singing | Vienna Choral Society

Sounds Of The Season: The Instilled Hopefulness Of Music

November 16, 2016

VCS is a pretty mixed lot. High school freshmen and octogenarians, homebodies and world travelers, newcomers and long timers who remember life before Tysons Corner, tea drinkers and coffee mainliners. We come from all walks and persuasions of life. And we rehearse on Tuesday nights. Which means we rehearsed on election night.

Presciently, our AD, Mike Horanski – who has, from Day 1, envisioned joyous community through music – took a few minutes before warm-up to talk to us. “Think of how you feel when you sing, and when you hear music. There is joy. But there is also an instilled hopefulness and beauty in singing, and unless you experience it, you don’t know it. I can’t help thinking how different things would be if we could all have more of that.”

I thought of his words as I sat in a concert last last weekend. It began with a piece I sang years ago with VCS, and another choir. As the singers’ voices rang out in an old church with high ceilings and great acoustics, there was joy at beloved notes never forgotten. There was peace between canons. There was rest when all the voices and chords finally resolved.

Music doesn’t just express what we can’t put in words. It brings us together like few other things can, and leaves us lighter.

Next month, we sing SOUNDS OF THE SEASON, 4:30 pm, Saturday, December 17, 2016 at Vienna Baptist Church. We will sing the sacred and the secular, beloved favorites and new classics, and of an old story and a season where life and community are fragile – only if we allow it.

We hope you will join us. And find your own moments of joy, peace, and rest.

Tickets are now available online and via choir members.

Adults – general admission – $25
Seniors(65+)/Students(15 – 18) – $20
Youth (14 and younger) – FREE, if accompanied by a ticket holder

See you in a few weeks,

Sohini Baliga
Executive Director, VCS

Should we sing? Is it even appropriate?

November 25, 2015

image courtesy of pieter musterd/Flickr Creative Commons

The Sunday after the Paris attacks, I sat amid a sold out audience, waiting for The King’s Singers to take center stage. But before the performance began, Rev. Gini Gerbasi, rector of the venue, St. Johns Episcopal Church in Georgetown, addressed the elephant in the room. “Beauty is always an appropriate response,” she said.

Beauty? A response to violence?

But I neither snorted nor rolled my eyes. And neither did anyone else in the room. Because we instinctively knew the deeper truth behind that statement: [Read more…]

Do What You Do Better, Singing Or Otherwise!

June 18, 2014

Have you bought your tickets to our Summer Workshop yet? If not, you still have time!

If you’ve already come to our workshops in summers past, you know what a great experience they can be. If not, here’s what you need to know.

WHERE AND WHEN ARE THE WORKSHOPS BEING HELD?
Saturday
August 23, 2014
9 am to 4 pm
Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 2589 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna, VA 22181 (closest Metro stop is the Vienna/Fairfax-GMU station, north exit is closer if walking, but we recommend taking a cab).

Yes, there shall be cookies and such. But you gotta let us know if you’ll be there so we can plan!

HOW MUCH WILL I PAY?
Masterclass ticket (limited to 8 per workshop) $135
General ticket $85
General Half-Day $42.50 (come either in the morning or the afternoon)
Lunch is available for $12

(NOTE: Additional processing fees apply for online ticketing.)

Walk-ins are welcome, but buying a ticket ahead of time helps us plan a better coffee break!

WHERE CAN I GET TICKETS?
Right HERE!

WHAT DO THE WORKSHOPS OFFER?
VCS vocal workshops are a day-long immersive experience (9 am to 4 pm) designed to help singers:

Improve vocal technique
Enhance sight-singing skills
Strengthen musicianship

A full day of workshop options in vocal production, rhythm and notation, and music theory will be offered, along with Masterclasses that give hands-on coaching application for singers and listeners. All who register attend the Masterclass. Those who pay for a Masterclass will have a dedicated coaching session with the instructors, and perform in front of the whole workshop.

Masterclass attendees are strongly encouraged to come with a prepared piece of music.

What exactly happens in a Masterclass, you ask? To quote our director, Jennifer Rodgers:

Now, I’m realizing that many folks don’t know what a masterclass is and how it works. First off – YOU don’t have to be the master. That’s supposed to be me…I get to be called a master teacher!

