Vienna Choral Society

Requiem – “But Joy Comes In The Morning Light”

Dan Forrest’s choral masterwork Requiem For The Living, which inspired our next concert with its magnificent music and uplifting message is truly unique, and departs in many ways from the traditional requiem.

In the composer’s own words, it starts simply and builds on long, floating melodic lines, ultimately moving towards an exhilarating closing section that portrays light, peace, and rest.

One of the loveliest lines of the concert—“But joy comes in the morning light”— isn’t in the requiem. Instead, as our artistic director Mike Horanski explains, you will hear music about life’s total journey. Of all its hopes and dreams and adventures. Because music helps us express emotions in ways that words and individuals may not be able to, building community when we help each other celebrate life’s joys and giving comfort to one another. [Read more…]

Q&A with HART- Homeless Animals Rescue Team

animalcrackershorizontal
We’re counting down to our first concert of the season, ANIMAL CRACKERS: A Concert For A Cause! Our partners are the fabulous folks at HART (Homeless Animals Rescue Team), who do amazing work.

HARTVOLHART is a no-kill animal rescue/support group that takes in and rehomes abused and unwanted dogs and cats. HART works with local veterinarians, trainers, foster homes, and kennels to provide temporary care for the pet until s/he is placed in a loving, carefully-screened forever home.

Nancy Tarr, executive director of HART took a few moments away from the four-leggeds to answer our questions.

VCS: ​What makes a great pet owner​?​
HART: A great pet owner has a commitment to making a pet a member of the family and will only take on the responsibility of pet ownership if they are prepared to provide the following:

  • daily exercise and enrichment
  • a quality diet
  • adequate and consistent medical care
  • plenty of love and affection
  • TIME

​VCS: Kids + pets = …..?
HART: There are many benefits to having pets as part of your family. Studies show that children who grow up with pets tend to develop fewer allergies due to exposure to common bacteria. Pets can also boost self esteem and lower stress AND they can teach your children about love and nurturing.

VCS: The smallest animal that came your way was?
HART: A Chihuahua.

hartpup​VCS: The largest animal that came your way was?
HART: Pun, a giant black lab great dane mix that used to love to lounge in a swimming pool filled with ice cubes in the summer. We used to joke that his head was a big as an adult lion’s head.

VCS: The gentlest animal that came your way was?
HART: Coco. A black labradoodle who came from Roanoke Virginia after her elderly owner had to move to full time nursing care. Her owner loved her so much that she wrote a poem for Coco. [Read more…]

Getting To Know You: The 2015 Games

And finally this concert week, we get to know a bit about the 2015 World Police and Fire Games. You’ve probably started to see ads and billboards for the games — which are huge! The 2015 Games  will feature 12,000 first responders from 70 countries competing in 61 sports over 10 days in 53 venues throughout Fairfax County and the National Capital Region. The Games are the largest multi-sport event in the world for public safety officials. Most events will take place in Fairfax County and will be free to attend.
logo-fairfax2015-frontUL-4VCS: We say Games, you say
WPFG: 61
VCS: Three things the Games would like us to know that we probably aren’t aware of.  

[Read more…]

Getting To Know You: The VVFD, Fire Station 402

If you’ve followed our blog, you know that concert week has usually come to mean getting to know our partners, or sometimes, a funny post about dress rehearsal (when nerves and hilarity are at an all time combined high). We’ll have the funnies later, but first up this week as we approach Everyday Heroes, the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, one of our two local partners in this concert for a cause to support the everyday heroes in our community. (The other local partner is the Vienna Police Department, we’ll have more on them later this week.)

Did you know that of all the fire departments in Fairfax County, the VVFD is one of four that is self-funded? And that a major source of income is the bingo games the VVFD hosts? That’s right, their ability to respond to your 911 calls or pay off the newly purchased apparatus is funded by revenue that they have to work hard to earn (as opposed to having it earmarked clearly and more effortlessly through government funding). And they’re all volunteers.

Humbling, isn’t it?

Read on to learn more about the people at VVFD, Fire Station 402.

