VCS blog | Vienna Choral Society

David Brian Lang, Bringing New Meaning To The Force

May 17, 2013 by sohini Leave a Comment

The Reston Chorale’s director, David Brian Lang …. when he’s not being Jedi-like.

And finally, ladies and gentlemen, we bring you David Brian Lang. Director of The Reston Chorale – our partner in this week’s concert of Opera For The People – and the show week quiz contestant who injects a whole other level of humor. Grace Gori and Pablo Talamente actually talked about the music, Jennifer Rodgers Beach informed us about Star Wars trivia (and so, your life is now complete). Mr. Lang however, keeps it real. Read on!

VCS: What you love most about being on stage…

DBL: Not only the excitement, but also the mystery of “live” performance.

VCS: I say “opera” and you think…

DBL: Diva.

VCS: Opera is better than…

DBL: Being opera-less.

VCS: Before you go on stage you …..

DBL: ….go to the bathroom.

VCS: Things you wish the audience would do when the lights go down….

DBL: Have had two drinks already. [Read more...]

Filed Under: VCS blog Tagged With: david brian lang, jedis, opera for the people, the force

From Opera To Star Wars With Jennifer Rodgers Beach

May 16, 2013 by sohini Leave a Comment

VCS Artistic and Musical Director, Jennifer Rodgers Beach (image by Jim Kim)

Yeah, we’re putting even our Fearless Leader, Jennifer Rodgers Beach, on the spot and make her take our fun quiz. Furthermore, we do it while she’s on deadline. Because she’s totally cool, and we roll like that as a choir under her fearless leadership!

VCS: What you love most about being on stage?

JRB: Anything can happen! And when we’re all involved in MAKING it happen, there is an exchange of energy and emotion that feeds everyone in the room.

VCS: We say “opera” and you think …..

JRB: Big. Fantastical. A way to access emotions and situations that we rarely encounter in our everyday lives!

VCS: Opera is better than….

JRB: This may not be publishable! I refuse to put it above anything else because it is so often put there by the culture itself. Opera is what it is. A unique and powerful art form that demands incredible skill and dedicated talent. So is any other genre of music. So is theater. So is cooking. So are sports. Get my gist?

VCS: Before you go on stage you …..

JRB: Breathe. For me and for my singers and fellow actors.

VCS: Things you wish the audience would do when the lights go down.

JRB: Lean in. Anticipate. Expect to enjoy.

VCS: Things you wish you could do when the lights go down.

JRB: Release worry. Expect to enjoy!

VCS: When the show is over you ….

JRB: Am flying high with all the energy! And then I’ll crash…eventually!

VCS: Batons and handwavery are farce. You’re just Jedis controlling the force. Discuss.

JRB: True!! Actually…really true! And if the force isn’t with you, the handwavery means nothing! By the way, did you know that Yoda’s full name is Minch Yoda?

See why it’s so much fun at VCS? Who else is going to bring you opera and Star Wars in the same breath?

c3p0 directs the london symphony orchestra

C3P0 conducts the London Symphony Orchestra in 1977 – maybe he had eyes in the back of his head?

Well, fine okay, maybe them. But do you live in London? No? Exactly.

Join us this weekend, won’t you? We still have tickets to both performances – Reston (7:30 pm, Saturday, 5/18) and Vienna (4:30 pm, Sunday, 5/19)

Filed Under: VCS blog

Pablo Talamante, Guest Tenor Soloist: On Lady Gaga, Bieber, And Bowties

May 16, 2013 by sohini Leave a Comment

headshot of pablo talamente, guest tenor soloist

Next up on our fun quiz, Pablo Talamante.

Mr. Talamante, the tenor in our group of soloists for this weekend’s Opera For the People, will be singing several wonderful pieces including Nessun Dorma and Brindisi. We look forward to his sense of humor and plan to stay out of his way when push-ups commence!

VCS: What do you love most about being on stage?

PT: Time stops, and I enter into a different dimension.

VCS: We say “opera,” you think ….

PT: Passion!

