Submissions & Queries Our Web Site Un-Subscribe here
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
February 4, 2015 #5
Our end-of-season
ADMIN/community ISSUE
OF THE GHC, HNC, SOUNDINGS & CCLT
CHOIR COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER
<><><><><><><><><><><> QUICK REMINDERS! <><><><><><><><><><><>
Most events below are also listed in detail on our
Choir Life Calendar
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>><><><>
CCLT Reunion Concert
This Friday, Feb. 6th, 7:30 pm, The Church of Truth
Sold Out! For those without tickets…a bigger venue next time!
GHC Choir Break
Feb. 1 to 15
(Never fear Spring is near)
THE GETTING’ HIGHER CHOIR’S 2015 SPRING SEASON
Feb. 16 to 26
Details in the GHC News & Business section
GHC NEW SINGERS INTAKE EVENINGS
7:00 to 7:30 pm on Feb. 16, 17, 19, 23, 24 and/or 26
For details check our Spring “Where, When, How, etc.“ document
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
For a PDF Version of this week’s issue plus all our archived issues
including last week’s Choir Community Issue please go to:
http://www.gettinhigherchoir.ca/choir_life/newsletters.php
<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>
SPECIAL NOTES!!!!
CONCERT VIDEOS
Howard Dieno set up his Video equipment in the Balcony on both nights, with the volunteer help of former GHC members Christie Eng on Friday and Victoria Attwell on Saturday, and has now posted the first batch of video songs on-line with more to come. They can be viewed on our site’s Choir Videos page.
OUR WEB SITE’S “SINGING?!” PAGE UPDATED
Two new submissions have been recently added to our web site’s “Singing?!” page. They are:
Voice FAQs from the "National Center for Voice & Speach" (U.S.)
In the “Voice Training and Care” Section
(Submitted by Jackie MacDonald GHC Monday Soprano)
Recording during singing workshops and choir rehearsals - why, what and when?
In the “General Sources” Section
(Submitted by Cari Burdett CCLT3 2006/7 via Gloria Hansen GHC Tenor etc.)
Check them out using the above links and then visit (or re-visit) “Singing?!” to see what else of interest might be available to you. If you have, or know of, a document, web page, audio or video file, etc. that would be suitable to be made accessible from this web page please submit the item (or a link to it) by clicking here.
ADMIN TEAM NOTES
SHIVON
Dear GHC
I want to thank you for another beautiful performance at last weekend's concerts. Your dedication to being very well prepared, and your absolute presence and focus during the concerts, combined to create a truly exquisite experience for the audience. I heard so many superlative comments from audience members. Hilary Leighton, a past GHC member who was in the audience, posted comment on our website:
Wow! I feel like I was participant in a richly textured and important musical conversation spanning heaven and earth! Interpretations of Wendell (the Mad Farmer) Berry’s poetry met with ambrosial waves of alleluia, and haunting sounds that seemed to echo off the very landscapes we are moved to protect from rude and savage plansskies, fields, rivers annd oceans of comings and goings that included dark and cautionary tales, deep ancestral roots and brimming celebratory buckets of love. Delicious, savouring it all still. Grateful for this community heART. Love Hilary
Well said, Hilary! And well sung, GHC!¦nbsp; I hope to see you all back again for the spring season. Some details of that will be coming in the next week.
~ Shivon
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
GLORIA
The concerts were wonderful - and a success financially. Although I don't have the bottom line numbers yet - I will let you all know when I get everything gathered up and in the bank.
I would like to thank all of you who donated to the Power of Hope Scholarship fund. The High Noon and Gettin' Higher Choirs raised over $2600.
I would also like to thank all of you who put up posters, sold tickets and promoted the concerts.
A special thanks to those who stepped forward to make my work lighter and add their helping hands to the success of the concerts.
· Jo Volek for helping me at choir with ticket sales, poster distribution etc. and at the concerts for preparing all of the material that was stuffed into the program so our guests could be informed about the Power of Hope.
· Matt Hutton and Jessica Whittingham for helping at the front door.
· Donnee Wright and Gaynor Hughes for the CD sales table.
~ Gloria
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
BILL
Great concerts y’all! I sang along quietly from the audience on some of it but, after not being at choir for 3 weeks some serious holes in what I knew and even a couple of chasms. I, nevertheless, really enjoyed listening to you.
See you when we sing in the Spring!
~ Bill
GETTIN HIGHER CHOIR INFO
GHC NEWS & BUSINESS
NEW SEASON INFO
Spring season runs from Feb 16 to June 11 followed by our pair of benefit concerts for Mozambique on June 12 & 13.
