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1. High Notes

• April 15: Great concert at Springmoor last Monday, followed by a good Afterglow at The Hibernian. 
• Immediate to-do! Iron that shirt before Friday!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!
  • Full detailed Convention weekend calendar: 2024 NSC District Convention (carolinasdistrict.org) 
  • Friday:
    • NEW: 2:00 to 3:30: If you are arriving on Friday afternoon, there is an additional registration table open at The Hampton Inn. Then check-in to your hotel room.
    • Convention Registration will re-open at 5:00pm at the Competition Venue: Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Ln, Southern Pines, NC 28387. It is a 6 minute-drive from the Hampton.
    • 6:15pm Quartet Contest Preliminary round at Pinecrest High School,
  • Saturday:
    • 9:00 am Chorus practice at Pinecrest High.
      • Specific room TBD.
      • Start with the Mixed Chorus, shift to Men's Chorus at 9:45am.
      • Mixed Uniform: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants, black belt, black socks, black shoes
      • Men's Chorus Uniform: Same as Mixed uniform, plus Black Jacket.
      • Men's Chorus will proceed from rehearsal directly to the pipeline.
    • 9:30 - For Saturday arrivers, Registration opens at Pinecrest High. 
    • Oak City Sound (Men) - 2nd competitor
      • Remember, anything can happen, so be flexible as to timetable. 
      • After rehearsal, we will go directly to the Pipeline. probably around 10:35
      • 11:22 am - On stage
    • Oak City Sound Mixed Chorus - 11th competitor
      • 12:18 pm: Report to check in desk
      • 12:58 pm: On stage
    • Chorus Evaluation sessions: somewhere between 2:30 and 4:30pm. Schedule TBA. Evals will take place at Pinecrest High. All members should plan on attending the Eval session, as it is a great coaching session from some of the best qualified musicians in the BHS.
    • Dinner on your own.
    • 6:15pm Quartet Finals back at Pinecrest High.
    • After the conclusion of the Quartet Contest, Chapter and Quartet Hospitality Rooms and parties back at the Convention HQ Hotel: Hampton Inn and Suites, 200 Columbus Dr, Aberdeen, NC 28315.
• Apr 22 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting, one last time, back at the Music Room of 6000 Building, at our usual times: 6;30 for Mixed Chorus, 7:30 for Men's Chorus.
  • We will have another publicity photo shoot, so please wear your uniform again!
  • Special Dress Requirement: Please wear your contest uniform:
    • Mixed Chorus: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants/socks/shoes. 
    • Men's Chorus: Mixed uniform plus black jacket.
  • We will rehearse our songs for Cary Spring Daze concert.
• April 27 (Saturday): Oak City Sound (both choruses) in concert at Cary Spring Daze, to be held (as usual) at Bond Park. Call time is 10:00AM but plan to arrive at least an hour earlier as the parking situation is always a bear. Our performance venue is the Sertoma Amphitheatre (our usual location). Performance time is 10:45.
• April 29 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton, 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518.

2. Carol's Korner

• Be resplendent!

3. Future Notes

• May 6: First Special Guest night of 2024 for Oak City Sound!
  • At our new permanent rehearsal location: Glenaire Auditorium (where we were on April 8): We can all agree that this is a far better location for us than the Music Room of the 6000 Building.
  • Who is a special guest? It's the person YOU invite to come and try us out. Start working on your singing acquaintances and persuade them to come and give us a try.

4. Long Range

• For our newer members: We do not take summers off, like lots of musical groups do. Hooray!
• Aug 24 (usually around 11am): Oak City Sound in concert at Cary Lazy Daze town festival in downtown Cary. (not locked in yet).

• An official welcome to Liz Kasberg, Susan Anderson, and Sharon Muha, who received their OCS Member badges on Monday!

Late but important updates in Purple, then further updates in blue.

1. High Notes

• April 8: Good Oak City Sound practice at the Glenaire auditorium, experimenting with different 4-row configurations on our risers.
  • Thanks to all for coming in new uniforms for the photo shoot.
  • Good Afterglow at Mac's. 
• April 15 (Monday) Oak City Sound in concert at Springmoor in north Raleigh.
  • Call time is 6:15pm for Men's Chorus, 6:40 for Mixed Chorus. Concert time is 7pm.
    • Performance order
      • Almost Like Being in Love
      • Here Comes the Sun
      • Yesterday
      • Desperado
      • Cheek to Cheek - Another Dimension
      • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
      • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
      • I've Got the World on a String & I Didn't Want to Fall - Mixed
      • Two Less Lonely People
      • Over the Rainbow
      • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • We have a hard stop at 45 minutes at Springmoor.
  • Afterglow at either Saints and Scholars or the Hibernian. Which would you prefer?
• Another immediate To-Do: Go to our Chorus Home Page / Member Home (Oak City Sound Members-Only Area) / Assessments Section, and submit your recordings!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!
  • Full detailed Convention weekend calendar: 2024 NSC District Convention (carolinasdistrict.org) 
  • Friday:
    • 3pm or later: Check in at your hotel.
    • Convention Registration starting at 5:00pm at the Competition Venue: Pinecrest High, 250 Voit Gilmore Ln, Southern Pines, NC 28387 (this is a correction from prior Acorns!)
    • 6:15pm Quartet Contest Preliminary round is Friday evening, at Pinecrest High School,
  • Saturday:
    • Chorus practice, estimated start time is 9:00am at Pinecrest.
      • Start with Men's Chorus, shift to Mixed Chorus at 9:45am.
      • Mixed Uniform: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants, black belt, black socks, black shoes
      • Men's Chorus Uniform: Same as Mixed uniform, plus Black Jacket.
    • ​​​​​​​9:30 - For Saturday arrivers, Registration opens at Pinecrest High. 
    • Oak City Sound (Men) - 3rd competitor
      • Start pipeline at 9:00AM
      • Report to check in desk - 10:54 am
        Arrive at photo room - 10:59 am
        Depart photo room - 11:07 am
        Arrive Warmup room A - 11:12 am
        Depart Warmup room A - 11:28 am
        Hold backstage - 11:31 am
        On stage - 11:34 am
      • After performance, Men who are also in the Mixed Chorus should proceed to Mixed Chorus pipeline location.
    • Oak City Sound Mixed Chorus - 11th competitor
      • Report to check in desk - 12:18 pm
        Arrive at photo room - 12:23 pm
        Depart photo room - 12:30 pm
        Arrive Warmup room A - 12:36 pm
        Depart Warmup room A - 12:52 pm
        Hold backstage - 12:55 pm
        On stage - 12:58 pm
    • Chorus Evaluation session: somewhere between 2:30 and 4:30pm. Schedule TBA. Evals will take place at Pinecrest High.All members should plan on attending the Eval session, as it is a great coaching session from some of the best qualified musicians in the BHS.
    • Dinner on your own.
    • 6:30pm Quartet Finals back at Pinecrest High.
    • After the conclusion of the Quartet Contest, Chapter and Quartet Hospitality Rooms and parties back at the Convention HQ Hotel: Hampton Inn and Suites, 200 Columbus Dr, Aberdeen, NC 28315.
• Apr 22 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting back at our regular location (Music Room) at our usual times: 6;30 for Mixed Chorus, 7:30 for Men's Chorus.
  • We will have another publicity photo shoot, so please wear your uniform again!
  • Special Dress Requirement: Please wear our contest uniform:
    • Mixed Chorus: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants/socks/shoes. 
    • Men's Chorus: Mixed uniform plus black jacket.
  • Here is what we will rehearse on Monday at Glenaire:
    • Contest songs for both choruses. plus songs for our Cary Spring Daze concert on April 27.

2. Carol's Korner

• Keeping our bodies free and in motion while singing last night made such a difference in our energy level and presentation. Let's keep building on this!
• Let's give a great concert on Monday and plan to stay at the end to get in a few more reps on our songs for Pinehurst.

3. Future Notes

• April 27 (Saturday): Oak City Sound (both choruses) in concert at Cary Spring Daze, to be held (as usual) at Bond Park. Call time is 10:30AM but plan to arrive at least an hour earlier as the parking situation is always a bear. Our performance venue is the Sertoma Amphitheatre (our usual location).
• April 29 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton, near Kildaire Farm Rd X Tryon Rd.

4. Long Range

• May 6: First Special Guest night of 2024 for Oak City Sound!
  • At our new permanent rehearsal location: Glenaire Auditorium (where we were on April 8): We can all agree that this is a far better location for us than the current Music Room.
  • Who is a special guest? It's the person YOU invite to come and try us out. Start working on your singing acquaintances and persuade them to come and give us a try.

1. High Notes

• April 1: Good Oak City Sound practice at our usual location and time, experimenting with different 4-row configurations!
  • Good Afterglow at Mac's, with about 6 in attendance, plus one visitor from HCA/Concert Singers of Cary. We all of us sang a song for the patrons there, and it was well received. Good times!
• Apr 8 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at a different location, but still at  our usual times: 6;30 for Mixed Chorus, 7:30 for Men's Chorus.
  • Location is the Auditorium where we used to practice some years ago. GPS location: 4000 Glenaire Cir, Cary, NC 27511. 
  • Specific parking instructions: Turn from Kildaire Farm Rd west onto Cornwall, as usual. But instead of turning left into the entrance of our usual Monday place, continue further down Cornwall about 150 yards. 
    
    Those who will only be at practice for the Mixed Chorus hour and those who have mobility issues should turn right into Glenaire Circle and park in the  Visitor parking slots around the circle; then enter the building under the Big Portico. This will bring your right into the Rotunda, and the entrance to the Auditorium.
    
    All others should continue driving past Glenaire Circle another 100 yards down Cornwall to the second right turn, Glenhope Court, and park in the Parking Deck. You can either enter the building to the right of the health center entrance and walk down the long hallway,   or you can walk up the sidewalk to the Main entrance at Gleanire Court.
    
    Please do not park on the street.
  • Special Dress Requirement: Please wear our contest uniform:
    • Mixed Chorus: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants/socks/shoes. For those women who don't have their Maui shirts yet, Carol will bring them on Monday night. Further, she will have extras in case the size you thought you needed is not the best fit for you.
    • Men's Chorus: Mixed uniform plus black jacket.
  • Here is what we will rehearse on Monday at Glenaire:
    • Contest songs for both choruses plus show songs for our April 15 Springmoor performance
• Immediate To-Do: Go to our Chorus Home Page / Member Home (Oak City Sound Members-Only Area) and fill out your future attendance plans so that the Leadership team can plan appropriately.
• Another immediate To-Do: Go to our Chorus Home Page / Member Home (Oak City Sound Members-Only Area) / Assessments Section, and submit your recordings!
• April 15 (Monday) 6:15pm: Oak City Sound in concert at Springmoor in north Raleigh. Call time is 6:15pm.
  • Planned song set
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Yesterday
    • The Longest Time
    • Desperado
    • Cheek to Cheek - Another Dimension
    • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
    • The Bare Necessities
    • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Over the Rainbow
    • I've Got the World on a String & I Didn't Want to Fall - Mixed
    • Sweet Caroline
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • We have a hard stop at 45 minutes at Springmoor, so we will time all of this on Monday and determine if something from the men's repertoire will be cut. 

2. Carol's Korner

• We did some great clean up work in rehearsal last Monday.
• Our primary focus at this point needs to be expressing the story of the song and engaging the audience in those stories. Go beyond the notes, rhythms and words and create experiences!

3. Future Notes

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!
  • April 19, 12:30pm. A Brigade luncheon will be held at Dugan's Pub in old Pinehurst (2 Market Square, Pinehurst, NC 28374) . We invite all those who are Brigade attenders, or want to be attenders, or who just want to pal around and sing some neat songs for an hour to kick off the District Convention weekend! All are invited, including spouses. Cost is on your own. Contact Nic Cols (ncols21@gmail.com) to sign up (no obligation actually).
  • Approx Weekend Schedule:
    • Registration starting at 3pm at the Convention HQ Hotel: Hampton Inn and Suites, 200 Columbus Dr, Aberdeen, NC 28315 
    • Quartet Contest Preliminary round is Friday evening, at Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Ln, Southern Pines, NC 28387
    • Saturday: Chorus practice estimated start time is 9:30. Location TBD
      • Mixed Chorus Uniform: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants, black belt, black socks, black shoes
      • Men's Chorus Uniform: Same as Mixed uniform, plus Black Jacket.
    • Chorus Competition runs roughly from 11am to 1:30pm. Pinecrest High.
    • Chorus Coaching session: somewhere between 1:30 and 4:30pm. Location TBD
    • Dinner on your own.
    • Quartet Finals back at Pinecrest High starting approx 7pm.
    • Chapter and Quartet Hospitality Rooms and parties back at the Hotel after the conclusion of the Quartet Contest.

4. Long Range

• April 27 (Saturday): Oak City Sound (both choruses) in concert at Cary Spring Daze, to be held (as usual) at Bond Park. Call time is 10:30AM but plan to arrive at least an hour earlier as the parking situation is always a bear. Our performance venue is the Sertoma Amphitheatre (our usual location).
• April 29 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton, near Kildaire Farm Rd X Tryon Rd.
• May 6: First Special Guest night of 2024 for Oak City Sound! 
  • Who is a special guest? It's the person YOU invite to come and try us out. Start working on your singing acquaintances and persuade them to come and give us a try.

1. High Notes

• March 25: Good Oak City Sound practice at our usual location and time with a new 4-row configuration!
• Apr 1 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at our regular location and at our regular times. 
  • 6;30 for Mixed Chorus, 7:30 for Men's Chorus.
  • Here is what we will rehearse on Monday:
    • Mixed - both songs with time to record for assessment and qualification
    • Men - both contest songs with time to record
    • Honesty
    • Lazy Day
    • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
    • Desperado
• Immediate To-Do: Go to our Chorus Home Page / Member Home (Oak City Sound Members-Only Area) and fill out your future attendance plans so that the Leadership team can plan appropriately.
• Another immediate To-Do: Go to our Chorus Home Page / Member Home (Oak City Sound Members-Only Area) / Assessments Section, and submit your recordings!

2. Carol's Korner

• We are heading into the short grass before we head to Pinehurst. Just 2 more regular rehearsals and a concert, and then we are on stage! Let's really focus on accuracy BETWEEN Mondays so we can focus on artistry ON Mondays!

3. Future Notes

• April 15 (Monday) 6:15pm: Oak City Sound in concert at Springmoor in north Raleigh. Est. arrival time is 6:15pm.
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!
  • April 19, Noon time, in Pinehurst area. A luncheon will be held at a local restaurant (TBD at press time) for all those who are Brigade attenders, or want to be attenders, or who just want to pal around and sing some neat songs for an hour to kick off the District Convention weekend! All are invited, including spouses. Cost is on your own. Contact Nic Cols (ncols21@gmail.com) to sign up (no obligation actually).
  • Approx Weekend Schedule:
    • Quartet Contest Preliminary round is Friday evening, at Pinecrest High School, 250 Voit Gilmore Ln, Southern Pines, NC 28387
    • Saturday: Chorus practice estimated start time is 9:30. Location TBD
      • Men's Chorus Uniform: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants, black belt, black socks, black shoes, Black Jacket
      • Mixed Chorus Uniform: Maui Blue Shirt, black pants, black belt, black socks, black shoes
    • Chorus Competition runs roughly from 11am to 1:30pm. Pinecrest High.
    • Chorus Coaching session: somewhere between 1:30 and 4:30pm. Location TBD
    • Dinner on your own.
    • Quartet Finals at Pinecrest High starting approx 7pm.
    • Chapter and Quartet Hospitality Rooms and parties back at the Hotel after the conclusion of the Quartet Contest.

4. Long Range

• April 27 (Saturday): Oak City Sound (both choruses) in concert at Cary Spring Daze, to be held (as usual) at Bond Park. Call time is 10:30AM but plan to arrive at least an hour earlier as the parking situation is always a bear. Our performance venue is the Sertoma Amphitheatre (our usual location).
• April 29 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton, near Kildaire Farm Rd X Tryon Rd.
• May 6: First Special Guest night of 2024 for Oak City Sound! 
  • Who is a special guest? It's the person YOU invite to come and try us out. Start working on your singing acquaintances and persuade them to come and give us a try.

5. Champagne Room

• Thanks to Eva Snapp, Michael Field, and Nic Cols for volunteering to carry Contest judges from RDU to the Convention on Friday!

1. High Notes

• Mar 11: Great practice session. 23 Singers in attendance! New 4-row configuration!
  • Good Afterglow at Mac's.
• March 18 (Monday) 6pm: Oak City Sound in Concert at The Cypress of Raleigh, 8801 Cypress Lakes Dr, Raleigh, NC  27615. 
  • Arrival times:
    • 6 pm for those who can help setup risers. 
    • 6:45 for the men’s chorus members. 
    • 7:05 for those singing with just the mixed chorus.
  • The proposed program order is below.
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Yesterday
    • The Longest Time
    • Desperado
    • Hello, Mary Lou - by Another Dimension
    • Ride the Chariot
    • The Bare Necessities
    • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Over the Rainbow
    • I Didn't Want to Fall - Mixed
    • Sweet Caroline
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
• Mar 25 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at our regular location and at our regular times. 
  • 6;30 for Mixed Chorus, 7:30 for Men's Chorus.
  • Everyone should be prepared to sing any of the songs in the March 18 program (see below) in rehearsal tonight.
• Everyone (Mixed and Men's Choruses) should register now for the Carolinas District Convention, to be held in Southern Pines NC on April 19 to 20, 2024. Go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/1134374# 
  • Click on the Big Purple Box in the upper right to register. If you are going to compete with us, you must purchase a Full Registration (Early Bird).
  • Links to reserve a hotel room are on the same page. Note that all 3 hotels are located on the same campus and share a single parking lot. 
  • The $79 early bird rate is going up to $100 after March 19th. 

2. Carol's Korner

• We are continuing to grow in our sensitivity to the music we are making together. Keep listening louder than you sing, and singing long and resonant vowels with high, forward placement to keep the pitch and intonation consistent.
• Thank you for working with the new riser placements. I will make some more adjustments, so please be ready for some updates at the Cypress on Monday night. 
• Men's chorus: spend some solid rehearsal time on "Where Everybody Knows Your Name" so that it is ready for primetime on Monday night.

3. Future Notes

• April 15 (Monday) 6:15pm: Oak City Sound in concert at Springmoor in north Raleigh. Details TBA.
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!
  • For those Oaksters who are members of, or would like to consider being a member of the North Carolina Harmony Brigade, please consider attending the Brigade luncheon at noon on Friday. venue TBD. 
• April 19, Noon time, in Pinehurst area. A luncheon is being held at a local restaurant (TBD at press time) for all those who are Brigade attenders, or want to be attenders, or who just want to pal around and sing some neat songs for an hour to kick off the District Convention weekend! Cost is on your own. Contact Nic Cols (ncols21@gmail.com) to sign up (no obligation actually).

4. Long Range

• April 27 (Saturday): Please reserve several hours in mid-day for our performing at Cary Spring Daze, to be held at Bond Park. Our invitiation to perform is confirmed, but not the time of day. Usually, it has been around mid-Day.
• April 29 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton, near Kildaire Farm Rd X Tryon Rd.
• May 6: First of two Special Guest nights of 2024 for Oak City Sound! 
  • What is a special guest? It's the person YOU invite to come and try us out. Start working on your singing acquaintances and persuade them to come and give us a try.

1. High Notes

• Mar 4: Great meeting with Mike Muha in the Director's role. 
  • We got the chorus shirt sizes for all the new members, except Liz Kasberg.
  • Good Afterglow at Mac's.
• Mar 11 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at our regular location and at our regular times. 
  • 6;30 for Mixed Chorus, 7:30 for Men's Chorus.
  • Everyone should be prepared to sing any of the songs in the March 18 program (see below) in rehearsal tonight. 
• March 18 (Monday) 6pm: Oak City Sound in Concert at The Cypress of Raleigh, 8801 Cypress Lakes Dr, Raleigh, NC  27615. 
  • Arrival times:
    • 6 pm for those who can help setup risers. 
    • 6:45 for the men’s chorus members. 
    • 7:05 for those singing with just the mixed chorus.
  • The proposed program order is below.
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Yesterday
    • The Longest Time
    • Desperado
    • Hello, Mary Lou - by Another Dimension
    • Ride the Chariot
    • The Bare Necessities
    • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Over the Rainbow
    • I Didn't Want to Fall - Mixed
    • I've Got the World on a String - Mixed
    • Sweet Caroline
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
• Everyone (Mixed and Men's Choruses) should register now for the Carolinas District Convention, to be held in Southern Pines NC on April 19 to 20, 2024. Go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/1134374# 
  • Click on the Big Purple Box in the upper right to register. If you are going to compete with us, you must purchase a Full Registration (Early Bird).
  • LInks to reserve a hotel room are on the same page. Note that all 3 hotels are located on the same campus and share a single parking lot. 
  • The $79 early bird rate is going up to $100 after March 19th. 

2. Carol's Korner

• I hear you all did great things on Monday night! Let's keep moving forward!
• Monday is our last rehearsal to prepare for our performance at The Cypress. Please don't have any music in your hands so all eyes are up and we can really make music and tell stories through our songs.
• I will have a new riser placement plan for both groups, so please be flexible and take note of where you will be for the coming weeks.

3. Future Notes

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!
  • For those Oaksters who are members of, or would like to consider being a member of the North Carolina Harmony Brigade, please consider attending the Brigade luncheon at noon on Friday. venue TBD. 

4. Long Range

• April 27 (Saturday): Please reserve several hours in mid-day for our performing at Cary Spring Daze, to be held at Bond Park. Our invitiation to perform is confirmed, but not the time of day. Usually, it has been around mid-Day.
• April 29 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton, near Kildaire Farm Rd X Tryon Rd.

1. High Notes

• Feb 26: Good meeting! About 21 singers present. Wouldn't it be a doggone shame if we outgrew our room and had to find another? Have you invited anyone lately to our chorus practice sessions?
  • Great Afterglow at Mac's.
  • Thank you to Mike Muha for the time and effort to review all the practice recording submissions. If you have not submitted yours yet,  go to Oak City Sound Assessments - How To Submit One to learn how.
• Mar 4 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at our regular location and our regular times. 
  • 6;30 for Mixed Chorus, 7:30 for Men's Chorus.
  • Everyone should be prepared to sing any of the songs in the March 18 program (see below) in rehearsal tonight. Sectional rehearsals will also be a possibility for the contest songs and newer songs.
  • Nic will have several sizes of shirts (men's and women's cuts) for them to try on at rehearsal on Monday, so we will know what to order.
• March 18 (Monday) 6pm: Oak City Sound in Concert at The Cypress of Raleigh, 8801 Cypress Lakes Dr, Raleigh, NC  27615. The proposed program order for our concert at The Cypress is below.
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Yesterday
  • The Longest Time
  • Desperado
  • Hello, Mary Lou - by Another Dimension
  • Ride the Chariot
  • The Bare Necessities
  • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Over the Rainbow
  • I Didn't Want to Fall - Mixed
  • I've Got the World on a String - Mixed
  • Sweet Caroline
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
• Register now for the Carolinas District Convention, to be held in Southern Pines NC on April 19 to 20, 2024. Go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/1134374#  
  • Click on the Big Purple Box in the upper right to register. If you are going to compete with us, you must purchase a Full Registration (Early Bird).
  • LInks to reserve a hotel room are on the same page. Note that all 3 hotels are located on the same campus and share a single parking lot. 

2. Carol's Korner

Each week, we are becoming more musical and are ringing more chords. Keep shaping tall vowels (north/south) and maximizing the length of each vowel to become more pliable and expressive. We are on a ROLL!!

3. Future Notes

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!  

4. Long Range

• April 27 (Saturday): Please reserve several hours in mid-day for our performing at Cary Spring Daze, to be held at Bond Park. Our invitiation to perform is confirmed, but not the time of day. Usually, it has been around mid-Day.
• April 29 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton, near Kildaire Farm Rd X Tryon Rd.

1. High Notes

• Feb 19: Good meeting! With the room seating re-oriented, it was way more comfortable!
  • Great Afterglow at Mac's.
  • Most everyone did a recording of himself singing Over the Rainbow. Please go to Oak City Sound Assessments - How To Submit One to learn how to submit that recording to the Music Comm.
• Feb 26 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at our new (regular) location and our usual time. 
  • 6:30: Mixed Chorus. Please prep on both songs.
  • 7:45: Men's chorus rehearsal. Please prep on the following songs:
    • Where Everybody Knows
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Ride the Chariot
    • Two Less Lonely
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Lazy Day
    • You’ve Got a Friend
    • We will take time for you to record the contest songs for assessment.
• Register now for the Carolinas District Convention, to be held in Southern Pines NC on April 19 to 20, 2024. Go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/1134374#  
  • Click on the Big Purple Box in the upper right to register. If you are going to compete with us, you must purchase a Full Registration (Early Bird).
  • LInks to reserve a hotel room are on the same page. 
• March 18 (Monday) 6pm: Oak City Sound in Concert at The Cypress of Raleigh, 8801 Cypress Lakes Dr, Raleigh, NC  27615. 

2. Carol's Korner

We are really making GREAT sounds! The Mixed Chorus songs are coming together well. Over the Rainbow is really taking shape as we sing the story. Let’s apply that to every song!

3. Future Notes

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!  

4. Long Range

• April 27 (Saturday): Please reserve several hours in mid-day for our performing at Cary Spring Daze, to be held at Bond Park. Our invitiation to perform is not confirmed yet, but please pencil in the date for now!

