Vienna Choral Society

Get Ready To Sing! (Open) Rehearsal One

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VCS artistic director, Jennifer Rodgers Beach, talks to a full house with lots of newcomers at the August 27, 2013 season kick-off.

We had such a great kick off last week! Great turn out, lots of newcomers, fabulous food courtesy of Whole Foods Vienna, and we got to meet Greg Graf, our new accompanist. If you missed the fun, we have pictures up on our facebook page.

And now that we are well and truly ready to sing, Rehearsal One of the season is tonight, 7:15 pm, Tuesday, September 3, 2013. And as always, it will be an open rehearsal. Chances are you already know what that means. But in case you do not, here’s the skinny: [Read more…]

Counting Down – Two Weeks To Kick-Off, One Week To Workshop!

UPDATE: Please look at our Sing! page for the membership information and package. 

Have you missed singing? We sure have! Which is why we’re counting down.

We are now two weeks from our season kick-off, and we can’t wait! It is free to attend. We encourage you to drop by if you’ve been curious about us, and you are most welcome to bring a friend. What happens at kick-off, you ask? A few things. Here is what you can expect:

Kevin Warner (board member, bass) with Cynthia Cadden (former board member, current soprano section leader) at the joint rehearsal 4/15/2013

Kevin Warner (board member, bass) with Cynthia Cadden (former board member, second soprano).

[Read more…]

The Alto Who Became A Soprano (One) Soloist

What summer vacation? We’re *busy* until we start singing again this fall!

Some of our busy-ness comes from summer vocal workshops. This year, we’re holding three. One in June, July, and August.

We happen to think the workshops are a great experience – no matter what your skill level. But don’t take it from us. Take it from one of our singers, Cherilyn Blumenthal (soprano one). Who by the way, wasn’t a member of the choir when she came to us last summer. So these are all her words.

(Although we *completely* agree that our director is amazingly talented.)

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Cherilyn Blumenthal, waiting before “Swing!” (Oct ’12) She was our scat singer for “A-Train.”

One day last summer, I noticed an advertisement for the VCS Vocal Workshop in our break room at work. I had been toying with the idea of taking voice lessons or finding a local choir to join, and seeing that advertisement felt like divine intervention!

Singing was an important part of my life when I was younger. It had social and academic meaning, and was an artistic connection I shared with my mother and grandmother. Over the years, I had let my vocal training fall to the wayside and found my talents largely relegated to the car.

When signing up for the workshop, my only expectation was to give my voice a good workout and determine if there was any magic left in my pipes, but I gained so much more. [Read more…]

Open Rehearsal Details for “Opera for the People”

Opera for the People (artwork by Steven Keen of Keen Method LLC)

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.

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

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

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…]

And We’re Off! Season 2012-13 Has Begun…

tomatoes from Hiu Newcomb of Potomac Vegetable Farms (East)

Tomatoes from alto Hiu Newcomb of Potomac Vegetable Farms – East (because good food goes well with music and friends).

The season officially began last week. Thank you so much for coming to our season kick-off and open house! Lots of new faces, and huge excitement for our first concert – because *everyone* likes a disco ball!

Did you miss last week? No matter. We hold three open rehearsals during every concert cycle. So if you’d like to check us out, come by this evening (and also the next two tuesdays – September 11 and 18), Jen will do vocal placements in addition to a regular rehearsal. Same time, same bat channel – 7:15 pm at Church of the Holy Comforter.

Parking is free. Come in through the double doors, make a left, and follow the noise!

Revving Up For The 2012-13 Season

Really? No idea how that happened, but it’s August already. And there are things to do and dates to save even before our first concert!

First, the ALL-DAY VOCAL RETREAT is coming up August 25, 2012. We still have plenty of tickets if you’d like to dust off those vocal cobwebs. But a Master Class spot just opened up as well, and that won’t last long. So buy your ticket fast! (It makes our lives a lot easier if you buy online, but if you’d rather reserve a spot and pay by check at the door, that’s fine too – just be sure to email us at info at viennachoralsociety.org by 8/20.)

Second, our SEASON KICK-OFF happens 7 pm, Tuesday, August 28, 2012 at Church of the Holy Comforter. Please do come, check us out, say hi to Jen and Mark. If you’d like to sing with us, Jen can schedule a quick and discreet voice placement screening. And if you’d like to just come and learn more about us and what we have coming up this season, we welcome you. We’ll even have light refreshment and nibbles.

Finally, we REHEARSALS begin Tuesdays, 7:15 pm, September 4, 2012 at Church of the Holy Comforter. And the first three rehearsals (Sept 4, 11, and 18) will be open rehearsals.

The Irish Breakfast Band: Reason 2 (Of Many) To Come To Celtic Arts Festival

We have so many great artists coming to the Celtic Arts Festival. One of them is The Irish Breakfast Band. The band is so named because for over 30 years its members have gathered every Saturday morning to share breakfast and to play traditional Irish music.  The tunes played are those handed down by aural tradition.

Save The Date For The VCS Celtic Arts Festival!

VCS Celtic Fest Mini Image

VCS Celtic Arts Festival Small Poster (artwork by Steven Keen/Keen Method)

If you’ve come to check us out for open rehearsals these last few weeks, you know by now that our next event is going to be so much fun some of us are jumping up and down with excitement!

VCS will present the Celtic Arts Festival, an afternoon of music and art, on – wait for it – St. Patrick’s Day.

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

In addition to our own choir, now at 75+ voices, the afternoon will feature rotating performances by the following:

  • Tinsmith – a folk band fusing traditional music with modern influences
  • Rich Follett – singer, songwriter, poet and minstrel
  • The Irish Breakfast Band – 20+ member traditional Ceili band and dancers from the DC area
  • Katherine Hughes – a traditional celtic dancer
  • John and William Hughes – father and son bagpipers
  • Eammon Carolan – Irish fiddle

You’ll have the opportunity to see traditional Irish dancing at a championship level, stroll among local craft vendors working in the Celtic tradition, and oh yes, eat scrumptious traditional pasties from Vienna’s own Pure Pasty.

The festival will be an open house atmosphere. One ticket buys admittance to the whole afternoon.

Save the date and stay tuned! We’ll tell you when tickets go on sale – soon!

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