The singers who perform should bring a piece to sing, ideally with accompaniment unless you plan on singing without. This doesn’t have to be a big, new challenge…something to put out in front of an audience and let us see you on the spot. We’re really nice and we don’t bite. It’s okay if you’re a mess and it’s okay if you’re a chanteuse!

WHAT IS THE WORKSHOP SCHEDULE?

9:00 – 9:30 am Arrival and Registration
9:30 – 9:45 am Welcome, Introductions, Overview
9:45 – 11:15 am SESSION 1 – Vocal Production Keynote (with Jennifer Rodgers and Greg Graf)
11:15 – 11:30 am Coffee Break
11:30 am to 12:30 pm MASTERCLASS 1
12:30 – 1:15 pm Lunch
1:15 – 2:45 pm SESSIONS (2a – Music Theory Basics and SightreadinG/SESSION 2b – Advanced Music Theory) – these sessions will run concurrently.
2:45 – 3:00 pm Coffee Break
3:00 – 4:00 MASTERCLASS 2

WHY TAKE A VCS SUMMER WORKSHOP?
If you’re a singer, the answer is obvious – you learn to sing better!

But at VCS we believe that singing isn’t just for “Singers.” It’s for everyone who wants to be better at what they do, whether it’s music or anything else.

When you sing with us you learn to breathe, project, be with a group, take the stage on your own, pivot when the music isn’t going according to plan, connect and communicate with the audience, and find your voice.

Singing is full of life lessons. If you’re a professional, get better at your craft. If you’re not a professional, get better at being you.

All voices and skill levels welcome.

Vocal Workshops Summer 2014

May 20, 2014

Oh my, what a show PDQ Bach was! Complete with a potato launcher, cotton balls, and feathers. Yes, if you have no idea what we’re talking about, you definitely had to be there. But never fear, we’ll have pictures. And with luck, some video too!

And no, there is no such thing as a quiet summer for us. We’re already on to the next thing. Coming up this summer, we’ll have vocal workshops again – on Saturday June 28 and Saturday August 23. This summer’s workshops will be led by VCS’ Artistic Director Jennifer Rodgers and our accompanist Greg Graf.

Tickets are now on sale, and Masterclass tickets are limited.

If you’ve already come to our workshops in summers past, you know what a great experience they can be. If not, here’s what you need to know. [Read more…]

Vienna Choral Society’s Requiem – A Sneak Peek

May 19, 2011

Wondering what we’re going to sing this weekend? Here’s a sneak peek!

Alle Psalite Cum Luya

Now I Walk In Beauty (hummed)

The Awakening (UUCR)

Now I Walk In Beauty (sung in unison)

The Heart is The Compass (UUCF)

Now I Walk In Beauty (full piece, in unison)

Make Our Garden Grow (VCS)

Lux Aurumque (Mark conducts, Amelia Gil-Figueroa, Anne Pohnert, and Lydia Lewis, soloists)

Healing Waters

You Are the New Day

Ubi Caritas (begun with solo, followed in stages by the rest of the choir)

~INTERMISSION~

Requiem

Timor Mortis Conturbat Me
Telos (Jim Whitcomb, solo)
Dirge Without Music/When I Am Dead, My Dearest (Jen Rubio and Furman Riley, soloists)
Holy Light (SSAA)
Dirge Without Music (Sarah Davies, reader)
Never More
The First Day’s Night (Sarah Davies, reader)
To Everything There is a Season (Anne Pohnert and Melinda Bauers, soloists)
Time & We Bereaved (Sarah Davies, reader)
Threnody & Limitless (Kristy King, soloist)
Wherever You Go Now

A full choir, an orchestra, a lovely space. Help us complete the picture with a full house! There are still tickets available online.

Stubborn, Bumpy, Slightly Ill-Mannered

May 12, 2011

There are pieces we rehearse that make me almost comically petulant.

This tempo’s too slow.

These words are too complicated.

That chord is icky.

Clearly, someone needs a nap.

But it’s like that. Some music is just so darn full of charm (however you define it), you can see pretty clearly that singing it is going to be a delight (however you define that). Other pieces are stubborn, bumpy, slightly ill-mannered, protective and don’t give themselves up easily. And I’ve learned that loving them precisely because they’re stubborn, bumpy, slightly ill-mannered, etc. brings about actual appreciation for the depth, the complexity, the subtleties that reveal themselves only after some hard work.

