Vienna Choral Society

Concert And Holiday Month!

We have so much happening this month we decided to just keep it simple and list it all. Boring, but effective! So, here goes:

95-atxlMonday, December 2, 2013 – Church Street Stroll
Join us for this fun, casual, outdoor event in downtown Vienna. Merchants light up their stores, kids can meet Santa, grown-ups can enjoy the season. And you can hear us – or maybe even sing with us! We sing at 7 pm, starting at Lawyers and Church, and carol our way north to Caffe Amouri. Don’t be surprised if we show up in period holiday gear. It’s been known to happen!

[Read more…]

Top Ten Reasons To Come And See “Opera For The People”

lang2

The Reston Chorale’s David Brian Lang, in full arm wavery!

jen1

VCS’ Jennifer Rodgers Beach, about to make the choir flip castanets – sorta.

 

  1. You get to see not just one but TWO directors wave arms! And stomp feet – in a good way. [Read more…]

Farewell, 2011-2012!

seikilos rehearsal

(l to r) Jim Whitcomb, Jennifer Rodgers Beach (at piano), Melinda Bauers, Kristy King, and Frank Carr polish Leonin's "Allelulia Pascha Nostrum (1160-1180 AD)"

Another season has ended, and I am beyond proud of everything we’ve done this year. In spite of a freak snow in October (the only bit of winter we saw all year!), we filled the house for Music From the Big Screen. Our Christmas Stories concert, with dancing sugarplums and dancing children, proved that our audience doesn’t just come for the cocoa, and the Celtic Arts Festival brought together an entire community to share music, culture and food. And last night’s  Seikilos to U2 concert? A triumph – just a joy to sing such diverse music for such an appreciative crowd.

In addition to four great concerts, Vienna Choral Society had some other things to look back on with pride. Caroling during Historic Vienna’s Holiday Stroll, performing at the Mayor’s Reception, singing at local nursing homes. Our choir is as large as it’s been in years, and our audiences have broken box office records.

There are too many to thank for everything that happened this year, but it would be so rude not to try. So here goes. . . .

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VCS’ Mark Vogel And The Washington Master Chorale

Mark Vogel, Aesop's Fables, March 2011

Mark Vogel, at Aesop's Fables, March 2011

You know that image of the swan? The one where all you see is the quiet, graceful, efficient glide above the water while the feet are pedaling furiously under the surface? Yeah, that’s Mark Vogel for you.

Mark, the VCS accompanist, is yin to creative director Jen Rodgers Beach’s yang – her job is to  lead, push, energize, make us stand up (which is a good thing by about 9:15 pm in the comfortable, softly lit space where we rehearse). The music can turn on a dime and joyfully does when we’re all going with the flow.

Amid all that is Mark – who we always hear at the piano, but sometimes never actually hear from, who changes course, slows down, speeds up, stops or turns on that dime from behind the piano. All of it effortlessly and with great kindness for those of us (a-AHEM) who are more clueless than the rest. And as it turns out, there’s a LOT of pedaling* in Mark’s life outside VCS.

Mark is accompanist with the Washington Master Chorale, which has a concert coming up – April 22, 2012, at 4 pm, at the Saint Luke Catholic Church in McLean VA. More important, Mark will be performing a solo piano piece by Ravel.

Here’s all the info if you’d like to attend, along with discount codes for cheaper tickets if you buy online:

Buy tickets online here: http://theravishinghourmcclean.eventbrite.com/
Orc-20 will reduce the $30 orchestra seats to $20
Stu-10 will reduce the $15 student tickets to $10

Mark Vogel at VCS rehearsal, March 2012

Mark (far back, at piano) at VCS rehearsal, March 2012

* In his own words: WMC is my Monday night group. VCS is my Tuesday night group. And UUCF is my Thursday night group. I haven’t seen prime time television in a long time!!

Celtic Arts Festival: Who, What, Where, When?

Vienna Choral Society's Celtic Arts Festival Schedule, March 17, 2012

Vienna Choral Society's Celtic Arts Festival Schedule, March 17, 2012

Here’s a sneak peek at who’s singing where next weekend at the Celtic Arts Festival.

Join us for an afternoon of music and art.

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

We’ll have this schedule conveniently in the concert program as you walk in the door, but since some of you have asked, we’re happy to give you a quick look!

So. Got your tickets yet? They’re available right now, buy them online.

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

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

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…]

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

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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

1765 Greensboro Station Place, Suite 900, McLean, VA 22102

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