Thanks for the Memories

 Here is a letter I recently wrote to my singers in appreciation for all they do.  I would imagine the sentiments I feel would be mirrored by many conductors across the country.  Singers, thank you for what who contribute to so many people in so many ways.

Dear MOS Friends,

First, I want to thank you for a most remarkable concert this past Friday evening.  When you receive a standing ovation in the middle of the concert you figure you must be doing something right!  I appreciate, more than you know, all the hard work you put into this concert, especially during the week of the performance (three rehearsals plus a performance is quite a commitment).  You sang beautifully and I am very proud of you.  Next, I want to express my appreciation for the entire year of rehearsals and performances.  Agreeing to be a member of MOS carries with it an acceptance to make many personal sacrifices in order to fulfill what is certainly a demanding schedule.  I am very grateful to all of you who have honored that commitment and helped make this one of our finest seasons of music making. 

Now we look forward to a new season and to all the possibilities of beauty it will include.   Many of you have already gone through the reaudition process (and lived through it) and I’ll be seeing many more of you in the next few weeks.  I hope you understand this is something every serious chorus undertakes (some do it every year) and it is essential for our long term growth and improvement.

Don’t forget it’s not too late to sign up for Summer Singers!  The group is shaping up nicely (currently about 140), but I’d be happy to have some more of my MOS regulars, especially MEN!

Thanks again for everything you do to enrich my life and the lives of so many others.

Warmly,

Michael

Technology and Me

For several years I’ve been an enthusiastic iPod user.  I listen to music, books, and podcasts, and currently have 47.64 GB stored (out of 160 GB available).  That 47.64 GB translates into 32.7 days of possible listening, or 885 hours if you’d like to think of it that way.  As if that weren’t keeping me busy enough, I’ve now added an iPhone to my technical arsenal, and I’m afraid I’m hooked.  The apps are much too enticing and I’ve already added more of them than I need, although I’ve had this little addictive iPhone less than a month!

Still, I suppose there are two apps that have taken most of my time and only one of them happens to be musical.  The non-musical one is Scrabble, my favorite game of all time.  My win rate is currently 80% against the computer and I expect that to remain the same until I allow the computer to increase its skill level!  The musical app is Pandora radio and I’ve had a ball listening to that.  The listening possibilities on my iPod have evidently not been enough, for I’m now selecting from an array of Pandora stations (all created by me I might add).  I often select a “quick mix” that might create a lineup of artists such as:  Frank Sinatra, Vaughan Williams, Neil Sedaka, J.S. Bach, Ella Fitzgerald, Danny & the Juniors, etc.   With this cornucopia of listening pleasures provided by my iPod and iPhone, I’m afraid my extensive CD and LP collections have been sadly neglected of late. 

As a musician, I’m thrilled to have this listening potential available at the push of a button, especially when I compare it to what was possible at the beginning of my “listening career” so many years ago (six LPs and an FM radio station that broadcast two hours of classical music daily).  And yet, I must say that even with all the entertaining and instructive hours of music available to me today, nothing satisfies me like a choral rehearsal filled with persons committed to making the most beautiful music possible.  I am fortunate to have several possibilities such as that each week, and for that I am eternally grateful.  For me, and I hope for others, “recorded” music will never take the place of “live” music.

Living in the Moment

I’ve recently been considering how important it is to “live in the moment.”  We’ve all heard the cliché about how yesterday is past and tomorrow may never come – today is what we have.  Taken at too simple a level we can all understand the silliness of such a comment.  If we don’t learn from the past (including both failures and successes) and if we don’t plan for the future we are destined to lead a rather pointless existence.  Still, we’ve all been guilty at one time or another of dwelling way too much on yesterday or dreaming an inordinate amount of time about tomorrow.  So much so that we often miss the beauty of today.  I think little children get it best.  In observing my youngest granddaughter (age 3) I can see how she lives totally “in the moment” and is joyful most of the time.

Would that it could be so easy for all of us, but obviously that can’t be so.  As adults we have regrets about the past and worries about the future that crowd in on our daily lives, crushing much of our potential joy.  Still, wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could somehow recapture some of the joy of a child?  Over the years one of the most satisfying comments I have heard from members of my choral organizations is that our weekly two hour rehearsals provide such an intense period of concentration on a single activity (singing) that daily cares seem to evaporate during that period.  I’m sure this doesn’t happen for everyone, and not even all the time for anyone, but what a goal! 

Have you found that choral rehearsals sometimes enable you to temporarily put aside your cares and concerns?  How do feel after a particularly inspiring or invigorating rehearsal?   Does “living in the moment” become easier through your singing?  Share your story.

Rehearsal techniques?

Most community choruses have a similar rehearsal schedule – usually one rehearsal weekly, lasting 1½ to 2½ hours.  It is also common to have from six to ten weeks of rehearsal in preparation for a performance.  The aforementioned parameters certainly apply to MOS.  I think all of us would agree that to learn our repertoire well and perform it at our best requires individual time spent on the music outside the weekly rehearsals.  I have noticed over the years that the finest performances occur when the singers have taken a “personal responsibility” for learning their music, not when I have “achieved miracles” in the rehearsal.  Don’t get me wrong, I’d like to be able to take credit for our most outstanding moments of music making, but in all honesty I can’t do that, for I ultimately can only “work” with what you “bring” to the rehearsal.   

So, I am interested in hearing how you study your music outside of rehearsals.  Do you practice at a piano?  Do you actually practice singing your part? Do you practice rhythmically? Do you silently study the music?  Do you listen to performance or rehearsal recordings (either provided by the chorus or personally obtained)?  Do you review text?  Do you have a set time for music study or do you just grab moments when you find them?  Do you do a combination of things mentioned above or something else entirely? 

Remember that your combined individual contributions are perhaps the most important ingredient to the success of a final performance.  Don’t keep them a secret.  Share with each other (and me) how you do it!