Mini Notices:

Festival Singers resumed practices on September 8, 2009.  
Regular rehearsals are on Tuesday evenings, starting at 7:30 PM.  Most rehearsals will be held at Festival Place.

Festival Singers has a series of newsletters for choir members.  These are sent out by email, and presented here in an edited version for your information.

 The 2nd Festival Singers Information Bulletin for 2009 - 2010

¯The full day retreat was a huge success. Thank you so much to Linda Reid, Elaine Vooys, the clinidians and all the choir members who volunteered their time!!

¯The CDs are almost ready to go and we should have them within the next few weeks. 
¯Don't forget our Workshop that will be held on October 24, 2009. More information about the workshop - location - clinicians - is on this website! Let your friends and other choirs know about this exciting opportunity as well!
¯Elaine may have a section leader for the tenors. We should know more within the next few weeks.
¯Each week the songs we will be working on at the next rehearsal will be posted in the Information Bulletin. We hope this will support you in identifying which songs you could focus on when practicing at home. Please refer to your email!
¯Elaine has challenged us to sing the Cantata 140, No 7, Choral without music at our Christmas Concert.

IMPORTANT INVITATION 

The Festival Singers Board would like to invite all choir members to the Festival Singers Annual General Meeting which will be held on October 20, 2009.  The AGM will be held during rehearsal.  This is your opportunity to:

1. Receive the annual report and learn about what has taken place in the past year
2. Receive and approve the financial statements 
   
3. Appoint an Auditor
4. Hear more about the strategic direction the board would like to take for the next few years
   
5. Elect new board members.
          

Letter from our Conductor, Elaine Myhre - August 21, 2009

Dear Festival Singers,

Summer greetings! I hope that you are all enjoying the beautiful weather and that you have had a chance to relax and spend some time with friends and family. 

My name is Elaine Myhre and I am thrilled to be the new conductor of the Sherwood Park Festival Singers! I would like to take this opportunity to share a little bit about myself before we meet in September. In the past few months I have been busy fixing up my new house, working away on my thesis and camping with my husband, Owen. It has been a lovely summer, but I am looking forward to another great year of conducting. This year I will be busy conducting five choirs, one of which is the Festival Singers. 

We are delighted to welcome Denis Arseneau as our accompanist. He is a very accomplished pianist and I am looking forward to having him as part of the team for the upcoming season.

This season we are also excited to be welcoming four section leaders to the choir. These individuals will provide vocal support to each section and hopefully make choir a more enjoyable experience for all!

Please note that this fall we will be rehearsing on Tuesdays, from 7:30 – 10:00 pm at Festival Place.
 
Our FIRST CHOIR REHEARSAL of the season will take place on Tuesday, September 8, 2009 from 7:00 -10:00 PM. Please note that this is half an hour earlier than regular rehearsals.
This year we are excited to be offering both a fall retreat and a workshop! Please mark the following dates on your calendar!

Saturday, September 19 – Fall Retreat
Time: 9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Location: Bethel Lutheran Church, 298 Bethel Drive, Sherwood Park
It is imperative that all singers attend this retreat as we will spend the greater portion of the day learning our fall repertoire. It will also be a wonderful time to get to know one another! We are thrilled to be welcoming choral conductors and recent graduates from the masters in choral conducting program at the University of Alberta, Kim Denis and Kathleen Skinner to lead us through the day! Both Kim and Kathleen have a great deal to offer and I hope that you are able to attend.
  
Saturday, October 24 – Fall Workshop
Time: 9:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Location: Bethel Lutheran Church
Invite your friends! This workshop will be a continuation of the January workshop, focussing on everything from the basics of choral singing to vocal technique. We hope that you will consider joining us as it is sure to be another wonderful day of music making!
I hope you enjoy the remainder of your summer and look forward to meeting you in September. If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to call or e-mail. All the best!

Best wishes,
Elaine Myhre Vooys
Sherwood Park Festival Singers, Director

Sherwood Park Festival Singers Society
February, 2009 Newsletter

As this newsletter is being prepared, Festival Singers is almost halfway through a busy spring session.

At the first rehearsal of the session, January 6th, everyone present took part in a placement exercise, at which each singer met for a few minutes with Director Melanie Marlin for some brief vocal exercises. Armed with this information, she was better able to create a seating arrangement which is resulting in a better choral sound. When we weren't singing, we were learning African songs and rhythms with Chris Giffen and his drum. This was a first for everyone and was much enjoyed; we all discovered we could sing without scores, and that we could master difficult / unfamiliar rhythms. This will help with everything we undertake.