VCS: Opera is better than ….

PT: Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber.

VCS: Before you go on stage you….

PT: Pray.

VCS: Things you wish the audience would do when the lights go down?

PT: Stop unwrapping cough drops!

VCS: Things you wish you could do when the lights go down.

PT: Check my bowtie and make sure it’s not crooked!

VCS: When the show is over, you ….

PT: Exhale the energy absorbed from the audience, do some push-ups, and give thanks.

VCS: Pavarotti who?

PT: Pavarotti’s spirit was free.

Tickets are available online for two performances this weekend at Reston (Saturday, 7:30 pm) and Vienna (Sunday, 4:30 pm).

Filed Under: VCS blog Tagged With: brindisi, justin bieber, la traviata, lady gaga, luciano pavarotti, nessun dorma, pablo talamante, puccini, turandot, verdi

Grace Gori, Mezzo Soprano On Opera, Donuts, And Muppets

May 15, 2013 by sohini 1 Comment

Grace Gori, mezzo soprano, soloist for “Opera For The People,” and apparently, donut lover.

So, we decided to have some fun with our soloists and staff for Opera For The People. Because we’re like that.

First up, Grace Gori, mezzo soprano. Ms. Gori will sing several pieces this weekend. Tickets are available online now.

VCS: What you love most about being on stage.

GG: When things are really “working” and we performers are really communicating with our audience, it’s as if there’s electricity in the air, sort of like an energy feedback loop between the audience and the performers. It’s really exciting to feel that people are being touched by what we are creating on stage.

VCS: We say “opera,” you think?

GG: I think the world’s greatest music creating bigger-than-life drama.

VCS: Opera is better than ….?

GG: Donuts. [Read more...]

Filed Under: upcoming events, VCS blog Tagged With: beeker, carmen, donuts, grace gori, habanera, opera for the people, siegfried, the muppets, wagner

Top Ten Reasons To Come And See “Opera For The People”

May 9, 2013 by sohini 1 Comment

The Reston Chorale’s David Brian Lang, in full arm wavery!

VCS’ Jennifer Rodgers Beach, about to make the choir flip castanets – sorta.

You get to see not just one but TWO directors wave arms! And stomp feet – in a good way. [Read more...]

Filed Under: upcoming events, VCS blog, Vienna Tagged With: arm wavery, choir multitaskage, david brian lang, jennifer rodgers beach, kibbitzing, mark vogel, opera for the people, peter waggoner, reston chorale, tordis fahringer

Opera: 18th Century Metallica

May 3, 2013 by sohini Leave a Comment

In which Karen Akers, Alto, President of the VCS Board, and person of acute and hilarious wit, holds forth on opera as we head into the last two weeks of intensive rehearsal for Opera For The People. (Early bird tickets still on sale, available until Monday, May 6, 2013.)

Swallow all food and drink before reading this on your electronic device of choice, you have been warned.

What we think when we think of opera…..(image courtesy The Worm-Stung God)

Here’s the deal – a lot of people think they don’t like opera because it’s stuffy. An audience of over-dressed people, withstanding the assault of large men and women singing at them, at decibel levels that can induce deafness. The language is incomprehensible, the choruses never seem to end, and singers wander up and down the stage like a rather unfocused staff meeting. If staff meetings featured singing. And maybe hats with horns on them. And what’s up with the horns?

Nope. We won’t be wearing horns. (image courtesy Operagasm)

Early Bird Tickets Now On Sale for “Opera For The People”

April 8, 2013 by sohini

Now that we’re done with open rehearsals, it’s time for us to really dig in to the music. And in fact, we’re excited about a joint rehearsal – our first so far – with The Reston Chorale, coming up this week.

In case you’re wondering, we have done joint choir performances before – like The Requiem in May 2011 when Jen’s choir from UUCR and Mark’s UUCF Chorale joined with VCS for a huge sound of 175 voices. But everyone knew Mark and Jen, while that’s not the case this time. Jen and David Brian Lang, who directs The Reston Chorale, know each other. The choirs? Not so much! So we’re looking forward to rehearsing with them this week over breakfast and (very strong) coffee.

