[HANASHIR:16095] RE: Starting a new Jewish Community Choir

[Jacqueline Guttman <jguttman...>]

Right. Our librarian, whom I inherited, is lovely and willing, but not
musically literate and, I hate to say it, but not awfully smart. Sometimes
it works OK and she copies and hands out music. Then there are the other
times...

Jackie Guttman

> From: Meris Ruzow <meris (at) nycap(dot)rr(dot)com>
> Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Date: Sat, 06 Dec 2003 18:50:42 -0500
> To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Subject: [HANASHIR:16092] RE: Starting a new Jewish Community Choir
> 
> I have ringers when I need them as well.  They are important to have
> when necessary.  Also - make sure you assign a smart, organized person
> the job of LIBRARIAN.  Someone you can talk to easily who functions well
> independently who can copy music, order music, hand out at last minute,
> etc.   
> Meris Ruzow
> 
> Meris (at) nycap(dot)rr(dot)com
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org [mailto:owner-hanashir (at) 
> shamash(dot)org] On
> Behalf Of Jacqueline Guttman
> Sent: Saturday, December 06, 2003 3:10 PM
> To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
> Subject: [HANASHIR:16090] RE: Starting a new Jewish Community Choir
> 
> Ros,
> 
> I endorse everything Carol said. If you do not make decisions, you will
> waste loads of time trying to find consensus. It's fine to solicit
> opinions,
> but you should be the arbiter.
> 
> You may want to elect officers, who would then be responsible for
> dealing
> with much of the administrative stuff.
> 
> Regarding the person who feels you should audition, that's a
> philosophical
> issue. In my 20-voice choir, I have one person who, as my son says, is a
> "duo-tone". However, she loves being there. For years she sat and never
> opened her mouth. Then she moved her lips but no sound came out. She now
> feels good enough to sing, which is great, except that she cannot sing
> at
> all. However, since her voice is not too loud, it is only an issue when
> I
> listen to that voice part alone. However, the others seems to do ok
> despite
> her -- pretty well, in fact. If our choir's mission is to lead our
> congregation in song and prayer, who am I to deny anyone the joy of
> doing
> that? However, with a community choir, the perspective may be different.
> Up
> to you.
> 
> The other side of the coin, though, is that there are several good,
> experienced choral singers in the congregation whom I'd LOVE to have in
> the
> choir. They won't join because it's tedious for them. I don't blame
> them,
> but the thing is, if we had them, the level of the choir would rise and
> we'd
> get more good people. I'm toying with the idea of having them as
> occasional
> in-house "ringers". One has agreed to do this. We'll see if that works.
> Most
> choir members are fine with it, but a few resent it (including the
> duo-tone!). 
> 
> Best of luck.
> 
> Jackie Guttman
> 
>> From: Carol Boyd Leon <cbleon (at) hotmail(dot)com>
>> Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>> Date: Sat, 06 Dec 2003 18:12:41 +0000
>> To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>> Subject: [HANASHIR:16087] RE: Starting a new Jewish Community Choir
>> 
>> Roz, my choir experience is somewhat related as one of my Jewish youth
>> choirs is a community choir and last year I founded an adult
>> choir...although that one is affiliated with a Conservative synagogue.
> As
>> it hasn't been all that long since I went through those initial
>> organizational meetings, here are some of my memories and insights:
>> 
>> As I recall, the major decision to be made at our first organizational
>> meetings had to do with what kind of music we should sing.  Be
> prepared --
>> the people involved in getting your group started may be like mine
> with
>> diverse visions of what the choir should focus on musically.
> Contemporary
>> or traditional liturgical music, Israeli music, show tunes, etc. There
> was
>> no consensus.
>> 
>> So once they drafted me to direct the group, they left it up to me to
> give
>> it a focus and to choose all their music.  Of course, I'm open to
>> suggestions, but I think it's important to have an overall vision of
> what
