Dear Singers,

Though the start of every season makes me a little anxious, that nervousness disappears with the arrival of old friends and new voices as we start the process of bringing beauty through song. While the group already has demonstrated a robust sound, we will continually address the process of achieving our best blend and balance.

Next week we will start on the Carols and Lullabies. The challenge with this work will be the text. Many of the older scores have phonetic pronunciations. I hope to have a sheet with those printed out next week to avoid too much time spent on this in rehearsal. I do enourage you to listen to a recording to help in that process. www.northcountrychorus.org/learnyourmusic

I also hope we can memorize the Hodie in Ceremony. Traditionally, this is done a cappella and as a procession. Hopefully, we can achieve that.

The biggest news is that, by what appeared to be overwhelming support, we have decided to start rehearsals at 6:45 and end at 8:30. Certainly, if this means for some that you will have to arrive late, that will not be a problem. THIS CHANGE WILL START ON SEPTEMBER 24.

I look forward to seeing you all next week!

The performance dates will be Friday and Saturday, Dec. 6^th and 7^th for this program. We will also be sponsoring a Messiah Sing for the community on Dec. 8^th at 3:00 pm. This will be a new venture for the chorus. Although we will focus on Part 1 (the Christmas section), we will also include some of the more familiar choruses from Parts 2 and 3.  My plan, at this point, is to have the instrumentalists up front and the chorus and audience singers together in the pews. 

My best,
Alan