1. High Notes

• Feb 12: Good meeting! We had 21 singers oni the risers.
• Feb 12: Our Singing Valentines season summary:
  • Monday: Another Dimension Quartet serenading at Searstone in the Dining Room.
  • Tuesday: Another Dimension and Never Home 4 deliver Singing Valentines to Springmoor. 
  • Tuesday: Never Home 4 delivers concert and clinic at Green Hope High school. Traipse down to the Champagne Room below for more details on this.
  • Wednesday: Another Dimension and Never Home 4 deliver more Singing Valentines all around Harnett and Wake Counties.
  • Wrap-up: Warren Fuson, Steve Mark, Jack Moody, and Andy L'Esperance make up Never Home 4.  Gary Thorn, Nic Cols, Mike Muha, Bob Inskeep, and Carol Stephenson made up Another Dimension.
  • Delivering Singing Valentines is one of the best, most fun gigs available to us, They are short, the songs are easy, and the recipients and bystanders are delighted to hear them. Consider joining the V-Squad next year! 
• Feb 19 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at our new (regular) location and our usual time. 
  • 6:30: Mixed Chorus. Please prep on both songs.
  • 7:45: Men's chorus rehearsal. Please prep on the following songs:
    • Desperado 
    • Lazy Day
    • Where Everybody Knows
    • Honesty
    • Ova the Wainbow
    • Two Less Lonely

• Register now for the Carolinas District Convention, to be held in Southern Pines NC on April 19 to 20, 2024. Go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/1134374#  
  • Click on the Big Purple Box in the upper right to register. If you are going to compete with us, you must purchase a Full Registration (early Bird).
  • LInks to reserve a hotel room are on the same page. 

2. Carol's Korner

Keep working on tall, narrow word shapes. It makes such a difference in our balance and blend!

3. Future Notes

• March 18 (Monday) 6pm: Oak City Sound in Concert at The Cypress of Raleigh, 8801 Cypress Lakes Dr, Raleigh, NC  27615. 

4. Long Range

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday! So far, we know that Oak City Sound's 7th Dimension Quartet will be competing on Friday night. Any other quartets?

5. Champagne Room

1. High Notes

• Feb 5: Our first meeting in our new location at Glenaire Retirement Village. We had 22 singers, which is a new post-pandemic record! We had Mike Stehlik, long-time barbershopper and former member of RTP, from Florence, SC visiting. Great to see Mike again.
• Feb 12 (Monday): Regular weekly meeting at our new (regular) location and our usual time. 
  • 6:30: Mixed Chorus. Please prep on both songs. Tracks and scores are available on the web site.
  • 7:45: Men's chorus rehearsal. Please prep on the following songs:
    • Honesty 
    • Yesterday 
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Lazy Day
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Two Less Lonely People
• Valentine's Day is coming up! February 12, 13, and 14 (Monday through Wednesday.) Direct people to our web site (OakCitySound.org) to order a Singing Valentine. 
• Register now for the Carolinas District Convention, to be held in Southern Pines NC on April 19 to 20, 2024. Go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/1134374#  
  • Click on the Big Purple Box in the upper right to register. If you are going to compete with us, you must purchase a Full Registration (early Bird).
  • LInks to reserve a hotel room are on the same page. 

2. Carol's Korner

The Mixed Chorus is already sounding great! It is clear that many of you are working on your music between rehearsals. Let’s work toward getting off of the paper in the next few weeks.
Men, you made some FANTASTIC changes this week that will really help us sing as a group, express our music, and ring some chords. Keep practicing with your index fingers on each side of your mouth to stay aware of when you are wanting to go wide instead of tall with our vowel and consonant shapes. If we sing everything tall, unified vowels will be much more frequent.
 

3. Future Notes

• March 18 (Monday) 6pm: Oak City Sound in Concert at The Cypress of Raleigh, 8801 Cypress Lakes Dr, Raleigh, NC  27615. 

4. Long Range

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday! So far, we know that Oak City Sound's 7th Dimension Quartet will be competing on Friday night. Any other quartets?

5. Champagne Room

• Congrats to Oak City Sound: we set a post-pandemic record on Feb 5 for the number of singers! Keep inviting good singers to come and try us out.

1. High Notes

• Jan 29: Our last rehearsal at Searstone. Well attended -- See Carol's comments below.
• Feb 2 (Saturday) 9am to 1pm:  Carolinas District Leadership Academy via Zoom. Check with Gary Thorn for details. Anyone can participate. There is no charge to attend these classes.
• Feb 5 (Monday): First meeting in our new location: Glenaire Retirement Village off Kildaire Farm Rd: 6000 Glenview Garden Place, Cary NC 27511, at our NEW usual times. Note that some Navigation systems might not map this spot correctly. If that's the case, our rehearsal location is in a 5-story building on the south side of Cornwall Rd, near its intersection with Kildaire Farm Rd. Bob Inskeep will be out in the parking lot helping all to the best parking and entranceway.
  • 6:30: Mixed Chorus. Please prep on:
    • "I've Got the World on a String". Tracks and score were already available on the web site.
    • New song "I Didnt Want to Fall". Tracks and score are now available on the web site. There are a few small differences between this arrangement and the one we used in Brigade in 1998.
  • 7:45 Men's chorus rehearsal. Please prep on the following songs:
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
    • Lazy Day
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • Here Comes the Sun
• Valentine's Day is coming up! February 13 and 14 (Tuesday AND Wednesday.) Direct people to our web site (OakCitySound.org) to order a Singing Valentine. 

2. Carol's Korner

We had a great rehearsal on Monday! Keep building on the principles we focused on: 

• Sing with meaning so the breath is a natural part of the phrasing. 
• Place the vowel of each word or syllable on the beat, with the consonant slightly BEFORE the beat. 
• ALWAYS have a direction in every note you sing. NEVER park. 
• Lift the soft palate before you start to sing so that there is an arch over every single note, not a flat roof. 
• Remember to HAVE FUN!!

3. Future Notes

• March 18 (Monday) 6pm: Oak City Sound in Concert at The Cypress of Raleigh, 8801 Cypress Lakes Dr, Raleigh, NC  27615. The Mixed Chorus will be part of the performance if the Music Leadership determines that they are ready on their songs! [Ed.: That would be awesome if they were ready so quickly!] 

4. Long Range

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC. Quartets will compete on Friday evening. The Mixed and the Men's Choruses will compete, separately, on Saturday!

5. Champagne Room

• Congrats to Nic Cols on the birth of his 5th granddaughter. last Monday  She is his son Greg's third daughter! (Some of you all might remember Greg from years ago).

1. High Notes

• Jan 22: Good rehearsal! The "risers" were fuller than they've been in a long time, for both the Mixed Chorus and the Men's.
  • The following people from the Holiday Chorus were in attendance of the inaugural Mixed Chorus practice: Eva Snapp, Shirley Colson, Liz Kasberg, Andy Fuson, and Sharon Muha.  
  • In addition to the new members for the mixed chorus (Welcome Back!), we enjoyed the first visit from Eric Harper, who heard about OCS on Meetup.com. 
  • Great afterglow at Parkway Tavern, including new singers Eric Parker and Andy Fuson. A good time was had by all. 
• Jan 29: Our last rehearsal at dear ole Searstone.
  • 6:30: Mixed Chorus. Please prep on:
    • "I've Got the World on a String". Tracks and score were already available on the web site.
    • New song "I Didnt Want to Fall". Tracks and score are now available on the web site. There are a few small differences between this arrangement and the one we used in Brigade in 1998.
  • 7:45 Men's chorus rehearsal. Please prep on the following songs:
    • Desperado
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Where Everybody Knows Your Name - try it without paper this week
    • Lazy Day - also without paper this week
    • Heart of My Heart
    • Let Me Call You Sweetheart
• Feb 5 (Monday): First meeting in our new location: Glenaire Retirement Village off Kildaire Farm Rd: 6000 Glenview Garden Place, Cary NC 27511, at our NEW usual times. Note that some Navigation systems don't map this spot correctly. If that's the case, our rehearsal location is in a 5-story building on the south side of Cornwall Rd, near its intersection with Kildaire Farm Rd, 
• Valentine's Day is coming up! February 13 and 14 (Tuesday AND Wednesday.) Direct people to our web site (OakCitySound.org) to order a Singing Valentine. 

2. Carol's Korner

Keep singing with meaning and confidence, but always listen louder than you sing!

3. Future Notes

• Valentine's Day

4. Long Range

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

1. High Notes

• The new mobile app can be used to access sheet music and learning tracks (and documents and attendance). Instructions for getting it and setting it up are at: https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=app, which you can get to once you login.
• Jan 15: Good rehearsal! Good progress already on our two new numbers.
• Jan 22: First rehearsal of the new mixed chorus at Searstone.
  • 6:30: Mixed Chorus inaugural.
    • New song "I've Got the World on a String". Tracks and score are available on the web site.
  • 7:45 Men's chorus rehearsal
    • Please prep on the following songs:
      • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
      • Lazy Day
      • Over the Rainbow
      • Two Less Lonely People
      • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
      • Bare Necessities
    • As part of our new quartet program, the following singers are to be ready: Tim Kinsey, Steve McGehee, Bob Inskeep, and Mike Muha
• Jan 29 (Monday); Second meeting with the new format.. Start time is 6:30 for Mixed Chorus and 7:45 for the. Men's chorus.. Usual location at Searstone.
• Feb 5 (Monday): First meeting in our new location: Glenaire Retirement Village off Kildaire Farm Rd. Note that we will be in a different building from our earlier years there in the Auditorium.. Details on location and parking will be given out in January. New usual time.

2. Carol's Korner

Let's set a goal of getting off paper by the 4th rehearsal of any new song. Some of you achieved that on week one, and you are invited to keep setting the bar high for our chapter! The sooner we all have our faces up, the sooner we can really make music, tell a story with our songs, and have FUN!

3. Future Notes

• February 13 and 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!

4. Long Range

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

1. High Notes

• Welcome to 2024. It is 40 years since your humble editor joined the General Assembly Chorus. Russ Johnston joined 7 years before that! 
• Jan 5: The Annual OCS Banquet was held in Fuquay.
  • OCS's 2024 Board of Directors:
    • Sticking around from last year: Gary Thorn remains as President; Larry Hill as Secretary, Michael Field as Treasurer, Nic Cols  as VP Membership, Mike Muha as VP/Music & Performance, Warren Fuson as VP Outreach, and Andy Fuson as Member-at-Large.
    • New BOD Members are Bob Inskeep as VP Marketing, and Mike Carney as member-at-large.
    • The first BOD meeting of 2024 will be next Monday Jan 14. All chapter members are invited, as always to attend.
  • Thanks to our awesome Vern Pike as he is retiring from the BOD, for his great service to the chapter!
  • Congratulations to all those honored for their exceptional service to Oak City Sound throughout 2023: 
    • Above and Beyond - Tim Kinsey, John Zweighaft
    • Rookie of the year/Team Player - Michael McQueen
    • Barbershop Spirit - Nic Cols
    • Barbershopper of the Year - Larry Hill
• The new mobile app can be used to access sheet music and learning tracks (and documents and attendance), with instructions for getting it and setting it up at: https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=app, which you can get to once you login.
• Jan 8: Our first meeting of the year.
  • We had three guests last night, incuding Jackson and Lucas, two students from Green Hope High School where they are starting up a barbershop singing club there. They indicated that they would be back next week with more friends. For our part, we are going to try to find out how we can support their efforts! Stay tuned. The third guest was Matt Martin, a friend of Jack Moody, 
  • At one point, we had 19 singers on the risers, a new record for 2024!
  • We started working our two new songs "Lazy Day" and "Where Everybody Knows Your Name", and our attempts 
  • And with the new year come 2 big new directions for Oak City Sound:
    • OCS will institute a new mixed chorus in addition to the existing men's chorus. First day of practice is targeted at Jan 22. The new Monday evening schedule will look something like this: 6:30 to 7:30 for the Mixed Chorus; 7:30 to 7:45 for business meeting and break; then 7:45 to 9:30 for the men's chorus. Or thereabouts. The first event for the new mixed chorus (hey it needs a name!) is competition in April at the District Spring convention in Pinehurst. 
    • OCS is resurrecting our old qualification process for contest songs. Basically, each singer will be required to submit a recording of each song, usually made during a rehearsal on your cell phone, well in advance of the competition date.
• Jan 15: Regular Monday meeting, our (current) usual times at the (current) usual place.
  • Please prep on the following songs:
    • Where Everybody Knows Your Name
    • Lazy Day
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Sweet Caroline
    • Bare Necessities
  • As part of our new quartet program, the following singers are to be ready: Vern Pike, Tom Anderson, Nic Cols, and Michael McQueen
• Jan 22 (Monday); First meeting of the new mixed chorus. Start time is 6:30. Men's chorus starts at 7:30. Usual location at Searstone.
• Feb 5 (Monday): First meeting in our new location: Glenaire Retirement Village off Kildaire Farm Rd. Note that we will be in a different building from our earlier years there in the Auditorium.. Details on location and parking will be given out in January. New usual time.

2. Carol's Korner

It was great getting back to singing with all of you AND having YOUNG guests! Let's always sing like we are trying to impress our visitors and I bet we'll all have more fun, too!

3. Future Notes

• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!

4. Long Range

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

5. Champagne Room

• A stroll down Memory Lane: A Singing Valentines quartet from 2004. BTW, we still have those snazzy teal vests and ties, and maybe could use them again. It could happen!
• 

1. High Notes

• Dec 18: Our fifth and final Holiday Concert was held at Searstone. 
• Thank you to our Holiday Singers who helped us out at our various concerts. We really enjoyed singing with you and are forever grateful for your contributions to Oak City Sound.
• There is a new mobile app that can be used to access sheet music and learning tracks (and documents and attendance), with instructions for getting it and setting it up at: https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=app, which you can get to once you login. This is currently being evaluated, but the chorus will probably pay the required $40 each year to keep it. 
• Dec 18: BOD meeting at 5:30. Some noteworthy news:
  • Searstone is starting renovation work on our rehearsal room, and it will not be available after Jan 31. Thanks to Gary Thorn for his heads up action, we are returning to Glenaire Retirement Community, starting Feb 5! Hooray! They are glad to have us back (we had to leave there in 2019 because of renovation work there!) and we are glad to be back as well.
• Dec 25 (Monday):  Christmas! No meeting!
• Jan 1 (Monday): New Year's Day! No meeting!
• Jan 5 (Friday): 7pm Annual OCS Banquet.
  • To be held at same place as last year, Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church, 100 S. Judd Parkway SE, Fuquay-Varina NC
  • Park in the lot off of Academy Street and enter the side door. Dinner will be catered by Texas Roadhouse and our installing officer will be Nick DiLorenzo. Spouses/significant others are encouraged to attend.
• Jan 8: First Oak City Sound Meeting of 2024! At Searstone, the usual meeting place and time.

2. Carol's Korner

• Start working on our two new songs Scores and trax are available in the Song Library.
  • Lazy Day - Oak City Sound - Lazy Day
  • Where Everybody Knows Your Name - Oak City Sound - Where Everybody Knows Your Name 
• Please dust off Honesty and Two Less Lonely People as you crack into the new songs

3. Future Notes

• Feb 5 (Monday): First meeting in our new location: Glenaire Retirement Village off Kildaire Farm Rd. Note that we will be in a different building from our earlier years there in the Auditorium.. Details on location and parking will be given out in January. Usual time.
• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!

4. Long Range

• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

5. Champagne Room

• We want to thank all the Holiday Singers that joined us this season. We made a great sound with you all.
• It was great to see Sean Li back on the risers with us for our final Christmas concert.

1. High Notes

• Apparently, I forgot to hit the Send button last week, so last week's Acorn did not go out! Sorry. You get two weeks worth of OCS news in this week's issue!
• Dec 4: Our SECOND Holiday Concert was held at Springmoor. 
• Dec 5: Oak City Sound's THIRD Holiday Concert (the "BIG ONE") at Cary Arts Center. A great success. Here are the names of those who helped out. (Please forgive me if I missed a name!)
  • Thank you to our Holiday Singers, we created a great sound with you all: Susan Anderson, Shirley Colson, Liz Kasberg, Eileen Mayhew, Cheryl McQueen, Pat Scibienski, Jin Hee Shin, Eva Snapp, and Sue Twyman. 
  • Thanks to so many for your work in support of the show: (Please forgive me if I have omitted your name!)
    • Setting the stage: John Zwieghaft, Tim Kinsey, Larry Hill, Mike Muha, and John Quick, plus Shirley Colson (one of our Holiday Singers).
    • Riser Transport: John Zweighaft.
    • Lobby and ushering: David and Donna Kraay, Barb Lesperance, and Lenora Harris-Field.   Andy Fuson and Sandy Cols had volunteered but were unable to come.
    • Tix sales: Larry Hill.
    • Staging and Crew Direction: Mike Muha.
  • Total ticket sales: 151.
• Dec 11: Our FOURTH  Holiday Concert at Whispering Pines. Another success!
• Dec 15 (Friday) - Heart of Carolina Christmas concert at 7pm. at the Durham Arts Council PSI Theater. 
  • Show will again be presented Dec 16 at 3pm, at the same location.
  • For more information and tickets: https://www.hcamusic.org/holiday . 
• Dec 18 (Monday):  5th and final Holiday Concert at Searstone. Call time is 6:15.
  • Preceded by BOD meeting at 5:30. All are welcome!
• Dec 25 (Monday):  Christmas! No meeting
• Jan 1 (Monday): New Year's Day! No meeting!

2. Carol's Korner

• Please don't catch a cold! And don't share one, either!
• Start working on our two new songs Scores and trax (WEKYN trax coming soon) are available in the Songs library.
  • Lazy Day - Oak City Sound - Lazy Day
  • Where Everybody Knows Your Name - Oak City Sound - Where Everybody Knows Your Name 

3. Future Notes

• Jan 5 (Friday): Annual OCS Banquet. To be held at same place as last year, Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church.
• Jan 8: First Oak City Sound Meeting of 2024! At Searstone, the usual meeting place and time.

4. Long Range

• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

5. Champagne Room

• Jack Moody is recovering from foot surgery, but is not ready yet for standing a long time in one place. 4 more weeks of foot rest to go!
• Warren Fuson has been down with back problems, but is on the mend and hopes to rejoin us for our final Christmas concert.

1. High Notes

• Dec 4: Our SECOND Holiday Concert was held at Springmoor. 
• Dec 5: Oak City Sound's THIRD Holiday Concert (the "BIG ONE") at Cary Arts Center. A great success. Here are the names of those who helped out. (Please forgive me if I missed a name!)
  • Thank you to our Holiday Singers, we created a great sound with you all: Susan Anderson, Shirley Colson, Liz Kasberg, Eileen Mayhew, Cheryl McQueen, Pat Scibienski, Jin Hee Shin, Eva Snapp, and Sue Twyman. 
  • Thanks to so many for your work in support of the show: (Please forgive me if I have omitted your name!)
    • Setting the stage: John Zwieghaft, Tim Kinsey, Larry Hill, Mike Muha, and John Quick, plus Shirley Colson (one of our Holiday Singers).
    • Riser Transport: John Zweighaft.
    • Lobby and ushering: David and Donna Kraay, Barb Lesperance, and Lenora Harris-Field.   Andy Fuson and Sandy Cols had volunteered but were unable to come.
    • Tix sales: Larry Hill.
    • Staging and Crew Direction: Mike Muha.
  • Total ticket sales: 151.
• Dec 11 (Monday): 4th Holiday Concert at Whispering Pines (7501 Lead Mine Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615). Call time is 6:15
  • If you can't find a parking spot, go to the church next door where we are allowed to park.
• Dec 18 (Monday):  5th Holiday Concert at Searstone. Call time is 6:15.
• Dec 25 (Monday):  Christmas! No meeting
• Jan 1 (Monday): New Year's Day! No meeting!

2. Carol's Korner

• Please don't catch a cold! And don't share one, either!

3. Future Notes

• Jan 8: First Oak City Sound Meeting of 2024! At Searstone, the usual meeting place and time.
• January TBD: Chorus Annual Banquet

4. Long Range

• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

5. Champagne Room

• Special thanks to Mike Muha and Carol Stephenson for their music leadership and creativity.

1. High Notes

• Nov 25: Last NC State Football Game concession. Thanks to all who put soooo many hours into this important fundraiser.
• Nov 27 - Our FIRST Holiday Concert was held at The Templeton. A Great Success!
• Dec 4 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at Springmoor, 1500 Sawmill Rd, Raleigh NC 27615
  • Call time is 6:15pm (changed from previous Acorn) in the upstairs chapel. Show time is 7pm. Vern has sent out the agenda.
• Dec 5: Oak City Sound in Concert at Cary Arts Center. 
  • Vern has sent out the agenda.
  • Call times vary per your role.
• A reminder to the Holiday Chorus singers: After the Dec 5 concert at Cary Arts Center, you are also invited to sing in any of our remaining two Christmas concerts.
  • Programs will only be about an hour in length.
  • Dec 11 (Monday): Holiday Concert at Whispering Pines (7501 Lead Mine Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615).
  • Dec 18 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Searstone

2. Carol's Korner

• Please don't catch a cold! And don't share one, either!

3. Future Notes

• Dec 25 - Christmas! No meeting
• Jan 1 - New Year's Day! No meeting!
• Jan 8 - First Oak City Sound Meeting of 2024! At Searstone, the usual meeting place and time.

4. Long Range

• January TBD: Chorus Annual Banquet
• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

5. Champagne Room

• David Kraay, one of our new members in 2023, has been out of pocket for a while tending to his aged father in Florida, but will be at our show at Cary Arts Center, helping out as an usher. It will be great to see him again. DK looks for a possible return to OCS in the new year.

1. High Notes

• Nov 20: Sixth and final Oak City Sound Holiday Singers rehearsal was held. Such a beautiful sound!
• Nov 25 (Saturday): Last NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 5pm.
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Our FIRST Holiday Concert, to be held at The Templeton.
  • Call time is 6:45pm
  • 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518
  • Show time is 7:30pm
• Please start telling your friends and acquaintances about our Christmas Concert at the Cary Arts Center on Tuesday Dec 5. 
  • Unlike our other performances throughout the year, we ourselves are responsible for selling our own tickets for this show. 
  • Mike has sent out an email to you all that you can forward to your own mailing list (like everyone!!).
  • You can also direct your friends to Oak City Sound - Home 
  • Holiday Chorus members will get two tickets so that you can enjoy the first part of the show (using one ticket) with a friend (using the second ticket), then at intermission, go back stage in preparation for being on stage for the second half with the Holiday Chorus.
• Another important aspect of the Show is selling advertising space in the show program. Please approach the businesses you trade at and ask them to take out an Ad.
  • Oak City Sound has for decades been a strong active supporter of vocal music in middle and high schools throughout Wake County. 
  • All Ads need to be sold by Nov 27. 
  • The Ad Rate Card is at ShowSponsorAndAdForm2023.pdf (oakcitysound.org), so it's good to have this info handy when you talk to a prospective donor.
• Special request to Holiday Chorus singers: In addition to the Dec 5 concert at Cary Arts Center, you are invited to sing in any of our Christmas concerts. Please respond to ncols21@gmail.com to let us know which concerts you would be able to perform in. Please ignore those others who said they didn't want to know. We actually do need to know when you are planning to attend!
  • All are on Mondays: Nov 27, Dec 4, Dec 11, and Dec 18.
  • Call times will be around 6:00pm or so. Depends.
  • Program will only be about an hour in length.
• Dec 4 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Springmoor. Call time is 6:45pm. Location is 1500 Sawmill Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615.
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Holiday Concert at Cary Arts Center. Call time is 5:00pm (lots of work to do). Location is 101 Dry Ave, Cary, NC 27511.

2. Carol's Korner

• Leads! Get the words right!
• Come to think of it, it's not just the Leads who need to focus on that.

3. Future Notes

• Dec 11 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Whispering Pines (7501 Lead Mine Rd, Raleigh, NC 27615).
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Searstone
• Dec 25 - Christmas! No meeting
• Jan 1 - New Year's Day! No meeting!
• Jan 8 - First Oak City Sound Meeting of 2024! At Searstone, the usual meeting place and time.

4. Long Range

• January TBD: Chorus "Installation" Banquet
• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

5. Champagne Room

• Jim Murrell reports that his son's health situation is improving! Hooray!

