Vienna Choral Society

TwitterFacebookYoutube
  • Home
  • Events
  • Blog
  • Join Us
  • Friends of VCS
    • Support
  • Donate
  • About

Harmony and Light – Top Ten: “What Do You (Executive Producer) Really Do?”

December 18, 2015

For the last few seasons, we’ve done a couple of things during show week – we interview guest musicians or singers, or we do a “Top Ten” list of things that happened during dress rehearsal. Unfortunately, that’s getting harder to do. Because um, most of the writing on this blog is done by one person. That would be me, chief cook and bottle washer, executive director, Sohini Baliga at your service. Sadly, it’s not actually possible anymore for me to be in two places at once. I can plot choral world domination, but I can no longer geo-co-locate myself. Apparently Hollywood lies, and I’m only finally realizing this.

Of course, I don’t ever look like I’m actually doing anything. Jen directs and shapes us through the tough notes and “waves arms.” The choir moves and sings and takes direction.  Greg plays the piano, shucking his shoes when things get serious. I sit there quietly, with a loud brain and a notebook. And apparently, I sit with great repose. (Those of you who know me, please – hold your laughter.) Because a couple of weeks back, when we were driving into what Jen calls the “crunchy” bits and “hot spots” and my punch list was already two pages long, I got the following question: “What do you do?”

You know, like the meme.

What I Really Do as a producer

And so, here is a Top Ten for the Harmony and Light concert, of what people in the choir think I do, and what I really do.

Harmony_Light_FlyerWhat people think I do:

* “Try not to groan when our pitch goes south.” Not really. Jen worries about that. I have total faith in her and the choir, which brings its A-game every show.

* “I think you either plan grocery lists or plot total world domination. Or maybe play Temple Run while enjoying the music.” Truth. All of it.

* “Set up the tent, sell tickets and popcorn, and after all is over, clean up after the elephants. You do this over and over again.” Possibly. Although, some days, I’m thisclose to deploying an air horn. And a squirt gun.

* “Try not to lose your mind.” Nah. That’s what candy’s for!

* “You’re doing some moonlighting as PsychoTherapist for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. You only work with us cuz we’re normal.” Erm, define normal.

What I really do:

  • Lift, carry, schlep, and try to move things bigger than me until a couple of basses and our saint-like tech guy look at me like I’m stark raving bonkers. Because, no, I can’t actually move them at all, and realize this anew, every concert. Clearly, I live in the “hope over experience” category of things.
  • the-flash-reverse-flash-4

    “Can I go back to Friday and buy more cookies?”

    Nervously count heads and tickets and wonder if I have time to go buy more cookies
    between intermission and end of show. You can never have enough. Especially on the last Saturday before Christmas.

  • Consume far too much caffeine. No, seriously, by dress rehearsal I’ll be a vibrating blur like The Flash. By show night I’ll be facing off with Reverse Flash, making heartbreaking decisions in an effort to keep from interrupting the space time continuum.
  • Feel a rush like no other, from dress rehearsal set-up to post-concert close-out. It’s a whirl of movement, music, singers, and audiences with no do-overs and an unforgettable “you had to be there” experience. I’m blessed that it never feels like work.

You gotta be there. Please do come this weekend!

Online tickets to Harmony and Light will be available until 11:30 pm, Friday, December 18, 2015. After that, tickets will be available at the door on show night, Saturday, 4:30 pm, December 19, 2015 at Vienna Baptist Church (541 Marshall Road SW, Vienna VA 22180). Tickets are $24/Adults, $20/Seniors (65+) or Students (15 – 18). Youth 14 and younger attend for free with a paying patron. Box office opens at 3:45 pm. Doors open at 4:15 pm. 

 

Tagged With: caffeine, cookies, harmony and light, jazz inspired christmas, reverse flash, the flash, top ten list, vienna choral society, world domination

Spend The Solstice With Us!

December 16, 2013

light and dark placeholderYes yes, this is the most f(un)renetic* time of year for many of us and you barely have time for a breath much less a concert?! Are we nuts? Nope. We think you should make time to come and see us for your own sake. Here’s why:

The “Hey, that’s neat!” Factor

VCS always puts a fresh spin on the holidays and this year is no different. We noticed that our usual “weekend before Christmas” concert date fell on the solstice, and it made perfect sense to sing about the light and dark of the day. After all, isn’t that what so much of the holidays are about? Bright shining stars that show us the way, a reminder of what is important in the dead of winter, the community we all crave when it is dark at 4 pm, and the promise of light as the days get slowly but surely longer in the new year?

 The Music

Well, yes. It’s all about the music at the heart of our concerts no matter why we sing. This is a concert for a cause, and we’ll tell you about that in a minute, but first, the music—Eric Whitacre’s modern American classic, “Lux Aurumque,” a haunting choral arrangement of Sara Bareilles’ “Winter Song,” the classic Appalachian folk song, “Bright Morning Stars,” “All Hail To The Days,” the 17th century English broadside …. We will sing pieces that are, by turns, poignant, ethereal, majestic, joyful, and deeply satisfying.

(And yes, if you think that video of a virtual choir singing Lux Aurumque is amazing, wait until you hear it in the flesh. Goosebumps.)

