Why Not Stick To Traditional Concerts?

It’s “concert week” for the VCS, but instead of perfecting our line-up, getting our folders in perfect order and pressing our concert blacks (well, okay, we’re doing that too!) – VCS is preparing for a festival!  It’s a joyous and, in my mind, BEAUTIFULLY executed chaos of artists:

• from the full 75-member chorus to a minstrel and his guitar (Rich Follett), from a Celtic fusion band (Tinsmith) to the more traditional Irish Breakfast Band and from a gaggle of energetic youth drummers (the VES Jammers) to two accomplished youth soloists – a dancer (Katherine Hughes) and a fiddler (Eammon Carolan).
• Jewelers, weavers, bakers, printers, facepainters, crafters

We’re a choral society – why not have you sit down and sing you a concert?  Well, lots of reasons!

First – great art welcomes and complements great art!  The mixing of our large chorus sound with bagpipers, banjo and flute, fiddle and drum is a chance to fill you up with rich experience and surround you with sound and music.

Second – a body of culture as old as the Celtic tradition is a rich tapestry and it’s wonderful to be able to present it as such.  Sure, there are lots of great choral arrangements out there, but so much of the music has its roots in smaller settings and we’re able to bring you all those pieces – so why wouldn’t we?

Third – I could go on and on, but I’ll make third about my reasons for the singers – this concert is an opportunity to dig into the music in a different way and develop skills that are more rare to find time for.  Here are some examples:

• We have gotten to know our choral arrangements on a deeper level – exploring the nuances of the text and shaping and bringing out subtleties that sometimes are hard to get to.
• We have had the time and confidence-building to present difficult a cappella singing
• We have added more atmospheric elements and have the opportunity to surround you and sing with you!

So – we are full up this week with not only rehearsals, but play lists for the two stages, call sheets for the various artists, decorations for 3 large spaces, arrangements for craft tables and vendor sales, volunteer coordination, and on and on…  And we are excited to do it!

I hope you’ll join in the chaos and take it all in this Saturday afternoon (Vienna Elementary School, 1-5pm!!)

Jennifer