1. High Notes

• Nov 11: Fifth Oak City Sound Holiday Singers meeting. So far we've made reat progressWe are almost there!  We OCS are so grateful for the great boost you're providing to the music.
• Nov 17: Join us if you are available at The Templeton (215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518) Friday afternoon at 2:00 for an optional additional practice of the Holiday Chorus song set.. You can refer to Carol's email from last week for details.
• Nov 20: Special rehearsal for OCS Holiday Chorus, followed by OCS regular practice. The usual meeting place (Searstone)
  • 7pm to 7:45: Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus. We will run the entire set:
    • Carol of the BellsDo You Hear What I Hear?
    • Away in a Manger - also a sing-along
    • Jingle Bells - also a sing-along
    • It Came Upon a Silent Night
  • 7:50 to 9:30: We will run the entire OCS song set for the entire Dec 5 show, which follows:
    • We Need a Little Christmas
    • Songs of Christmas
    • Christmas Through Your Eyes
    • Quartet - Impromptu or NH4
    • Sing-along (Rudolph??)
    • Please Come Home for Christmas
    • Jingle Bell Rock
    • A Christmas Carol
    • Quartet - NH4 or Impromptu
    • Sing-along (Frosty??)
    • Light the Legend
    • It's a Hanukkah Song (in a Major Key)
    • March of the Wooden Soldiers
    • INTERMISSION 
    • Holiday Chorus Set (practiced during Holiday Chorus time above)
    • Mele Kalikimaka (OCS)
• Nov 25 (Saturday): Last NC State Football Game concession. Game and call times are TBD.
• Please start telling your friends and acquaintances about our Christmas Concert at the Cary Arts Center on Tuesday Dec 5. 
  • Unlike our other performances throughout the year, we ourselves are responsible for selling our own tickets for this show. 
  • Mike has sent out an email to you all that you can forward to your own mailing list (like everyone!!).
  • You can also direct your friends to Oak City Sound - Home 
  • Holiday Chorus members will get two tickets so that you can enjoy the first part of the show (using one ticket) with a friend (using the second ticket), then at intermission, go back stage in preparation for the second half with the Holiday Chorus
• Another important aspect of the Show is selling advertising space in the show program. Please approach the businesses you trade at and ask them to take out an Ad.
  • Oak City Sound has for decades been a strong active supporter of vocal music in middle and high schools throughout Wake County. 
  • All Ads need to be sold by Nov 27. 
  • The Ad Rate Card is at ShowSponsorAndAdForm2023.pdf (oakcitysound.org) , so it's good to have this info handy when you talk to a prospective donor: ShowSponsorAndAdForm2023.pdf (oakcitysound.org). 
• Special request to Holiday Chorus singers: In addition to the Dec 5 concert at Cary Arts Center, you are invited to sing in any of our Christmas concerts. Please respond to ncols21@gmail.com to let us know which concerts you would be able to perform in.
  • All are on Mondays: Nov 27, Dec 4, Dec 11, and Dec 18 (note correction of last week's Acorn).
  • Call times will be about 6:00pm or so.
  • Program will only be about an hour in length.
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Our FIRST Holiday Concert at The Templeton
  • Call time is 6:15pm
  • 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518

2. Carol's Korner

• Keep putting in the work to make this music - and especially the words - instinctive and consistent. We are a week away from our first performance!

3. Future Notes

• Dec 4 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Holiday Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Searstone

4. Long Range

• January TBD: Chorus "Installation" Banquet
• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

1. High Notes

• Nov 6: Fourth Oak City Sound Holiday Singers meeting. The sound is really starting to come together. We OCS are so grateful for the great boost you're providing to the music.
• Nov 13: Special rehearsal for OCS Holiday Chorus, followed by OCS regular practice. The usual meeting place (Searstone)
  • 7pm to 7:45: Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus. We will run the entire set:
    • Carol of the BellsDo You Hear What I Hear?
    • Away in a Manger - also a sing-along
    • Jingle Bells - also a sing-along
    • It Came Upon a Silent Night
  • 7:50 to 9:30: We will run the entire OCS song set for the entire Dec 5 show, which follows:
    • We Need a Little Christmas
      Songs of Christmas
      Christmas Through Your Eyes
      
      Quartet - Impromptu or NH4
      Sing-along (Rudolph??)
      
      Please Come Home for Christmas
      Jingle Bell Rock
      A Christmas Carol
      
      Quartet - NH4 or Impromptu
      Sing-along (Frosty??)
      
      Light the Legend
      It's a Hanukkah Song (in a Major Key)
      March of the Wooden Soldiers
      
      INTERMISSION 
      
      Holiday Chorus Set (practiced during Holiday Chorus time above)

• Please start telling your friends and acquaintances about our Christmas Concert at the Cary Arts Center on Tuesday Dec 5. 
  • Unlike our other performances throughout the year, we ourselves are responsible for selling our own tickets for this show. 
  • Mike has sent out an email to you all that you can forward to your own mailing list (like everyone!!).
  • You can also direct your friends to Oak City Sound - Home 
  • Holiday Chorus members will get two tickets so that you can enjoy the first part of the show (using one ticket) with a friend (using the second ticket), then at intermission, go back stage in preparation for the second half with the Holiday Chorus
• Another important aspect of the Show is selling advertising space in the show program. Please approach the businesses you trade at and ask them to take out an Ad.
  • Oak City Sound has for decades been a strong active supporter of vocal music in middle and high schools throughout Wake County. 
  • All Ads need to be sold by Nov 27. 
  • The Ad Rate Card is at ShowSponsorAndAdForm2023.pdf (oakcitysound.org) , so it's good to have this info handy when you talk to a prospective donor: ShowSponsorAndAdForm2023.pdf (oakcitysound.org). 
• Special request to Holiday Chorus singers: In addition to the Dec 5 concert at Cary Arts Center, you are invited to sing in any of our Christmas concerts. Please respond to ncols21@gmail.com to let us know which concerts you would be able to perform in.
  • All are on Mondays: Nov 27, Dec 4, Dec 5, Dec 11.
  • Call times will be about 6:00pm or so.
  • Program will only be about an hour in length.

2. Carol's Korner

• We will run everything in show order (with the Holiday Chorus set in the first hour) for the next 2 weeks.
• PLEASE do not bring any music onto the risers next Monday. We can't wait until the 20th to be ready to perform for our first audience on the 27th. We have show elements we still need to incorporate and we need to have our hands free and minds focused to do that.

3. Future Notes

• Nov 25 (Saturday): Last NC State Football Game concession. Game and call times are TBD.
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at The Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Holiday Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Holiday Concert at Searstone

4. Long Range

• January TBD: Chorus "Installation" Banquet
• February 14 Wednesday: Singing Valentines!!
• April 19 to 21: Carolinas District Convention in Pinehurst NC

1. High Notes

• Oct 22: Oak City Sound delivered a good concert at Preston Pointe last Sunday afternoon. It was well attended. Furthermore, we are in discussions with them on possible future performances. 
• Oct 23: Our second Oak City Sound Holiday Singers meeting. The following singers came back for their second week: Susan Anderson, Anna Bernstein, Shirley Colson, Liz Kasberg, Eileen Mayhew,  Cheryl McQueen, Pat Scibienski, and Mike St. Clair. The following persons came for their first time: Andy Fuson, Sue Twyman, Eva Snapp, and Jin Hee Shin. We are so glad you all decided to share your evening with us! 
  • Please continue to invite your singing friends to try us out.
• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 11:30.
• Oct 30: Special rehearsal for OCS Holiday Chorus, followed by OCS regular practice. The usual meeting place (Searstone)
  • 7pm to 7:45: Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus
  • 7:50 to 9:30: Song set for 2nd half of rehearsal on October 30:
    • Please Come Home for Christmas
    • Christmas Through Your Eyes
    • We Need a Little Christmas
    • March of the Wooden Soldiers - bring your kazoos!
    • Jingle Bell Rock

2. Carol's Korner

• Keep up the great work with inviting people to sing with us for the Holiday Chorus! We can still add new folks this coming Monday if you have some other folks who have expressed interest. Those additional voices make us sound even better, and we are sounding pretty good by ourselves!
• I think Ova the Wainbow was the best we've eva sung it at Pweston Pointe! We're going to weally be making music at the contest in Pinehurst next April!

3. Future Notes

• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at The Templeton

4. Long Range

A busy December!

• Dec 4 (Monday) - Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

1. High Notes

• Oct 14 (Saturday): Celebration of Life Service for Ken Bland was held at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church in Raleigh. Many current and former Oak City Sound / General Assembly Chorus members were in attendance: Jim Allen, Jim Knight, Dale Carter, Robert Cox, Nic Cols, Steve Tremper, Greg Zinke, Bob Zinke, Paul Martin, Tim Kinsey, Charlie Rose, Kevin Jones, Steve McGehee, John Zweighaft, Larry Hill, Bob Inskeep, Dan Winer, Matt Gorman, and Walter Richardson. Please excuse any omissions.
• Oct 16: Our first Oak City Sound Holiday Singers meeting. The following new singers were in attendance: Susan Anderson, Anna Bernstein, Shirley Colson, Larry Gunnoe, Liz Kasberg, Eileen Mayhew, Cheryl McQueen, Sharon Muha, Pat Scibienski, Mark Sikora, and Mike St. Clair. Please continue to invite your singing friends to try us out.
• Oct 22 (Sunday afternoon) - Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. Call time is 2:15pm.
• Oct 23: Special Meeting format. Regular meeting place (Searstone)
  • 7pm to 7:45: Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus
  • 7:50 to 9:30: Oak City Sound regular rehearsal. Song set:
    • Please Come Home for Christmas
    • Christmas Through Your Eyes
    • Light the Legend
    • Mele Kalikimaka
    • Hanukkah Song in a Major Key

2. Carol's Korner

• How exciting was it to have so many guests with us on Monday! Thanks for putting the word out to your friends!
• New folks are still welcome to join us on the 23rd, so keep talking it up!
• And keep working on memorization of the holiday music. The sooner our faces are out of the music, the sooner we can make music and REALLY have FUN!

3. Future Notes

• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at The Templeton

4. Long Range

A busy December!

• Dec 4 (Monday) - Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

1. High Notes

• Oct 7: NC State Football Game concession. Thanks to all who gave up their Saturday to this important fundraiser.
• Oct 9: Good chorus meeting and rehearsal. We had a quorum, and therefore were able to vote in our next year's Board of Directors. Gary Thorn will schedule the November and December BoD meetings to be joint 2023/2024 Boards.
• Oct 14 (Saturday): 2pm Celebration of Life Service for Ken Bland to be held at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church; 718 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603 
• Oct 16 (Monday): Special meeting format, at our regular location (Searstone Retirement Community) at our regular time (7pm to 9:30pm). 
  • Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus: Starts tonight! We have about 15 persons expressing interest in joining us in this venture. Please continue to invite your singing friends to try us out.
  • Mike Muha has created a great on-line brochure and it is our web site's home page https://www/OakCitySound.org. Please use this in talking it up with your singing friends (men and women).
  • Rehearsal list for 2nd hour:
    • Start all songs in song set for Preston Pointe. Same show order as Springmoor from September..; PLUS
    • Songs of Christmas
    • A Christmas Carol
    • Please Come Home for Christmas
• Oct 22 (Sunday afternoon) - Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. Call time is 2:15pm.

2. Carol's Korner

• Keep working on memorization for holiday shows. Put the learning tracks on a constant loop!

3. Future Notes

• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at The Templeton

4. Long Range

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Dec 4 (Monday) - Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

5. Champagne Room

• Please keep Jim Murrell and his family in your prayers. His son is going through some very trying times dealing with severe medical issues.

1. High Notes

• Sept 29: NC State Football Game concession. Thanks to all who gave up their Friday to this important fundraiser.
• Oct 7 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 11:30.
• Oct 9 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular location (Searstone Retirement Community) at our regular time (7pm to 9:30pm). Song set:
  • Honesty
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • We Need a Little Christmas
  • Christmas Through Your Eyes
  • March of the Wooden Soldiers
  • Mele Kalikimaka
  • Hanukkah Song in a Major Key
  • Jingle Bell Rock
• Oct 14 (Saturday): 2pm Celebration of Life Service for Ken Bland to be held at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church; 718 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603 
• Oct 16 (Monday): Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus: Mike has created a great on-line brochure and it is our web site's home page https://www/OakCitySound.org. Please use this in talking it up with your singing friends (men and women) who would like to join us, temporarily, without cost or obligation, in performing on any or all of our five Christmas season concerts. All we ask is that they attend four out of five practices, starting October 16, from 7pm to 7:45pm, to learn the small subset of the music. Music memorization will not be required. 

2. Carol's Korner

• Reality check: we have 7 rehearsals until we perform our first holiday concert, and 5 of those rehearsals will include an hour of time dedicated to welcoming guests to our Holiday Chorus.
• Please plan enough practice time at home between rehearsals so we are always starting ahead of where we left off.

3. Future Notes

• Oct 22 (Sunday afternoon) - Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. Call time is 2pm.
• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD

4. Long Range

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at The Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

5. Champagne Room

• Please keep Jim Murrell and his family in your prayers. His son is going through some very trying times dealing with severe medical issues.
• Please keep one of our newer members, David Kraay, in your prayers. DK has been in Florida for many weeks now, helping out his 97-YO father and related Hospice challenges. 

1. High Notes

• Sept 16 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Thanks to all who gave up their Saturday to this important findraiser.
• Sept 18: A fine concert at Springmoor! We had 15 singers performing -- had a few more absentees than usual -- but still a good number.
  • We held a great Afterglow, at the Saints and Scholars Pub, attended by about 7 people!
• Sept 25 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular location (Searstone Retirement Community) at our regular time (7pm to 9:30pm). Song set:
  • Please Come Home for Christmas
  • Christmas Through Your Eyes
  • Light the Legend
  • Jingle Bells (Yuletide Book)
  • Away in a Manger (Yuletide Book)
  • Honesty
  • Two Less Lonely People
  •  A Christmas Carol
• Sept 29 (Friday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 4:30pm, game time 7pm
• Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus: Please start talking this up with your singing friends (men and women) who would like to join us, temporarily, without cost or obligation, in performing on any or all of our five Christmas season concerts. All we ask is that they attend four out of five practices, starting October 16, from 7pm to 7:45pm, to learn the small subset of the music. Music memorization will not be required. 

2. Carol's Korner

• Congratulations on another successful performance!
• Be sure to review the words for Too Less Lonely People - that was a little scary…
• I was most pleased with how we all told a story as a unit in Ova the Rainbow. That song is really growing on us!

3. Future Notes

• Oct 7 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Oct 14 (Saturday): 2pm Celebration of Life Service for Ken Bland to be held at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church; 718 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603 
• Oct 16: First Monday of Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus season. 
• Oct 22 (Sunday afternoon) - Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. Call time is 2pm.
• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at The Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

• Please keep Jim Murrell and his family in your prayers. His son is going through some very trying times dealing with severe medical issues.
• Please keep one of our newer members, David Kraay, in your prayers. DK has been in Florida for many weeks now, helping out his 97-YO father and related Hospice challenges. 

1. High Notes

• Sept 9: This year's first NC State Home Football game, where we manned the Concession Stand with the Sweet Ads. Thank you to all who donated practically their whole Saturday to this fund-raising activity. 
• Sept 11: A fine weekly meeting and practice. 
  • It was great to see returning guest, from our Guest Night two weeks ago, Robert McSwain.
  • In addition, we had a brand new guest, Parker Klinck, who ended up being our sole tenor for the evening. and who sight-read all songs in tenor perfectly!
  • We held a fine Afterglow, attended by our usual Afterglow low-lifes, but also attended by both our guests. We ended up having a Tag-fest, led by Parker! Good times! 
• Sept 16 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 11:30am, game time is 2:00pm. We have sufficient volunteers for this date.
• Sept 18 (Monday): Oak City Sound in Concert at Springmoor. 
  • Call time is 6:15pm in the Chapel.
  • Performance Set List:
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • Desperado
    • The Longest Time
    • Quartet Slot 1: Another Dimension
    • Honesty
    • Ride the Chariot
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Yesterday
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Quartet Slot 2: Random draw quartet!
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Sweet Caroline
    • Bare Necessities
  • Uniform: New Maui Blue shirt, chorus blue jeans, brown belt, brown shoes.
  • We will have a short rehearsal on these songs after the Springmoor concert: 
    • Do You Hear What I Hear?
    • Mele Kalikimaka
    • Light the Legend
• Sept 25 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular location (Searstone Retirement Community) at our regular time (7pm to 9:30pm). 
  • We will dig into Please Come Home for Christmas, so start preparing for that.
• Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus: Please start talking this up with your singing friends (men and women) who would like to join us, temporarily, without cost or obligation, in performing on any or all of our five Christmas season concerts. All we ask is that they attend four practices, starting October 16, from 7pm to 7:45pm, to learn the small subset of the music. Music memorization will not be required. 

2. Carol's Korner

• Honesty. 'nuff said.
• We always step up our game when we have guests. How about we sing that way all the time???
• Let's have fun entertaining our friends at Springmoor! It will be a lot easier to focus on the fun if you are completely confident about the notes and words, so take the time to make that your reality for Monday night.

3. Future Notes

• Sept 29 (Friday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 4:30pm, game time 7pm
• Oct 7 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Oct 14 (Saturday): 2pm Celebration of Life Service for Ken Bland to be held at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church; 718 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603 
• Oct 16: First Monday of Oak City Sound Holiday Chorus season. 
• Oct 22 (Sunday afternoon) - Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. Call time is 2pm.
• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

• The graveside service for former member Dave Adams was held last Sunday afternoon, Sept 10, in Chapel Hill. About 80 people attended, including current OCS members Warren Fuson, Andy Fuson, Paul Martin, and Nic Cols, along with former members Izzy Keefer,  Chris Slacke, and Jim Tarantino, who also delivered part of the eulogy.
• Please keep Jim Murrell and his family in your prayers. His son is going through some very trying times dealing with severe medical issues.
• Please include one of our newer members, David Kraay, also in your prayers. DK has been in Florida for many weeks now, helping out his 97-YO father and related Hospice challenges. 

1. High Notes

• Sad News: Long-time General Assembly Lead, David Adams passed away on Sept 5, 2023 from pancreatits. We last saw David just last Spring when he visited us on a Monday evening. I had no idea that we was struggling against the disease. No word yet on a Memorial Service.
• Aug 28: Great Guest Night and practice!
  • Unfortunately, as of 5pm Monday, I had only 1 name of a possible visitor, (and unconfirmed at that) so I concluded that we were probably not going to have any visitors.
  • It was a pleasant surprise to see 5 visitors! Many thanks to Carol for having a guest program ready to go just in case! Many thanks to Warren Fuson who invited 4 of the 5 visitors. He invited them in the context of their attending an OCS concert or were encountered at a music concert out in public. We all need to be doing the same!
  • Good Afterglow at Abbey Rd Grill, attended by one of our guests Robert McSwain.
  • All guests have been followed up with!
• Sept 4 (Monday) : Labor Day. No Meeting. See you on Sept 11!
• Football Concessions: Tim Kinsey has sent emails to all who have volunteered with the details on how to register, etc.
• Sept 9 (Saturday): NC State Football Game Concession Stand. Call time is 9:30am, Game time is Noon.
• Sept 11 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular location (Searstone Retirement Community) at our regular time (7pm to 9:30pm).
  • We will run through the Springmoor song set (see below).
  • If there is time, we will also rehearse the following on 9/11:
    • Do You Hear What I Hear?
    • Please Come Home for Christmas
    • We Need a Little Christmas
• Sept 16 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 11:30am, game time is 2:00pm.
• Sept 18 (Monday): Oak City Sound in Concert at Springmoor. 
  • Call time is 6:15pm in the Chapel.
  • Performance Set List:
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • Desperado
    • The Longest Time
    • Quartet Slot 1: Music Team is soliciting a volunteer quartet. Why don't you step up?
    • Honesty
    • Ride the Chariot
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Yesterday
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Quartet Slot 2: Volunteer!
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Sweet Caroline
    • Bare Necessities
  • Uniform: New Maui Bleu (you know, like uhh French?) shirt, chorus blue jeans, brown belt, brown shoes.
• Second Appeal: We need members willing to serve on our Christmas Show committee.  Mike Muha shouldn’t be tasked with all the work.  Can you design a poster?  Arrange for ticket takers?  Put together creative stuff?  Help promote or sell tickets?  There is much to be done, and many hands make light work.  This is our show.  Let’s support Mike.  Tell him you will help.
• Second Appeal: We are beginning to look for 2024 board members.  If you have any interest contact any chapter board members, or the Nomination Committee (Bob Inskeep and Nic Cols).  Being a part of the Leadserhip Team is a duty that needs to be shared amongst all members. Again, many hands make light work. Marketing VP position is open.
• REMINDER: Music Team needs your Christmas Stories -- NOW.

2. Carol's Korner

• I think we all realized on Monday that there is still work to be done on Honesty. I REALLY want to include that at Springmoor, so we ALL need to spend some time on practicing this before we rehearse on September 11.
• I don't think it was said enough on Monday night, but we presented a really good show at Cary Lazy Daze! Great work, everyone!!

3. Future Notes

• Sept 29 (Friday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 4:30pm, game time 7pm
• Oct 7 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Oct 14 (Saturday): 2pm Celebration of Life Service for Ken Bland to be held at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church; 718 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603 
• Oct 22 (Sunday afternoon) - Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. Call time is 2pm.
• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

• Our brother-in-song, Kenny Bland passed away last Friday. I've been singing with OKB in 3 different groups (General Assembly/OCS, Masters Men, and around 25 consecutive North Carolina Harmony Brigades) for a few decades and he will be sorely missed in all 3 groups. There are no words to properly describe the joy he's brought to so many people through his singing and support. OKB led a barbershop life, well-lived: He joined SPEBSQSA in 1954. He was the chief founding member of the Wooster Ohio barbershop chapter in the 1970s, and directed them for several years. He was a charter member of the NC Harmony Brigade in 1993, never missing a single rally. He sang baritone in numerous chapter quartets. Prayers for Ken's family are greatly appreciated. Celebration of Life Service will be held On Oct 14 at 2pm at Hillyer Memorial Christian Church; 718 Hillsborough St, Raleigh, NC 27603 

1. High Notes

• Aug 26: Great concert performed at  Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. We made many contacts for potential ticket sales  for the Christmas Concert on Dec 5 at Cary Arts Center. 
• Aug 28: Great Guest Night and practice!
  • Unfortunately, as of 5pm Monday, I had only 1 name of a possible visitor, (and unconfirmed at that) so I concluded that we were probably not going to have any visitors.
  • It was a pleasant surprise to see 5 visitors! Many thanks to Carol for having a guest program ready to go just in case! Many thanks to Warren Fuson who invited 4 of the 5 visitors. He invited them in the context of their attending an OCS concert or were encountered at a music concert out in public. We all need to be doing the same!
  • Good Afterglow at Abbey Rd Grill, attended by one of our guests Robert McSwain.
  • All guests have been followed up with!
• Sept 4 (Monday) : Labor Day. No Meeting. See you on Sept 11!
• Football Concessions: Tim Kinsey has sent emails to all who have volunteered with the details on how to register, etc.
• Sept 9 (Saturday): NC State Football Game Concession Stand. Call time is 9:30am, Game time is Noon.
• Sept 11 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular location (Searstone Retirement Community) at our regular time (7pm to 9:30pm).
  • We will run through the Springmoor song set (see below).
  • If there is time, we will also rehearse the following on 9/11:
    • Do You Hear What I Hear?
    • Please Come Home for Christmas
    • We Need a Little Christmas
• Sept 16 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 11:30am, game time is 2:00pm.
• Sept 18 (Monday): Oak City Sound in Concert at Springmoor. 
  • Call time is 6:15pm in the Chapel.
  • Performance Set List:
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • Desperado
    • The Longest Time
    • Quartet Slot 1: Music Team is soliciting a volunteer quartet. Why don't you step up?
    • Honesty
    • Ride the Chariot
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Yesterday
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Quartet Slot 2: Volunteer!
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Sweet Caroline
    • Bare Necessities
  • Uniform: New Maui Bleu (you know, like uhh French?) shirt, chorus blue jeans, brown belt, brown shoes.
• Second Appeal: We need members willing to serve on our Christmas Show committee.  Mike Muha shouldn’t be tasked with all the work.  Can you design a poster?  Arrange for ticket takers?  Put together creative stuff?  Help promote or sell tickets?  There is much to be done, and many hands make light work.  This is our show.  Let’s support Mike.  Tell him you will help.
• Second Appeal: We are beginning to look for 2024 board members.  If you have any interest contact any chapter board members, or the Nomination Committee (Bob Inskeep and Nic Cols).  Being a part of the Leadserhip Team is a duty that needs to be shared amongst all members. Again, many hands make light work. Marketing VP position is open.
• REMINDER: Music Team needs your Christmas Stories -- NOW.

2. Carol's Korner

• I think we all realized on Monday that there is still work to be done on Honesty. I REALLY want to include that at Springmoor, so we ALL need to spend some time on practicing this before we rehearse on September 11.
• I don't think it was said enough on Monday night, but we presented a really good show at Cary Lazy Daze! Great work, everyone!!

3. Future Notes

• Sept 29 (Friday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is 4:30pm, game time 7pm
• Oct 7 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Oct 22 (Sunday afternoon) - Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. Call time is 2pm.
• Oct 28 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 4 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD
• Nov 25 (Saturday): NC State Football Game concession. Call time is TBD

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

• Our brother-in-song, Kenny Bland passed away last Friday. I've been singing with OKB in 3 different groups (General Assembly/OCS, Masters Men, and around 25 consecutive North Carolina Harmony Brigades) for a few decades and he will be sorely missed in all 3 groups. There are no words to properly describe the joy he's brought to so many people through his singing and support. OKB led a barbershop life, well-lived: He joined SPEBSQSA in 1954. He was the chief founding member of the Wooster Ohio barbershop chapter in the 1970s, and directed them for several years. He was a charter member of the NC Harmony Brigade in 1993, never missing a single rally. He sang baritone in numerous chapter quartets. Prayers for Ken's family are greatly appreciated. Young Ken Bland will communicate to us arrangements for a Celebration of Life event that is being planned.

