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Open Rehearsal Details for “Opera for the People”

March 19, 2013

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.

Modern Composers? Yes Please!

March 11, 2013

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…]

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

January 29, 2013

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…]

Concert For A Cause: Music Of The Storms, Science Education, And Disaster Relief

January 14, 2013

“You’re going to sing about the weather? Really?” It’s a fair question. But think about the question we asked in our last post:

Is there a culture or a place on the planet that doesn’t have music, poetry, art, and expression about the weather?

We humans have sung about the weather since time immemorial. We love to try and capture the feel, the rush, the atmosphere. Sometimes we succeed.*

[Read more…]

The “Why I Sing” Series

January 2, 2013

So, we asked a few of our singers why they joined us. The insta-answer is usually, “Because it makes me happy!” But as it turns out, there’s a lot more to it — it’s not just happiness, it’s community, and friendship, and the adventure of seeing a production come together.

So we put the word out, and started to get interesting posts about why our singers joined VCS, and why they continue to sing with us. We’re going to share these with you through 2013, and we hope you enjoy reading them as much as we did!

Up first, Suellen Evans, Soprano 2, and already indispensable to helping us make things happen behind the scenes:

Suellen Evans, 2nd Soprano, at "Swing!" (October 2012)

Suellen Evans (first from left) 2nd Soprano, at “Swing!” (October 2012)

I always thought that you were supposed to “start at the beginning” whenever encountering something new, and yet, joining the VCS has opened my eyes to a whole new way of looking at my limited thinking.

I’ve enjoyed singing since I was young (many moons ago) and knew that my voice was better in a “collective” than as a “solo”. On my way home from work one day I was wondering how I could find a place to sing that was fun, with a group of people who were supportive. So when I looked up and noticed a banner across Maple Avenue for open auditions with the Vienna Choral Society, I took it as a sign (pun intended) and called the phone number listed. The “meet and greet” was great fun. Seemed like an energetic group of people who were not judgmental…my kind of people. So I signed up!

Then comes the first rehearsal. Music in hand, I walk in, find a seat with the 2nd Sopranos and open to the requested song…and darn if that cute little conductor (what is her name again…oh yeah, Jen) starts us smack dab in the middle of a song. What’s a girl to do? So I follow her lead, and sit back and watch the magic.

Perfection was not ours for the first few weeks. Then all of a sudden Jen’s methods were no longer “madness” but “magic”…we sounded so good!!!

I had the absolute time of my life singing A-Train, Route 66, Thriller and our fabulous finale, YMCA. I am a believer in the “Jen School of Singing.” Keep it fun, fresh. Start in the middle and watch the magic happen.

Thanks for the sign, for me to sing.

Suellen Evans
Second Soprano with VCS

So, why do you sing? Email us at info@viennachoralsociety.org if you’d like to tell us in 300 – 500 words. We’d love to hear from you!

Show Time! “Welcome Yule!”

December 22, 2012

Okay so that’s one exclamation point too many for a blog post, but can you blame us?! It’s been an eventful few weeks, and we’ve been practicing. But we’re really in the mood now what with the mercury suddenly dipping. And this wind advisory!

Tell you what, sit out the wind — come see us. We’ll keep you warm, entertained, and there will be treats after. For as Lisa Callender Robinson (Soprano II, past president, person who makes sure we have important stuff together, and one of those deceptively hilarious “quiet” people) put it:

Our concert today is brought to you by the letter C: carols, cookies, and cocoa! So… Come!

Indeed. Please do come! We sing today, Saturday, December 22, 2012 at 4:30 pm, at Vienna Baptist Church (541 Marshall Road SW, Vienna VA 22180).

If you missed tickets online, fear not, we’ll have them at the door. (Seniors/students – $15, Adults – $20, Families – $35.)

And now, we hope you’ll excuse us while we get on the dress B&Bs (blacks and blues), and get ready to “Welcome Yule!”

Giving Tuesday

November 26, 2012

Do you have your tickets to Welcome Yule yet? Tickets are available online now and you might not want to wait because the holiday concert is our biggest. We’ll have more details on the concert in a couple of days.

But in the meantime, we’d like to draw your attention to #givingtuesday.

[Read more…]

9/11

September 11, 2012

We were invited and honored to sing at the Town of Vienna’s 9/11 service this morning. And we thank Virginia Del. Mark Keam for taking this photo.

Vienna Choral Society at the 9/11 2012 memorial (image by Mark Keam)

Thanks to Virginia Delegate Mark Keam for this image of us at the 9/11 memorial in Vienna, VA this morning.

The Pure Pasty! Reason 5 And Perhaps 6, 7, and 8 (Of Many) To Come To Celtic Arts Festival

March 7, 2012

The Celtic Arts Festival is an afternoon of not just music, but dance and culture too. And few things are as elemental to culture as food. Behold, The Pure Pasty!

delicious pasties with savory fillings - all sorts!

Per the company’s website, “Some say it’s the oldest food to go.” And, “the pasty is best known as the traditional food of Cornish tin miners (dating back to the 16th to late 19th centuries). The pasty was easy to carry and provided a hearty, substantial meal to keep a hard-working miner going all day. When the tin in Cornwall was mined out, the miners emigrated all over the world and took their dish with them, including to parts of the United States.”

We asked Mike “The Pasty” Burgess to tell us more about himself, his company, and pasties. He obliged, just has he has when some of us have gone in to ask for that one last pasty. [Read more…]

Tinsmith! Reason 4 (Of Many) To Come To Celtic Arts Festival

March 5, 2012

It’s always a mystery how a conversation will go with an artist. Some are very focused, so don’t really do interviews, and then there are others where even an email exchange turns into a fun interlude. And so it is with Tinsmith. We asked Brooke Parkhurst and Rowan Corbett a few questions and got some interesting replies.

Tinsmith: l to r, Brooke Parkhurst, Henry Cross, Rowan Corbett

Q: Five/fun things we should about Tinsmith?

A: Rowan and I have been playing together for 14 years – longer than either of us have been in committed relationships! Our name comes from the traditional occupation of the Irish gypsies, also known as Tinkers. Irish gypsies are not Rom (ethnic Gypsies from Europe/Central Asia) but are a subset of the Irish people. We started out playing at Renaissance Fairs all over the country [Read more…]

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