From Morna
I had a great retreat over the weekend, including catching up with the wonderful Josh Rist, the young composer of Here, which we sang last season. Click HERE for a photo. Yes, he is 6’4″ tall! Our retreat Presenter was an incredible choral leader named Jason Max Ferdinand. If you heard about the performances of the Aeolians at the ACDA 2019 conference or the Jason Max Ferdinand Singers at Podium in Toronto in May 2022, you’ll know why we all considered ourselves so lucky to have time with him.
This Thursday, November 10, a small group of us are meeting in the parking lot of Lord Byng Secondary School (3939 W 16th Ave, Vancouver) at 4:25pm sharp. The Lord Byng choir rehearses in building B which is apparently hard to find, so we will all go in together. If you are planning to come, please write to me (mornaedmundson@telus.net) before Thursday lunch to let me know to watch for you in the parking lot. If you arrive late, text me at 604-454-8000. We will be a small group meeting with the school choir – perfectly acceptable – bringing greetings on behalf of all of EnChor. Music is the round and Pastime with Good Company.
I am convening a small group to brainstorm about the look and feel of our December 18 Christmas concert. My intention is to have this become an EnChor “signature” event that will have some recurring elements – carol singalongs, performers from within the choir, decor?, etc. What do we want those to be? What can audience members expect to experience each time? How do we make those things happen? Thanks in advance to Chris Sallis and Peter O’Loughlin for stepping up to this already. We could have up to 2 more people join us. Email me if you are interested. I hope we can meet no later than a week from now.
This Friday, November 11, is Remembrance Day, and a reminder that our rehearsal has been adjusted to run 1:30pm – 3:30pm in the usual place. Following rehearsal, I will hear some of the auditions for the soloists/small groups in the December 18 concert. Even if you have emailed me in the past to sign up for a date/time, please pop me a quick note. I will want to let our pianist know if she is needed for these.
Repertoire for this Friday is Love is Love is Love is Love, She’s Like the Swallow, Tell My Ma, Take this Thread, The Pasture, Soli Deo Gloria, and Pastime with Good Company.
See you then!
Morna
PS. An Elektra singer is in the semifinals of The Great Canadian Baking Show. She’s Lauren – just 21 years old. Cheer for her if you are watching the show!
FROM CATHY BAYLEY
Dear Fellow EnChor Members,
The board has been grappling for some time with what the choir’s next steps should be in view of the fact that Covid is still with us. At the beginning, and through much of Covid, it was fairly straight forward what best practises should be, but this is no longer the case. Opinions have differed on the Covid Safety Committee and amongst the board. And as members approach board members with their concerns we see these differing opinions reflected in the membership. The board has listened carefully to these concerns and has created a plan of action for the next couple of months. We recognize that this action plan will not make everybody happy. However, with only 6 more rehearsals and 3 concerts this fall, we hope you will appreciate that the board feels the need to move forward cautiously while keeping the well-being of our singers foremost in mind.
Step 1: Continue mandatory masking for all singers during rehearsals and the concerts. The board recognizes that masking is not only very uncomfortable for some, but also makes it more difficult to sing as well as you want to. However, we did feel we were not yet at the point when we could go to voluntary masking.
Step 2: Send out a mini survey this week (see link below) to determine people’s comfort levels with:
- Voluntary audience masking starting at the November concert.
- Windows in the rehearsal hall adjusted so that people, especially in the back row, are not so cold,
- Masking not being required before and after rehearsals and at rehearsal break times. In other words you would only be required to wear your mask when you are actually singing.
SURVEY LINK: https://forms.gle/thFFgUe94s6dAfhr7
Step 3: Send out a more comprehensive survey in January 2023 to obtain a more thorough understanding of members’ opinions about the various issues surrounding our Covid policies. Use this information to help formulate future plans.
The board welcomes any comments on this action plan and any further thougthts you have.
Cheers
Cathy
FROM DON BLAKE
I have a created an “Event” on Facebook for our November concert. If you are on Facebook, please click the following link. It should open a Facebook page with a button labelled “Invite”. If you click on that a list of your friends will appear. Just click beside the name of those you wish to “invite” to the concert.
Link to Events Page
(20+) Home and the Heartland | Facebook
FROM THE BC CHORAL FEDERATION
The newsletter for Lifelong Singers is available HERE.