non audition choir | Vienna Choral Society

Open Rehearsal Details for “Opera for the People”

March 19, 2013 by sohini

Opera for the People (artwork by Steven Keen of Keen Method LLC)

Did you love what you saw last weekend? Come sing with us! We are a non-audition, welcoming, and diverse choir of 80 voices and we’re always happy to add voices.

Our next concert will be Opera For The People. And our next three rehearsals are open. Join us, come check us out, or just visit if you’d like – you are most welcome.

7:15 pm, Tuesdays
March 19 and April 2 at Church of the Holy Comforter
March 26 at UUCF

If you already know you want to join, please go here to get a start on registration and membership forms. Don’t worry if you can’t, we’ll figure it out when you get to us.

Come on down! The opera awaits.

Filed Under: community, Vienna Tagged With: non audition choir, open rehearsal, opera for the people, reston chorale

Why I Sing: “Something I Need To Have In My Life.”

January 29, 2013 by sohini

The next in our series of “Why I Sing,” this post comes from Connie Berger, alto, and a member of the VCS board. Ms. Berger, who currently homeschool’s her son through his last year of high school, works full-time in retirement plan administration, and is pursuing an Associate’s Degree in Accounting at Northern Virginia Community College.

Connie Berger

Music has always reached a part of my heart that nothing else can. As a child, music was that thing that I was good at, better than everyone else, that I could take pride in. Playing the piano was my outlet for any strong emotion, from joy to sadness. Playing the alto saxophone in band taught me lessons about setting and achieving goals and about working synergistically with others. [Read more...]

Filed Under: community, VCS blog, Vienna Tagged With: alto saxophone, connie berger, non audition choir, open rehearsal

Thank You!

October 28, 2012 by sohini

Swinging to Route 66

Thank you to our wonderful crowd last night for coming out to Swing! with us for our opening concert of the season! We had some enthusiastic dancers on the floor, and some who claimed more space in the back to swing out.

And We’re Off! Season 2012-13 Has Begun…

September 4, 2012 by sohini

tomatoes from Hiu Newcomb of Potomac Vegetable Farms (East)

Tomatoes from alto Hiu Newcomb of Potomac Vegetable Farms – East (because good food goes well with music and friends).

The season officially began last week. Thank you so much for coming to our season kick-off and open house! Lots of new faces, and huge excitement for our first concert – because *everyone* likes a disco ball!

Did you miss last week? No matter. We hold three open rehearsals during every concert cycle. So if you’d like to check us out, come by this evening (and also the next two tuesdays – September 11 and 18), Jen will do vocal placements in addition to a regular rehearsal. Same time, same bat channel – 7:15 pm at Church of the Holy Comforter.

Parking is free. Come in through the double doors, make a left, and follow the noise!

Filed Under: VCS blog Tagged With: 2012-13 season, disco ball, non audition choir, open rehearsal, vocal placements

Revving Up For The 2012-13 Season

August 1, 2012 by sohini

Really? No idea how that happened, but it’s August already. And there are things to do and dates to save even before our first concert!

First, the ALL-DAY VOCAL RETREAT is coming up August 25, 2012. We still have plenty of tickets if you’d like to dust off those vocal cobwebs. But a Master Class spot just opened up as well, and that won’t last long. So buy your ticket fast! (It makes our lives a lot easier if you buy online, but if you’d rather reserve a spot and pay by check at the door, that’s fine too – just be sure to email us at info at viennachoralsociety.org by 8/20.)

Second, our SEASON KICK-OFF happens 7 pm, Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at Church of the Holy Comforter. Please do come, check us out, say hi to Jen and Mark. If you’d like to sing with us, Jen can schedule a quick and discreet voice placement screening. And if you’d like to just come and learn more about us and what we have coming up this season, we welcome you. We’ll even have light refreshment and nibbles.

Finally, we REHEARSALS begin Tuesdays, 7:15 pm, September 4, 2012 at Church of the Holy Comforter. And the first three rehearsals (Sept 4, 11, and 18) will be open rehearsals.

Filed Under: upcoming events, VCS blog Tagged With: choir, church of the holy comforter, master class, non audition choir, open rehearsal, season kick off, vienna, vocal retreat, voice placement

The Irish Breakfast Band: Reason 2 (Of Many) To Come To Celtic Arts Festival

February 18, 2012 by sohini

We have so many great artists coming to the Celtic Arts Festival. One of them is The Irish Breakfast Band. The band is so named because for over 30 years its members have gathered every Saturday morning to share breakfast and to play traditional Irish music. The tunes played are those handed down by aural tradition.

Save The Date For The VCS Celtic Arts Festival!

January 24, 2012 by sohini

VCS Celtic Arts Festival Small Poster (artwork by Steven Keen/Keen Method)

If you’ve come to check us out for open rehearsals these last few weeks, you know by now that our next event is going to be so much fun some of us are jumping up and down with excitement!