On Saturday, January 31st, we hosted our second successful Strathcona Choral Workshop. Choristers from around the County and some from Edmonton joined Festival Singers' members. The clinicians worked on vocal production techniques, reviewed the basics of rhythm, scales, sol-fa and other choral tools, and introduced us to various kinds of choral music. This, in addition to a good lunch and two coffee breaks, made for a very productive day.

Our second extra curricular event was the presentation on February 14 of some of our April repertoire at the first annual event sponsored by the Arts & Culture Council of Strathcona County at Salisbury Greenhouse. In addition to singing, choir members also volunteered to man our table for the two days of the event. We undertook this commitment to support the council in its purpose of making known to the public the breadth and depth of artistic development in the county, and to create more public awareness about Festival Singers. Many thanks go out to those who volunteered to sing and to sit at our table telling passersby about the choir!

We have a third extra event in March: participation in Choralfest North 2009. The date is Saturday, March 7th; time is 2 to 4 PM; location is Alberta College (downtown). Warm-up will be earlier. Choir members are asked to be present at 1:45 PM and wearing black concert dress. This is considered a part of our commitment for the season, so please mark your calendars!

With the exception of one or two years, Festival Singers has been involved in Choralfest annually. The festival is sponsored by the Alberta Choral Federation and involves the presentation of a number of selections the choir is preparing, with adjudication by well-known choral composers and conductors. Choirs are registered in different categories, so the adjudication takes into account the nature of the category. The assessments consider the challenges and strengths of each choir, and sometimes participating choirs may get a coaching session from one of the adjudicators for the purpose of demonstrating how to make the most of the music which has been presented. Each of these extra events we take part in contributes much to our development as singers and as a choir.

With the exception of a special rehearsal with the choirs for the Winspear concert at 7:00 PM, Tuesday, April 7th at King's College, 9125 - 50th Street, Edmonton, the rest of the season's rehearsals will be at Festival Place, from 7:30 to 10:00 PM, Tuesday evenings.

A definite highlight of the season is the opportunity to take part in a concert at the Winspear Centre at 3 PM on Sunday, April 19th. We will be joining The King's University College Choir, also conducted by Melanie Marlin, and the Edmonton All City Children's Chorus, to present Paul Halley's "Freedom Trilogy". A dress rehearsal will be scheduled for Sunday morning, perhaps as early as 10 AM.

We will be welcoming The King's University College Choir and the Edmonton All City Children's Chorus to Festival Place for our dress rehearsal and the April 28th Spring Concert as our guests for our production of the "Freedom Trilogy".

Behind all this activity is the administration related to operating Festival Singers, but that discussion can wait until our next newsletter!

Penny Christoffersen-Clark
Co-Chair, Festival Singers

 Sherwood Park Festival Singers Society News – September 2008

Sherwood Park Festival Singers Society February, 2009 Newsletter

As this newsletter is being prepared, Festival Singers is almost halfway through a busy spring session.

At the first rehearsal of the session, January 6th, everyone present took part in a placement exercise, at which each singer met for a few minutes with Director Melanie Marlin for some brief vocal exercises. Armed with this information, she was better able to create a seating arrangement which is resulting in a better choral sound. When we weren't singing, we were learning African songs and rhythms with Chris Giffen and his drum. This was a first for everyone and was much enjoyed; we all discovered we could sing without scores, and that we could master difficult / unfamiliar rhythms. This will help with everything we undertake.

On Saturday, January 31st, we hosted our second successful Strathcona Choral Workshop. Choristers from around the County and some from Edmonton joined Festival Singers' members. The clinicians worked on vocal production techniques, reviewed the basics of rhythm, scales, sol-fa and other choral tools, and introduced us to various kinds of choral music. This, in addition to a good lunch and two coffee breaks, made for a very productive day.

Our second extra curricular event was the presentation on February 14 of some of our April repertoire at the first annual event sponsored by the Arts & Culture Council of Strathcona County at Salisbury Greenhouse. In addition to singing, choir members also volunteered to man our table for the two days of the event. We undertook this commitment to support the council in its purpose of making known to the public the breadth and depth of artistic development in the county, and to create more public awareness about Festival Singers. Many thanks go out to those who volunteered to sing and to sit at our table telling passersby about the choir!

