of these two, easy ways to prepare
yourselves in advance.
“And I replied, O see, O my
joy, ‘tis thee, I cried, ‘tis thee:
Thou art my joy.”
It could be Finzi had a
special attachment to the poem—his wife’s name was Joyce! I definitely have a sentimental
attachment to the piece. It was the
first piece I programmed for our first concert together in 2001. I think of it as
our theme song of sorts. Tuesday
nights are among my favorite Joys, and, I hope for you, too.
Using Chorale MIDI
Files
A Step-By-Step Primer
by Esri Allbritten
How do most of us learn a piece of music? By hearing it over and over again. That’s why the MIDI files
on the Chorale web site are so useful. Here’s how to use them. (These
instructions are for PC users. I don’t know if they’ll work for the Mac
crowd.)
First of all, MIDI files are small. It doesn’t take a
lot of time to download them, even if you have a dial-up connection. So save the
files to your computer. That way, if your online service or the site goes down
temporarily, you’ll still be able to listen to the piece.
Our starting point is http://www.boulderchorale.org.
On the menu to the left, click on Member Notices. On the new page, at the bottom center, click on Link to MIDI sound
files for home practice. Now find the piece you’re interested in. Text
that is colored blue is a link, and can be clicked on. If you want your part to
be loudest, click on the name of your part. If you want to hear all the parts
weighted the same, click on the name of the piece. If you don’t see all these
options at first, click on whatever blue text is available. Eventually you’ll
get there.
As an example, let’s say you click on the Soprano I part
for Make Our Garden Grow. Windows
Media Player will open in a separate window and the piece will start to play. Go
to the top left corner and click on File. Now click on Save As. Click on the My
Documents picture of a file folder, to the left. Now, in the main section to the
right, find My Music and double-click on it. Click the Save button. The file is
now saved as garden-Sop1, and you don’t have to go online to play it. You just
pull up Windows Media Player in your programs list, hit File, Open, go to My
Documents, My Music, and double click on the file name. The piece will start to
play.
Let’s say that you want to change the speed of the
piece. Find the Now Playing tab. It’s on the left, the fourth line of text down
from the top. Click on it, then go back up two lines and click on View. Scroll
down the menu that pops up and put your mouse on Enhancements. A
menu will pop up on the side. Click Show Enhancements. Now
click View again, put your mouse on Enhancements, and this time, go below Show
Enhancements, which now has a check on it, and click Play Speed Settings. A
slider bar will appear at the bottom of the page. You can move the pointer in
the middle of the bar to the left, for slower, or to the right, for faster. If
the pointer doesn’t show up immediately, click on the bar at the 1.0 marking. It
will appear.
(continued on page four)
page
one
Fundraising
Corner
A Summary of
Fundraising Events and Information About Future
Activities for the Boulder Chorale
from
Stephanie Wanek, Fundraising & Development
Chair Questions? Comments? Please email me!
smwanek@yahoo.com
CABARET
REPORT:
We are
very pleased to say that the Cabaret evening ‘A Perfect Fit’ on Jan.
14th was not only a great deal
of fun,
but it raised important fundraising dollars for the Chorale. Thanks again to Kim for donating
her time, voice, cleavage and energy to
produce this event! And, thanks to Caitlin for her terrific job
as
accompanist. Overall, we made $395 in beverage
sales at the reception and will net another $1,700 from
tickets sales. Thanks to you all for coming
and to all the volunteers for your kind support and hard work!!
ANNIVERSARY
ANNUAL FUND UPDATE:
We’ve made
some tremendous headway in our annual giving campaign this past year. To date,
the 2005-06 Boulder Chorale Anniversary Annual Fund has
received over $ 4,500 in donations!
In the month of December alone, we received 33 donations totaling $3,225.
Unbelievably, 22 of these were from Chorale members. I’d personally like to offer a
tremendous ‘Thank You’ to each and every one of you who contributed financially
or who support the Chorale in so many other ways. Thanks from Stephanie Wanek, Fundraising Chair, and the entire Chorale Board.
The Boulder Chorale continues to thrive
as an organization thanks to its supporters. These funds are vital to meet the
demands of our operations. But the most important thing for our organization is
to generate revenue from the community outside the membership. As ambassadors of the Chorale your role
cannot be understated. Your ability to reach out is very important. The Annual
Fund campaign runs through our ’05-’06 and we still actively solicit and welcome
contributions through May. Please see Stephanie Wanek
or any Chorale Board member with any contacts or potential donor
information.
VOLUNTEER
OPPORTUNITIES:
Over the
next several weeks, there will be many mailings going out both for concerts and
fundraising. We’ll
need help from volunteers willing to fold, stuff envelopes, address, stamp
and perform
other administrative tasks. Please keep an eye on Tuesday announcements
for
Volunteer Days when your help will be needed. We’d appreciate if you can come a
bit
early to
rehearsal and pitch in!!
