open rehearsal | Vienna Choral Society

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.)

Get Ready To Sing! (Open) Rehearsal One

September 3, 2013

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…]

Third And Last “Open Rehearsal” For 2012-13 Season

April 2, 2013

Just a quick reminder that tonight is our third and final open rehearsal for the season. We are back to normal, and sing at 7:15 pm at Church of the Holy Comforter in Vienna.

If you’ve wanted to shake off the vocal cobwebs and see what it’s like to be part of that big wall of sound, this is your last opportunity for the season. We don’t hold open rehearsals again until the next season kicks off in the fall.

If you already know you’d like to sing with us, please check out the membership information on our website to find registration forms. If you’d like to just come by and visit, that’s fine too.

And we’re not kidding about the “wall of sound” – that’s what it feels like when you’re singing with 150 voices! Which is what’ll happen in May when we join forces with The Reston Chorale to present Opera for the People. Early bird tickets are now on sale.

Open Rehearsal Details for “Opera for the People”

March 19, 2013

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.”

January 29, 2013

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

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 2013 Rehearsals Start with “Music of the Storms”

January 7, 2013

And just like that we dive right back into rehearsals starting tomorrow, January 8, 2013 for our next concert, “Music of the Storms” – a great name for a concert, don’t you think? Because honestly, is there a culture or a place on the planet that doesn’t have music, poetry, art, and expression about the weather?

Save the date for Music of the Storms – 7:30 pm, Saturday, March 16, 2013.

And as always, if you’d like to come see us do our thing, see if we’re the right choir for you to sing with, you are most welcome to drop by open rehearsals — January 8, 15, 22 at 7:15 pm at Church of the Holy Comforter (off Beulah Road in Vienna, VA). [Read more…]

Thank You!

October 28, 2012

Swinging to Route 66

Thank you to our wonderful crowd last night for coming out to Swing! with us for our opening concert of the season! We had some enthusiastic dancers on the floor, and some who claimed more space in the back to swing out.

[Read more…]

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

September 4, 2012

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

August 1, 2012

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.

Save The Date For The VCS Celtic Arts Festival!

January 24, 2012

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!