Thoughts on Rehearsing

The 175 voice Michael O’Neal Summer Singers had its first rehearsal yesterday and it was a joy being with all these people who had gathered to raise their voices together in song.  From what was heard last night I predict it is going to be a very enjoyable and rewarding summer of music making.   A number of participants in the chorus have asked me how best to “focus” themselves in rehearsal in order to accomplish their best.  Recognizing that the building of a great chorus takes place in rehearsals, and it is there the choral cornerstones are laid, I offer these thoughts regarding choral disciplines necessary for great performance.  May they be reminders to all of us that the great cathedrals were built “one stone at a time.”

1. Listen.  The essence of a musically intelligent ensemble lies in careful and critical listening.  When a phrase comes to you from another section(s) with a particular tone quality, shape, and articulation, it should be answered appropriately.  Intonation, homogeneity of sound, crescendi and diminuendi, depend upon how well you use your musical ears.

2. Watch.  Your conductor is with you in order to assist you.  Only by watching him or her can that assistance take place.

3. Count.  The precise articulation of musical ideas cannot happen without clear organization of time.  Care must be taken in the treatment of small note values; particularly the second of two eighth notes, the second and fourth of four sixteenth notes, and the short notes after dotted notes.  Counting, subdivision and good vocalism will make short notes “live.”

4. Good Diction.  The use of words is the main factor that distinguishes a chorus from any other wind ensemble.  Unless the consonants are hard, clean and rhythmic, we have no articulation.  Unless the vowels are well-formed, well-focused and able to maintain their shape throughout the full dynamic range as well as the full length of a note value, we have no sonority.

5. Breath Support.  Taking a full breath and supporting it as you sing is key (along with good vowel formations) to a beautiful tone.  Breath support and diction are 90% of the tone.

6. Phrasing.  A definition of musical phrasing is the grouping of notes into a unit of musical thought (rhythmic, melodic, or both).  Sensitively wrought phrasing is an essential expression of insight into the musical content of a score.

7. Marking Your Music.  A pencil is a must at every rehearsal.  Choral shorthand is an individual matter.  Whatever method you use is fine – as long as it is meaningful to you.  The most important consideration is that your markings “remind” you in performance of things learned in rehearsals.

Yes, Singing IS Good For You!

Choral singing is actually more popular than playing organized sports.  That’s right – a National Study has shown that in the United States there are more members of choruses than there are members of sports teams.  While I’m all for team sports, it is tremendously gratifying as a choral director to know there are so many folks out there who like to sing.  In my choral organization, The Michael O’Neal Singers, we have a Summer Chorus open to all interested singers.  This chorus usually draws about 170 participants, ranging in age from high school students to retired persons in their eighties.  Now where else can you find a group activity that spans eight decades?  I love working with this group, and one of the main reasons is that the singers come into the rehearsal room filled with the joy and expectation of making music together and having a wonderful time doing it.

While many of the participants in the Summer Chorus will be highly skilled and talented singers, there will also be some who may not have sung in a chorus for many years.  One of the first things I remind all the singers is that singing is a “healthful” activity.  It is useful for improving our emotional health as it builds confidence and self-esteem.   It has a positive impact on our physical health as it improves posture, increases lung capacity, and tones abdominal and facial muscles.  Finally, in a world where people spend more and more time alone in front of their computer screens or listening to music with headphones (a very solitary activity), choral singing offers a real opportunity for social enrichment and the development of new friendships.

I suppose it is clear I’m a fan of choral singing.  How about you?  Why do you sing?

Summer Singers Score!