The charming songs are by definition delightful, but the challenging ones – big rewards to be had there.

How Good Can A Non-Audition Choir Be?

April 27, 2011

I sang all the time when I was a kid. Even got into a select choir my last three years of high school, and then toured for a year with a singing group as an 18-year-old. The funny thing is, I never thought I could sing very well. Who knows how that starts? Perhaps I mis-interpreted a stray remark, maybe I was shocked at hearing my recorded voice for the first time, or it came from hearing a perfectly gorgeous voice and mistaking years of lessons for natural ability (which I did not have). At any rate, by adulthood, I pretty much figured my singing days were behind me.

Nonetheless, I truly missed singing with a group. I missed the camaraderie, the hard work disguised as fun, the very addicting feeling of being in synch with dozens of other people as we shaped chords, harmonies, turned words into songs. I assumed that any community choirs in the area would require such a level of talent and commitment that I’d have no chance of getting in (compared to where I grew up, Northern Virginia is the Land of People Highly Trained in the Leisure Pursuit of Their Choice). A no-audition choir was a revelation, but then, really . . . how good could they be?

Shame on me. I am back in a choir, with VCS, without the stress of an audition. All the things I loved about singing as part of a group are right there, and then some, because now that I’m a grown-up, I appreciate them all on an entirely new level. And after my first performance, my husband – the most charmingly blunt man on the planet – said, “I only went because I’m supposed to be supportive, but you guys were great.” And my teenage daughters thought the choir was terrific and I was amazing.

How good can a non-audition choir be? Even without validation from my picky family, it turns out it’s pretty darn good.

Karen Akers has been an alto with VCS since 2010. She blogs at Humans In The Workplace.

Eric Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque

April 23, 2011

2,000 Voices. 50 Countries. One Choir.

The word “lush” comes up in the information about our next concert. What’s a lush piece of music, you ask? Here’s an example of Eric Whitacre’s Lux Aurumque. Over 2,000 people from 50 countries uploaded, and the result is here.

Further Adventures Of The Newbie: Can You Hear Me Now?

April 6, 2011

Directing

Several rehearsals later, two things become clear to the newbie.

First, singing is a physical thing, like yoga. You can just show up late and jump in, if you’re really really good. But if you’re a newcomer it really helps to show up early for warm up – to loosen up those vocal muscles, yes. But also to shake off the day’s stress, literally, because it might be the first time you’ve stood all day. And to enjoy simple and sometimes silly scales sung in harmony, a wonderful thing even before sheet music is cracked open.

Also, it’s useful to show up early, because that’s when everyone is exactly where they’re supposed to be. Unlike say, the first time, when I was totally late and therefore had no idea where anyone was – and the only reason why the director was no where to be found. She’d already auditioned everyone and was taking a quick breath before the choir warmed up, doing a newbie a humongous favor by taking an extra few minutes. And because I was boorish enough to suggest otherwise, even inadvertently – I’m sorry, Jen, and thank you! 🙂

Second, a choir really is embracing and forgiving. Or perhaps it’s just this one, I wouldn’t know. Either way, I’m grateful. Because it’s not the horribly disruptive thing I thought it would be if I hit an off note. (Or, ahem, seven.) That’s not how it seems for the director, the accompanist, or the audience. They’re listening at the “end of the funnel,” as Jen puts it. The point was driven home again in second sopranoville when one of us stepped out briefly, and upon returning, said, “That sounds really good!”

At the end of the funnel, you hear a whole, a blend. And it is lovely.

Praise For Aesop’s Fables

March 18, 2011

We love it when we get praise! So we’re reposting this lovely emailed compliment from an audience member who came to the Aesop’s Fables event:

I was really impressed by the variety of the program, the clever storyline and the wonderful “play” between the singers and actors. Many times one goes to choral concerts to see performers who have their noses firmly in their folders. It was obvious that you knew what you were singing and were tickled by the text/music as well. You also had a terrific conductor (and accompanist- it was a delight to see him smiling when you were singing a cappella!) who knew the music well and was very clear as to what she wanted from the performers. It was wonderful! Do remind me when your next concert comes up!

Thank you for coming! And we hope to see you at our next event, the Clif Hardin Requiem. You can a week more to try out at our open rehearsals. Please do consider joining us – the more the merrier!