A Moment Of Pause

Last year, one of the reasons we sang Welcome Yule! was to rediscover and remind ourselves of that pure, traditional sound of the season – as opposed to what our director referred to as the forced, over-bright, Muzak-on-a-loop holiday music. You know, that moment when you realize that endless thud you’re hearing is the downbeat of “Little Drummer Boy,” for the fourth time in as many hours and with all the dread of a forced march….

Yeah, we’re not doing that. If anything, consider Solstice: Light And Dark your moment of refreshing pause. The two hours where you just stop, to appreciate the magical quiet of the season, and to look forward to the shifting of the sun to longer days.

Concert For A Cause

For many of us, this time of year is challenging. It isn’t just the desire some of us have to pull the covers over our heads as we look at a seemingly unending list of things to get done in time for the holidays or the end of the fiscal quarter. Seasonal Affective Disorder may affect a small number of people, but it is very real. And unlike many mental health challenges and disorders, the rest of us can often have at least a small frame of reference for SAD because so many of us struggle with plain old “winter blues.” Marketers sure get this, why else do you think all those TV ads for Aruba and the Bahamas show up, usually at 3 pm, around March when the spring seems so achingly close and yet so very far away?

We get this. It’s why we’ve partnered with The Women’s Center for this concert, and hope you will take away some self-care information, or tips on how to reach out to people in your life who are having a hard time in the darkness of winter, and to help them sing away the dark.

Hot Chocolate

Happiness in a mug….via Brandon Fick/Flickr

The Hot Chocolate And Cookies Reception

We thought of dispensing with our now traditional post-winter concert hot-chocolate …. for about a hot minute. And then, upon threat of mutiny, decided it was worth all the spills, drips, mess, and such. It’s the VCS winter concert dagnabbit. There shall be hot chocolate! Complete with cute little mini-marshmallows. Oh, and cookies. We always have cookies after our concerts. And this year, we’re fortunate to have them donated by Whole Foods Vienna. Mmm mmm good.

The Fun Factor!

We are blessed to be in an area where the local businesses have a strong sense of community. Our fall concert featured coffees by the much beloved Caffe Amouri. This concert we’re delighted to hold a raffle where you can enter to win prizes to local establishments. We are very grateful to Pure Pasty for donating a $20 gift certificate. And we’re thrilled that Donato’s Pizza has donated $125 gift certificate. We’ll also have gift certificates to iTunes and Amazon, ‘cuz we’re fun like that. Look for the raffle table, put your name in the box, and we’ll do the drawing at the end of intermission.

So there you go.

Really, how are you not gonna come to our concert? Great music, a good cause, yummy treats, prizes, and a two-hour “pause” that’ll leave you happy to go back out into the winter. What’s not to love?

Please come, won’t you? Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors (over 60)/students (15 – 18), and free for youth 14 and under. Volunteers also attend for free. If you’d like to volunteer, please sign up here!

Tickets are available online until Saturday morning. You can also purchase them directly from friends who are singing in the concert, and of course, we always have them at the door.

See you in a few days!

* fun + frenetic, kinda like frenemy. It’s the new W00t. Really. We’re just ahead of the curve.

Tagged With: 17th century broadside, all hail to the days, amazon, appalachian folk music, aruba, bahamas, caffe amouri, cookies, donato's pizza, eric whitacre, hot chocolate, iTunes, light and dark, little drummer boy, lux aurumque, muzak, pure pasty, SAD, sara bareilles, seasonal affective disorder, solstice, the winter blues, the women's center, virtual choir, welcome yule, whole foods vienna, winter song

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!”

 

Tagged With: christmas music, cocoa, cookies, welcome yule

Save The Date: Christmas Stories!

November 12, 2011

And here we go! Save the date for “Christmas Stories.”

We’ll tell the Christmas story from a few different perspectives
and also have some fun with contemporary Christmas stories such as
“The Night Before Christmas,” “The Nutcracker,” “A Charlie Brown Christmas” and more.

Bring the kids, enjoy the music, stay for the VCS cookies and cocoa!

Vienna Choral Society presents Christmas Stories, December 17, 2011

Vienna Choral Society presents Christmas Stories, December 17, 2011 (artwork by Kim Jackson)

Tagged With: charlie brown, christmas, christmas stories, cocoa, cookies, dr. seuss, grinch, holiday concert, Nutcracker, Vienna Baptist Church, vienna choral society

Come To The Concert – We Will Have Power, Warmth, Fun …. And Cookies!

October 29, 2011

Vienna Choral Society | Music From The Big Screen (October 29, 2011)

Vienna Choral Society | Music From The Big Screen (October 29, 2011)

A note from Jen Rodgers Beach, Artistic and Musical Director of VCS:

Many of you know that our first concert of the season is tonight and that is still the plan! [Read more…]

Tagged With: Bohemian Rhapsody, choir, cookies, jennifer rodgers beach, Mission Impossible, moon river, Queen, rocky horror picture show, Unitarian Universalist Church of Fairfax, vienna choral society

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.

More questions? Drop us a line at

Click here for our terms and conditions

For Singers

Active choir members, find what you need here for rehearsal tracks, registration and dues, any membership updates, section leader information, Friends of VCS info, and more.

Contact

703-349-7150

PO Box 310, Vienna, VA 22183

Sponsorship

Would you like to sponsor us? We have a loyal, growing, diverse, educated, and discerning audience that considers it worth supporting the arts. Be part of this community! Email us with the word 'sponsorship' in the subject line at

© 2021 Vienna Choral Society • All Rights Reserved • Terms & Conditions