VCS will present the Celtic Arts Festival, an afternoon of music and art, on – wait for it – St. Patrick’s Day.

March 17
from 1 – 5 pm
Saturday, March 17, 2012
at Vienna Elementary School

In addition to our own choir, now at 75+ voices, the afternoon will feature rotating performances by the following:

Tinsmith – a folk band fusing traditional music with modern influences
Rich Follett – singer, songwriter, poet and minstrel
The Irish Breakfast Band – 20+ member traditional Ceili band and dancers from the DC area
Katherine Hughes – a traditional celtic dancer
John and William Hughes – father and son bagpipers
Eammon Carolan – Irish fiddle

You’ll have the opportunity to see traditional Irish dancing at a championship level, stroll among local craft vendors working in the Celtic tradition, and oh yes, eat scrumptious traditional pasties from Vienna’s own Pure Pasty.

The festival will be an open house atmosphere. One ticket buys admittance to the whole afternoon.

Save the date and stay tuned! We’ll tell you when tickets go on sale – soon!

Filed Under: upcoming events, VCS blog, Vienna Tagged With: ceili, choir, eammon carolan, irish breakfast band, irish dancing, jennifer rodgers beach, john and william hughes, katherine hughes, non audition choir, open rehearsal, pure pasty, rich follett, tinsmith, vienna choral society

2011-12 Season Kick Off!

August 11, 2011 by sohini

All of a sudden, it’s nearly mid-August! Which means we’re less than three weeks away from our season kick-off. Come by, enjoy refreshment, conversation, new friends, and possibly try out for a non-audition choir if you’ve always wanted to sing. We’d love to see you there.

WHAT: Vienna Choral Society’s 2011-12 Season Kick off
WHEN: 7 – 8:30 pm, Tuesday, August 30, 2011
WHERE: Great Hall, Vienna Presbyterian Church

Enjoy refreshments and conversation, an informational presentation about the Vienna Choral Society, how choir membership works, and an overview of our upcoming season. We’ll also have time for a Q&A.

If you’d like to join the choir, please let us know and Jen Rodgers Beach will place you. You can also pick up new singer packets at the kick-off, and you’ll have until the 3rd rehearsal to make a commitment.

Vienna Presbyterian has its own parking lot, but there is also ample street parking, and if you’re up to a short 10 minute walk, Patrick Henry Library is a block south, on the opposite side of the street.

Filed Under: upcoming events, VCS blog Tagged With: non audition choir, open rehearsal, season kick off, vienna choral society, Vienna Presbyterian Church

Tell Us: Who Should Vienna Choral Society Reach Out To?

July 5, 2011 by sohini

In our neverending attempt to make VCS bigger and better, we’ve made lots of little tweaks and improvements to the website. Hopefully you haven’t noticed. That’s right, *haven’t* noticed. Because if we’re doing our jobs well, these changes, like good craftsmanship, should just be a seamless improvement to your daily interaction with us, something you only notice when it’s not working.

To that end, we’re now working on our outreach. We’d love the 2011-12 season to be twice as successful, for which we need to widen our outreach. So help us out …

Who should we be reaching out to? Are there writers, journalists, bloggers, websites, and online groups (facebook or otherwise) you think we should make a point of reaching out to? Are there really awesome folks on twitter you think we should be following? Tell us either in the comment section or drop us a line if you’d like.

Filed Under: VCS blog Tagged With: choir, non audition choir, vienna choral society

Vienna Choral Society’s Requiem – A Sneak Peek

May 19, 2011 by sohini

Wondering what we’re going to sing this weekend? Here’s a sneak peek!

Alle Psalite Cum Luya

Now I Walk In Beauty (hummed)

The Awakening (UUCR)

Now I Walk In Beauty (sung in unison)

The Heart is The Compass (UUCF)

Now I Walk In Beauty (full piece, in unison)

Make Our Garden Grow (VCS)

Lux Aurumque (Mark conducts, Amelia Gil-Figueroa, Anne Pohnert, and Lydia Lewis, soloists)

Healing Waters

You Are the New Day

Ubi Caritas (begun with solo, followed in stages by the rest of the choir)

~INTERMISSION~

Requiem

Timor Mortis Conturbat Me
Telos (Jim Whitcomb, solo)
Dirge Without Music/When I Am Dead, My Dearest (Jen Rubio and Furman Riley, soloists)
Holy Light (SSAA)
Dirge Without Music (Sarah Davies, reader)
Never More
The First Day’s Night (Sarah Davies, reader)
To Everything There is a Season (Anne Pohnert and Melinda Bauers, soloists)
Time & We Bereaved (Sarah Davies, reader)
Threnody & Limitless (Kristy King, soloist)
Wherever You Go Now

A full choir, an orchestra, a lovely space. Help us complete the picture with a full house! There are still tickets available online.

Filed Under: VCS blog Tagged With: choir, clif hardin, jennifer rodgers beach, non audition choir, requiem, singing, ubi caritas, vienna choral society