The Seventh Annual Michael O’Neal Summer Singers performed Bach to Broadway to a wildly appreciative audience this past Sunday afternoon.  Nearly 750 audience members heard 150 singers perform a program ranging from choruses of Bach, Handel and Haydn all the way to musical theatre selections from Man of La Mancha, West Side Story, The Phantom of the Opera, and Les Miserables.   The variety of our programming in that concert is analogous to the variety of backgrounds of the Summer Singers membership.  I’ve enjoyed conducting this non-auditioned chorus each summer in part because of the vast background of singing experiences represented.  The Summer Singers chorus includes individuals who might never be comfortable going through an audition procedure for our regular chorus membership to singers who are professional musicians and just don’t have the time to participate in a chorus during the regular season.  When you take these two extremes and add singers who are at every level between the two, you have The Michael O’Neal Summer Singers!  I love working with these folks for a number of reasons, not the least of which is their obvious joy in making music, and making it to the best of their abilities.  As I told them in the warm up for our Sunday concert, in choral singing we often experience the Gestalt theory of the “whole being greater than the sum of its parts.”  In other words, we are able to accomplish something together we could never achieve individually.

For seven years my summers have been immeasurably blessed by my work with these wonderful and dedicated singers.  This summer was especially rewarding.  My sincere thanks to all of them.

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

Great Music for Great Spaces

The fifth annual incarnation of The Michael O’Neal Summer Singers is just days away from its performance of Great Music for Great Spaces.  The repertoire is built around music for chorus, brass and organ, both individually and in various combinations.  Including selections by Parry, Vaughan Williams, Beethoven, Pachelbel, Holst, and many others, the program promises to be a celebration of celebratory music!   It takes place at Roswell UMC in Roswell, GA, at 3 PM on Sunday, August 16. 

The 150+ singers who will be sharing their music that afternoon have been a joy to work with this summer.  The Summer Chorus of MOS is open to all interested singers.  No one is asked to audition and we always end up with a wide range of backgrounds and skill levels represented in the chorus.   The one unifying force in our group is the love of singing.  The enthusiasm has been evident from the first notes sung at each rehearsal and I will miss seeing these folks on a regular basis.  The good news is that most of them will continue their singing in other organizations this season.  There are, of course, a number of the Summer Singers who will return to the regular MOS chorus or to my church choir at Roswell UMC and I will have the pleasure of seeing and hearing them on a weekly basis.  However, a majority of the Summer Singers participate in other fine community and church choirs during the year and they will be returning to their respective organizations following our Sunday concert.   The sadness at bidding them farewell is tempered with the knowledge that they will be continuing to make great music in great spaces around the metro Atlanta area.

As I complete my summer season and anticipate the beginning of my regular season I am reminded how fortunate I am to have so many opportunies to share music making with such a large and diverse group of people.  Thanks to all of you!

In Appreciation of 20 Years

The Michael O’Neal Singers ended its 20^th Season with a tremendously enjoyable and successful concert on May 22.  With nearly 1500 persons in attendance it was a great way to conclude what has been a thrilling and satisfying season.  Our overall theme has been CELEBRATE!  We have celebrated the future (with guest high school ensembles), celebrated the season (holiday music with the Atlanta Symphony Brass Quintet), celebrated our community (Messiah Sing-Along), celebrated artistic genius (Mozart Requiem) and celebrated musical theatre (one hundred years of song). 

One constant that I have experienced throughout this year has been a series of congratulatory remarks regarding my contributions to the success of the season, and even for our entire twenty years as an ensemble.  While I have appreciated the compliments, I do not for a moment consider myself to be the chief cause of our success.  Instead, our success has been the result of a shared dream to accomplish something collectively that we could never achieve individually.  The wondrous aspect of this (as far as I am concerned) is that while we have sought to achieve something as a group, there has also been such a large degree of individual growth and satisfaction achieved as well.

As I have observed the commitment made this year by the MOS singers, staff, board, and supporters, I have been humbled.  It has reminded me that there are hundreds of people who want us to succeed and are willing to work to see it happen.  Thanks to all of you who have contributed to our success this season, as well as in past seasons.  It is a pleasure and a privilege to renew my commitment to MOS at this time and I look forward to many more years of making music with an organization for which I have such admiration and affection.