>> would serve the group best.  I also determined the rehearsal schedule,
>> performance schedule and performance attire because, once again, there
> were
>> diverse ideas regarding each of these issues.  While I surveyed all
> the
>> potential members to find out their preferences, ultimately I had to
> make
>> the decisions.  I think it's difficult to determine these things by
>> committee.
>> 
>> Honestly, coming up with the rehearsal day is likely to be the biggest
>> roadblock you first come up against.  There may be someone who wants
> to be
>> involved but absolutely can't make it, say, on Tuesdays.  Be prepared
> for
>> how you'll handle that if it turns out Tuesday is the best day for
> everyone
>> else.  Are you willing to hold rehearsals on a day when you know from
> the
>> beginning that several members can never be there because you want to
> make
>> sure that everyone who is interested in joining can do so?  (I
> ultimately
>> went with once-a-week rehearsals, always the same day and time.)
>> 
>> Yes, the repertoire and teaching style need to take into account the
>> abilities of the group.  You may find you've got several people who
> can
>> sightread music as well as several who can't read a note.  (My own
> group is
>> like that; it's got some people who sing in top-rate choirs and some
> who are
>> stretching musically to sing with this choir.)  You may like the idea
> of
>> 4-part harmony but end up with only 1 tenor and have to have the men
> share
>> one voice part.  You may need a cappella music for singing in the
> Orthodox
>> shul.  What will you do when the group sings in the Reform synagogue
> to make
>> it comfortable for the choir members?
>> 
>> This Friday, my Conservative adult choir will be singing throughout an
>> entire Reform Shabbat service to help dedicate a new sanctuary for a
> large
>> retirement community.  There's a lot of give-and-take involved, but
> it's all
>> working out fine and there's plenty of learning going on.
>> 
>> The requirement of learning at home may not be a realistic one for a
>> volunteer choir unless you provide learning tapes to aid those who
> don't
>> read music.
>> 
>> Do you really want choir members with stage fright?  Most choirs are
>> performing groups.
>> 
>> Will you be able to afford a paid accompanist for every rehearsal?
> Can you
>> draft a volunteer rehearsal pianist?  If you're mainly singing a
> cappella,
>> perhaps you can get by with the director or another member
> pinch-hitting at
>> piano.
>> 
>> Also, what's comfortable for the choir members may not be comfortable
> for
>> the congregations at which they sing.  My choir enjoys instrumental
>> accompaniment.  Their shu, however, only permits me to use a tuning
> fork on
>> Shabbat; even a pitch pipe is a problem there.
>> 
>> Where will your funding come from?  My group started with no budget
> and had
>> to scramble for donations, particularly the first year.  We make sure
> to
>> sing at events which help support our donors (Men's Club, Sisterhood,
> etc).
>> In fact, we've got a concert tonight at a Men's Club-sponsored event
> whose
>> goal is to raise money for youth programs.
>> 
>> Ultimately, all the hard work is worth it.  Several of the group's
> members
>> tell me our rehearsals are a high point of their week.  They've melded
>> together to be a concerned and caring community that's a pleasure to
> work
>> with and they've grown musically, too.  I wish you the best of luck in
>> getting your community choir off the ground because I know the
> rewards,
>> particularly for the group's own members, can be very great.
>> 
>> Now I'll go see if the snow has melted enough to let me drive to this
>> evening's performance!
>> 
>> -- Carol
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> Carol Boyd Leon
>> Songwriter/Cantorial Soloist/Music Educator
>> E-mail:  CBLeon (at) hotmail(dot)com
>> Phone:  703-250-0554
>> Web page:  http://www.geocities.com/CBoydLeon
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> ----Original Message Follows----
>> From: Ros Schwartz <ros (at) hn(dot)dancinginthewind(dot)ca>
>> Reply-To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>> To: hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org