We have a third extra event in March: participation in Choralfest North 2009. The date is Saturday, March 7th; time is 2 to 4 PM; location is Alberta College (downtown). Warm-up will be earlier. Choir members are asked to be present at 1:45 PM and wearing black concert dress. This is considered a part of our commitment for the season, so please mark your calendars! With the exception of one or two years, Festival Singers has been involved in Choralfest annually. The festival is sponsored by the Alberta Choral Federation and involves the presentation of a number of selections the choir is preparing, with adjudication by well-known choral composers and conductors. Choirs are registered in different categories, so the adjudication takes into account the nature of the category. The assessments consider the challenges and strengths of each choir, and sometimes participating choirs may get a coaching session from one of the adjudicators for the purpose of demonstrating how to make the most of the music which has been presented. Each of these extra events we take part in contributes much to our development as singers and as a choir. With the exception of a special rehearsal with the choirs for the Winspear concert at 7:00 PM, Tuesday, April 7th at King's College, 9125 - 50th Street, Edmonton, the rest of the season's rehearsals will be at Festival Place, from 7:30 to 10:00 PM, Tuesday evenings.

A definite highlight of the season is the opportunity to take part in a concert at the Winspear Centre at 3 PM on Sunday, April 19th. We will be joining The King's University College Choir, also conducted by Melanie Marlin, and the Edmonton All City Children's Chorus, to present Paul Halley's "Freedom Trilogy". A dress rehearsal will be scheduled for Sunday morning, perhaps as early as 10 AM.

We will be welcoming The King's University College Choir and the Edmonton All City Children's Chorus to Festival Place for our dress rehearsal and the April 28th Spring Concert as our guests for our production of the "Freedom Trilogy".

Behind all this activity is the administration related to operating Festival Singers, but that discussion can wait until our next newsletter!

Penny Christoffersen-Clark
Co-Chair, Festival Singers

Thank you to Melanie and Tristan for an excellent first and second rehearsal!

Welcome to new Festival Singers! 

Being new to a choir can be a little intimidating at first but we want you to know we’re a friendly bunch and we’ll help you settle in.  Feel free to ask the singers sitting beside you questions.  Don’t be afraid to approach Melanie (who is a very friendly and approachable director) with any questions or concerns you have.  She’ll be happy to help.  You can also talk to board members.  We’d also be happy to help. 

I remember feeling very unsure about whether I should be sitting with the sopranos or the altos when I sang in a choir (the Festival Singers) for the first time.  It was several months before I felt like the place I sat down on the first day was actually the section and range I could sing in.  If this is also a quandary for you, ask Melanie about it and she will give you great advice on what to do.  If you are having trouble reading the music, do not worry, we will learn something about that as we go.  You will also become more and more familiar with the music with practice so hang in there — you’ll be amazed at the results when you perform at your first concert in December.

Please mark your schedules with these dates:

• Rehearsal time is 7:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. at Festival Place.
• The Festival Singers’ AGM will be held during part of the October 14 rehearsal. 
• Saturday, December 6, 9 to 11 a.m. is the Christmas concert dress rehearsal.  We need to know how many choir members will attend.
• Christmas Concert is Monday December 8, 2008 starting at 7:30 pm, Festival Place.
• Christmas Concert at the Alberta Legislature is December 10, from 8 – 9 p.m.
• Festival Singers has a new e-mail address:  festival.singers08 at gmail dot com.  E-mails to choir members will be sent from this address and you can send questions or concerns to this address.  It is monitored by a board member so you will receive a reply.

The Festival Singers’ Board has put in a lot of time and effort during the past year working behind the scenes to carry the choir through a transition to non-profit society and two conductors.  I want to thank all the board members for being such great people to work with, for supporting me in so many ways, and for always going the extra mile.  Several board members have been volunteering their time for many years and they would like a break from all the duties they manage.  I hope choir members will consider volunteering for the choir on our board.

We’re increasing fundraising activities.  Linda Reid and Les Clampitt have spent many hours successfully applying for grants and are now working to put on a great October 25 workshop. 

And don’t forget to breathe from the diaphragm and sing from the heart.

Regards,
Laurel Jenkins, Festival Singers Chair
festival.singers08 at gmail dot com