1. High Notes

• Aug 21:  Great meeting and practice!
  • The laptop with a display of song titles set up by Mike Muha was a great success. 
  • A special BoD meeting was held to approve bringing back a concept like the Men's Holiday Chorus, from years ago, to supplement our chorus for our Christmas concerts. One difference this year will be opening up participation to women. The concept was presented to the membership. We look to target starting the program around the first of October. More details coming in a couple weeks.
  • Good Afterglow at Abbey Rd Grill. 
• Aug 26, 11:00-11:30AM:  Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running.
  • Agenda for Lazy Daze was distributed last Monday.
  • The Acorn is running late this week, so this news item will probably not reach you in time.  [Sorry! - Ed.]
  • We will get 5 parking passes, one for Fuquay-Varina people and 4 to be distributed at Searstone on performance day.
  • Uniform: We will be wearing our new uniform shirt, along with khaki shorts and comfortable shoes or sandals. No long dark socks, please!
• Aug 28 (Monday): Special Guest Night! Last one of the year. Meeting is still at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. Please email me the names of the guests you think will show up. In addition to some tags, we will work on the following:
  • Honesty
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Jingle Bells
  • We Need a Little Christmas
  • Carol of the Bells
  • Mele Kalikimaka
  • Do You Hear What I Hear?
• Second Appeal: We need members willing to serve on our Christmas Show committee.  Mike Muha shouldn’t be tasked with all the work.  Can you design a poster?  Arrange for ticket takers?  Put together creative stuff?  Help promote or sell tickets?  There is much to be done, and many hands make light work.  This is our show.  Let’s support Mike.  Tell him you will help.
• Second Appeal: We are beginning to look for 2024 board members.  If you have any interest contact any chapter board members, or the Nomination Committee (Bob Inskeep and Nic Cols).  Being a part of the Leadserhip Team is a duty that needs to be shared amongst all members. Again, many hands make light work. Marketing VP position is open.
• Sept 4 - Labor Day - Let's discuss on Monday whether we can meet or not.
• Sept 11 - Next Oak City Sound guest night, at our regular Monday evening rehearsal time and place. Invite 2 guys right away. And let's focus on tenors!
• REMINDER: Music Team needs your Christmas Stories -- NOW.

2. Carol's Korner

• You are all amazing! I'm so excited by all of the great singing we are doing!.

3. Future Notes

• Watch for announcements concerning the concession stand at NC State Home Football games starting next month.
• Sept 18 (Monday) - Concert at Springmoor

4. Long Range

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Oct 22 - a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville. RE-CONFIRMED
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

• Kenny Bland is still in the hospital, but not doing well. Prayers for Ken and family are greatly appreciated.

1. High Notes

• Aug 14:  Great meeting and practice!
  • Mike Muha set up laptop with a display of song title, first words and starting key.  Letters were very large and easy to read.  Carol used it during the rehearsal just swiping to change the song.
  • New chorus shirts were handed out. We will be wearing these for Lazy Daze, probably with the sleeves rolled up
  • Afterglow was attended by the truly committed, the true iron men of OCS. It was held at The Parkway Tavern, and sure enough, the atmosphere was quiet and amenable. 
• Aug 21 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. Here is the revised program for August 26, as well as our rehearsal list for Monday Aug 21::
  • The Bare Necessities (2:40)
  • You've Got a Friend in Me (1:51)
  • Yesterday (3:03)
  • Here Comes the Sun (2:35)
  • Hello, Mary Lou - Another Dimension (2:15)
  • Desperado (2:48)
  • Two Less Lonely People in the World (3:40)
  • Almost Like Being in Love (1:58)
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
  • Over the Rainbow (4:17)
  • Sweet Caroline (3:50)
• We need members willing to serve on our Christmas Show committee.  Mike Muha shouldn’t be tasked with all the work.  Can you design a poster?  Arrange for ticket takers?  Put together creative stuff?  Help promote or sell tickets?  There is much to be done, and many hands make light work.  This is our show.  Let’s support Mike.  Tell him you will help.
• We are beginning to look for 2024 board members.  If you have any interest contact any chapter board members, or the Nomination Committee (Bob Inskeep and Nic Cols).  Being a part of the Leadserhip Team is a duty that needs to be shared amongst all members. Again, many hands make light work. Marketing VP position is open.
• Aug 26, 11:00-11:30AM:  Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running.
  • Agenda for Lazy Daze will be published and distributed this week. 
  • We will get 5 parking passes, one for Fuquay-Varina people and 4 to be distributed at Searstone on performance day.
  • Uniform: We will be wearing our new uniform shirt, along with chorus blue jeans and shoes.
  • Song list: See week's note above.
• Aug 28 - Next Oak City Sound guest night, at our regular Monday evening rehearsal time and place. Invite 2 guys right away. And let's focus on tenors!
• REMINDER: Music Team needs your Christmas Stories -- NOW.

2. Carol's Korner

• I know I've been putting you through a lot of detail work for the past several weeks. Now it's time to focus on storytelling and entertaining our audience in the most genuine way possible. Think in big ideas and so many of the tedious details will fall right into place.

3. Future Notes

• Watch for announcements concerning the concession stand at NC State Home Football games starting next month.
• Sept 18 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor

4. Long Range

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Oct 22 - a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

• Bob Inskeep reported that he had visited Kenny Bland at the hospital.  Kenny had fallen and hit his head very hard on a stone patio.  His head was banged up pretty badly with staples and stitches.  There seems to be no neurological damage but Kenny will remain in rehab for a few more days. Kenny is in great spirits.  Also Kevin Jones now works at Wake Med and is taking good care of Kenny. I think the same thing can be said of OKB as was said of Dizzy Dean when he got beaned by a baseball. Our headline should read, "X-Rays of Ken's head show nothing!" And we are truly grateful.
• Larry Hill reported he went to his home town barbershop chorus's rehearsal last week.  They ended their rehearsal with “It’s great to be a barber shopper.”   It turned out they got that from us through a member, Jim, who visited us 8 years ago.  Jim brought that back and they have been closing that way ever since. 
  • Larry also reported their director said to connect all the notes together and drop the “R”s.  Where have we heard that before?
• Yours truly [Ed.] was spending a week high in the Blue Ridge mountains, and thus missed our meeting. See you all again on Monday, Aug 21.

1. High Notes

• Aug 7:  Great meeting and practice!
  • No Afterglow! Ouch! The storm had knocked out power at Abbey Road Grill, where we usually hold court and pontificate on all things barbershop. 
• Aug 14 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • Honesty
  • Ride the Chariot
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Desperado
  • Yesterday
  • Bare Necessities
  • Christmas Through Your Eyes
• Aug 28 - Next Oak City Sound guest night, at our regular Monday evening rehearsal time and place. Invite 2 guys right away. And let's focus on tenors!
• REMINDER: Music Team needs your Christmas Stories -- NOW.

2. Carol's Korner

• Stay ahead of the learning and memorization schedule. You don't want to be chasing it into a busy fall.
• Reminders of the tips and tricks mentioned on Monday:
  • Always maintain a tall space in the back of our jaw and always keep the tip of the tongue resting on the back of the bottom teeth.
  • While maintaining that tall space in the back of the oral cavity, "dial" the sound forward to keep it bright and ringing without pushing from the throat.
  • Warm up by singing through a straw in your mouth, on top of your tongue, held in place by your rounded lips. Pay attention to how your abdominal muscles do the work when you sing that way.
  • Use your consonant sounds to sing expressively. This does not add more time to the consonants, it makes them precise and crisp.

3. Future Notes

• Aug 26, 11:00-11:30AM:  Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Song list:
  • The Bare Necessitie
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Yesterday
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Hello, Mary Lou - Another Dimension
  • Desperado 
  • Two Less Lonely People in the World
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Honesty
  • Over the Rainbow
  • Sweet Caroline
• Sept 18 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor

4. Long Range

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Oct 22 - a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.
• Nov 27 (Monday) - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 (Monday)- Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 (Tuesday) - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 (Monday) - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 (Monday) - Concert at Searstone

• Congratulations! to our newest members, who were presented with official name badges: Michael McQueen, Mike Carney, and Steve McGehee!
• Congratulations to 7th Dimension quartet and Impromptu quartet, and Sean Li, for their attendance at last weekend's Lakeside Harmony Weekend. Their reaction? Here they are:
  • We had amazing coaching and classes, and a great time hanging out with friends from the Carolinas District and Dixie District.
  • We had gold-medal quartet guys as our coaches. Great advice that works!
  • Very good accommodations in the dorms at Clemson.
  • Excellent program developed by the LHW Planning Committee.

1. High Notes

• July 31:  Great meeting and practice! We had 23 singers present, including two guests: Dave Barnard (guest of Warren Fuson) and Jack Deere (long-time former General Assembly member, now living in Hilton Head, and back for a visit).
  • Good Afterglow at Abbey Road, where we had another outstanding social time. 
• Have you checked our memorization schedule at  https://www.oakcitysound.org/db_uploads/RehearsalSchedule2023.pdf  ? Let's get on board with this!
• Aug 7 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • Please Come Home for Christmas
  • Honesty
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Over the Rainbow
  • Mele Kalikimaka
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Desperado
  • Songs of Christmas
• REMINDER: Music Team needs your Christmas Stories -- NOW.
• Did you know all The Acorns are stored in a public place on our chorus website? https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=news and you don't have to be logged into to see them. Anyone can view them. You can also get there by clicking, on the Home page, Events & News then click Latest News.

2. Carol's Korner

• Let's always bring our best singing to the room on Monday nights. When we start with that in mind, even The Old Songs can sound fresh and new! 
• Keep working on correct notes, rhythms, and words on our new songs. We have only 3 more rehearsals before we perform at Lazy Daze!

3. Future Notes

• Aug 26, 11:00-11:30AM:  Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Proposed song list:
  • Desperado
  • Two Less Lonely People in the World
  • Honesty
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Yesterday
  • Over the Rainbow
  • The Bare Necessities
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Sweet Caroline
  • Maybe 1 quartet song, TBA
• Aug 28 - Next Oak City Sound guest night, at our regular Monday evening rehearsal time and place.

4. Long Range

Note that all Mondays in our Christmas season are fully booked, plus Tuesday Dec 5! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.

• Sept 18 - Concert at Springmoor
• Oct 22 - a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.
• Nov 27 - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 - Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 - (Tuesday) Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 - Concert at Searstone

• Good Luck! to the 7th Dimension Quartet, Impromptu quartet, and Sean Li who are attending Lakeside Harmony Weekend at Clemson Univ.

1. High Notes

• July 24:  Great meeting and practice! We had 21 singers present
  • Good Afterglow at Abbey Road, where we had another outstanding social time. 
• Have you checked our memorization schedule at  https://www.oakcitysound.org/db_uploads/RehearsalSchedule2023.pdf  ? Let's get on board with this!
• Have you checked your Attendance Plan? Please update it through the end of the year, and I won't bug you any more about it. https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=evlist
• July 31 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Honesty
  • Desperado
  • Sweet Caroline
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Please Come Home for Christmas
  • Do You Hear What I Hear?
  • Jingle Bell Rock
  • Christmas Through Your Eyes
• Check out our Long-Range notes below - Note that our Christmas Concert season is fully booked! Thanks to the team for making so many bookings, and to everyone for singing well enough that these places have invited us back.
• Music Team needs your Christmas Stories -- NOW.
• Did you know all The Acorns are stored in a public place on our chorus website? https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=news and you don't have to be logged into to see them. Anyone can view them. You can also get there by clicking, on the Home page, Events & News then click Latest News.

2. Carol's Korner

• I hope you all enjoyed the sample of performances from Louisville that we watched on Monday night. It was fun to see our friends on stage and see some of the varied offerings from barbershoppers representing so many countries, ages, and voice combinations.
• Think about what moved you in the performances you saw and focus on incorporating those things into your performance, even in warm-ups. Act as if you are on stage from the moment rehearsal starts until it ends every week so your default is to always be expressive and singing your best.

3. Future Notes

• Aug 26, 11:00-11:30AM:  Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Proposed song list:
  • Desperado
  • Two Less Lonely People in the World
  • Honesty
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Yesterday
  • Over the Rainbow
  • The Bare Necessities
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Sweet Caroline
  • Maybe 1 quartet song, TBA
• Aug 28 - Next Oak City Sound guest night, at our regular Monday evening rehearsal time and place.

4. Long Range

• Sept 18 - Concert at Springmoor
• Oct 22 - a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.
• Nov 27 - Concert at Templeton
• Dec 4 - Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 - (Tuesday) Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 11 - Concert at Whispering Pines
• Dec 18 - Concert at Searstone

1. High Notes

• July 17:  Great meeting and practice! We had 22 singers present -- a new post-pandemic high!
  • Two visitors, John Brandli and Jack Lewis, were with us.
  • Good Afterglow at Abbey Road, where we had another outstanding social time. 
• July 19: Concession stand in Chapel Hill was pulled off successfully. Thanks to Tim Kinsey and all those who participated!
• Have you checked our memorization schedule at  https://www.oakcitysound.org/db_uploads/RehearsalSchedule2023.pdf  ? Let's get on board with this!
• July 24 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • Light the Legend
  • Two Less Lonely People (off spots!)
  • Desperado
  • Honesty
  • Please Come Home for Christmas
  • It Came Upon the Midnight Clear/Silent Night
  • Christmas Through Your Eyes

2. Carol's Korner

• Christmas is coming, the music folder is getting fat! We have a lot of work left to prepare for Cary Lazy Daze, but remember to start cracking on the new and resurrected Christmas music.
• We will keep adding that to our rehearsal schedule in the coming weeks as we are finishing up preparations for our new songs that will be sung for our August 26 performance.
• Keep working on flow, connection, lift, approaching each pitch from the top, and all of the other things I nag you about! It's paying off!!

3. Future Notes

• John Zweighaft invites everyone to attend his church's sight-singing lab this summer. It runs on Tuesday evenings at 7pm, starting Tuesday July 11, for several weeks. Greg Santa Croce, who is the choir director at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Apex, will lead. It’s free. It will include some basics of reading music to train singing music intervals.  It is recommended for both new and experienced singers. Contact John Zweighaft for more information.
• Aug 26, 11:00-11:30AM:  Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Proposed song list:
  • Desperado
  • Two Less Lonely People in the World
  • Honesty
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Yesterday
  • Over the Rainbow
  • The Bare Necessities
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Sweet Caroline
  • Maybe 1 quartet song, TBA
• Aug 28 - Next Oak City Sound guest night, at our regular Monday evening rehearsal time and place.

4. Long Range

• Sept 18 - Concert at Springmoor
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.
• Nov 27 - Concert at Templ;eton
• Dec 4: Concert at Springmoor
• Dec 5 - Concert at Cary Arts Center
• Dec 18 - Concert at Searstone

• ?

1. High Notes

• July 10:  Great meeting and practice! We had 22 singers present -- a new post-pandemic high!
  • Larry Hill, who is the co-chair for the Supreme Directorate of Afterglow, led us back to Abbey Road, where we he had another outstanding social time. 
• Mike Muha has posted our memorization schedule. See https://www.oakcitysound.org/db_uploads/RehearsalSchedule2023.pdf  Let's get on board with this!
• July 17 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • March of the Wooden Soldiers
  • Prayer of the Children
  • Two Less Lonely ("TLL")
  • Mele Kalikimaka
  • Carol of the Bells
  • Honesty
  • Desperado
  • Here Comes the Sun
• Total Congratulations to our newest member Mike Carney, who passed his audition last Monday. Mike joins Michael McQueen and David Kraay as great new additions to Oak City Sound, both music-wise and fellowship-wise. We are so happy to have you join us.

2. Carol's Korner

• Great work on Monday night! The more we sing in phrases and ideas, the better the flow becomes. Enjoy your amazing voices by opening up and letting it out! 
• Keep working on memorization for Honesty and be ready to pull together all the pieces for Two Less Lonely People for our July 17 meeting. You are capable of AMAZING THINGS!

3. Future Notes

• John Zweighaft invites everyone to attend his church's sight-singing lab this summer. It runs on Tuesday evenings at 7pm, starting Tuesday July 11, for several weeks. Greg Santa Croce, who is the choir director at St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Apex, will lead. It’s free. It will include some basics of reading music to train singing music intervals.  It is recommended for both new and experienced singers. Contact John Zweighaft for more information.
• July 19 (Wednesday): Concession stand in Chapel Hill. Check with Tim Kinsey for details. 

4. Long Range

• Aug 26, Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Please mark it on your calendar ... we don't have the detailed performance time or location yet.
• Aug 28 - Next Oak City Sound guest night, at our regular Monday evening rehearsal time and place.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• Congratulations to Mike Carney for passing his chorus entry auditions into Oak City Sound!

1. High Notes

• June 26: Great meeting and practice!
• July 3 (Monday) - No meeting.
• Mike Muha has posted our memorization schedule. See https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=bboard Let's get on board with this!
• July 10 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • March of the Wooden Soldiers
  • It's a Hanukkah Song in a Major Key
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Honesty (Off spots!!)
  • Desperado
  • Prayer of the Children
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Over the Rainbow
• Total Congratulations to our tow newest members who passed their audition last Monday. We are so hapy to have you join us:
  • Michael McQueen (Lead)
  • David Kraay (Bass)

2. Carol's Korner

• Christmas is coming, the music folder's getting fat!
• We've got a lot of work for Cary Lazy Daze at that.
• Remember to work on sharping just like that
• The new and resurrected Christmas music we like, Yap!
• We' ll keep adding to our practice schedule as we need,
• The coming weeks will def show who has prepared indeed.
• As we are finishing up preparations for our new songs that will be sung for our August 26 Lazy Daze performance., keep working on flow, connection, lift, approaching each pitch from the top, and all of the other things I nag you about! It's paying off!!

3. Future Notes

• Tuesday evenings at 7pm, starting Tuesday July 11, running for several weeks. Greg Santa Croce, who is the choir director at  St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Apex, where John Zweighaft attends, will lead a sight-singing lab this summer.  He has opened it to members of our chorus. It’s free. It will include some basics of reading music with singing to train singing music intervals.  I recommend this for both new and experienced singers. The lab will be held at the church at 7:00pm on Tuesday nights beginning on July 11.  Contact John Zweighaft for more information.
• July 19 (Wednesday): Concession stand in Chapel Hill. Check with Tim Kinsey for details. 

4. Long Range

• Aug 26, Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Please mark it on your calendar ... we don't have the detailed performance time or location yet.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• Congratulations to Michael McQueen and David Kraay for passing their entry auditions into Oak City Sound!

1. High Notes

• June 19: Great rehearsal. 17 members singing. The afterglow at The Corner Tavern wasn't so hot -- they will be hosting live (read: "really loud") bands going forward on Mondays, so we have to find a new place.
• June 20: Mike Muha has posted our memorization schedule. See https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=bboard Let's get on board with this!
• June 26: (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm.
  • We will rehearse the following:
    • Do You Hear What I Hear?
    • Prayer of the Children
    • Honesty
    • Desperado - off paper
    • Two Less Lonely People
    • Please Come Home for Christmas (NEW)
    • Christmas Through Your Eyes
  • Under consideration for a new Afterglow location. We will probably try out each in turn again. Contact Larry Hill to vote for your preference. 
    • Parkway Tavern -- Larry Hill has made progress on this one, making it more suitable for our kind of socializing.
    • Fortnight Brewing -- good outdoor seating for summer time, but no kitchen!
    • Abbey Road -- also good outdoor seating for summer time, and yes their kitchen is open late.
    • Mac's Tavern -- ambience is OK, kitchen is fine, but kinda far away.
    • Lydia's Kitchen -- Alas! She went out of business.
• July 3 (Monday) - No meeting.
• July 10: (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. Honesty must be off-paper

2. Carol's Korner

• Remember how we beautifully stayed on pitch in Desperado as soon as we switched to "doo doo doo" instead of words? That means we still have work to do to approach each note from the top, keep the vowels forward, and bring the consonants to the vowels to stay on the top side of each note. Practice all of your songs without words and take note of how free and forward the sound is when you don't let the consonants disrupt that flow. It CAN be done with words, too!

3. Future Notes

• Tuesday evenings at 7pm, starting Tuesday July 11, running for several weeks. Greg Santa Croce, who is the choir director at  St. Andrew the Apostle Catholic Church in Apex, where John Zweighaft attends, will lead a sight-singing lab this summer.  He has opened it to members of our chorus. It’s free. It will include some basics of reading music with singing to train singing music intervals.  I recommend this for both new and experienced singers. The lab will be held at the church at 7:00pm on Tuesday nights beginning on July 11.  Contact John Zweighaft for more information.
• July 19 (Wednesday): Concession stand in Chapel Hill. Check with Tim Kinsey for details. 

4. Long Range

• Aug 26, Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Please mark it on your calendar ... we don't have the detailed performance time or location yet.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• Triangle Sings is a consortium of vocal groups in the Triangle area. It is now being headed up by our friend in the Heart of Carolina ACappella chorus, Dr. Bill Adams. 
• Sad news: Jo Ann Meyers, who was the wife of long-time General Assembly singer Mike Meyers, passed away on June 16 in . Mike and Jo Ann had recently celebrated their 63rd wedding anniversary. Memorial service or other arrangements have not bee set yet. Go to https://www.seymourfuneralhome.com/obituaries/Jo-Ann-Carol-Myers?obId=28201747#/obituaryInfo for more information.

1. High Notes

• June 12: Great rehearsal. 17 members singing. Great Afterglow at The Corner Taven with 7 in attendance.
• June 19 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • Prayer of the Children
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Desperado
  • Honesty
  • Do You Hear What I Hear?
  • We Need a Little Christmas

2. Carol's Korner

• You all did some great work in your sectional rehearsals on Monday. We will do that more often to help you hear how your parts work together better.. 
• Our added focus this week was on singing down to the high notes and up to the low notes. As you work to apply that idea to all of your singing, you will find that your vocal quality is more consistent throughout your range and you will be more flexible and agile.
• Mike is working on a memorization schedule, but why not get ahead of it? We WILL be adding our 3 newest songs to our Lazy Daze performance in August, so get off paper now to allow us to work more on accuracy and presentation.

3. Future Notes

• July 3: No meeting.
• July 19 (Wednesday): Concession stand in Chapel Hill 

4. Long Range

• Aug 26, Cary Lazy Daze Town Festival. Oak City Sound will be performing on the main stage, as we've done for a few years running. Please mark it on your calendar ... we don't have the details yet.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

1. High Notes

• June 5:  Oak City Sound in concert at Searstone! We put on a very good show. The new section-based standing order contrbuted. We had 18 singers on the risers, plus 2 of our recent guests in the audience: Michael McQueen and Patrick O'Hannigan.  Patrick took many photos at the concert
• June 12 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse the following:
  • Prayer of the Children
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • Honesty
  • Desperado
  • March of the Wooden Soldiers (bring your kazoos! ;-) )
  • Jingle Bell Rock
• Hey, how many of you are keeping your Attendance Plan up to date???? Go to https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=membersonly and record your planned attendance!

2. Carol's Korner

• Great show on Monday night! I heard from MANY Searstone residents about how much they enjoyed the performance and how much the chorus has improved, even since they heard us last December.
• I think the new riser order we tried on Monday was a great change and we are going to stick with that. Let's keep working on balancing the voice parts - leads most prominent, then bass, then fill in the chord with just a sprinkling of tenor and baritone.
• Let's keep working on the new songs and keep riding this great wave of progress as musicians and performers!

3. Future Notes

•  July 3: No meeting.
• July 18 (Tuesday): Concession stand in Chapel Hill 

4. Long Range

• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• A hearty welcome to first-time visitor Speight Bird, a Bass. 

1. High Notes

• May 22: Good chapter meeting and chorus rehearsal at our usual location. Good afterglow back at The Corner Tavern. Many thanks to Mike Muha for leading the chorus rehearsal in Carol's absence!
  • Welcome to Speight Bird, a first time visitor! He did a great job in the Bass section. Speight is Vern PIke's friend and fellow inmate at The Templeton.
• May 29: Great OCS Cookout at the Fuson's house! Many thanks to Warren and Andy for putting on a great shindig. Lots of good fellowship, eating, drinking, and singing!
• June 5 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at Searstone! All our new guests are invited to come and listen, even if you're not singing this time.  
  • Riser Set up time is 6:15 in our usual meeting room. Please come early and help out!
  • Call time is 6:30pm. Concert is at 7:15pm.
  • Uniform: Blue check chorus shirt, black chorus jacket, chorus jeans, etc.
  • Abbreviated rehearsal will follow the concert.
  • Song order will be the same as what we sang at the Templeton:
    • Bare Necessities
    • Ride the Chariot
    • Yesterday
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Seldom Heard Quartet - Java Jive
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Do You Hear the People Sing?
    • Over the Rainbow
    • Another Dimension quartet: I'm Gonna Live Till I Die
    • Another Dimension quartet: Breaking Up Is Hard to Do
    • The Longest Time
    • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
    • Sweet Caroline
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
• June 12 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse all the songs for the Searstone Concert on June 5, and the following:
  • Prayer for the Children
  • Desperado
  • Honesty
  • Two Less Lonely
• The Acorn is back after a one-week vacation! [Ed.]
• Hey, how many of you are keeping your Attendance Plan up to date???? Go to https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=membersonly and record your planned attendance!

2. Carol's Korner

• It was great listening to you all sing with and for each other at the Memorial Day gathering! I really enjoyed hearing you lead yourselves and guide the direction of the songs. I would love to hear you sing with that conviction and attention to each other when I'm waving my arms around in front of you! Let's do that on Monday night for the folks at Searstone.
• Mike has moved some of our archived Christmas songs to the show list for this fall, so you can start listening to and working on:
  • Light the Legend
  • Christmas Through Your Eyes
  • March of the Wooden Soldiers
  • Do You Hear What I Hear?
• Start listening to and working on them!! We'll start working on those in June. We will also add a few more new holiday titles later in the summer.

3. Future Notes

•  July 3: No meeting.

4. Long Range

• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• A hearty welcome to first-time visitor Speight Bird, a Bass. 