GALA
UNDERWRITERS:
The St
Julien Hotel, Daily Camera and Colt Reproductions are
already sponsoring our 40th anniversary events and we’re trying to
gather more donors. Do you know a business, bank, lawfirm, insurance company, real estate broker or other
local company willing to underwrite or sponsor a portion of our 40th
Anniversary Gala or who may wish to buy a guest table for $500? Many local
companies do this regularly and we’d love to tap into this resource to
underwrite our expenses and maximize our revenue. Please let Stephanie Wanek know at rehearsal or by email: smwanek@yahoo.com.
FUNDRAISING
ASSISTANTS:
The job
of development and fundraising has been growing as the Chorale continues to
expand its outreach into the community and meet the demands of our budget. It’s
a terrific thing to say the Chorale is blossoming and getting stronger every
year, but along with that comes the increasing need to
use a larger number of tools for success; marketing, development and fundraising
are critical. Please give some thought to joining the Fundraising arm of the
Chorale next Fall and work on the ongoing projects such as the Annual Fund,
Corporate and Individual Donations, Grants, Membership Events or Angel Tickets.
There are plenty of opportunities to explore! Please see Stephanie Wanek, Elsbeth Pryer Diehl, or JoAn Segal and
indicate your interest.
It’s
all about
Celebrating 40 years
THE BOULDER
CHORALE GALA
SUNDAY,
APRIL 30th AT THE ST. JULIEN HOTEL.
Jazz
Reception, Cocktails, Gourmet Dinner, Anniversary Champagne Toast to the
Chorale, Entertainment by The Dave Fulker Quartet and
performances by our membership. Tickets are $40 per person and invitations
designed by the fabulous Julie Hale will be available in March.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THIS EVENT:
Community
Birthday Card.
This is a unique
project
of community good will;
part
outreach, part advertising, part fundraising and part
celebration.
We will be inviting the whole
community to help commemorate our 40th anniversary
by adding a salutation on the
Community Birthday Card to the Boulder Chorale.
Folks can forward the text of their
message in a variety of ways. All the
individual
messages
received will be arranged to create a huge accordion of poster board panels
covered in messages to the Chorale! The more greetings, the larger the birthday
card grows! This card will be a colorful and
creative celebration and a great way for our town to recognize the Boulder
Chorale’s 40 years in the arts! The
Community Birthday Card will be unveiled on April 30th at the St
Julien Hotel during a benefit dinner. The card
will also be on display at Macky Auditorium on May
6th for the concert marking the Chorale’s 40th
anniversary.
Please, think about businesses, restaurants, friends, artists, community leaders
or other arts/music organizations who may send along a
message. We’re asking for a suggested $40 contribution for each message posted
($40 for 40 years!). Thanks to
Bonnie Mettler, alto extraordinaire, for her graphic
help on this project. Information
about how to send a birthday message will be coming soon but think about whose
name you can add. NOTE: The Gala event will be pure celebration and the
only source of fundraising revenue is ticket sales which help with expenses.
There will be no raffle or silent auction. The Birthday Card is designed as a
creative way to increase awareness but more importantly raise much needed funds
for the Chorale. We’re hoping for 100 messages from community members and we’ll
need your help to get us there!!
Gala Tickets & Incentive
Program for all Chorale Members.
Tickets to the anniversary benefit will be $40 per person. This is a very
reasonable price for any fundraiser these days. But we’re excited to offer the
opportunity for those of you who are industrious and interested in earning a
free ticket (or 2!). Simply get 3 businesses or individuals to place a message
on the Community Birthday Card (with the suggested $40 contribution). Solicit 6,
and you got yourself a pair of tickets to the gala!
Limited
Ruby Packages. We will have a small number of these
special Ruby Packages available
(see the gala RSVP card to reply). Ruby is the gem of the
40th anniversary and this special $150
package will
include admission to the benefit evening on April 30th and a center
section ticket to
the
Anniversary concert on May 6th at Macky
Auditorium. In addition to those benefits, the package
includes a
tax-deductible donation to the Chorale.
Jazz
Performances by Chorale Members.
The Dave
Fulker Quintet has donated some of the jazz music for
this event. After dinner, the quintet suggested that they alternate between
musical numbers performed alone and songs performed with various Chorale
members!! If you are interested in
performing a cabaret number with the quintet, please sign up as a candidate by
Tuesday, February 14th. You will need to identify the song you’d like to
perform and the key it’s in. The final selection of participants (approx 8-10)
will follow auditions held at Atonement on Saturday, March 11th
between 10am-noon. A sign-up sheet with time slots will
be available during future rehearsals. If you’re interested or have questions,
please see Gala Planning Committee member Laura Meyers during rehearsals or by
email: laurameyers@hotmail.com.
