A full house! And it takes a few minutes to figure out who will stand where and when.
Concert week’s rehearsals are about polishing the music, incorporating the guest musicians, and practicing the logistics of singing at the concert venue. What results is always a fun and interesting experience, with a nervy seat-of-our-pantsness quality that reaps many many one-liners. You know, the ones that make instant hilarious sense if you’ve ever sung in a choir, and are funny all by themselves even if you’re totally unconnected from rehearsal guts and simply come to be in the audience.
Therefore we give you the zingers of Tuesday last, in preparation for our upcoming concert:
Solstice: Light And Dark
4:30 pm, Saturday, December 21, 2013
at Vienna Baptist Church
(541 Marshall Road SW, Vienna, VA 22180).
During warm-up: “Exhale…Don’t hold in your stomach! You have permission shake it out like a bowl full of jelly!”
“My part 3 ooh-ers, can I have more from you?”
“Everyone sit down for a minute….let me share something with you.”
“Oh a story….”
Two short stories later about whiny people complaining about something or other amidst awesome music and fabulous productions, the point is this: “What I really want to say is ….suck it up, people!”
And because it’s said with affection and respect, the choir busts out laughing. We are among friends here.“You know, I think you’re all unnecessarily intimidated by this piece. It’s one syllable. Da. That’s it!” (Pause.) “I want to walk this out.”
“Aha! We knew you were going to spring something on us!”
That’s only one-third of the altos in the round. Because our camera couldn’t get far enough out for a full shot.
“Everyone seems to lose their brains for a moment at measure X.”
And for the win……
“Sopranos, you are calling the light into this piece! We are hailing the days!”
“Oh? The sopranos are drinking—apparently. That’s how you bring the light!”
“Ladies, whatever gets you in good cheer to hail the days!”
Stay tuned for more one-liners after Friday’s dress rehearsal! And please do come and see us sing before you go home for the holidays.
Tickets are $25 for adults, $20 for seniors (60+)/students (15 – 18), and free for youth 14 and younger. Tickets will be available at the door, but if you buy them online right now, you can skip the lines on show night.