1. High Notes

• May 15: Good chapter meeting and chorus rehearsal at our usual location. Good afterglow at Parkway Tavern.
• May 22 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. We will rehearse all the songs for the Searstone Concert on June 5, and the following:
  • Prayer for the Children
  • Desperado
  • Honesty
  • Two Less Lonely
• May 29: Is Memorial Day. Chapter Cookout at Warren Fuson's house! 8801 Lakewood Dr, Raleigh NC, 27613. Spouses are certainly invited. This is a Pot Luck style event. Go to this link to indicate what you will contribute to the festivities https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084FAEAB23A2FA7-oakcity .
• June 5 (Monday): 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30.

2. Carol's Korner

• Mike will be shifting some of our archived Christmas songs to the show list for this fall, so people can start listening to and working on:
  • Light the Legend
  • Christmas Through Your Eyes
  • March of the Wooden Soldiers
  • Do You Hear What I Hear?
• Start listening to and working on them!! We'll start working on those in June, and will also add in a few more new holiday titles later in the summer.
• We made some great progress on the tricky rhythms of our newest songs. Please keep steadily listening to the tracks, especially for Honesty and Two Less Lonely People in the World.
• Please keep playing with the idea we worked with at the end of the rehearsal when we sang as if we were hearing impaired. That made a big difference in how well we rounded the sound, kept the tone flowing, and brought the minimized consonant sounds forward to the line of vowels. As this becomes your default placement for all of your singing sounds, this will make a big difference in how well we can ring chords and sing whole phrases and songs.

3. Future Notes

•  No news for the medium term.

4. Long Range

• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

1. High Notes

• May 8 : Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton in Cary
  • Smashing success! We had 18 singers, and we rocked the house. The two quartets performed respectably as well. Thanks to Vern Pike for setting this up, as well as for marshalling us into place at the right time.
  • So glad to have returning guests Mike Carney, Michael McQueen, and Izzy Keefer. Izzy also brought along his dad David Keefer, also, like Izzy, a long-time member of the General Asembly Chorus (OCS's progenitor, known and loved throughout the Triangle) who was visiting this week from Ohio.
  • A remarkable Afterglow was held at the Backstage Pub in the neighborhood of The Templeton . We had 8 people (44%) there, and after a while Izzy Keefer showed up, making 9 (50%) total. We sang 3 songs for the waitress, and the whole house applauded our songs. We actually stayed there like twice as long as at our usual Afterglow. No other chorus I ever heard of gets 50% attendance at Afterglow. We should be proud!
• May 15 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm. Song List:
  • Two Less Lonely People in the World
  • Desperado
  • Honesty
  • Carol of the Bells
  • Songs of Christmas
  • Prayer of the Children (let's see how much we remember)
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
• May 29: Is Memorial Day. Chapter Cookout at Warren Fuson's house! 8801 Lakewood Dr, Raleigh NC, 27613. Spouses are certainly invited. This is a Pot Luck style event. Go to this link to indicate what you will contribute to the festivities https://www.signupgenius.com/go/508084FAEAB23A2FA7-oakcity .

2. Carol's Korner

• Thanks for a great show at The Templeton on Monday! You were very engaging and sounded good, too!
• Please clean up those spots we covered in rehearsal after the show. It's easy to fall into a re-composing (decomposing) pattern and slowly change the whole complexion of a song. 
• We will be starting on new or archived Christmas songs in June, so dig out your Santa hats.

3. Future Notes

• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 

4. Long Range

• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

1. High Notes

• Apr 29: Cary Spring Daze We certainly pulled this engagement off rather well.
  • Concert at the Sertoma Amphitheatre plus the Info Booth all day long on the arcade.
  • Thank you to all who carpooled, who sang in the concert, and especially to those who took a turn at the Info Booth.
  • We got about 15 contact names at the Booth, which we are following up on. 
• May 1:  Regular rehearsal last Monday evening at our regular location.
  • We had 18 singers "on the risers", including returning recent guests Mike Carney, and David Kraay.
  • It was also great to Sean Li back with us, plus Izzy Keefer visiting us for the first time in quite a while.
  • Great Afterglow at a new location: Parkway Tavern. There were 6 in attendance (33%).
• May 8 (Monday) : Not our regular rehearsal.
  • Oak City Sound in concert at The Templeton Retirement Community, The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
  • Call Time is 6:15. See Vern's agenda for precise location details.
  • Concert order for Monday at Templeton:
    • Bare Necessities
    • Ride the Chariot
    • Yesterday
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Java Jive - Seldom Heard
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Do You Hear the People Sing?
    • Over the Rainbow
    • I'm Gonna Live Till I Die - Another Dimension
    • Breaking Up Is Hard to Do - Another Dimension
    • The Longest Time
    • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
    • Sweet Caroline
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • There will be a short rehearsal following the concert. Please be ready to sing through Desperado, Honesty and Two Less Lonely People at least once so we can keep the song in our minds and voices for a focused rehearsal on these songs on May 15.
• May 15 (Monday): Regular meeting at our regular time at our regular location: Searstone Retirement Community at 7pm.

2. Carol's Korner

• We are continuing to take steps in the direction of connected sound, singing with meaning, and ringing chords. This is great work!
• Please spend time BETWEEN Mondays working on these concepts so that they start to become consistently duplicatable and second nature for everyone. We want to keep moving forward from week to week.
• The better YOU sing, the better WE sound, and the more JOY we will find in doing this thing TOGETHER!

3. Future Notes

• May 29: Is Memorial Day. Chapter Cookout at Warren Fuson's house! 8801 Lakewood Dr, Raleigh NC, 27613. Spouses are certainly invited.

4. Long Range

• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

1. High Notes

• Apr 23: 9 of our members represented Oak City Sound as they performed the National Anthem at a UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill. The performance was stunning! A lot of appreciation was received from the UNC fans, the UNC Baseball team, and from stadium staff.
• Apr 24:  Regular rehearsal last Monday evening at our regular location.
  • We had 18 singers "on the risers", including returning recent guests Mike Carney, Michael McQueen, David Kraay and Patrick O'Hannigan.
• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze Booth AND concert. Booth will need to be manned all day.
  • Call time for concert is 10:30, behind the Sertoma Amphitheatre. Allow yourself an hour at least for parking etc. 
  • Or show up at Searstone at 9:00 and carpool together.
  • Or park at the Cary Municipal parking garage and ride the free shuttle.
  • On stage from 11:30 to 12:15. We will have no one to man the booth during the hour. Spouses and friendsor are asked to attend the performance rather than be at the booth. 
  • We will be at the booth for the remainder of the day. Don't forget the timeslot you signed up for!
• May 1: Regular rehearsal at our regular time (7pm) at our regular location.
  • Song List to prepare: 
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • Desperado
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Honesty
    • Two Less Lonely People in the World
    • Good Night -- yes, that's our closing song. Lots of weird dynamic re-arranging going on in this song!
    • It Came Upon a Midnight Clear/Silent Night 
  • ALERT: We are trying out a new Afterglow location, closer to Searstone: The Parkway Tavern at 982 High House Rd, Cary, NC 27513. It's at the corner of High House Rd and Cary Parkway
• May 8 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Call time is 6:15pm. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.

2. Carol's Korner

• Incorporate the lip buzz/lip trill/bubble into your daily routines. Make some noise in the shower, as you are driving to work or the grocery store, while you're folding laundry, etc. so that you can sustain that buzz with those puckered lips. 
  Then open your lips, but keep them rounded and protruded so that all of the sounds you sing are forward and resonant.
• Smile with your eyes instead of a toothy grin.

3. Ben's Buzz`

4. Future Notes

• May 29: Is Memorial Day. Chapter Cookout at Warren Fuson's house! 8801 Lakewood Dr, Raleigh NC, 27613. Spouses are certainly invited.

5. Long Range

• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• A toast to Paul Martin and his dance partner, Priscilla Smith, for winning the Top Amateur Couple trophy at the River City Dance Competition, in Richmond, Virginia, this past Saturday.  High on adrenaline, Paul not only was able to celebrate but also get to Chapel Hill in time to sing the national anthem at the UNC ball game. Congratulations Paul!
• A big thank you to Mike Muha for getting a new Oak City Sound banner made in just a couple of days, in time for our booth at Cary Spring Daze.
• A great read: "Joining a barbershop quartet helped me find my voice"  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/montreal/first-person-barbershop-quartet-1.6823150

1. High Notes

• Apr 17:  Regular rehearsal last Monday evening at our regular location.
  • We had 23 singers "on the risers", including returning recent guests Mike Carney, Michael McQueen, David Kraay and Patrick O'Hannigan.
  • We had a new visitor, Bernardo Guzman, from Wake Forest.Thanks so much for joining us.
  • Thanks so much for joining us.
• Apr 23 (Sunday): Sing National Anthem at UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill.
  • Call time is 11:15AM. Ready to go at 11:50am.
  • We will wear the chorus jeans, brown shoes and belts, and blue checked shirt.
  • Feel free to wear or bring your name badge. It may aid in getting parked. 
  • Although the weather is hot today, current WRAL forecast is for some storms and 70s on Saturday, then 40s overnight into Sunday, and then highs Sunday being near 70. So the uniform should be comfortable. If you want a jacket, feel free to wear the black. 
  • Pick up your ticket at the table located in front of the main entrance.
  • All details at https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=events&id=188008
• Apr 24: In addition to working on the newer songs, we will run through the program for Spring Daze, which will be the same as our Springmoor performance, minus a few of the quartet songs. We won't have time for Christmas refreshers this Monday.Show order:
  • Bare Necessities
  • Ride the Chariot
  • Yesterday
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • (Quartet - 1 song)
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Do You Hear the People Sing?
  • Over the Rainbow
  • The Longest Time
  • (Quartet - 1 or 2 songs)
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
  • Sweet Caroline
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze Booth AND concert. Booth will need to be manned all day. Call time for concert is 10:30. On stage from 11:30 to 12:15. We need volunteers to man the booth throughout the day.. Vern Pike will have all the details on Monday.
• If you know of anyone who has stopped singing in the chorus who has a blue gingham shirt hanging in their closet, please contact them and help them get it back to us. Those shirts were purchased by the chorus and are no longer available for purchase. Our reserves are largely depleted and we need more for our growing chorus!

2. Carol's Korner

• Continue working toward keeping all of your singing sounds AND THE BREATH SENSATION on top of that shelf coming forward from your cheekbones and eyes. This will help us to ring more chords, stay in sync on entrances and releases, and use less air for more beautiful, supported and free singing!
• Please begin to incorporate all of the notes and instructions I gave you for Two Less Lonely People into your rehearsal time. We will dig into that more in the coming weeks.

3. Ben's Buzz

4. Future Notes

• May 8 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
• May 29: Is Memorial Day. Chapter Cookout at Warren Fuson's house! 8801 Lakewood Dr, Raleigh NC, 27613. Spouses are certainly invited.

5. Long Range

• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

1. Notes for this week

• Apr 10:  Regular rehearsal last Monday evening at our regular location. We had 17 singers "on the risers", including recent guests Mike Carney, Michael McQueen, David Kraay and Patrick O'Hannigan. Thanks so much for joining us.
• Apr 17: Regular rehearsal at our regular location at our regular time. Song set
  • Desperado
  • Honesty
  • It's a Hanukkah Song in a Major Key
  • We Need a Little Christmas
  • Two Less Lonely People in the World
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Ride the Chariot
  • And be ready for other repertoire songs, as the spirit moves! Stay flexible.
• Apr 23 (Sunday): Sing National Anthem at UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill. Call time is Noon. Perform at 12:45pm.
• Apr 24: Regular Monday meeting at our regular time at our regular place: Searstone Retirement Community.

2. Carol's Korner

• Please work on the new intro for Caro of the Bells. (COTB)
• You were starting to implement some great and essential changes on Monday! Keep placing all of your singing elements above that resonant plane around your upper gum ridge: pitch, vowels, consonants, AND replenishing the air.
• As you get better at bringing all elements to that resonant and focused space, we can begin to use singable consonants to our advantage!
• Practice some of the phrases that have lots of singable consonants (M, N. L, NG, etc.) using extended consonants so you can feel and hear the vibrant sounds you can make when they are in the right place.
• Have a great week! See you next Monday!

3. Ben's Buzz

1. Hear a Pitch. See Nov 25 detail.
2. Find Your Note. See Nov 30 Detail
3. Check Your Posture

• Basic Stance. See Dec 7 Detail . 
• Balance. See Dec 14 Detail. 
• Straight and Tall. See Jan 18 Detail. 

4. Drop the Jaw!  See Feb 8 Detail.
5. Form a Vowel. See Feb 15 Detail. 
6. Open Your Throat. See Feb 22 Detail. 
7. Open the Vocal Folds. See Mar 30 Detail. 
8. Take a Singer's Breath - See the April 7 Detail. 

4. Future Notes

• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze Booth AND concert. Booth will need to be manned all day. Call time for concert is 11:00. On stage from 11:30 to 12:15. We need volunteers to man the booth throughout the day. How about you?
• May 8 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.

5. Long Range

• Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• Sometimes humor is good medicine, as Vern will enthusiastically state.
• From a study by Prof. Helmut Gorlingheim at The University of Eastern Vermont: It is unquestioned that climate change affects human health, but it remains challenging to accurately estimate the scale and impact of many climate-sensitive situations. However, scientific advances allow us to attribute an extension in the vocal range of men who were formerly singing in the baritone and lead ranges of at least 3.7 notes. This means baris will be able to sing as the high Ab above Middle C, and leads will reach an octave above Middle C 
  
  Tenors, of course, whose part already reached into the women's alto section, now will be competing with Soprano I, with some of the most affected now able to sing the hardest arias formerly the providence of the most temperamental divas. 
  
  All of this change in the throat can be attributed to human-induced global warming. Men's choruses need help to accurately determine the risks and scale of these health threats.
  
  In the short- to medium-term, the impacts of climate change to singing will be determined mainly by the ability of music arrangers to write for the altered male voice, with the speed of change determined by their resilience to the current rate of climate change and the extent and pace of adaptation. 
  
  In the longer-term, the effects will probably transform (for good or bad) men's choral singing forever. 

1. Notes for this week

• Apr 3:  Very nice performance at Springmoor this past Monday evening.. We had 17 singers, plus three of our recent  week's guests came out to to witness the concert: Mike Carney, Michael McQueen, and Patrick O'Hannigan. 
  • Good Afterglow at The Sawmill Taproom with 10 in attendance, including the-now-regular-Afterglower Patrick O'Hannigan.
  • Here Comes The Sun: Yeah we pulled that one off pretty well!  Congratulations! Please check out the short video of Here Comes the Sun, just measures 6 and 7 on the piano, with Lead notes (only) at slower speed that was emailed to you last weekend. This should help a lot in fixing notes and timing problems,
  • Thanks also to the quartets who performed as part of the show: newly minted Mixed Nuts, the old-standby Never Home 4, and the "new" quartet Another Dimension (a slightly off-beat reconfig of 7th Dimension).
• Apr 10: Regular rehearsal at our regular location at our regular time. Song set
  • Star-Spangled Banner
  • Desperado
  • Honesty
  • Two Less Lonely People
  • The National Anthem
  • Hanukkah Song
  • Carol of the Bells - I'm going to add a new intro for COTB!
  • And be ready for other repertoire songs, as the spirit moves! Stay flexible
• Apr 17: Regular Monday meeting at our regular time at our regular place: Searstone Retirement Community.
• Apr 23 (Sunday): Sing National Anthem at UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill. Call time is Noon. Perform at 12:45pm.

2. Carol's Korner

• We did a pretty good job on our debuts of "Here Comes the Sun" and "You've Got a Friend in Me!" Now we can really get to work on making music with those tunes!
• We will start really digging into "Desperado" and "Honesty" on Monday and will also start working on "Two Less Lonely People." Please remember to defer to the tracks over the paper for that last one. I will try to get those corrections on paper this weekend, but it's a busy weekend!
• We will also spend some time getting folks up to speed on the National Anthem, so please be ready for that.
• And let's toss in some holiday stuff: Hanukkah Song and Carol of the Bells - I'm going to add a new intro for COTB!

3. Ben's Buzz

1. Hear a Pitch. See Nov 25 detail.
2. Find Your Note. See Nov 30 Detail
3. Check Your Posture

• Basic Stance. See Dec 7 Detail . 
• Balance. See Dec 14 Detail. 
• Straight and Tall. See Jan 18 Detail. 

4. Drop the Jaw!  See Feb 8 Detail.
5. Form a Vowel. See Feb 15 Detail. 
6. Open Your Throat. See Feb 22 Detail. 
7. Open the Vocal Folds. See Mar 30 Detail. 

4. Future Notes

• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze [changed!] booth AND concert. Booth will need to be manned all day. Call time for concert is 11:00. On stage from 11:30 to 12:15. We need volunteers to man the booth throughout the day. How about you?
• May 8 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.

5. Long Range

• Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023.  [changed!] The chorus leadership has decided not to attend Dixie Lakeside Harmony weekend  at Clemson University in Clemson, SC.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

1. Notes for this week

• Mar 27:  Four of last week's guests first-time guests returned to sing with us again: Mike Carney, Chris Alberti, Michael McQueen, and Patrick O'Hannigan. David Kraay, who has attended the last two weeks, was unable to attend, but should be back with us next week. Thanks again to our members, and some of their wives, who made these guests feel so welcome. Total 20 singers were present.
  • Good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern with 6 in attendance. including first-time guest Patrick O'Hannigan.
• URGENT for Leads: We emailed to you earlier today a short video of Here Comes the Sun, just measures 6 and 7 on the piano, with our notes at slower speed. This should help a lot in fixing notes and timing problems, with those two measures, in your prep for Monday's concert.
• Apr 3 (Monday): Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor in north Raleigh. Meet in the Chapel at 6:15. Concert willl run from 7pm to 8pm. See detailed chorus instructions from Vern Pike which was emailed to each singer. Show Songset and order for April 3 (and beyond):
  • Bare Necessities
  • Ride the Chariot
  • Yesterday 
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Do You Hear the People Sing
  • Over the Rainbow
  • The Longest Time
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
  • Sweet Caroline
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
• Apr 10: Regular rehearsal at our regular location at our regular time. 

2. Carol's Korner

• Wasn't it great having 20 voices singing on Monday?? There were a few regulars who were absent -- so our number could have been 25! Many thanks to all who invited friends to come. Please encourage them to keep coming! 
• If anything on the SongSet above startles you, that is what you should be working on for Monday! 
• Based on Monday's rehearsal, your practice time this week should be focused on Here Comes the Sun, You've Got a Friend in Me, and Do You Hear the People Sing? We will be sure to sing through those in our rehearsal time before the show on Monday. 
• Please plan to stick around for a short rehearsal time after the Springmoor show on Monday. We haven't touched Desperado and Honesty in a while and we need to refresh that and be sure our new friends are not relying too much on tracks without knowing how we will be performing these songs.
  
  Let's go entertain our friends at Springmoor and have some fun doing it!

3. Ben's Buzz

1. Hear a Pitch. See Nov 25 detail.
2. Find Your Note. See Nov 30 Detail
3. Check Your Posture

• Basic Stance. See Dec 7 Detail . 
• Balance. See Dec 14 Detail. 
• Straight and Tall. See Jan 18 Detail. 

4. Drop the Jaw!  See Feb 8 Detail.
5. Form a Vowel. See Feb 15 Detail. 
6. Open Your Throat. See Feb 22 Detail. 

4. Future Notes

• Apr 23 (Sunday): Sing National Anthem at UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill, est. start time 1pm.
• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze booth AND concert. Booth will need to be manned all day. Call time for concert is 11:30. On stage from 12:15 to 13:00. We need volunteers to man the booth throughout the day. How about you?
• May 8 (Monday): Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.

5. Long Range

• Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the next couple weeks, we as a chorus will decide if we can attend as a chorus.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• ????

1. Notes for this week

• Mar 20:  We held a great Guest Night, with 6 guests in attendance. 3 more could not attend and we are thinking that they will come visit at a more convenient time. We had 18 members plus our 6 visitors for a total of 24 men singing. It seemed like they felt welcomed, and we are hopeful that they will return next week.
  • Many thanks to our new guests for coming:
    • Mike Carney, Chris Alberti, David Kraay (actually attended on Mar 13 as well), Ray Marcelo, Mike McQueen, and Patrick O'Harrigan.
    • Several of their wives also attended: Nan Alberti, Li Marcelo, and Cheryl McQueen.
  • Thanks to many of our members' wives who attended to help out: Carol Zweighaft, Susan Anderson, Renny Pike, and Lenny Field. Thanks especially to our Board Member-at-Large Andy Fuson who gave the visiting ladies information on the chorus. 
  • Good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern with 7 in attendance.
• Mar 27:  Regular rehearsal at our regular location at our regular time. This is our last rehearsal before our April 3 concert at Springmoor.
• Apr 3 (Monday): Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor in north Raleigh. Look for the chorus instructions from Vern any day now. Show Songset and order, for April 3 and beyond:
  • Bare Necessities
  • Ride the Chariot
  • Yesterday 
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Do You Hear the People Sing
  • Over the Rainbow
  • The Longest Time
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
  • Sweet Caroline
  • You've Got a Friend in Me

2. Carol's Korner

• Wasn't it great having 6 more voices with us on Monday?? Many thanks to all who invited friends to come. Please encourage them to keep coming! 
• If anything on the SongSet above startles you, that is what you should be working on between now and next Monday! 
• We will add in Desperado and Honesty when we are ready to do that.
• Please take a few minutes to watch the video Ben shared in his Buzz for last week at Somebody to Love.. It's amazing what a listener can understand without being beat over the head by the consonants!
• Please remember to watch the Contest Livestream recording of the chorus contest to see what people in the audience experienced as we performed. Also check out a few more performances for comparison. Here is the link: https://www.youtube.com/live/pKxHkS3c0e4?feature=share We are on stage at about 50:30.
• We will take some time to talk about this in the business meeting on March 27. Be ready to offer up a few words on what you saw and heard from us and compare it to what you saw and heard from other choruses. We always want to grow, learn, and get better so we can keep loving what we do!
• Build on the idea of singing phrases with the emphasis and inflection you would use if you were speaking. Once that flow starts to become consistent, move on to singing whole paragraphs and ideas. This does not mean that you don't ever replenish your air, but it does mean that you sing in big ideas instead of just trying to get to the next rest in the music. Once you really make this a mental reality, it will start to become a physical reailty as well. Your breaths will become part of your singing and won't interrupt the forward momentum within a song.

3. Ben's Buzz

• From Last week: Following up on Carol’s almost continuous reminders for us to not sing most consonants at the end of words, or to just barely touch them, here’s a great sample - Somebody to love. The song repeats “Find me” over and over and over, as well as the phrase “Somebody to love.” 
  • Notice that whether there’s a short rest after “Find me” or it races directly into another phrase, the “d” is very small, very soft, very short, and often non-existent - yet we know the word and the meaning. It gives the song crispness, rhythm, and energy - with no “D”s! The same is true of the “v” in “to love” - over and over and over again.
• How many songs do we sing that have repeating phrases? Or how many words could we make the ending consonant very short, soft, or non-existent.
• Here’s a challenge - Print a piece of sheet music. Go through the song word by word and put a red line through the end of words that you could drop or sing very softly. Then sing the song that way. How does it sound? Now do the same for another song.
• The Red Line. Maybe that’s a new musical notation! [ed. Doesn't it have to be in Italian?]

4. Future Notes

• Apr 23 (Sunday): Sing National Anthem at UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill, est. start time 1pm.
• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze booth AND concert (timing tbd).

5. Long Range

• May 8: Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
• Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• July 4: Potential concert at Whispering Pines Retirement Community - OCS had to decline this opportunity. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the next couple weeks, we as a chorus will decide if we can attend as a chorus.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• Another Senior Quartet Wins Gold!
  Never Home 4 quartet competed in the Wake County Senior Games, Performing Arts competition for the second year in a row today.  We won First Place overall and will be representing Wake County in the North Carolina Senior Games this fall.  We will be honored to represent both the county and the Chorus in the NC Senior games. 
• Congratulations to all those that participated in the recent Guest Night: those who worked behind the scenes, the invitors (even if your invitee did not attend), the guests, their wives, our wives, and our director Carol.

1. Notes for this week

• Mar 10: We participated in the NSC District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC
  • 17 Men on the risers made up the chorus, with Carol directing.
  • 3 quartets: Impromptu, Intrepid, and 7th Dimension.
  • Congratulations and thanks to all those who prepared so well and made the trip to Spartanburg.
• Mar 13:  Our regular chorus meeting. We had 18 men on the risers this past Monday. 
  • The information about and testimonies of attending Dixie Lakeside Harmony Weekend, a joint venture between Dixie and NSC Districts. were presented to the entire chorus. Please consider whether you can attend this excellent program, or if you think the chorus should attend as a whole. Please make a decision within the next 2 weeks.
    • Pencil this weekend (Aug 4 to 6) into your calendar for now.
  • Good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern with 6 in attendance (33%)!
• Mar 20: Guest Night! Invite at least 2 people --- then probably one will come!
  • Wives and friends are def invited!
  • Please send me the names and contact info of people who you think are coming so we can have name badges prepared in advance., and have a count when purchasing the refreshments.
  • To be held at our regular meeting place and time. This meeting will be part special programming and part regular rehearsal, along with some tag learning and singing.

2. Carol's Korner

• If anything on the SongSet below startles you, that is what you should be working on between now and Monday!
• Please take a few minutes to watch the video Ben shared in his Buzz for the week. It's amazing what a listener can understand without being beat over the head by the consonants!
• Also take 20 minutes before Monday to go back to the livestream from last week and listen to our performance and a few others. Be ready to offer up a few words on what you saw and heard from us and compare it to what you saw and heard from other choruses. We always want to grow, learn, and get better so we can keep loving what we do!
• Show Songset and order, for April 3 and beyond:
  • Bare Necessities
  • Ride the Chariot
  • Yesterday 
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Quartet?
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Do You Hear the People Sing?
  • Over the Rainbow
  • Quartet?
  • The Longest Time
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
  • Quartet?
  • Sweet Caroline
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • We will add in Desperado and Honesty when we are ready to do that.