Gala
Planning Committee. Have a question or want to pass on some
feedback? Please meet the
members of the
Gala Team who are the heroines organizing this event for you: Inge Moorby,
Risa
Booze,
Jeannette Hillery, Laura Meyer, Steph Wanek, Mary Lou Kizer, DeDe Beardsley
and Sharon
Soderlund.
Using Chorale MIDI
Files (continued from page one)
Another neat trick is to choose Repeat, so the song
plays over and over until you tell it to stop. This way, you can listen to your
part while you’re cleaning house or filing (bring headphones to work!). You
don’t even have to pay attention. It will sink in, believe me. To get the song
to repeat, go to the fifth line of text from the top, on the right, and click on
Now Playing List. On the menu that pops up, click Repeat. The song, once
started, will play over and over. To stop it, click on Now Playing List and
click Repeat again. It’s a toggle. If it has a check
next to it, it’s repeating. If it doesn’t, it plays once and stops. And by the
way, the stop and start buttons are at the very bottom of the screen, and look
just like they do on a tape or CD player. Hold your cursor over the buttons if
you’re not sure, and a little text box will come up telling you what the button
does.
Also, you’ll notice that while the piece is playing, a
little pointer moves along a bar that runs across the bottom of the screen. You
can move this pointer. If there’s a particularly tricky section you want to hear
over and over, pay attention to where the pointer is when that part starts. Put
your cursor on the bar at that point and click. The piece will start up again
right there. Keep your cursor at that spot and click it as many times as you
want. Change the speed to slow, find the part again, and play it over and over
slowly. This is extremely helpful for learning fast, tricky parts.
Boulder Dinner
Theatre
Organized by Joanie Oram
'Shall We Dance?' I asked as I was 'Getting to Know
You'. Yes, these are just two of
the beautiful songs which will transport us to the rich splendors of the Far
East. A romantic score and
exquisite dancing form an enchanting blend of drama and music. So 'Whistle A
Happy Tune' as you join the group on Sunday, March 19th, 2006 at 6:15 at the
Boulder Dinner Theatre for 'The King and I'. Tickets to this wonderful show are
$42 for center seats and $37.75 for seats a little to the side. Checks should be
made payable to: Boulder Dinner Theatre.
Esri Albritten, Alto,
will take your reservations and checks during the breaks in rehearsals for the
next few weeks!
Mozart Solo Auditions for Alto, Tenor and Bass will be held Saturday, Feb. 25 beginning at 10:00 am at Atonement Lutheran Church.
Contact Tim Snyder at timothy.snyder@colorado.edu to schedule your 10-minute audition. All auditionees should come prepared to sing the following excerpts:
CONFITEBOR, mm. 35-57
MAGNIFICAT, mm. 75-81
Come
Sing the Mozart Vespers with the Arvada Center
Chorale
On
Friday, June 9th, 2006, the Arvada Center Chorale will present the Mozart
Vespers with orchestra. To
join the group, the qualifications are:
- Must
be currently singing with a choir.
The normal audition requirement is being waived for this concert as we
reach out to area singers.
- Rehearsals
are on Monday evenings 7:00-9:30 p.m. starting March 20th. 80% rehearsal attendance and a $40.00
choral dues fee are required to sing in the concert. Black concert dress is
required.
- The
concert will be held in the outdoor amphitheatre at the Arvada Center on June
9th.
- Pre-registration
requested by Monday, March 13, 2006.
Please fill out a registration form and include $40.00 check made
payable to “The Arvada Center”
- For
more information, please call David Burrows, the Chorale Manager, at
720-898-7295, or email: heartflute@yahoo.com
Copies
of the registration form are available in the Boulder Chorale office. Please stop by if you are
interested.
Calendar
of Events
Tuesday
Rehearsals—
Women’s Chorale 6:00-6:50 p.m.
Chamber Chorale 6:30-8:15
p.m.
Large group 7:00-9:30 p.m.
Atonement Lutheran Church
Thursday,
February 9—Board of Directors
Meeting
7:00 p.m.
Atonement Lutheran Church
Please let JoAn know if you
plan to attend.
Friday,
February 24—Deadline for Newsletter
contents
Please submit information either by dropping off at
the Chorale office or by emailing:
boulderchorale@yahoo.com
Saturday,
March 4—Chamber Chorale
Concert
Dress Rehearsal:
1:00-5:00 p.m.
Concert Call:
7:00 p.m.
Sacred Heart of Jesus (1318 Mapleton Avenue,
Boulder)
Sunday,
March 5—Chamber Chorale
Concert
Concert Call:
2:00 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Church (301
East Stuart St., Ft. Collins)
Boulder
Chorale
685 Inca Parkway
Boulder, CO 80303
303-554-7692
www.boulderchorale.org
boulderchorale@yahoo.com
page four
February 2006 
