Dear Singers:
A belated wish for a happy & healthy new year! January seemed to pass by in a fog for me, but I hope you all have had a restful January after all your holiday celebrations!
Happy 40th Anniversary!! Sometime back in 1983, F. Allen Artz first assembled singers for a community Christmas concert! Phyllis Gruber was one of the original members…were any of you there too at the beginning? This is a rather long newsletter (I making up for missing January!), so maybe you want to grab a cuppa while digesting all of this!
--Lynda
|
|
- Rehearsals resume, Monday, March 13, (just after Daylight Savings kicks in!) 7 pm @ Faith Presbyterian. Bring the music we planned to sing in the spring of 2020 (if you still have it); however, if you turned in your music, we will return it to you , plus have additional copies for new members
- Spring concert is June 11, 3 pm, with dress rehearsal on June 9, 7 pm, both at Faith Presbyterian
- Please let us know by February 20 whether you will be joining us this spring? Click here or on the button at the end of this email.
- PS: have you recruited any new members?
|
|
We had an excellent response to our Christmas concert, despite the weather! Yet, after all those rehearsals, we share our voices only once with the community. Let’s see if we can find some additional opportunities this spring to sing for the community (Your neighborhood? Your club? Your church?).
I’m going to ask my neighborhood social committee about this. Please let Janet or me know what you discover so that we can determine if the venue is appropriate, discuss dates, etc.
And speaking of the Christmas concert crowd…I asked our greeters/ushers to try to gather data on our concert attendees – basically, how did they hear about the concert? Turns out, although probably no surprise, that most were related to you, our readers, or heard through word of mouth.
But, who contacted Phoebe Terrace & delivered a poster? Be recognized for that special effort!! They brought a mini-van of 10 people to the concert!
In the leadup to our concerts, we spend hours preparing & distributing posters, press releases, church bulletin & newsletter inserts. In this digital and social networked age, that may no longer be the most effective way to reach the wider community we want to invite to our concerts. Suggestions & volunteers for the marketing/publicity team?
We did publicize the concert thru the Emmaus Garden Club newsletter & will have a presentation at one of their spring meetings. Are there other local organizations we should contact? Rotary? Soroptimist? Do you listen to the Public Service Announcements (PSAs) on the radio stations? Which radio stations?
|
|
We still need to have a Treasurer to assist with tracking dues payment and concert-related income and expenses. Personally and professionally, I certainly am not in favor of having only one person in the organization responsible for this (currently that’s ME!). It opens too many opportunities for simple math errors, inaccurate records, not to mention liability and fraud. Surely, one of you has more financial acumen than I; you also can volunteer a spouse/partner or friend!
As Janet mentioned in her post-concert letter, Louise, Nancy, Suzanne & I (aka The Leadership Team) have done the bulk of the ‘heavy lifting’ throughout the Covid pause and in 2022. We do need additional ‘internal’ help (see above re: Treasurer), and perhaps even an Advisory Board composed of friends, spouses/partners could be beneficial in ‘growing’ the organization.
Nancy, Suzanne and I will be stepping down from the Leadership Team after our Spring Concert; Louise generously has offered to continue managing the web-, email, FaceBook, until the transition is complete.
Apparently, the Emmaus Chorale has never elected officers or leadership, but we need to start this Spring. Your thoughts? Ideas? Nominees and candidates? [Feel free to self-nominate or volunteer!!]
|
|
Several of you commented that even though you attended all Chorale rehearsals last fall (or even for several years!), you still only know the singers who sit on either side of you, and now – at least -- you also know the names of those in the quartets or who had solo parts in the Christmas concert! And I’ll admit I still don’t connect everyone’s name with their face!! So, a couple of thoughts:
- Anna Mary has offered to bring name tags for each of us. They are ‘extras’ from another choir she’s in.
- How do you get to know the people in your neighborhood, in your other singing groups?
- Pre-Covid, we had started to have ‘punch & cookies’ during the break at the first rehearsal of each month. Chorale supplies the paper products, but then one or two volunteers each month would bring beverage & snacks. Is this something you’d like to see Chorale revive? Any volunteers?
|
|
It is in Music, perhaps, that the soul most nearly attains the great end for which, when inspired by the Poetic Sentiment, it struggles – the creation of supernal Beauty… here is the sublime end…We are often made to feel, with a shivering delight, that from an earthly harp are stricken notes which cannot have been unfamiliar to the angels. -- Edgar Allan Poe
Why We Sing
A sound of hope…a sound of peace…a sound that celebrates and speaks what we believe.
A sound of love...a sound so strong. It’s amazing what is given when we share a song.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, why we stand as one in harmony.
This is why we sing, why we life our voice. Take my hand and sing with me.
Soothe a soul…mend a heart…bring together lives that have been torn apart.
Share the joy…find a friend…It’s a never-ending gift that circles back again.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, why we stand as one in harmony.
This is why we sing, why we life our voice. Take my hand and sing with me.
Music builds a bridge...it can tear down a wall…Music is the language that can speak to one and all.
This is why we sing, why we lift our voice, why we stand as one in harmony.
This is why we sing, why we life our voice. Take my hand and sing with me.
This is why WE sing!
Greg Gilpin
|
|
|
|
|