3. Ben's Buzz

• Following up on Carol’s almost continuous reminders for us to not sing most consonants at the end of words, or to just barely touch them, here’s a great sample - Somebody to love. The song repeats “Find me” over and over and over, as well as the phrase “Somebody to love.” 
• Notice that whether there’s a short rest after “Find me” or it races directly into another phrase, the “d” is very small, very soft, very short, and often non-existent - yet we know the word and the meaning. It gives the song crispness, rhythm, and energy - with no “D”s! The same is true of the “v” in “to love” - over and over and over again. 
• How many songs do we sing that have repeating phrases? Or how many words could we make the ending consonant very short, soft, or non-existent.
• Here’s a challenge - Print a piece of sheet music. Go through the song word by word and put red line through the end of words that you could drop or sing very softly. Then sing the song that way. How does it sound? Now do the same for another song.
• The red line. Maybe that’s a new musical notation! 

4. Future Notes

• Apr 3 (Monday): Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor.
• Apr 23 (Sunday): Sing National Anthem at UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill, est. start time 1pm.
• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze booth AND concert (timing tbd).

5. Long Range

• May 8: Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
• Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.
• Oct 22, a Sunday afternoon. Oak City Sound in concert at Preston Pointe in Morrisville.

• Congratulations to all 3 chapter quartets for preparing for and entering the NSC Quartet Contest.
• 7th Dimension was fortunate to make the Top 10 out of 23 quartets competing.

1. Notes for this week

• Mar 6:  Our regular chorus meeting. We had 17 men on the risers this past Monday. 
  • Good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern with 6 in attendance (30%)!
• Mar 10: Contest in Spartanburg, SC. Friday night quartet prelims start at 7pm. There are 3 quartets representing Oak City Sound this weekend. Be sure to attend the Prelims and cheer us on! Our Contest Weekend timetable has been distributed to all.
  • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow. 
  • All contests and performances will be held at Spartanburg High School in their state-of-the-art District 7 Fine Arts Center: 2250 E Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. This is a 12-minute drive from the Convention Hotel.
  • Convention headquarters hotel is the Spartanburg Marriott, 299 N Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306. All fellowship events (Greek Night and District Afterglow) will be hosted at the Marriott in the Presidential Suite.
  • OCS Dress Requiement: Competition full dress: jeans, blue checkered shirt, black jacket, oxford (or brown shoes) for competition.  Gray polo for casual dress at Spartanburg.
  • All attendees are expected as a matter of goodwill toward our singing community to:
    • Take a PCR test (regular or rapid/NAAT) no earlier than the day before picking up credentials (48 hours); or 
    • Take an antigen test the day of event.
  • Two steps to register:
    • To register for the convention, go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/835475 and click the Buy Tickets button on the upper right. Select Full Registration. All contest participants MUST purchase a Full Registration.
  • To get a hotel room: You can still get hotel rooms at the following nearby hotels:
    • Holiday Inn Spartanburg North (20 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ), 160 Simuel Road, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $140/night   https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/spartanburg/spart/hoteldetail 
    • HomeTowns Studios by Red Roof Spartanburg (20 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ). 130 Mobile Drive, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $70/night , https://www.redroof.com/extendedstay/hometownestudios/property/SC/Spartanburg/HTS1018?utm_source=GMB&utm_medium=Google&utm_campaign=GMB_Performance_HTS1018 
    • Comfort Suites at Westgate Mall (25 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ), 458 West Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $120/night, https://www.choicehotels.com/south-carolina/spartanburg/comfort-suites-hotels/sc333?checkInDate=2023-03-10&checkOutDate=2023-03-12 
  • Do not delay any longer!
• Mar 13: Our next Chorus meeting will be held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm
• Mar 20: Guest Night! Invite at least 2 people --- then probably one will come! To be held at our regular meeting place and time.

2. Carol's Korner

• Let's head to Spartanburg for a fun weekend of singing together and with our friends in the District.
• Take a few last looks at your music to be sure every word and note is correct and then trust me to lead you through the songs. Take the audience on a journey through the story you are telling with your songs.
• And above all: HAVE FUN!! That's why we get together every week, right??
• Song list for March 13:
  • Honesty
  • Desperado
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Sweet Caroline
  • The Longest Time
  • Prayer of the Children
  • Ride the Chariot

3. Ben's Buzz

Hey - Let's continue our break from the 10-Steps to a Note series to talk about Stage Presence - after all, we have a competition coming up in just a few days! Below are a few pointers to keep in mind as we approach and enjoy the stage during competition, and for all of our concerts!

A few years ago, while I was singing with the Sound of the Rockies, we competed at the International with the song “Softly, as I Leave You”. It describes the tender memories a person has for their partner while they lay asleep and the deep dreams and hopes for the partner’s future as they know they are about to pass on. 

As we rehearsed “Softly”, I thought of my aging Mom and Dad and their 60-year relationship. I thought of them, my Mom actually, thinking, singing, “Softly” to my Dad as he slept.

Having that story in mind as we performed made all the tips Carol gives and the 10-steps we’ve been talking about pretty much automatic - they happened automatically because we’d rehearsed those steps many times. What happened though, is that, for me, it gave the song life. It gave me life. It improved my musical performance. It also improved my stage presence, because my audience could see it in my posture, in my face, and in my eyes. It often brought me to tears - and the audience as well.

My Mom died a year or so later and some of my SOR quartet buddies sang Softly at her funeral. Right after the song, my three sons and I joined them to sing a barbershop rendition of “It is Well With My Soul”. Needless to say, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house - not even my dad, who never cries. The tears were tears of both closure and hope. What we can do as barbershoppers is beyond amazing. 

See the 2019 performance here. (https://youtu.be/k623FOD4ba4) 

What is your story, the one you’ll have in your head and in your heart as you sing?

… While singing “Over the Rainbow”? What is over the rainbow for you?

… While singing “Almost Like Being in Love”? What is the story that starts your bell ringing?

Explore that. Know your story.  Put it into your head and into your heart while you sing. It will touch you, and you will touch your audience.

4. Future Notes

• Apr 3 (Monday): Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor.
• Apr 23 (Sunday): Sing National Anthem at UNC Baseball game in Chapel Hill, est. start time 1pm.
• Apr 29 (Saturday): Cary Spring Daze booth AND concert (timing tbd).

5. Long Range

• May 8: Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
• Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.

• ???

0. Made a couple of corrections...

1. Notes for this week

• Feb 27:  Our regular chorus meeting. We had 17 men on the risers this past Monday. 
  • Good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern with 6 in attendance (30%)!
• Mar 6: Our next Chorus meeting will be held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm.
• Mar 10: Contest in Spartanburg, SC. The Contest Agenda will be available next Monday (3/6) providing specific details for Friday night & Saturday. Our songs: Ova the Rainbow followed by Almost Like Being in Love

2. Carol's Korner

• WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! You all heard the instant change we had with that forward, clear sound after we spent some time on lip buzz/bubble/motorcycle exercises. This is where we always want to start so that all of our vowels and consonants stay clear, bright, and crisp! Keep building on consistent forward placement and we'll be ringing chords like crazy!
• Keep letting yourself tell a story with every one of our songs. Don't confuse that with spitting out consonants. Sing in ideas and the sound and your emotions will flow out of you. Always prioritize having fun...as long as it doesn't get in the way of good singing.
• Let's all work on getting off the sheet music for all 4 of the new songs. As was pointed out by people other than your nagging director, there is so much more we can do when our eyes are up. And we won't get caught up in reading all of the syncopated rhythms that look so daunting on the page. I'll work on that, too!
• Song list for March 6:
  • Ova the Rainbow
  • Ahmost Like Being in Lava
  • Honesty
  • Desperado
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Hih comes thah Saaaaaahn
  • A Hanukkah Song in a Major Key
  • The Longest Time

3. Ben's Buzz

4. Future Notes

• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC.
  • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow. 
  • All contests and performances will be held at Spartanburg High School in their state-of-the-art District 7 Fine Arts Center: 2250 E Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. This is a 12-minute drive from the Convention Hotel.
  • Convention headquarters hotel is the Spartanburg Marriott, 299 N Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306. All fellowship events (Greek Night and District Afterglow) will be hosted at the Marriott in the Presidential Suite.
  • OCS Dress Requiement: Competition full dress: jeans, blue checkered shirt, black jacket, oxford (or brown shoes) for competition.  Gray polo for casual dress at Spartanburg.
  • All attendees are expected as a matter of goodwill toward our singing community to:
    • Take a PCR test (regular or rapid/NAAT) no earlier than the day before picking up credentials (48 hours); or 
    • Take an antigen test the day of event.
  • Two steps to register:
    • To register for the convention, go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/835475 and click the Buy Tickets button on the upper right. Select Full Registration. All contest participants MUST purchase a Full Registration.
    • To get a hotel room, All rooms at the Convention Headquarters Marriott are taken and our hotel reservation block is now closed. You can still get hotel rooms available at the following nearby hotels:
      • Holiday Inn Spartanburg North (20 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ), 160 Simuel Road, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $140/night   https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/spartanburg/spart/hoteldetail 
      • HomeTowns Studios by Red Roof Spartanburg (20 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ). 130 Mobile Drive, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $70/night , https://www.redroof.com/extendedstay/hometownestudios/property/SC/Spartanburg/HTS1018?utm_source=GMB&utm_medium=Google&utm_campaign=GMB_Performance_HTS1018 
      • Comfort Suites at Westgate Mall (25 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ), 458 West Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $120/night, https://www.choicehotels.com/south-carolina/spartanburg/comfort-suites-hotels/sc333?checkInDate=2023-03-10&checkOutDate=2023-03-12 
  • Do not delay any longer!
• March 20 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community.

5. Long Range

• April 3: Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor.
• Apr 29: Cary Spring Daze booth AND concert (timing tbd).
• May 8: Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
• Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
• June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.

• New membership badges were given out to new (or returning) members Steve McGehee and Bill Andrusic. We are all glad you're a part of our team.

1. Notes for this week

• Saturday Feb 18 - Oak City Sound ran a concessions booth at Carter-Finley stadium for the Carolina Hurricanes' game. Many thanks to Tim Kinsey for planning and managing this successful event.  Thanks also to those who worked the long hours: Tim, Warren, Paul, Gary, Bob, Mike, and Steve. 
• Feb 20: Our regular chorus meeting. We had 15 men on the risers this past Monday. 
• Feb 27; Our next Chorus meeting will be held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm. 

2. Carol's Korner

• We did some great work on Honesty and Hih Cah Mzthah Sahn on Monday night. Keep working on pinning down the correct entrances in those challenging bell chord measures in the Beatles tune. Baritones and leads, there is no shame in singing the other parts that lead to your entrance if that is the only way you can be sure you are accurate on that timing. 
• Thank you for rising to the challenge of not having music in front of you for You've Got a Friend. What a difference that makes! We will absolutely include that in our spring performances, so nail down the last of those words and solidify the off-beat rhythms.
• The contest set was rough on Monday. I would really like for us to sing in mixed formation and utilize the groupings that make us look less cardboard. I would encourage you to chant through the text as Paul suggested, focusing on flow, forward movement, and sensitive phrasing. Don't let yourself get stuck on a consonant that will stop those things.
• Song list for Monday:
  • Ova the Rainbow
  • Ah-most Like Being in Love
  • Do You Hear the People Sing?
  • Yesterday
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Desperado
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Songs of Christmas
  • Honesty

3. Ben's Buzz

1. Hear a Pitch. See Nov 25 detail.
2. Find Your Note. See Nov 30 Detail
3. Check Your Posture

• Basic Stance. See Dec 7 Detail . 
• Balance. See Dec 14 Detail. 
• Straight and Tall. See Jan 18 Detail. 

4. Drop the Jaw!  See Feb 8 Detail.
5. Form a Vowel. See Feb 15 Detail. 

4. Future Notes

• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC.
  • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow. 
  • All contests and performances will be held at Spartanburg High School in their state-of-the-art District 7 Fine Arts Center: 2250 E Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. This is a 12-minute drive from the Convention Hotel.
  • Convention headquarters hotel is the Spartanburg Marriott, 299 N Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306. All fellowship events (Greek Night and District Afterglow) will be hosted at the Marriott in the Presidential Suite.
  • OCS Dress Requiement: Competition full dress: jeans, blue checkered shirt, black jacket, oxford (or brown shoes) for competition.  Gray polo for casual dress at Spartanburg.
  • All attendees are expected as a matter of goodwill toward our singing community to:
    • Take a PCR test (regular or rapid/NAAT) no earlier than the day before picking up credentials (48 hours); or 
    • Take an antigen test the day of event.
  • Two steps to register:
    • To register for the convention, go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/835475 and click the Buy Tickets button on the upper right. Select Full Registration.
    • To get a hotel room, All rooms at the Convention Headquarters Marriott are taken and our hotel reservation block is now closed. You can still get hotel rooms available at the following nearby hotels:
      • Holiday Inn Spartanburg North (20 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ), 160 Simuel Road, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $140/night   https://www.ihg.com/holidayinn/hotels/us/en/spartanburg/spart/hoteldetail 
      • HomeTowns Studios by Red Roof Spartanburg (20 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ). 130 Mobile Drive, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $70/night , https://www.redroof.com/extendedstay/hometownestudios/property/SC/Spartanburg/HTS1018?utm_source=GMB&utm_medium=Google&utm_campaign=GMB_Performance_HTS1018 
      • Comfort Suites at Westgate Mall (25 min to Venue, 10 min to HQ), 458 West Blackstock Road, Spartanburg, SC. Current Rate: $120/night, https://www.choicehotels.com/south-carolina/spartanburg/comfort-suites-hotels/sc333?checkInDate=2023-03-10&checkOutDate=2023-03-12 
  • Do not delay any longer!
• March 20 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community.

5. Long Range

• April 3: Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor.
• Apr 29: Cary Spring Daze booth AND concert (timing tbd).
• May 8: Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
• June 5 or 19 (TBD): Concert at Springmoor!
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.

• Congratulations to Vern Pike, celebrating 38 years of barbershopping!
• Yours truly is happy to report that I am recovering from a suprising heart condition called Atrial Fillibration. I spent 7 days in the hospital, and need to take things a little more slowly for a while.
• Congratulations to the Never Home 4 Quartet for the extraordinary efforts on Valentine's Day, delivering Singing Valentines all over the county.
• 
•  
• 
• 
• 
• 

1. Notes for this week

• Feb 13: Our regular chorus meeting. We had 13 men in attendance this past Monday. Followed by a great Afterglow with 7 of us there at our usual watering hole: The Corner Tavern! 
  • It was great to see long-time (and long-time ago) former member George Cherny visiting with us. He was in several chapter quartets back in the day: Music Station, City Market, and Seldom Heard, to name a few off the top of my head! 
  • George joined us the Afterglow as well. Yes he still has his priorities straight. 
• Thanks to Mike Muha for project-managing our very successful Valentine Quartet performances.
  • Quartets made up from about 10 of us toured about the county, delivering Singing Valentines! 
  • Mike has reported a net revenue of over $1,100 from the Valentine efforts.
• Saturday Feb 18 - Oak City Sound will be manning a concessions booth at Carter-Finley stadium, much like we do for the NC State football games, but this time for the Carolina Hurricanes ice hockey game.
  • Show-up time is 3pm, gates open at 6pm, gme time is 8pm.
  • There are many details about this concession event that are different from what we are used to. Tim Kinsey has sent out an email to all the volunteers with all the info you need. So rather than repeat it here, I ask you to please check his email. If you think you are a volunteer and did not get the email (sent Tuesday at 5:29pm), please contact Tim immediately at tkinsey470@gmail.com 
• Feb 20; Our next Chorus meeting will be held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm. 
• Did anyone see me checking my own jaw position while I was singing last Monday night? Can you guess why I would do such a thing?
• OCS is working to set up a booth at Cary Spring Daze's Cultural Arts Row. OCS/General Assembly has done this in the past. It runs on April 29, 2023, and we're talking running our info booth from 9am to 5pm. If you have thoughts or opinions about manning such a booth for OCS for a few hours, please let us know! We are also working on being able to perform. Please mark the timeslot on your calendar just in case. 

2. Carol's Korner

• As we are discovering, the high quality tracks we have for our new songs are a great resource and may be a better learning option for some of us who usually like to start with the sheet music. The timing for Desperado will be much more in tempo than the tracks are, but that is still a good place to start to pin down the correct notes.
• I'd love to have everyone off paper for "You've Got a Friend in Me" on Monday. That will allow us to clear up the rhythmic discrepancies and start having some fun with that song.
• We have only 3 more rehearsals before we are on stage in Spartanburg. I would really like for us to sing in shotgun formation to allow us to create a fuller sound and more vocal independence for each of you. Please spend some time looking over your notes and words and thinking about how you can personalize both songs to create an emotional connection that you can portray with your facial expressions and body language.
• Rehearsal list for next Monday Feb 20:
  • Ova the Rainbow
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Honesty
  • Desperado
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Yesterday
  • Sweet Caroline  

3. Ben's Buzz

1. Hear a Pitch. See Nov 25 detail.
2. Find Your Note. See Nov 30 Detail
3. Check Your Posture

• Basic Stance. See Dec 7 Detail . 
• Balance. See Dec 14 Detail. 
• Straight and Tall. See Jan 18 Detail. 

4. Drop the Jaw!  See Feb 8 Detail.
5. Form a Vowel

4. Future Notes

• Still working with Cambridge Village Retirement Center in Apex to schedule a concert sometime between Feb - April. Stay tuned.
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC.
  • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow. 
  • All contests and performances will be held at Spartanburg High School in the state-of-the-art District 7 Fine Arts Center. Convention headquarters hotel is the Marriott.
  • This is the last week for Early Bird registrations. The cost increases from $75 to $95 on February 17 (in 2 days!!)
  • All attendees are expected as a matter of goodwill toward our singing community to:
    • Take a PCR test (regular or rapid/NAAT) no earlier than the day before picking up credentials (48 hours); or 
    • Take an antigen test the day of event.
  • All fellowship events (Greek Night and District Afterglow) will be hosted at the Marriott in the Presidential Suite.
  • Two steps to register:
    • To register for the convention, go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/835475 and click the Buy Tickets button on the upper right. Select Full Registration - Early Bird. (by Feb 17)
    • To get a hotel room, go to https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1674064449570&key=GRP&app=resvlink 
  • Do not delay any longer!

5. Long Range

• March 20 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community.
• April 3: Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor.
• Apr 29: Cary Spring Daze booth (and perhaps concert)
• May 8: Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.

• Major congratulations to Steve Tremper, long-time former member of RTP  Chapter, whose quartet Let's Sing took first place at the Senior's Quartet contest at BHS Mid-Winter Convention last week. What a tremendous accomplishment! btw - Steve will soon be moving to Greenville, SC.

• Major congratulations as well to Larry Triplett, also a long-time former member and Director of RTP Chapter, whose Carolina Statesmen took 3rd place in the Senior's Chorus contest at Mid-Winters. Several current Oak City Soundsters are members of the Carolina Statesmen and participated in the contest: Dave Seibert, Paul Martin, Jim Murrell, Tim Kinsey, Bill Andrusic, and Larry Hill

0. New Additions to Distribution 

• We've added our maliing list to this newsletter distribution. If you do not want to receive this, just reply and let us know. Thanks.

1. Notes for this week

• Feb 6: Our regular chorus meeting. We had 19 men in attendance this past Monday. Followed by a great Afterglow with 7 of us there at our usual watering hole: The Corner Tavern! 
• This coming weekend through Tuesday, Feb 14, is Valentine's weekend
  • Quartets will be out and about the area delivering Singing Valentines! 
  • Please see Mike Muha's email about signing up to be in a Valentine's quartet.
  • Please send a message, Facebook post, or whatever, to advertise our Singing Valentines program. It is really easy to place an order for a Singing Valentine: just go to OakCitySound.org and click "Order Here".
• Feb 13; Our next Chorus meeting will be held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm. for those not involved in a Valentine quartet at that time.
• Did anyone see me checking my own jaw position while I was singing last Monday night? Can you guess why I would do such a thing?
• OCS is deciding whether to set up a booth at Cary Spring Daze's Cultural Arts Row. OCS/General Assembly has done this in the past. It runs on April 29, 2023, and we're talking running our info booth from 9am to 5pm. If you have thoughts or opinions about manning such a booth for OCS for a few hours, please let me know!

2. Carol's Korner

• Leads and baritones, please spend some time with your learning tracks for "Here Comes the Sun" so we can come to an agreement about the rhythms in the measures we have worked on for several weeks. If it is helpful for you to sing the note or notes before yours, go for it. I will also try directing a different pattern next week that may make more sense for the 1-2-3 patterns, but individual work is VITAL to find success with this song.
• You've Got a Friend is coming together nicely! The next step is flow and connection. Only put rests where they are written in the music. Err on the side of too fluid to eliminate choppiness.
• Our contest set (Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow, in case we have not been clear) is becoming more consistent and sounds better every week. Make sure you are always telling a story with the words. You are not just singing sounds, you are relating a story to the audience, even if that is just to me!
• Song list for next Monday night  (Feb 13):
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Ova the Rainbow
  • Honesty
  • Desperado
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Do You Hear the People Sing?
  • The Bare Necessities

3. Ben's Buzz

10 Steps to a Note,

Step 1 - Hear a Pitch. Covered on Nov 25. Click here

Step 2 - Find Your Note. Covered on Nov 30. Click here

Step 3 - Part 1: Check Your Posture, Basic Stance. Covered on Dec 7. Click here. 

Step 3 - Part 2: Check Your Posture, Balance. Covered on Dec 14. Click here. 

Step 3 - Part 3: Check Your Posture, Straight and Tall on Jan 18. Click here. 

Same as last week ....

Step 4 - Drop the Jaw! 

• The fourth step is to Drop the Jaw.  This does not mean to just open your mouth wide, like an alligator. In fact, you can drop your jaw while leaving your front teeth close together.  
• It means separating your TMJ (temperomandibular joint) as if you had a couple of marbles between your back molars. Practice that.  It’s an odd feeling at first, and you’ll get used to it.
• Dropping the jaw helps to increase the volume in your vocal chamber, and as you also raise your soft palette your can create music with great resonance. It’s easy to do, yet most singers just don’t do it. 

4. Future Notes

• Still working with Cambridge Village Retirement Center in Apex to schedule a concert sometime between Feb - April. Stay tuned.
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC. 
  • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow.
  • All contests and performances will be held at Spartanburg High School in the state-of-the-art District 7 Fine Arts Center.
  • Early Bird registrations are $75 for the weekend (rates increase to $95 on February 17). 
  • All attendees are expected as a matter of goodwill toward our singing community to:
    • Take a PCR test (regular or rapid/NAAT) no earlier than the day before picking up credentials (48 hours); or 
    • Take an antigen test the day of event.
  • All fellowship events (Greek Night and District Afterglow) will be hosted at the Marriott in the Presidential Suite.
  • Two steps to register:
    • To register for the convention, go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/835475 and click the Buy Tickets button on the upper right. Select Full Registration - Early Bird.
    • To get a hotel room, go to https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1674064449570&key=GRP&app=resvlink 
    • Do not delay any longer!

5. Long Range

• March 20 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community. 
• April 3: Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor!
• Apr 29: Cary Spring Daze booth
• May 8: Templeton concert
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.
• October 2023 - Carolinas District leadership has decided to permanently eliminate the Fall Convention and Contest, going forward. 

1. Notes for this week

• Ed . - Apologies for missing last week's issue. I was preparing for a family travel in Georgia and ran out of time!
• Jan 20: Oak City Sound Annual Banquet, aka Installation Banquet. was held at Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church in Fuquay Varina. Thanks to Gary Thorn for a good dinner and for a good program. Many awards for 2022 were given out. See the Champagne Room section below for details!.
• Jan 21: Carolinas District Leadership Academy (aka COTS School). was held via Zoom. In attendance from OCS were Gary Thorn, Warren Fuson, Paul Martin, Nic Cols, and Michael Fields
• Jan 23: Our regular chorus meeting.
  • The quality of the chorus Valentine songs' recordings that we did on Jan 23 was good enough that we did not have to do more takes.
• Jan 30 - Chorus meeting was held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm. 
  • Thank you Mike Muha for stepping in and directing the rehearsal in Carol's absence.
  • Mike also identified those willing and able to sing in Valentine’s quartets and ran a mix and match exercise to identify those whose voice timbre matched. The plan is to offer 3 slots for each time slot Saturday, Sunday and Monday as there seemed to be adequate talent to fulfill the orders that do come in.
  • Followed by a good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern. Michael reports that Warren Fuson and he were the only ones who went to Afterglow and an excellent time was had by all. The barkeep was inquiring where the rest of the crew were. Good to know we were missed!
• New Music: Still ready for download from the web site:
  • The revised sheet music in the right key (Eb) for "You've Got a Friend in Me", so we now have sheet music to match the tracks. Please discard your previous Ab version immediately..
• Feb 6: Our next Chorus meeting will be held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm. Song List:
  • Story of the Rose
  • Let Me Call You Sweetheart
  • Desperado
  • Ova the Wainbo
  • Ah-most Like Being in Love
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Comes the Sun
  • The Lion Sleeps Tonight
• OCS is deciding whether to set up a booth at Cary Spring Daze's Cultural Arts Row. OCS/General Assembly has done this in the past. It runs on April 29, 2023, and we're talking running our info booth from 9am to 5pm. If you have thoughts or opinions about manning such a booth for OCS for a few hours, please let me know!