The men and women of the VVFD

The men and women of the VVFD

[Read more…]

When The Concert Intersects With Real Life

Sixty-nine members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team await takeoff on a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 26, 2015. The specially trained team and approximately 70,000 pounds of their supplies are deploying to Nepal to assist with rescue operations after the country was struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class William Johnson)

Sixty-nine members of the Fairfax County Urban Search and Rescue Team await takeoff on a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster III at Dover Air Force Base, Del., April 26, 2015. The specially trained team and approximately 70,000 pounds of their supplies are deploying to Nepal to assist with rescue operations after the country was struck by a 7.8-magnitude earthquake. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class William Johnson) via Flickr/DVIDSHUB

We plan out our seasons well in advance. When Everyday Heroes was envisioned, well over 18 months ago, the idea was to convey, in song, that moment we see time and again—that moment when we are are all capable of being extraordinary. When we are surprised and transformed by what we, or someone else we may never have pegged as the hero of the moment end up doing because there was no other choice. It’s our “Clark Kent ripping off the glasses” moment. Only, without a cape.

And when we think of the 90 minutes you’re going to spend with us, we want to offer something unique that stays with you—whether it’s a happy earworm or an outlet for which words simply aren’t enough. We think of something lasting, not current events.

In other words, no one at VCS had any idea that this season’s concert for a cause might be “timely.” Indeed, we seem to have stumbled upon world events, even as we didn’t look to find them in our repertoire. Because in the last two weeks we have seen: [Read more…]

Thank You!

Thank you for coming out last weekend and seeing us sing “Text and Sound.” It was our pleasure to sing for you, and we look forward to seeing you again in May.

heroesMark your calendars for our 2014-15 season Concert for a Cause.

We sing

Someone To Watch Over Me – Everyday Heroes

in partnership with

the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department, the Vienna Police Department,

and the 2015 World Police and Fire Games

4:30 pm, Saturday, May 16, 2015

Stay tuned for details!

Coffee House Concert Update: Thank You!

light and dark placeholderSo, it’s fully 6 pm on a Sunday afternoon before we got this quick post up. You know why? Because we’re moving kinda slow after last night’s concert – because It. Was. Fun!!! That’s right, fun with – count ’em – three exclamation marks. A nearly full house, a warm appreciative audience, a choir in great form, wonderful food and drink. It was a great first concert of the season!

And just that quickly we dive right into the next concert. Mark your calendars for our December concert:  [Read more…]

Thank You!

We have finally wrapped up our 2012-13 season. And what a season it was! We danced at “Swing!”, we did an old-fashioned Yule at the holidays, we held an ambitious multi-medium concert for a cause with “Music Of The Storms” – one of our best attended ever, and finally the BHAG* of “Opera For The People” with The Reston Chorale.

Thank you – for coming out to see us, for supporting our creative leaps of faith, for being such a wonderful audience.

In case you’re wondering though, there is no rest for the wicked. We dived right back into things for the summer. Which is why you saw us over the weekend at ViVa! Vienna!

It’s also why you’re going to see us at the Vienna Farmer’s Market and – we’re REALLY excited about this one – the Tinner Hill Blue’s Festival, where we’ll kick things off with the national anthem. We’ll do both of those June 8. But hey, come see us at the Farmer’s Market in the morning, and Tinner Hill at Noon. There’s plenty of time in the day to do both!

We’re also very pleased to bring you the vocal workshops this summer. We’ll have three options – June 29, July 27, and August  24. Tickets will be available through our Eventbrite page. Tickets will go on sale in early June for all three dates. And we’ll have posts and information on what you can expect from the workshops, and how they’ll be structured – probably in mid-June. So be sure to check back.

And finally, we’ll have the season kick-off on August 27, which will lead us into the 2013-14 season. And boy what a season we have planned for you!

October 26: Coffee House Concert

October 29, November 5, 12: Open Rehearsals

December 21: Concert For A Cause – Light And Dark

January 7, 14, 21: Open Rehearsals

March 15: Family Friendly Concert – Lullabies and Children’s Stories

March 18, 25, April 1: Open Rehearsals

May 24: Parodies and PDQ Bach

And there you have it. Come see us sing, won’t you? 

(*BHAG = Big Hairy Audacious Goal)

 

 

About

Welcome to VCS! We are a teaching, non-audition choir where all voices and skill levels are welcome. We invite you to learn more about who we are, what we do, and if there's a place for you in our choir.

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703-349-7150

PO Box 310, Vienna, VA 22183

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