New Intake Evenings:
Mondays - Feb 16 & 23
First Unitarian Church of Victoria, 5575 West Saanich Road (opposite the Red Barn)
Tuesdays - Feb 17 & 24 and Thursdays - Feb 19 & 26
Church of Truth, 111 Superior Street (at St. Lawrence Street)
We will have a half hour New Singer Orientation at 7:00 p.m. on each of the above evenings which will
be followed by an opportunity to sing with the current choir members that will run from 7:30 - 9:30. For more information check out our Spring “Where, When, How, etc.“ document.
Bring or send all the could-be, should-be and want-to-be singers you know to experience all the good stuff singing gives us every week!
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
WE WELCOME YOUR FEEDBACK ON THE PAST SEASON
If you have any “more of this,” “less of that,” “try this” or any other form of feedback that can help us make the GHC experience better for you, and for us all, please pass it on us.
~ Shivon, Denis, Gloria & Bill
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
CONCERT THOUGHTS, FEELINGS AND/OR STORIES TO SHARE?
Whether you were in the audience or on stage for this past weekend’s concerts please take a few minutes to share your thoughts, feelings and stories about them by adding a comment on our web site or by posting them on the GHC Facebook page or better yet…both! (simply copy the first post you do and paste it into the second)
We also invite you to scroll through our site’s Past Concerts listings and check out some of the comments for them. If you experience a memory about one or more past concert that you would like to share add a comment. It is never too late.
Your thoughts, feelings and stories about your concert experiences can help promote our future concerts to curious visitors and, most importantly, they will add heart to the concert history that is evolving on the site.
~ Bill
OTHER INFO ABOUT OUR COMMUNITY OF CHOIRS
HNC NEWS & BUSINESS
THE WINTER SESSION OF THE HIGH NOON CHOIR STARTED JAN. 6, 2015
New singers are always welcome…so…
Former Singers...come back to us we've missed you.
Present Singers...we are pleased to be singing with you again this session.
New Singers...come check us out. We'll welcome you with open voices!
This session runs from January 6 March 24.
If you know someone else who would like to sing during the daytime, send, them along. It's non-auditioned, all voices are welcome.
WHEN: Tuesday, January 6, 12:00 - 1:30
WHERE: Church of Truth - 111 Superior St
Check out our web page.
See you in the singing circle!
Shivon Robinsong, Director and Gloria Hansen, Registrar.
CCLT UPDATES
Community Choir Leadership Trainings ~ A two week workshop for current and prospective community choir leaders facilitated annually by Denis & Shivon to teach the whys and hows of leading a choir based on the Gettin’ Higher Choir model. Please pass the information below on to anyone you know who might be glad to receive it.
Glenna Garramone CCLT8 2011
The Pandora Chorus
The Winter/Spring session of The Pandora Chorus runs every Wednesday evening from Wednesday, January 28 to Wednesday, April 8, 2015. Rehearsals are from 7:30 to 9:30pm, and take place at Habit Coffee in Chinatown, 552 Pandora Avenue in Victoria, BC.
It's a choir! But perhaps not what you'd imagine when you hear the word "choir."
How so?
No auditions, no previous choir experience necessary. All are welcome!
No sheet music. All songs will be learned by ear.
Fun repertoire of indie, pop, and rock songs, including songs by The Head and The Heart, K-os, Paul Simon, The Great Lake Swimmers, and more.
Poster
We’re still open for new members. For late registration information contact me by Email: or call (778) 679-9673
Bring a water bottle to stay hydrated while you sing.
Please contact me directly for more info about The Pandora Chorus -- while the staff at Habit are awesome, they are not involved with facilitating the rehearsals.
Jewel Spooner CCLT3 2006/7 & GHC Monday Soprano
Shoal Centre Song Circle (now to Feb 27)
New
- 'Shoal Centre Song Circle' started on Friday Jan. 16th (runs every Friday for 7 weeks) at 2:00-3:30 pm
Cost
- Drop in-$12 or Registered $10 per class
Led By
- Jewel Spooner a Graduate of CCLT-2007.
Place
- Shoal Activity Centre, 10030 Resthaven drive, Sidney
Where
- the Shoal Auditorium
all are welcome to share song & create a beautiful Joyful time with music.