It’s going to be fun to sing with another group of people who’ve all rehearsed the same music, just not in the same room, for the last few weeks. Uncertain? Yes. A lot of “you zig while I zag?” Probably. Some version of “wait, what?!” as we sing? Definitely. A great deal of “Hey I didn’t know you sing here!” and “Don’t I know you from…..?” Most definitely. But hey, we’re adventurous like that….isn’t that why you come to see us? Because we take these huge creative chances?

We are very excited about this concert. It’s simultaneously fun, exciting, and nervy to have a whole other choir, with its own dynamics and back-bench kibbitzers add another layer of interestingness to your weekly wall of sound. And truly, the music is so great – you’ll recognize some of it, be alternatively amused (oh yes) and swept away (hey, it’s opera). We can’t wait to bring it to you.

Early bird (aka, lower priced) tickets are online, and available until May 6, after which they go up to full price. Don’t wait, get your tickets now!

Filed Under: VCS blog Tagged With: david brian lang, early bird tickets, opera for the people, reston chorale

Venue Change For 3/26/2013 Rehearsal

March 25, 2013 by sohini

The UUCF sanctuary building in spring. Although clearly, not this week.

Second week of rehearsal! We’ll meet same time and day – tomorrow, Tuesday, 3/26/2013. However please note that we have a venue change. We’ll rehearse at UUCF in Oakton (in the main sanctuary).

As always, the first three rehearsals of every concert are open, so please do come by and visit and check us out!

If you’ve wondered what we’re like when we’re not in our dress clothes, not “on,” and such, this is a great opportunity for us to get to know each other.

If you’re already sure you want to sing with us, please fill out the membership and registration paperwork, bring it with you and ask to meet Jennifer Rodgers Beach. She’s our artistic and musical director and will do a quick voice placement. And that’s it!

See you soon!

Filed Under: VCS blog Tagged With: opera for the people, rehearsal, uucf

T-Minus-1: The “Music of the Storms” Dress Rehearsal Post

March 15, 2013 by sohini

We’re going to sing Music of the Storms tomorrow. Which means that this is the day for many things:

Dress rehearsal – In which at least two people will have never been to the venue and will get lost and/or be a touch late. It’s tradition. It’s like our version of “break a leg.”
Thudflurrst! – That’s the official technical term (as of now) for the noise your folder makes when it hits the ground, sheet music flying, because well, this is the evening where we practice the motions – when to tuck in the folder, when to clap, when to fistbump. Okay so that last part’s a total stretch.

Result of an extreme “Thudflurrst!”?

Modern Composers? Yes Please!

March 11, 2013 by sohini

That Fabulous Mark Vogel and our Fearless Leader, Jennifer Rodgers Beach

That Fabulous Mark Vogel whose praises we’ve sung before is mentioned in last week’s review of the Washington Master Chorale. Specifically Cecelia Porter writes:

Colohan drew dramatic power from his singers, joined by the vocal quartet Words & Music along with cellist Kacy Clopton and pianists Mark Vogel and Virginia Sircy.

Go Mark!

But then Ms. Porter, who notes that the Chorale’s selections included modern composers and compositions including Stephen Chatman, ends her review thusly:

The sad fact is that, apart from the scores of major composers such as Bach, Handel, Verdi, and Monteverdi — choral music such as that heard Sunday rarely reaches the general public and major concert halls.

We had to laugh a little at that one. Because in the last three years, under Fearless Leader Jennifer Rodgers Beach’s artistic leadership, and a choir and audience willing to take chances and experiment with the music, VCS has covered a slew of non-traditional music. [Read more...]

Filed Under: community, Jennifer Rodgers Beach, Mark Vogel, upcoming events, VCS blog, Vienna Tagged With: arvo part, cecelia porter, charlie brown, clif hardin, fearless leader jennifer rodgers beach, grinch, Queen, stephen chatman, that fabulous mark vogel, wailin jennys, washington master chorale