Wrapping up a fabulous season of song

Another fabulous season of song has just wrapped up as the old year is coming to a close.

Sunday night December 14th was another wonderful show, a great venue and a super audience!
Oh, and again, a standing ovation!
🙂
It was so lovely seeing all the bright happy faces in the audience smiling back at us.
So thank you everyone who came out to Outer Aisle.

Some highlights:

I just loved singing the carol “O Holy Night” with Russ and the audience.
It is truly magical to be surrounded by the music.
And what a beautiful song—love those high notes!

Also, when Yebuny’s little girl, Cordelia came in she looked over at all of us and her face just lit up!
She is a little bright spot at our rehearsals and it’s clear she loves all her Aunties!

And then Yebuny brought her over while we sang “Silent Night” at the perfect moment when we got to ” ’round yon virgin, mother and child.”
I admit I got a little choked up.

Last year at this time we learned Yebuny was expecting, so it’s like Cordelia has been with the choir since then!

And many thanks to Julie, our fearless leader, who guides us through each song with her expert hand, and always gets us through those tricky sticky passages to the goal of beautiful music.

And thanks also to Marge for her dedication and talent at the keyboard!
You always make us sound good!

All of us are looking forward to another musical year (it will be the 10th anniversary of Mountain Melody) full of camaraderie and song!

Happy New Year and here’s to a fabulous 2015!

What a wonderful couple of nights!

In The Winter Wonderland!

In The Winter Wonderland!

Our concerts were a great success, many folks saying that they were completely entertained and caught up in the music.

Not too many boo-boos, an interesting entrance on Saturday, and on Sunday, the piano dropped out completely during the song, “My Favorite Things.”

There was a moment when we floundered a tiny bit, as we all sensed something going wrong, but then we came back in and finished the song.

Marge, our accompanist kept a cool head, and was pleased we added another “a capella” song into the mix!

I especially loved hearing us all, singers, our announcer Russ, and all of the audience singing “O Holy Night” together.

But the fun isn’t over yet—one more night on December 13th at Outer Aisle in Murphys!

Hope to see lots of folks come out!
Happy Holidays!
🙂

The Week From………

Mountain Meldoy Chorus Group ShotThe Week From………

Oh yes it is here!
The week we’ve waited for
And practiced for
And maybe even anticipated with a tiny smidgen of dread…….

What if I forget the words?
What if I can’t hit the note?
What if I come in at the wrong time—loudly?
What if I look out at the audience and just freeze up?

These are the fears we must face down and conquer this week!!!

But we will rise to the occasion, we will overcome every last bit of trepidation, we will triumph—-over all of our seventeen songs—-and we will bring you MUSIC!!

Music made from our countless rehearsals, hours of practice and study, from our hearts and our minds, our gift to you for the beautiful Holiday season.

It’s All About the Music!

Mountain Melody Photo of 4 Women SingningIt’s all about the music!

I have always loved music. I love singing, listening to music, dancing to music, and playing it on my ukulele.

I think of myself as a musical “idiot savant,” as my musical training is a bit spotty, but I was given (thanks Mom!) a great vocal instrument, and also a pretty good ear.
Due to a social disease (extreme shyness) in my youth, I missed out on the experience of choral singing in high school.

But, I am doing it now, and loving it.

Music really is a language unto itself. I feel that by being a part of Mountain Melody, my music reading ability has improved so much.
Half notes, quarter notes, dotted quarter notes—bring it on!
There is so much to learn from every piece of music I study.

And the experience of performing is wonderful.
It’s such a privilege to share the music with the audience and hear the applause when they enjoy it.
It makes it all worthwhile to be inside the songs, blending with the beautiful voices in the chorus, becoming one with the music.

Countdown to Performance Day!

Wow!
Here it is and it’s just about 2 weeks before our big performance!
What are we working on you might ask?
Answer: EVERYTHING!
But mostly……MEMORIZATION!
What does it take to memorize 17 songs?
A lot of REPETITION!
That means lots of singing in the shower, at the sink, in the yard, in the car etc. etc. etc!

Those pesky pesky words!
Those darn non-melodic melodies!
The way they pop in and out of your head at the most inopportune times, like when you are trying to fall asleep after rehearsal…..

And then there is the “finessing” stage—-which is where we are at now—-the soft yet energized passages, the “forte” (loud) passages, ” mezzo forte” (like the speaking voice) passages, and all of the other intricate little nuances we hope to coax out of our music.

It’s a lot like perfecting a favorite recipe—- or polishing the details on your car, finishing up a wonderful crafty project—–very meticulous but oh-so-satisfying!

It’s what all of us in Mountain Melody look forward to—-that imprecise yet exact moment when we declare—-it’s DONE!