Love & Light
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO POTENTIAL CHOIR LEADERS
Information about the 2015 Community Choir Leadership Trainings (12th year) is now available on the CCLT website at:
http://www.communitychoirleadership.com
Please pass this information on to friends from far and wide who may be interested in learning how to organize, administer and direct a choir modelled on the Getting’ Higher Choir.
******************************* QUOTABLES ********************************
How should you respond when you get powerful new tools for finding
answers? Think of harder questions!
Clive Thompson
(the closing thought of his book Smarter Than You Think)
Editor's Collection
*******************************************************************************
COMMUNITY MEMBER’S SUBMISSIONS
--------------------------------------------- PLEASE NOTE ---------------------------------------------
The appearance of an item in this newsletter does not constitute an endorsement
by the GHC of whatever that item offers. The responsibility for each item
rests with the person named in the item’s “Submitted by…” line,
More information on responsibility
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Using Our Newsletters Submission Guidelines Sections You Can Submit Items To
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITOR’S NOTES & REMINDERS
NEWSLETTER SCHEDULE
The next few newsletters will be:
Feb. 13: First Admin Issue of the Spring season
Feb. 20: First Community Issue of the Spring season
OPPORTUNITIES TO SING
VOLUNTEER & PARTICIPATING
The Bedside Singers are getting ready for a new intake in Autumn 2015. Pairs sing gentle songs in the early evenings to our patients in their rooms. Learn more about this special program by attending an information session in the Woodward Room, Begbie Hall on Wednesday March 25, 7pm or Wednesday April 22, 7pm. Please note the Bedside Singers hold practices on the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month (except summer) and also note flu shots are a requirement. If you have questions, please contact Kay at or 250.370.8849.
Submitted by Kathie Doerksen ( a bedside singer organizer ) and High Noon Choir alto
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
EMBODIED VOICE / SINGING BODY (Earlybird now to Mar 1)
Workshop with Christa Ray
A weekend training exploring a path to embodied Presence through excavating the full expanse of the human voice. Discover how to sing songs and use vocal soundings as vehicles for bringing forth and integrating hidden parts of yourself. Reconnect with the primal roots of your voice and the sounds that can enliven your primal confidence. Awaken the archetypal singing shaman within you capable of singing songs to bring nature, community and self into balance and health.
April 17 to 19
Sooke, BC, at Camp Barnard's McPherson and Totem lodges.
Early Bird Discount: $275 until 3/1; Full Tuition: $295
All prices are in Canadian Dollars.
See more details here.
Or contact Kim at or 778-440-4149
Submitted by: Robb Zuk, GHC Tuesday Bass
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
GOSPEL WEEKEND (Feb 12 to 15)
Some of you have participated in this weekend in the past. I recommend it to anyone who is interested in Gospel music and singing You won't get a better opportunity! Info here:
http://www.oakbayunitedchurch.ca/obuc/index.php/gospel2014
Submitted by Denis Donnelly GHC & Soundings Director
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
SHAPE NOTE SINGING GROUP
Sing beautiful four-part a cappella harmony, much of it dating from the 1700s. We meet once a month, with NO obligation. ALL voices, ALL skill levels, ALL ages are very welcome. This is a traditional social activity, not a performing choir.
First Saturday of each month, 10am to noon, private house in Mill Bay. No cell phones or scents/perfumes; cat in residence. Carpooling available. For more info: Aziza Cooper,
Submitted by Aziza Cooper GHC Tuesday/Thursday Soprano
***************************** QUOTE BREAK *****************************
Each one of us is called to become that great song that comes out of
the silence, and the more we let ourselves down into that great
silence the more we become capable of singing that great song.
~ David Steindl-Rast
Found in a social media post by Craig Green CCLT3 - 2006/7
******************************************************************************
WORD OF MOUTH / Recommendations
For supporting and celebrating 'others' whose businesses / actions / way of being / kind words - whatever! - have helped you, us and/or our world grow, come alive and/or prosper.
THE BOTTLE BOYS
These guys are really good.
If you like beer, you'll like this! And if you don't like beer, you'll still like this!
Click on the link below and enjoy!
https://www.youtube-nocookie.com/embed/NkbZlautuUc?rel=0
Recommended by Jackie Kyle-Kelly GHC Thursday Soprano
** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** ** **
A RECOMMENDATION, AND SPECIAL OFFER,
FOR VICTORIA AREA CHOIR COMMUNITY MEMBERS
Recommendation
The Blue Nile, 612 Head Street (Corner of Head and Esquimalt)
The food is top quality and tastes very authentic with an Ethiopian buffet ($16.95) from 5 pm till 9 pm, Mon to Saturday.