Hello!
I’m looking forward to being with you in February. Thank you for taking time to prepare for the honor choir. Kentucky is always one of the most prepared states with eager and respectful student. Always a joy to be with you!
Teachers, if you have any questions, please feel free to reach out to me personally. I’m happy to answer any questions. Below are some rehearsal notes and directions I’ll be going with the choir. I hope you find it helpful
Robyn Lana
Canticle to the Spirit
This is the most mature piece on the program. It is an opportunity to create stunning vocal color and tone. The 5/4 bar will be a bit rubato. Having them feel the 5 yet eyes up following my hands will make that successful.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZcDTZFmKwtQ
Ban Ban Caliban
Using the octatonic scale, Dan Forrest composed a work that is not what choral conductors have come to expect at “Dan Forrest” sound! However, he shared that this piece (at the time of the composition process) was the favorite of his children, for good reason. It is energized, buoyant, playful while sharing a very celebratory feeling. It is imperative that all of the rests are crisply part of the rhythm and all chromatic runs are tuned well. We will focus on the layers of sound that create this piece. Crisp consonants will also be key.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3_qO2CUYlGs
We Sing of Love
Reese Norris, being a middle school teacher and conductor of young female voices, has an intimate understanding of what works in their voices and how to write successfully for them. Though this piece has several places with stunning dissonance, the voice leading bringing the singers to those chords makes it very accessible. We will focus on vowels and vocal production but also on lines and dynamics that will tell this story of deep love for another.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T7nUkVE6978
As the Sun Opens a Flower
The biggest challenge in this beautiful score is the alternating duple and triple within the vocal lines. Not only eighth note triplets but quarter note triplets. Once the singers feel confident on one, they stumble on the next. As much preparation with that as possible will prove very beneficial. For SI and SII, mm20-21, the cascading line “so the love” needs to be light, floating with beautifully round and supported “oh” that will set up the rest of the phrase. If pushed, the descending line will be very difficult to keep in tune. It is also greatly outnumbering the bottom line a full octave up. There will be no need for lots of volume so that the parts will balance.
There will be a ritard at m24. Going on at m25, the tempo will be slightly slower and very deliberate.
At pg 9 where it indicates a solo, we have options in how to handle this. If there is a team of folks to help audition voices, I’m happy to go that route. I have also done this with sections of the choir singing phrases which gives the opportunity to highlight each voice part while still giving the feeling of building and changing the color of the sound. We’ll figure that out at the event.
Bel Canto
Written for advance handbell choir and treble choir, the piano part takes on the colors of the bell and requires an outstanding collaborative pianist in order to pull it off. Luckily, we have an excellent accompanist in Jan Corrothers. So, our job will be to tell the story. The text comes from singers the same age as this honor choir. Composer Gary Fry took those words and crafted them into “Bel Canto.” He plays with the word “bel” which means beautiful and “bell” as a ringing hand bell. The text tells the story of why singing together is important to an ensemble. As with Ban Ban, the more secure the singers arrive knowing and feeling the rhythm, the better off they will be.
Video starts at :52
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HHN0er6gxs8
Ain’t Gonna Let Nobody Turn Me Around
This is a very accessible three part arrangement that I have done successfully with young honor choirs and even college women. Our focus will be on artistry and style of the music as we rehearse this together. We will add simple movement that will help the body and mind engage in the spiritual/gospel style of the work. All vowels long and round!! We tend to sing gospel/spirituals brighter as a singing community than I prefer. We’ll work on it!!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=No8_TXNTGz4