2. Carol's Korner

• Apologies for my absence this week. It sounds like Mike did a great job keeping you all on track. I heard that many of you piped in with comments like, "I know what Carol would say about that!" which tells me that my evil plan is working!
• We will spend some time in quartets on Monday to be sure everyone who plans to sing for Valentine's Day is ready to go make someone's day!
• Keep bringing your best and we will continue to grow, learn and make great music together!

3. Ben's Buzz

10 Steps to a Note,

Step 1 - Hear a Pitch. Covered on Nov 25. Click here

Step 2 - Find Your Note. Covered on Nov 30. Click here

Step 3 - Part 1: Check Your Posture, Basic Stance. Covered on Dec 7. Click here. 

Step 3 - Part 2: Check Your Posture, Balance. Covered on Dec 14. Click here. 

Step 3 - Part 3: Check Your Posture, Straight and Tall on Jan 18. Click here. 

This week ....

Step 4 - Drop the Jaw! 

• The fourth step is to Drop the Jaw.  This does not mean to just open your mouth wide, like an alligator. In fact, you can drop your jaw while leaving your front teeth close together.  
• It means separating your TMJ (temperomandibular joint) as if you had a couple of marbles between your back molars. Practice that.  It’s an odd feeling at first, and you’ll get used to it.
• Dropping the jaw helps to increase the volume in your vocal chamber, and as you also raise your soft palette your can create music with great resonance. It’s easy to do, yet most singers just don’t do it. 

4. Future Notes

• Still working with Cambridge Village Retirement Center in Apex to schedule a concert sometime between Feb - April. Stay tuned.
• February 12 to 14 - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend as well.
  • Think about how maybe you can help out in the planning and management of this little enterprise!
  • Mike is making the website packages available for people to select for ordering. Hopefully, we will be able to limit how many could be sold at particular times, but that probably won't work.
  • It will be finish on Friday and have it live for orders. 
  • We will just have all-day, morning, after noon (not just afternoon), and a name-your-time ticket for Tuesday, and probably similar for Monday. Sunday will have just after noon and specific. Note again that they are not “afternoon”. I think we will let it be till through dinner, though two quartets on Tuesday will be at Springmoor (or where the group that hired us is).
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC. 
  • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow.
  • All contests and performances will be held at Spartanburg High School in the state-of-the-art District 7 Fine Arts Center.
  • Early Bird registrations are $75 for the weekend (rates increase to $95 on February 17). 
  • All attendees are expected as a matter of goodwill toward our singing community to:
    • Take a PCR test (regular or rapid/NAAT) no earlier than the day before picking up credentials (48 hours); or 
    • Take an antigen test the day of event.
  • All fellowship events (Greek Night and District Afterglow) will be hosted at the Marriott in the Presidential Suite.
  • Two steps to register:
    • To register for the convention, go to https://www.tickettailor.com/events/carolinasdistrictbarbershopharmonysociety/835475 and click the Buy Tickets button on the upper right. Select Full Registration - Early Bird.
    • To get a hotel room, go to https://www.marriott.com/event-reservations/reservation-link.mi?id=1674064449570&key=GRP&app=resvlink 
    • Do not delay any longer!

5. Long Range

• March 20 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.
• October 2023 - Carolinas District leadership has decided to permanently eliminate the Fall Convention and Contest, going forward. 

6. Champagne Room

• 2022 Awards given out at the Chapter Annual Banquet on Jan 20::
  • Above and Beyond Awards: Nic Cols, Larry Hill, Warren Fuson, Tim Kinsey. and John Zweighaft.
  • Beyond at Large Awards: Michael Field and Andy Fuson.
  • Rookie of the Year Award: Vern Pike.
  • Special Best Director Award: Carol Stephenson
  • Barbershop Spirit Award: Bob Inskeep
• Barbershopper of the Year -- was awarded to Mike Muha for the tremendous hours he expended last year in building and maintaining the Music program for OCS, plus his creative talent in putting together all the details for our performances.

• We will be recording our Chorus Singing Valentines video.
• Our song set will be "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Story of the Rose". Please brush up on these.
• Dress code: chorus jeans and shoes, and solid polo/golf shirts in a mix of red, white, pink, and purple/lavender. Color is more important than the shirt's style.
• If you have a cellphone stand, please bring it!

• Come early at 6:45 and help set up the risers.
• Agenda for the evening:
  • Story of the Rose
  • Let Me Call You Sweetheart
  • Almost Like Being in Love
  • Ova the Rainbow
  • Desperado
  • You've Got a Friend in Me
  • Here Comes the Sun
  • Ride the Chariot

1. Notes for this week

• A different kind of rehearsal was held last Monday evening: sectionals with Lead and Bass, then Lead and Bari, then Lead and Tenor. Good progress was made in locking intervals and chord basics.
  • Followed by a good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern. 
• Jan 20: Oak City Sound Annual Banquet, aka Installation Banquet. 6pm at Fuquay-Varina United Methodist Church; 100 S Judd Pkwy SE, Fuquay Varina, NC  27526. Contact Gary Thorn to attend.
  • Followed by an Afterglow, location TBA.
• Jan 21: Carolinas District Leadership Academy (aka COTS School). A very good program for improving your Chorus leadership and administration knowledge and skills. It's a zoom call. Registration is free.. Go to https://www.eventbrite.com/e/nsc-virtual-leadership-academy-2023-registration-499002789777
• Jan 23 - Next Chorus meeting, at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm. Special Information:
  • We will be recording our Chorus Singing Valentines video.
  • Our song set will be "Let Me Call You Sweetheart" and "Story of the Rose". Please brush up on these.
  • Dress code: chorus jeans and shoes, and solid polo/golf shirts in a mix of red, white, pink, and purple/lavender.
  • If you have a cellphone stand, please bring it!
  • Come early and help set up the risers.
  • Agenda for the evening:
    • Story of the Rose
    • Let Me Call You Sweetheart
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Ova the Rainbow
    • Desperado
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • Here Comes the Sun
    • Ride the Chariot
• New Music: Ready for download from the web site:
  • The revised sheet music in the right key (Eb) for "You've Got a Friend in Me", so we now have sheet music to match the tracks. Please discard your previous Ab version immediately..

2. Carol's Korner

• Keep building on the great, round, full supported sound we all enjoyed on Monday night!
• Don't worry about singing too loud, as long as you continue listening for the voices around you.
• Never sing louder than beautiful!

3. Ben's Buzz

10 Steps to a Note,

Step 1 - Hear a Pitch. Covered on Nov 25. Click here

Step 2 - Find Your Note. Covered on Nov 30. Click here

Step 3 - Part 1: Check Your Posture, Basic Stance. Covered on Dec 7. Click here. 

Step 3 - Part 2: Check Your Posture, Balance. Covered on Dec 14. Click here. 

This week ....

Step 3 - Part 3: Check Your Posture 

• It’s important that your back be straight and your spine vertical. No slouching!
• Your chest will be high and your shoulders back.
• The best way to test this is to first bend over and touch your toes, at least the best you can, then slowly, on a 10-count, roll your back into an upright position, placing one vertebra on top of the one below, one at a time. Take a good cleansing breathe when you’re done with that.
• Next, stretch both arms over your head and slowly lower them sideways down beside your body, leaving your shoulders in place and your chest lifted.
• Bend your elbows about 40 degrees allowing your hands to comfortably position in front of your hips. This will allow for more free movement while you sing (as will those bent knees).
• Double-check the lower half of your body and the angle of your chin.
• You’re all set. Of course, you won't have time to do all those steps and do all those motions on the risers during a concert, so you need to practice and get to know the feeling of good posture, then bring it to the concert. That whole process is step 3 of the 10-steps to a note,

4. Future Notes

• Still working with Cambridge Village Retirement Center in Apex to schedule a concert sometime between Feb - April. Stay tuned.
• February 12 to 14 - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.
  • Think about how maybe you can help out in the planning and management of this little enterprise!
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC. 
  • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow.
  • As of Jan 18, registration web site is not yet open.

5. Long Range

• March 20 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.
• October 2023 - Carolinas District leadership has decided to permanently eliminate the Fall Convention and Contest, going forward. 

6. Champagne Room

• At last weekend's North Carolina Harmony Brigade, our own Sean Li was voted by the participants as the one that all most enjoyed singing with.  Thus, Sean captured the premier honor at Brigade, even though it was his first ever Brigade. Congratulations Sean!

1. Notes for this week

• Greetings and Happy New Year! The Acorn is back after a well-deserved vacation in warmer climes.
• A very fine rehearsal last Monday evening. It was our first meeting after Christmas break since our performance at Springmoor on Dec 19.
  • Followed by a good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern. UGA was already up 38-7 by the time we arrived, so with the game aready decided, it did not interfere with the usual banter and socialization.
• Our new later stop time on Monday nights might make us run too late at The Corner Tavern to order food, as their kitchen closes at 10. They have agreed to receive our food orders from any of us over the phone so it can be ready when we arrive. I suggest that you enter their phone number 919-460-0088 into your phone directory with the link to their menu: https://www.seamless.com/menu/the-corner-tavern-and-grill-1301-nw-maynard-rd-cary/370117?utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=place-action-link
• Jan 16 - Next Chorus meeting, at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm. 
• New Music: Ready for download from the web site:
  • Desperado (Eagles), Here Comes the Sun (Beatles), Honesty (Billy Joel), and You've Got A Friend In Me (Randy Newman - Toy Story). 
  • Don't spend time on the intro to Desperado as we will probably drop it. 
  • Larry has uploaded the revised sheet music for "You've Got a Friend in Me" in the men's key, so we now have sheet music to match the tracks. Those who already printed the sheet music in the mixed voice key will need to print it in the new key so that the notes match what they are hearing on the tracks.

2. Carol's Korner

• We have begun some great work on creating more tone and, therefore, more ringing chords! Please keep working on singing from vowel to vowel instead of consonant to consonant.
• Think about the great sounds and smooth lines we created in the first 6 bars of "You've Got a Friend in Me" (it was like WOW - Ed.) and work on replicating that physical sensation and sound for every song we sing. This approach will be especially helpful for the introductory verse for "Ova the Wainbow".
• As we did on Monday night, whenever we sing together, choose someone whose voice you will be listening for as you sing. This will really help you to work toward the ideal of "listening louder than you sing" and will lead to us consistently singing like a chorus instead of a bunch of individual singers.
• Also, remember what a HUGE change occurred on Monday night when we all eliminated the L in "Ah-most Like Being in Love." What a BIG difference removing one consonant can make in bringing your sound forward and getting it out of your throat! Let's build on that!!

3. Ben's Buzz

10 Steps to a Note,

Step 1 - Hear a Pitch. Covered on Nov 25. Click here

Step 2 - Find Your Note. Covered on Nov 30. Click here

Step 3 - Check Your Posture. Covered on Dec 7. Click here. 

We learned that the 3rd step in the 10-steps to a note is to check your posture. We started by talking about chin position. What else you’re checking is that you …

Step 4: 

• Stand conformably with your feet about shoulder width apart. 
• One foot should be slightly in front of the other.  Some disagree on which foot should be in front, although from what I observe, that’s mostly a question related to performance rather than singing or music.  In fact, I’ll switch which foot is in front during the performance from time to time related to choreography or depending on where I am on the risers. It’s a consideration of balance, comfort, and what the audience sees.  
• Your weight should be slightly more on the balls of your feet rather than the heels – and on the risers you should “hang 10” your toes which, at least from the forward foot, should be slightly hanging over the front of the riser (and those on the floor should have 6-8 inches between the back of the leg and the riser).
• Bend your knees slightly and tuck your butt gently. The bottom part of your pelvic region will be rolled slightly forward of the upper part, as if you’re lightly resting on the edge of a stool.
• Getting this lower part of the posture right will provide good balance and a solid foundation for your core and upper body, which we’ll address in the next buzz.

4. Future Notes

• We have been contacted by Cambridge Village Retirement Center in Apex, whose Activities Director attended our concert at Glenaire last month -- she liked us so much that we are about to be scheduled for a concert at Cambridge somewhere between Feb - April. Stay tuned.
• February 12 to 14 - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.
  • Think about how maybe you can help out in the planning and management of this little enterprise!

5. Long Range

• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC.
• March 20 - CHANGE Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community. 
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.
• October 2023 - Carolinas District leadership has decided to permanently eliminate the Fall Convention and Contest, going forward. 

6. Champagne Room

• Congratulations to Russ Johnston who has marked his 39th year as a SPEBSQSA/BHS Member.

1. Notes for this week

• Another great performance at Glenaire this past Monday. I believe that there were 19 singers on the risers.
  • Followed by a very fine Afterglow at The Corner Tavern, attended by 12. Over 60%!
• We look forward to the last in our series of Christmas concerts. Vern Pike will send out complete details on the gig.
  • Dec 19: Monday evening, Christmas Show at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh. Call time is 6:15pm, Performance at 7pm.
• Dec 26 - No chorus meeting.
• Jan 2 - No chorus meeting.
• Jan 9 - Next Chorus meeting, at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. New Monday Schedule! Going forward, our regular Monday schedule will run from 7pm to 9:30pm. 
• New Music: The MuComm has been hard at work preparing 4 new songs for us to start on for 2023. The tracks and score are located in our on-line Songs library. Download them now and get busy! See Mike Muha's email for details.
  • Desperado (Eagles), Here Comes the Sun (Beatles), Honesty (Billy Joel), and You've Got A Friend In Me (Randy Newman - Toy Story). 
  • Don't spend time on the intro to Desperado as we will probably drop it. 
  • Take on You've Got a Friend in Me last as we're going to raise the key maybe two steps!
• No Acorn for the next few weeks.

2. Carol's Korner

• Congratulations on another very good performance this week! The folks at Glenaire loved us, and want us to come back!
• It's already been said, but ENORMOUS credit goes to Mike Muha for the million little things he put together to make Tuesday night's show a success. Mike, we see you and appreciate you so much!! 
• Please keep looking at your music and going over your words and notes so that I can dial back on the on-stage charades to get us through the wordier songs. And keep gliding on the vowels so we achieve a smoother sound.

3. Ben's Buzz

10 Steps to a Note,

Step 1 - Hear a Pitch. Covered on Nov 25. Click here

Step 2 - Find Your Note. Covered on Nov 30. Click here

Step 3 - Check Your Posture. Covered on Dec 7. Click here.

Ben's Buzz column will resume after the Holidays!

4. Future Notes

• January 30 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community. 
• February 12 to 14 - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.
  • Think about how maybe you can help out in the planning and management of this little enterprise!

5. Long Range

• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC.
• August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.
• October 2023 - Carolinas District leadership has decided to permanently eliminate the Fall Convention and Contest, going forward. 

6. Champagne Room

• Congratulations to all Oak City Sound members for having taken on the busiest Christmas season we've seen in many years.
• OCS is back up to 20 on the risers for our concerts. A few more will rejoin us after the Christmas season.
• Many thanks to Mike Muha and Carol Stephenson for putting together a fun Christmas show set for OCS.

1. Notes for this week

• Great week of performances!
  • Good turnout for the Holly Springs Christmas Tree LIghting on Dec 1. Thanks for braving the bitter cold!
  • Good solid performance at Searstone on Monday, Dec 5. Lots of good comments from the audience afterwards.
  • Great performance from all 20 singers at our (hopefully revitalized  annual) Christmas concert at Cary Arts Center this past Tuesday evening. Lots of good comments from the audience afterwards.
  • Many thanks to Mike Muha for designing an excellent program! He put in a TON of hours planning, detailing, and revising.
  • Thanks to Carol Stephenson, not only a for a great job as Director, but as Guest Soloist!
  • Thanks to our guest quartets: Never Home 4 and 7th Dimension 
  • We had several of our Heart of Carolina friends in the audience at the CAC show on Tuesday evening, who also  joined us for the Afterglow.
• Tuesday evening's afterglow plan wasn't so hot. In fact, there was no plan at all. Didn't think we'd need one. [Note taken!] Yours truly did not know that Mac's would have a rock band and karaoke on a Tuesday night!  Then when we got to The Corner Tavern, the kitchen was already closed. Thanks to all for patience and flexibility. But we had a great time there anyway, with many visitors in our party of 16, and the timely arrival of a couple of Papa John's best products.
• We continue with our series of Christmas concerts. Vern Pike will send out complete details on each of the events.
  • Dec 12: Monday evening, Christmas Show at Glenaire.
  • Dec 19: Monday evening, Christmas Show at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh.
• Dec 26 - No chorus meeting.
• Jan 2 - No chorus meeting.
• Jan 9 - Next Chorus meeting, at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. The Board, at the request of the MuComm, is considering extending our normal Monday session to be 7pm to 9:30pm. The Board is meeting next Monday, so if you have input on this topic, please send your thoughts to Gary Thorn.

2. Carol's Korner

• Congratulations on 3 great performances this week! The folks at Searstone loved us and we had a very engaged and responsive audience at Cary Arts Center as well. We may have all of this down to a science by the time we get to Springmoor on the 19th!
• It's already been said, but ENORMOUS credit goes to Mike Muha for the million little things he put together to make Tuesday night's show a success. Mike, we see you and appreciate you so much!! 
• Please keep looking at your music and going over your words and notes so that I can dial back on the on-stage charades to get us through the wordier songs. And keep gliding on the vowels so we achieve a smoother sound.
• Mike and I will have some new songs selected and available on our website very soon. Be on the lookout!

3. Ben's Buzz

• January 30 - Our next guest night. More details to come in January.

5. Long Range

• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.
  • Think about how maybe you can help out in the planning and management of this little enterprise!
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC

6. Champagne Room

• Congratulations to all Oak City Sound members for taking on the busiest Christmas season we've seen in many years.
• OCS is back up to 20 on the risers for our concerts, plus a few more to rejoin us after the Christmas season.
• Many thanks to Mike Muha and Carol Stephenson for putting together a fun Christmas show set for OCS.

1. Notes for this week

• 20 singers on the risers last Monday night! 
• Great afterglow at The Corner Tavern. 
• We begin our series of Christmas concerts. Vern Pike will send out complete details on each of the events.
  • Dec 1: Outdoors singout at Holly Springs' Christmas Tree Lighting.
    • Location: Holly Springs Cultural Center, 300 W. Ballentine St., Holly Springs, NC 27540
  • Dec 5: Monday evening Christmas Concert at Searstone. 
  • Dec 6: Tuesday evening. We will put on our Christmas show at the Cary Arts Center theater.   
    • Tickets can still be purchased at the door or at https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/8545431/oak-city-sound-presents-songs-of-the-seasonacorns-roasting-on-an-open-fire-cary-cary-arts-center 
  • Dec 12: Monday evening, Christmas Show at Glenaire.
  • Dec 19: Monday evening, Christmas Show at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh.
• Dec 26 - No chorus meeting.
• Jan 2 - No chorus meeting.
• Jan 9 - Next Chorus meeting, at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community.

2. Carol's Korner

• It's GO TIME! We still have words to nail down, some timing to clear up, and some notes to tune up, but when we get in front of an audience, we need to prioritize having fun so that they can, too!
• By all means, keep working on the details before we get on stage, but remember we are here to have a good time and share that with others.
  
  Let's go out there and get everyone into the holiday spirit!

3. Ben's Buzz

• January 30 - Our next guest night. More details to come in January.

5. Long Range

• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC

6. Champagne Room

• Congratulations to all Oak City Sound members for taking on the busiest Christmas season we've seen in many years.
• OCS is back up to 20 on the risers for our concerts, plus a few more to rejoin us after the Christmas season.
• Many thanks to Mike Muha and Carol Stephenson for putting together a fun Christmas show set for OCS.
• Many thanks to Tim Kinsey for running a very successful Football Game Concession program this Fall; as well as to all those that gave up huge chunks of time to work the booth!

1. Notes for this week

• It was a good rehearsal last Monday evening - 18 singers present.
• We were happy to receive the following Visitors:
  • First-time visitor Gene X.
  • Long time RTP Member Bill Andrusic back for his second week!
  • Gene X's sister Mara
• Next Monday, November 28, we have our usual rehearsal at Searstone at 6:30 (Note the early start time!).
  • We'll continue to work Christmas rep. By now, all songs must be memorized and we should be off-spots!
  • Memorize, memorize, memorize!
• Christmas Show Important Info:
  • If you have people you would like to invite to the concert and want a digital version of our poster to send to them, feel free to download the poster at https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=uploads&id=71501 
  • Additionally, tickets can be purchased online using the following link: 

2. Carol's Korner

• Keep drilling those lyrics so that they become second nature. If you think about the progression of the story of the song, it will help you string the right words together. One trick you might try to help with memorization: write down the words...with a pencil and paper. When you are able to write without pausing, you know the words.
• Think through the presentation elements we added last week so they don't distract you from singing well. And have fun doing it!
• Think back to how you heard me sing "Winter Wonderland" in rehearsal on Monday and work on applying that to your singing. Smooth, connected, vowel led, consonants forward and precise.
• All of the notes from the first run-through still apply. Please read back through those notes.
• I want to be able to go through the whole show (chorus numbers) multiple times on Monday night, including adding in the new presentation elements. Let's all come fully prepared to perform!

3. Ben's Buzz

4. Future Notes

• Dec 1: Outdoors singout at Holly Springs' Christmas Tree Lighting. Details:
  • Location: Holly Springs Cultural Center, 300 W. Ballentine St., Holly Springs, NC 27540
  • Show up time is 4:30. We will perform in the 5-6 pm hour. Never Home 4 will sing several songs as well.
• Dec 5: Show, a Monday evening Christmas Concert at Searstone.
• Dec 6: Show, a Tuesday evening. We will put on our Christmas show at the Cary Arts Center theater.   
  • We will need to sell tickets! Direct your potential customers to https://www.etix.com/ticket/p/8545431/oak-city-sound-presents-songs-of-the-seasonacorns-roasting-on-an-open-fire-cary-cary-arts-center 
• Dec 12: Christmas Show at Glenaire! On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
• Dec 19: Christmas Concert at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh off Creedmoor Rd. On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
• Dec 26 - No chorus meeting
• Jan 2 - No chorus meeting

5. Long Range

• January 30 - Our next guest night. More details to come..
• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC

6. Champagne Room

• We are so happy to see Bill Andrusic back with us on the risers! A great contributor to our baritone section. And I should know since I stood right in front of him on the risers this past Monday.

0. Late Updates

Carol's Korner section is all rewritten. Read it now!

1. Notes for this week

• The last NCSU Football game concession was held on Saturday, November 12,. Thanks to all who' ve worked on this important fundraiser. The revenue we accrue from this activity will be posted to our account in January 2023, in case you're wondering.
• Next Monday, November 21, we have our usual rehearsal at Searstone at 7pm.
  • We'll continue to work Christmas rep. By now, all songs should be memorized and we should be off-spots!
  • Memorize, memorize, memorize!
• The monthly board meeting was held last Monday Nov 14. 
• Christmas Show Important Info:
  • This week is your last chance to sell program ads for our Dec 6 Show at Cary Arts Center. Have you approached at least one person, organization, or business to sell the Ad to? All sales have to be turned in by mid-November!
  • If you have people you would like to invite to the concert and want a digital version of our poster to send to them, feel free to download the poster at https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=uploads&id=71501 
  • Additionally, tickets can be purchased online using the following link:

2. Carol's Korner

• We all still have a lot of work to do on memorization and some notes.
• It's the Most Wonderful Time - feel this in 2 big beats per measure and keep soaring on the vowels so the consonants don't bog us down - basses sing like tenors, and everyone else come from the top side of every entrance to keep it light and bright.
• Songs of Christmas - pretty good overall - be careful not to oversing - always listen louder than you sing.
• Carol of the Bells - this was one of our better songs - sing in 4 bar phrases and plan with your fellow section members about who will breathe when, or at least be aware of when you feel another person is about to sing (you will hear it in the sound they are making) and catch a breath before or after they do.
• Jingle Bell Rock - we all know this pretty well - remember to keep the "ng" sound soft and glide into the next word or syllable instead of punching it.
• Merry Christmas, Darling - this is coming along - Nic will be directing this as I sing it on the show, so we will try singing under his direction on Monday - please check through all of your notes on this as some spots are iffy.
• It's a Hanukkah Song - I plan for us to have a lot of fun with this one, so complete memorization is vital - we will add a few more presentation items on Monday so be ready.
• Winter Wonderland - keep this light and fun - glide from vowel to vowel and keep the consonants precise and crisp.
• We Need a Little Christmas - HAAAA LAAAAA UTHAAAA HAAAA LEE - Start slow and build the speed and energy as we go through the song - there will be a few presentation elements added here, too.
• All I Want for Christmas - Sean sets us up well with a great opening solo - let's learn the words and structure of the song so we can take his lead and run with it - Sean takes the solo back for "is you" at the end - leads move to either tenor or bari.
• White Christmas - flow is so important in making this song shine - this could be our best song in the show - sing your best and stay on the long open vowels longer than you can.
• It Came/Silent Night - flow, simplicity, and clarity are essential here as well - 4 bar phrases throughout.
  
  I want to be able to go through the whole show twice on Monday night, including adding in the new presentation elements. Let's all come fully prepared to perform!

