lullabies

Rehearsal Is On This Week!

March 3, 2014

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We highly resemble Maxine’s remarks, but yeah, we’ll be singing this week. Two weeks to show night, no way we’d miss rehearsal. (Also, more importantly, our rehearsal space will be accessible. And it’ll be Fat Tuesday.) But that’s not for a whole other 24 hours. Enjoy the snow! In the meantime, do you have your tickets for our concert yet? They’re still available.

We sing Lullabies, 4:30 pm, Saturday, March 15, 2014 (at VBC, 541 Marshall Road SW, Vienna, VA 22180) – $25 for adults, $20 for seniors 60+ and students (15 – 18), youth (14 and below) attend for free accompanied by a ticketed attendee. Tickets can be purchase through a member of the choir, or online.

Wonder, And A Full Heart

February 27, 2014

For all the cracking wise and exhaustions and glasses of wine, most of us are grateful for the warm memories. And this guest post from Don Schlienz captures that nostalgia. It is comforting for those of us still in the world of little kids, or those of us surviving the teenage years – all together now, exhale. It’s also nice to know that it’s not our imagination, we really do remember some bits and pieces forever. They become part of our mental repertoire, like the muscle memory of driving a stick shift or riding a bicycle.

Bedtime Stories and Lullabies

Don Schlienz (on right, in glasses) sings Bass 1, and is a frequent soloist. (image by Jim King)

“Once upon a time, there lived a (fill in the blank)…and they lived happily ever after.”

“Hush, little baby, don’t say a word
Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird…”

Silly stories and nonsense rhymes, told and sung by a loving adult to a small child, a toddler, a baby. Meant to comfort and calm, and help young ones to ease into sleep. Many times done from the steady back and forth of a rocking chair, or told while lying together on a bed. The voice is warm and familiar. The blanket is soft and snuggly. A teddy bear or favorite doll is held close by. The light is low. The night outside the window is dark and threatening, but there is security and safety in the ritual. [Read more…]

The Storyteller, Leigh Graf

February 26, 2014

If you’ve come to one of our family-friendly concerts, you know we go all out to engage the kids. Or at least get them to leave their seats, come to the front, and let the parents of the really young ones have a good five to ten minutes sans squirmy child in lap. This concert we’re delighted to introduce a storyteller, Leigh Graf.

We did have the advantage in getting Ms. Graf to join us – her husband, Greg, is our accompanist. And they have two children under the age of five. That’s right, they’re in the thick of the “one more please/but I’m thirsty/I’m not sleepy yet…!” world of bedtime rituals. We asked Ms. Graf how much of this informs her storytelling.

Leigh Graf, our storyteller for the Lullabies concert on March 15, 2014

VCS: What do you love about storytelling?
LG: I’ve always loved inviting an audience into the story. Children and adults alike enjoy getting “lost” in the adventures of a character, suspending one’s present reality in order to experience something new. Imagination is wonderful! [Read more…]

Lullabies, With The Mosby Woods Mustang Chorus

February 10, 2014

Artwork by Steven Keen/Keen Method

If you’re a long-time audience member you know three things about us:

we do at least one family-friendly concert per season
we are strong supporters of arts and music education, and
we are equally strong supporters of local community partnerships

Which is why we are so excited to tell you that joining us for Lullabies (4:30 pm, Saturday, March 15, 2014) will be the Mosby Woods Mustang Chorus from Mosby Woods Elementary School in Fairfax, VA. [Read more…]

And we’re back!

January 28, 2014

A Lego Nanook of the North. For real. (via Qwen Wan)

10:30 am, Vienna VA, Weather.com says it’s 11F.

So, it’s officially brr-cold- freezing out. But we’ll take that over snow (and snowdays) in a heart beat!

If you’re a singer, we’ll see you at our regular rehearsal tonight – Tuesday, January 28, 2014.

If you’re not a singer, we hope you have our next concert on your calendar! We’ll be singing lullabies from around the world – in our pajamas.

Such a lovely thought as we all walk around the DC-metro region dressed like Nanook of the North, slowly thawing out when we can…..

Snow Day, PJ day….hey, there’s a thought….

January 21, 2014

And today, VCS declared pj day and cancelled rehearsal. It was the sensible thing to do in this weather, no? Come to think of it, it’s very much in keeping with the spirit of our next concert: We’re singing Lullabies (4:30 pm, Saturday, March 15, 2014 at Vienna Baptist Church) in our pajamas.

Yeah they don’t care how we’re dressed. (via Ryan Dickey)

That’s right, we’re ditching our formal attire for this performance. We thought about it. And realized that while we’d look …..silly, we’d take that over looking positively ridiculous, singing in bowtie and formal clothes – at a family-friendly concert, where many of our audience members may well be either just done with naptime or heading towards bed time. [Read more…]

“But California Will Be Sunny And Mild!”

January 7, 2014

“Bundle up so you don’t freeze.” (From “Go, Dog. Go!” by P.D. Eastman)

Brr. It’s cold here in Vienna, VA. Yeah, yeah, yeah, we know. You folks out in the midwest and other parts even colder think we’re total wusses out here. But hey, look at it this way. Average temps in the area for January usually go to about 43. So cut us a break will ya? For our part, we’ll try very hard not to giggle at your complaints when you think 80 is hot in the summer.

All of which is to say that despite the weather, we shall be singing tonight. [Read more…]

January 4, 2014

As you know, VCS does one family-friendly concert a season. To be clear, children are welcome at all our concerts. But. We understand if your little one – or not so little-anymore-one! – isn’t going to sit through Lux Aurumque or opera. Which is why we deliberately plan one concert a season that is specifically geared towards kids, an evening of music and art where grown-ups can enjoy wonderful music, but where younger members of the audience are the focus. Because how else are you going to make it possible for a future generation of music lovers to take their place in society? Everyone wants their kid to play at Carnegie or know how to comport themselves at the Kennedy Center. But you have to make that possible from an early age, no? We sure think so!

This season’s family-friendly concert is Lullabies. Because there is probably not a culture in the world that doesn’t sing its children to sleep. [Read more…]

Happy New Year!

December 30, 2013

Happy new year – almost! It was nice to take a break, but we’re ready to sing again. January 7, 2014 is our next open rehearsal, and we’ll begin rehearsals for our March 15, 2014, family-friendly concert on Lullabies. Questions about joining us? You can find everything you need on our website – just click where it says “Sing!“ More questions that you can’t find answers to on our site? Drop us an email at info@viennachoralsociety.org. See you soon!

(PLEASE NOTE: The date for our May concert has changed! Parodies and PDQ Bach will happen May 17, 2014.)

Thank You!

May 28, 2013

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)

Rehearsal Is On This Week!

Wonder, And A Full Heart

The Storyteller, Leigh Graf

Lullabies, With The Mosby Woods Mustang Chorus

And we’re back!

Snow Day, PJ day….hey, there’s a thought….

“But California Will Be Sunny And Mild!”

Lullabies

Happy New Year!

Thank You!

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