>> Subject: [HANASHIR:16084] Starting a new Jewish Community Choir
>> Date: Sat, 06 Dec 2003 11:41:14 -0500
>> 
>> There is an exciting initiative in our community, to start a Jewish
>> Community Choir.  I'm setting the agenda for our first organizational
>> meeting, and I would appreciate any comments/suggestions on
>> {a) the content of the agenda - attached below - anything I should
> change or
>> add? and
>> (b) any roadblocks/difficulties that I should anticipate, and
> suggestions as
>> to how to deal with them.
>> 
>> We have one Orthodox and one Reform congregation here (in Kingston,
> Ontario,
>> Canada) with a reasonably good relationship between them - a number of
>> people (including me) belong to both synagogues, and this is
> considered
>> quite acceptable.  Also there are many non-affiliated Jews in the
> community.
>> So we plan to do this under the auspices of the Jewish Community
> Council,
>> so that membership is open to all.
>> 
>> Later, if this works out, I will likely be writing for your repertoire
>> suggestions! :-)
>> 
>> Thanks for your help,
>> 
>> - Ros
>> 
>> 
> =======================================================================
>> 
>> Agenda for organizational meeting for Jewish Community Choir
>> 
>> Goals
>> - have fun!
>> - develop musical abilities
>> - give back to the community by way of performances & songleading
>> 
>> Members
>> - no prior training required;  no audition
>> - commitment to attend rehearsals, learn music between rehearsals,
>> attend performances (some people may not perform initially if stage
>> fright ... but this would be an eventual goal for all)
>> - find out individual experience - e.g. who has had voice training?
> can
>> read music? play an instrument? learn music easily by ear? help
> others?
>> - and adjust repertoire accordingly
>> 
>> Choir rehearsals:
>> - where?
>> - how often? (weekly / every 2 weeks)
>> - what day? (could vary eg Thurs / Sun)
>> - what time? (start & stop?)
>> 
>> Musical accompaniment
>> - piano or keyboard essential at the beginning for learning 4 part
> harmony
>> 
>> Rehearsal structure
>> - warm-ups
>> - "soul food" (brief inspirational reading)
>> - study material - rounds, 4 part harmony pieces
>> - announcements
>> - fun material (easy unison "singalong" pieces)
>> - options for music teaching: sheet music - purchase, borrow, or rent
>> (not photocopy); lyric sheets; rote learning; charts; overhead
>> projector; - at discretion of person teaching that particular song
>> 
>> Repertoire
>> - Jewish music
>> - world folk music
>> 
>> Musical leadership
>> - director - harmony pieces
>> - assistant director(s) - warmups, unison pieces, rounds
>> - others?
>> - section leaders to help out in smaller groups
>> 
>> Costs
>> - sheet music
>> - accompanist
>> - rehearsal space
>> - choir members to contribute as they can, no one to be excluded bec
>> they can't pay
>> 
>> Performances
>> - for the synagogues
>> - for the community
>> - could include solos, harmony arrangements, rounds, & unison pieces
> for
>> songleading
>> - audition in April 2004 for the local "Revue" in December 2004
>> 
>> Need volunteers
>> - to do admin work - contact people as needed, arrange venues,
> publicity
>> for meetings & concerts, manage finances, etc.
>> - to do musical work - choose repertoire, order music, help choir
>> members musically, etc.
>> 
>> Under the auspices of the Jewish Community Council - open to members
> of
>> either congregation & unaffiliated persons as well
>> 
>> Name for choir!
>> Vision statement!
>> 
>> 
>> _________________________________________________________________
>> Take advantage of our best MSN Dial-up offer of the year - six months
>> @$9.95/month. Sign up now! http://join.msn.com/?page=dept/dialup
>> 
>> 
> 
> 

------------------------ hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org -----------------------+
Hosted by Shamash: The Jewish Network, http://shamash.org  
a service of Hebrew College, which offers online courses and an
online MA in Jewish Studies, http://hebrewcollege.edu/online/

To unsubscribe email listproc (at) shamash(dot)org and have your message read:
unsubscribe hanashir
------------------------ hanashir (at) shamash(dot)org -----------------------=