3. Ben's Buzz

4. Future Notes

• Dec 5: Show, a Monday evening Christmas Concert at Searstone.
• Dec 6: Show, a Tuesday evening. We will put on our Christmas show at the Cary Arts Center theater.   
  • We will need to sell tickets and Ads. Last week, Mike emailed to all of us a summary of what you need to know regarding Ad sales. He mentioned Monday evening that we are not married to a particular pricing structure, so be inventive! If each one of us sold a single Ad, it would bring in more revenue than the entire revenue from our last concert. Just do it! 
  • Christmas Vignettes: As part of the Christmas Show, we will again offer our audience personal stories regarding Christmas. This has been well received by both the chorus members AND the audience. Mike keeps asking for these .... so please create one from your holiday memories THIS WEEK and send it to him. A photo or two to go along with the story would be helpful. 
• Dec 12: Christmas Show at Glenaire! On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
• Dec 19: Christmas Concert at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh off Creedmoor Rd. On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
• Dec 26 - No chorus meeting
• Jan 2 - No chorus meeting

5. Long Range

• January 30 - Our next guest night. More details to come..
• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.
• March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC

6. Champagne Room

• Last Saturday, Warren Fuson and Nic Cols participated in a memorial quartet (with former OCS/General Assembly members Larry Triplett and Jason Patrick) to sing at John Adams' Memorial Service. We sang Jim Clancy's arrangement of the Our Father hymn. It was both sad and joyous. Sad, because we will miss John,. But joyous, since his kids recounted several times all the Barbershop conventions and contests and shows that they attended in their growing up years "... with their Dad" and considered it very fitting that a Barbershop hymn was included in his final service. We all think John was there, as well, singing the high overtones that he so enjoyed throughout his life.

1. Notes for this week

• Next and last NCSU Football game concession is Saturday, November 12, with a 1pm show-up time. Kickoff time is 3:30pm. See Tim Kinsey for parking passes and details.
• Next Monday, November 14, we have our usual rehearsal at Searstone at 7pm.
  • We'll continue to work Christmas rep. By now, all songs should be memorized and we should be off-spots!
  • Memorize, memorize, memorize!
• Board Members:  Next board meeting is on Monday Nov 14 at 6:00.
• Christmas Show Important Info:
  • This week is your last chance to sell program ads for our Dec 6 Show at Cary Arts Center? Have you approached at least one person, organization, or business to sell the Ad to? All sales have to be turned in by mid-November!
  • If you have people you would like to invite to the concert and want a digital version of our poster to send to them, feel free to download the poster at https://www.oakcitysound.org/dbpage.php?pg=view&dbase=uploads&id=71501 
  • Additionally, tickets can be purchased online using the following link:

2. Carol's Korner

• Challenge yourself to come to Monday's rehearsal and sing through our concert repertoire without music in your hands. I think you will be pleasantly surprised by how much of the music you DO know, and it will make it very clear what music you DON'T know. We have only 3 rehearsals left before we are performing for an audience. We all need to be comfortably off paper so we can work on presentation.
• Work toward consistency in applying "The R Rule" to all of our songs. Every. Time. For those who have not been paying attention, "The R Rule" is: Unless R is the initial letter in the word (such as Ride or Reindeer) DO NOT SING IT. If it is an R sound connecting one syllable to another, either sing it by flipping the tip of your tongue up behind your top teeth to make a sound more similar to D, or keep the tip of your tongue down behind your bottom teeth to make a modified R sound. At all times, avoid the urge to point your tongue up in the middle of your mouth and sing like a drunken pirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrate!! 
• Remember that good singing diction consists of clear, crisp consonants and clean, pure vowels. 99.9% of our singing time should be dedicated to vowel sounds. The consonants are a tiny disruption to the line of vowels that is the icing on the cake.

3. Ben's Buzz

4. Future Notes

• Dec 5: Show, a Monday evening Christmas Concert at Searstone.
• Dec 6: Show, a Tuesday evening. We will put on our Christmas show at the Cary Arts Center theater.   
  • We will need to sell tickets and Ads. Last week, Mike emailed to all of us a summary of what you need to know regarding Ad sales. He mentioned Monday evening that we are not married to a particular pricing structure, so be inventive! If each one of us sold a single Ad, it would bring in more revenue than the entire revenue from our last concert. Just do it! 
  • Christmas Vignettes: As part of the Christmas Show, we will again offer our audience personal stories regarding Christmas. This has been well received by both the chorus members AND the audience. Mike keeps asking for these .... so please create one from your holiday memories THIS WEEK and send it to him. A photo or two to go along with the story would be helpful. 
• Dec 12: Christmas Show at Glenaire! On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
• Dec 19: Christmas Concert at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh off Creedmoor Rd. On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
• And THAT! gentlemen and gentle lady, is an example of a full Christmas Season calendar. So many of us are also so busy with Church choirs and other family activities. It's a very busy time of year for singers, so we should thank each other for each's time, dedication, vitality, and enthusiasm in supporting the Oak City Sound at this time.

5. Long Range

• January - start counting on having a guest night in late January.
• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.

6. Champagne Room

• Any good singing or personal stories????

1. Notes for this week

• Last Monday's rehearsal at Searstone was well attended.
  • Because of the rain, the Afterglow, held back at our usual location Corner Tavern, had a smaller crowd than usual. However, entuhsiasm and camaraderie were not at all diminished! All 4 parts were represented and we managed a good rendition of "Last Night Alone" for the huge crowd there.
• A person in the audience at our Glenaire concert last week was very impressed with our performance, and wants to book us for a concert early in 1Q2023.
• Next NCSU Football game concession is Saturday, November 5, with a 5pm show-up time. Kickoff time is 8pm. See Tim Kinsey for parking passes and details.
• Next Monday, November 7, we have our usual rehearsal at Searstone at 7pm.
  • We'll be working Christmas rep. By now, all songs should be memorized and we should be off-spots!
• Have you downloaded the form for selling program ads for our Dec 6 Show at Cary Arts Center? Have you approached at least one person, organization, or business to sell the Ad to? All sales have to be turned in by mid-November!

2. Carol's Korner

• Work toward consistency in applying "The R Rule" to all of our songs. Every. Time. For those who have not been paying attention, "The R Rule" is: Unless R is the initial letter in the word (such as Ride or Reindeer) DO NOT SING IT. If it is an R sound connecting one syllable to another, either sing it by flipping the tip of your tongue up behind your top teeth to make a sound more similar to D, or keep the tip of your tongue down behind your bottom teeth to make a modified R sound. At all times, avoid the urge to point your tongue up in the middle of your mouth and sing like a drunken pirrrrrrrrrrrrrrrate!! 
• The more time you are committed to singing with the tip of your tongue resting behind your bottom teeth, the freer your whole singing process will be and the more flexible and beautiful your voice will be!
• Remember that good singing diction consists of clear, crisp consonants and clean, pure vowels. 99.9% of our singing time should be dedicated to vowel sounds. The consonants are a tiny disruption to the line of vowels that is the icing on the cake.

3. Ben's Buzz

4. Future Notes

• Saturday November 5 is our next (#6 of 7) football concession session at Carter Finley stadium.  These are our most important fund raiser events of the year.  We need to provide 6 workers for each event.  The signup sheet is available now.
  • Remember that a volunteer does not have to be a chapter members to work the concession. Family and friends can help out, too.
  • Tim will provide more details as we approach each date. Meanwhile, click Concession to sign up as you are able.
  • Here is the entire remaining schedule, as far as we know right now:
    • Nov  5 - Report at 5:00pm, kickoff at 8pm
    • Nov 12 - time TBA
• John Adams - We are all saddened to hear that John Adams has passed away in early September this year.  John was a long time member of the RTP Chapter.  We have just learned of John's Funeral arrangements:
  • John Adams Funeral:
    November 12, 2022  @ 11 AM
    University United Methodist Church
    150 E Franklin Ave
    Chapel Hill, NC  27514 

5. Long Range

• Christmas Season:
  • Dec 5: Show, a Monday evening Christmas Concert at Searstone.
  • Dec 6: Show, a Tuesday evening. We will put on our Christmas show at the Cary Arts Center theater.   
    • We will need to sell tickets and Ads. Last week, Mike emailed to all of us a summary of what you need to know regarding Ad sales. He mentioned Monday evening that we are not married to a particular pricing structure, so be inventive! If each one of us sold a single Ad, it would bring in more revenue than the entire revenue from our last concert. Just do it! 
    • Christmas Vignettes: As part of the Christmas Show, we will again offer our audience personal stories regarding Christmas. This has been well received by both the chorus members AND the audience. Mike keeps asking for these .... so please create one from your holiday memories THIS WEEK and send it to him. A photo or two to go along with the story would be helpful. 
  • Dec 12: Christmas Show at Glenaire! On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
  • Dec 19: Christmas Concert at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh off Creedmoor Rd. On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
  • And THAT! gentlemen and gentle lady, is an example of a full Christmas Season calendar. So many of us are also so busy with Church choirs and other family activities. It's a very busy time of year for singers, so we should thank each other for each's time, dedication, vitality, and enthusiasm in supporting the Oak City Sound at this time.
• January - start counting on having a guest night in late January.
• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.

6. Champagne Room

• Congratulations to the Carolina Statesmen, our NSC District Seniors' Chorus, led by Larry Triplett, who qualified to compete at the 2023 Midwinter Convention, to be held on February 7-12, 2023 in Daytona Beach, FL, Convention details are at https://www.barbershop.org/events/2023-midwinter-daytona-beach.The Statesmen are def recruiting, so see Paul Martin for more details. 

1. Notes for this week

• Last Monday's concert at Glenaire was a solid success!
  • 18 singers, 3 quartets. Very good audience to sing for. And we received a lot of compliments afterwards.
  • A great afterglow was held at our former place, Mac's Tavern, where we had 13 people. including a couple guests. We were actually asked by a patron there to sing a song or two, which we happily obliged!
• At long last, our Fall Convention and Contest are over and done. Our chorus and two quartets competed. Good evaluations were received from the judges.
  • Thanks to all who participated, and especially to those who volunteered for the various jobs of loading and unloading the risers into the trailer, for driving the truck from and to Searstone, for carrying judges about, and for helping at the concession stand.
  • Many thanks to Carol Stephenson for leading us!
  • It was good to see our former director Kenneth Tice as Saturday night's emcee.
• Thursday October 27 is our next NCSU Concession Stand opportunity. Show up time is 5pm. Kickoff time is 8pm. See Tim Kinsey for parking passes and details.
• Next Monday, October 31, we have our usual rehearsal at Searstone at 7pm.
  • We'll be working Christmas rep. By now, all songs should be memorized and we should be off-spots!
• Congratulations to the Carolina Statesmen, our NSC District Seniors' Chorus, led by Larry Triplett, who qualified to compete at the 2023 Midwinter Convention, to be held on February 7-12, 2023 in Daytona Beach, FL, Convention details are at https://www.barbershop.org/events/2023-midwinter-daytona-beach.The Statesmen are def recruiting, so see Paul Martin for more details. 

2. Carol's Korner

• Spend some time at home singing to the mirror. This will give you instant feedback about what your face and body are doing. Make space between your elbows and the side of your body. When your arms are engaged and energized, it will be much easier for you to take deep and efficient breaths. 
• For our holiday repertoire, you can widen your focus to engage the audience more in your performance. Continue to make my mouth or left eye your general focus, but allow yourself to see the audience and entertain them more directly.

3. Ben's Buzz (New!)

• In my music charts the first thing I do is draw a fat vertical green line with a marker in each place where I should take a breath, generally where you see rests - although not everywhere you see a period. I also draw a vertical red line in places where I do NOT want to take a breath even though we’re not singing anything, often where there is a very short rest for musical purposes and no time to breathe. Finally, I add a yellow horizontal line in places where I want to be sure not to breath, usually to ensure phases stay connected, the first thing necessary to create the “arc” Carol talks about. 
• For me, words are the hardest. I don’t know why. To help that I type out the words to a song and in that text document I add the breathing plan - the green, red, and yellow marks, so that as I continue to learn the words and the music the breathing plan stays alive, and so I can make notes when Carol changes the plan. 
• Sometimes I’ll share my breathing plan with others in my section so that when we have a long phrase and I really need a breath where there shouldn’t be one, our section can agree on where to sneak air so as not to all sneak a breath all at the same time. 
  .

4. Future Notes

• Thursday October 27 is our next (#5 of 7) football concession session at Carter Finley stadium.  These are our most important fund raiser events of the year.  We need to provide 6 workers for each event.  The signup sheet is available now.
  • Remember that a volunteer does not have to be a chapter members to work the concession. Family and friends can help out, too.
  • Tim will provide more details as we approach each date. Meanwhile, click Concession to sign up as you are able.
  • Here is the entire remaining schedule, as far as we know right now:
    • Oct 27 - Report at 5:00pm, kickoff at 8pm
    • Nov  5 - Report at 5:00pm, kickoff at 8pm
    • Nov 12 - time TBA
• John Adams - We are all saddened to hear that John Adams has passed away in early September this year.  John was a long time member of the RTP Chapter.  We have just learned of John's Funeral arrangements:
  • John Adams Funeral:
    November 12, 2022  @ 11 AM
    University United Methodist Church
    150 E Franklin Ave
    Chapel Hill, NC  27514
  • We have not been asked to sing at his funeral.  But It would be great if we can get as many RTP members attend that knew John.  

5. Long Range

• Christmas Season:
  • Dec 5: Show, a Monday evening Christmas Concert at Searstone.
  • Dec 6: Show, a Tuesday evening. We will put on our Christmas show at the Cary Arts Center theater.   
    • We will need to sell tickets and Ads. Last week, Mike emailed to all of us a summary of what you need to know regarding Ad sales. He mentioned Monday evening that we are not married to a particular pricing structure, so be inventive! If each one of us sold a single Ad, it would bring in more revenue than the entire revenue from our last concert. Just do it! 
    • Christmas Vignettes: As part of the Christmas Show, we will again offer our audience personal stories regarding Christmas. This has been well received by both the chorus members AND the audience. Mike keeps asking for these .... so please create one from your holiday memories THIS WEEK and send it to him. A photo or two to go along with the story would be helpful. 
  • Dec 12: Christmas Show at Glenaire! On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
  • Dec 19: Christmas Concert at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh off Creedmoor Rd. On a Monday evening. Show up time will be 6:15, and concert starts at 7pm.
  • And THAT! gentlemen and gentle lady, is an example of a full Christmas Season calendar. So many of us are also so busy with Church choirs and other family activities. It's a very busy time of year for singers, so we should thank each other for each's time, dedication, vitality, and enthusiasm in supporting the Oak City Sound at this time.
• January - start counting on having a guest night in late January.
• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.

6. Champagne Room

• The chapter quartet, Seldom Heard, was initially formed in 2003, with original members George Cherney at tenor, Andy Lesperance at bari, Nic Cols at Lead, and RC Fields at bass. Good times!
•  
• 

1. Notes for this week

• Last Monday's rehearsal was well attended. 19 singers!
  • The baritone section rehearsal was well attended and very beneficial.
  • A great afterglow was held at our usual place: The Corner Tavern. 
  • We were delighted to have a new guest, Walter Zalph, visiting us!
• At long last, our Fall Convention and Contest is finally here, this coming weekend. See https://www.carolinasdistrict.org/spring-convention/ for the complete weekend calendar.
  • Please go to the Registration Desk first to get your name badge and Full Registration ticket. 
    • Friday, 1 - 5 pm at the hotel; or
    • Saturday, 8:30 to 10:30, at Asbury.
  • Check in at the hotel on your own, since it is your own registration, as appropriate.
• Our own chorus calendar is as follows for Saturday October 15. I suggest you pack yourself a sandwich as we will be busy from 8:45am til perhaps 2pm.
  • 8:45AM at Asbury Church - Rehearsal. Show up already warned up, Full uniform is required: Black sportcoat, blue check shirt, your own medium brown belt, chorus blue jeans, your own medium brown shoes.
  • 10AM - short break, then we enter the pipeline for the chorus contest, We are 5th out of 6 choral contestants.
  • Shortly after the contest, around 1pm, we will have our chorus eval session / coaching session. Precise schedule is TBD.
  • Back in the day, Col. (Ret) Vern Pike was our Sergeant-at-Arms. Kinda similar to being an off-base MP. His job was to make sure we were all at the place where we were supposed to be, at the time we were supposed to be there. With Vern back with us, he has enthusiastically reprised the role for which only he and Adm. (Ret) Sev Severance (if you all remember him) were ideally and uniquely suited. Vern Pike will be sending an email to all of us on Thursday with the latest updates to our Saturday schedule. Pay attention to Vern! 
• There are many other fun activities for you all to attend, and since you will be holding a "Full Registration" pass to all events, you might as well attend them:
  • Quartet semi-finals will run on Friday from 7pm to 9pm. We have two chapter quartets competing:
    • 7th Dimension (Gary Thorn, Carol Stephenson, and Nic Cols, with bass Fitz Lee from Fayetteville chapter) singing in the 4th position.
    • Impromptu (Tim Kinsey and Paul Martin, with Christiane Newell and Julie Ricciardi) singing in 7th position.
    • Come cheer us on! (We could use it!)
  • The official schedule has a Hot Dog Night scheduled for Friday evening, but that has been changed to a Greek food bash, to be held at the hotel. Look for information later this week as to time and place.
  • Saturday: Quartet Finals, from 6:30pm to 8:30pm to be held at Asbury. If either or both of our quartets qualify, they will be singing. Come cheer us on.
  • Saturday 8:30 - Showcase of Champions concert, at Asbury, follows the Quartet Finals. After the Showcase, please come help load our risers back on to the truck at Asbury before heading back to the hotel.
  • Saturday 10pm - District (and other) hospitality rooms at the hotel. 
• Weekend Volunteers: We have volunteered to help in some of the work for this weekend. This is the summary of our volunteer activities. We could use more volunteers!
  • Friday 1pm at Asbury: Unload our risers and set them up. (John Zweighaft, Nic Cols, Bob Inskeep, and Paul Martin)
  • Friday 6:30pm to 9pm - At Asbury - Work the Harmony Marketplace to sell CDs, T-shirts, etc. (Sandy Cols)
  • Saturday 8:30pm after the Quartet finals at Asbury - drive the judges back from Asbury to the hotel. (Warren Fuson, Nic Cols, Dave Seibert, and Tim Kinsey)
  • Saturday 10:30pm (or so) - at Asbury - After the showcase, load our risers back into our truck (John Zweighaft, Steve McGehee, Tim Kinsey)
• Next Monday, October 17, we have our usual rehearsal at Searstone at 7pm.
  • We'll be working both regular rep and Christmas rep.

2. Carol's Korner

• Focal point during performance:
  • After ascending the stage, face directly to the audience.
  • When I turn from the audience back to you to begin the song, look at either my left eye or my mouth and sing through me to the audience. You will be able to see the area around me in your peripheral vision. If you all look at my mouth, this will greatly increase our chances of staying in sync, regardless of what my hands are doing. Looking at my left eye or mouth will also give us a common place to look and will reduce the amount of wandering eyes on the stage. 
  • At the end of the song, after the final cut off, turn square to the audience to SMILE and accept the applause. Turn back in as I turn back around to you.
• Mood/motivation for both Ova the Rainbow and Beh Necessities: HOPEFUL. Sing with the idea of looking forward to the good things in life. The things that are on the horizon for you.
• Leads: Pay special attention to staying on pitch at these critical areas, underlined below, where you are letting the pitch sag:
  • Bare Necessities: Intro: the second phase is very problematic for Leads. "Has worry got you down... Do your troubles...".
  • Over the Rainbow: at "Some day I'll wish upon..." and "Where troubles melt like ...". 
  • Please practice singing these notes higher than what you are used to doing!

3. Future Notes

• October 24: Oak City Sound in concert at Glenaire Retirement Community, our old rehearsal location. Show up time will be 6pm. Concert will start at 7pm. 4000 Glenaire Circle, Cary NC 27511. More details TBD.
• October 27 is our next (#5 of 7) football concession session at Carter Finley stadium.  These are our most important fund raiser events of the year.  We need to provide 6 workers for each event.  The signup sheet is available now.
  • Remember that a volunteer does not have to be a chapter members to work the concession. Family and friends can help out, too.
  • Tim will provide more details as we approach each date. Meanwhile, click Concession to sign up as you are able.
  • Here is the entire remaining schedule, as far as we know right now:
    • Oct 27 - Report at 5:00pm
    • Nov  5 - time TBA
    • Nov 12 - time TBA
• John Adams - We are all saddened to hear that John Adams has passed away in early September this year.  John was a long time member of the RTP Chapter.  We have just learned of John's Funeral arrangements:
  • John Adams Funeral:
    November 12, 2022  @ 11 AM
    University United Methodist Church
    150 E Franklin Ave
    Chapel Hill, NC  27514
  • We have not been asked to sing at his funeral as of yet.  But It would be great if we can get as many RTP members attend that knew John.  

4. Long Range

• Christmas Season:
  • Christmas Vignettes: As part of the Christmas Show, we will again offer our audience personal stories regarding Christmas. This has been well received by both the chorus members AND the audience. Please submit your personal favorite Christmas story to Mike as soon as you can. He might ask for a photo or two to go along with the story. 
  • Dec 5: Show, a Monday evening Christmas Concert at Searstone.
  • Dec 6: Show, a Tuesday evening. We will put on our Christmas show at the Cary Arts Center theater.   We will need to sell tickets and Ads.  Start thinking NOW about who you might want to invite or sell an Ad to. 
  • Dec 19:  Christmas Concert at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh off Creedmoor Rd.  We have performed there soooo many times over the years, and they still invite us back. Around 7pm. Put it on your calendar now. If you are unable to participate, let Mike Muha know ASAP!
  • Community Singouts: Please be on the lookout for possible other places to sing at Christmas time. If they can't come to us, we will come to them! Just to put some context about it: We had 14 singers at our Christmas singouts in North Hills Shopping Center last December while at the same time we were having only 10 or 11 at (Zoom) practice sessions! Everyone likes singouts in the public setting. Note that we will make every effort possible to schedule these for Monday evenings. We know your time during the Holiday season is precious, so to ask for another night is difficult. We hope you can keep your Monday evenings reserved for Oak City Sound throughout that season.
• January - start counting on having a guest night in January.
• February - plan to run Singing Valentines again this year. February 14 is a Tuesday, so we'll look for opportunities on the previous weekend.

5. Champagne Room

• It was great to have a new guest last Monday, Walter Zalph. Thanks to Walt for his visit. We hope to have you back again next week.

1. Notes for this week

• Last Monday's rehearsal was well attended. 18 singers!
  • A great afterglow was held back at our usual place: The Corner Tavern. Attendance was great! 12 in attendance: 67% participation, yet another new record.
• Saturday Oct 8 is the next NCSU Home Football game and concession at Carter Finley stadium. Show up time is 5pm. Click on Concession to review what you signed up for.
• Next Monday, October 10, we have our usual rehearsal at Searstone.
  • Special extra section rehearsal for Baritones: show up early at 6:30
  • Risers need to be set up! Please come 15 minutes early to help set them up during the bari section rehearsal
  • Here is what we will be working on:
    • Ova the Wainbow
    • Beh Necessities
    • All I Want for Christmas Is You
    • It's a Hanukkah Song
    • It's the Most Wonderful Time
    • Merry Christmas, Darling
    • Winter Wonderland (Note: Many of us learned a version of this song that began with the verse, "Over the ground lies a mantle of white...". The version this year has a different, shorter introduction line. Check the Chorus Song library and make sure you're learning the right version. Don't run off memory this time.)
• District Contest on October  14-15:
  • Here are all the names of those signed up to participate:
    • Baritones: 
      • John Zweighaft
      • Kenny Bland
      • Gary Thorn
    • Basses:
      • Warren Fuson
      • Mike Muha
      • Michael Field
      • Steve McGehee
      • Tim Kinsey
      • David Seibert
    • Leads:
      • Bob Inskeep
      • Larry Hill
      • Ben Hansen
      • Nic Cols
      • Paul Martin
    • Tenors:
      • Vern Pike
      • Sean Li
      • John Quick
    • Director: Carol Stephenson
  • If you are on the list, please double check and make sure that your BHS/NSC/RTP Registration is paid up and that you have bought a "Full Registration" for the Convention weekend. If you need help determining this, please contact Larry Hill.
  • If you are not on the list and should be; that is, you want to participate in the Fall District Convention and Competition, go to https://www.carolinasdistrict.org/2022/08/28/register-for-the-fall-convention/ to register.
    • Select "Full Registration" as your option.
    • Notify Carol Stephenson and Mike Muha!
  • Quartet Semi-finals: To be held Friday evening at 7pm. Your favorite chapter quartet, 7th Dimension (stately cough here), will be competing! Come and cheer us on!
  • Chorus Song Set: We will compete at the Contest with The Beh Necessities and Ova the Rainbow.
    • Plan for a rehearsal around 9am Saturday morning. Chorus contest will start at 11:30AM and finish at around 12:30pm. There are 6 choruses participating.
  • Chorus Eval Session: You are encouraged to attend the Chorus Evaluation session after the contest. The Session is in reality a very fine coaching session, where we get suggestions for improvement from a judge or two.
  • A special District Hot Dog Night will be our party on Friday evening. Stay tuned for details.
  • Quartet Finals on Saturday night at 7pm, followed by the District Showcase performance.
  • Volunteering: We need some help with the activities below. Can you volunteer??? Let Nic Cols know if you can pitch in for a little bit:
    • Risers: John Zweighaft will drive the riser truck over to the venue on Friday (Oct 14). We need 3 men to unload and place the risers at 1pm.
    • At the end of the quartet finals on Saturday evening around 8pm, we will need three guys with cars to help transport the judges from the venue back to the Marriott (2.5 miles away).
    • After the Saturday night show, around 9:30, we will need 4 men to load the risers back onto the truck. John will drive the truck back to Searstone when convenient.