1. Notes for this week

• Last Monday's Meeting:
  • A great Lead section rehearsal , led by Carol!
  • A very good rehearsal, with 18 singers present.
  • A good afterglow (again!) at The Corner Tavern.
• September 10 was our first of 7 football concession sessions at Carter Finley stadium. Click on Concession to review what you signed up for.
• Next rehearsal is Monday, September 19, at Searstone at our usual location, but schedule is different!.
  • Bass section rehearsal at 6:30 All other sections are welcome to come and observe and listen!
  • The plan includes the following songs. The emphasis is on the Christmas songs, contest songs, and Springmoor concert, in that order. 
    • It's a Hanukkah Song
    • Merry Christmas, Darling
    • Songs of Christmas (should be off spots by today!)
    • White Christmas (should be off spots by today!)
    • We Need a Little Christmas (should be off spots by today!)
    • Almost Like Being in Love
    • Bare Necessities 
    • Do You Hear the People Sing
    • The Lion Sleeps
    • The Longest Time
    • Over The Rainbow
    • Prayer of the Children
    • Ride the Chariot
    • Sweet Caroline
    • Yesterday
  • By Monday, the only songs not expected to be memorized are:
    • All I want for Christmas is you
    • It’s a Hanukkah song
    • Merry Christmas darling 
    • Winter wonderland
• Please sign up this week to participate in the Fall District Convention and Competition. Save $$$ by registering before Sept 26! Go to https://www.carolinasdistrict.org/2022/08/28/register-for-the-fall-convention/ to register.
  • Chapter Quartet 7th Dimension will also be competing. Witnessing their performance is, by itself, worth the price of admission!
• Paul Martin's father Louis Martin, who was over 100 years old!, passed away on Aug 29. Funeral services will be held Saturday, September 17, 2022 at Topsail Presbyterian Church, 16249 Hwy 17, Hampstead, NC 28443. Visitation is at 10 AM and the service begins at 11 with military honors. Louis Martin's remarkable life story is here. Per Mr. Martin's preference, the chapter is making a donation to The Nature Conservancy in his honor.

2. Carol's Korner

• The songs we will be singing for the District Contest on October 15 are "Over the Rainbow" and "The Bare Necessities" so we will be singing these songs every week between now and then. 
  • Listen to the recording you made of me speaking/singing OTR a few weeks ago so that you practice the intended interpretation plan WHILE you are finalizing words, notes, and tempo.
• Remind yourself to keep your body “in tonus” meaning buoyant, open, energized from the legs up. Avoid the urge to stand straight-legged and dead still, which will lead to tension and disconnection from your core when you open the throat to allow your body to draw in the air it needs to start the next phrase. I want to see you move your lower body as you sing.
• Techniques that are very important to good choral singing and audience enjoyment:
  • Always sing a line of clear, forward, tall vowels.
  • Work towards complete connection from one word to the next by making the ending consonant sound of one syllable or word become the first sound of the next syllable or word. For example, the words of the first line of OTR should be sung as "Whe nah lthe wuh ldi za ho pleh sju mbah la ndthe reh ndraih dro pstu mblall ... etc"
    • A lot of times you can simply drop any "r" since they tend to screw up your vowel and the audience will hear the 'r' anyway, even if you don't sing it! If the "r" sound is essential, keep the tip of the tongue at the back of your bottom teeth while you sing it.
    • This technique is easier than you think, and just requires an amount of practice for it to become second nature.
  • Please practice staying on top of the pitch, especially on the swipes, and keep the energy and air moving through every note of the phrase - even the last note! As you take a breath, make space for the pitch you are about to sing and the vowel of the syllable you are about to sing. This will help you approach every note from above instead of scooping from below.

3. Future Notes

• September 17 is our next (#2 of 7) football concession sessions 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 it does not have to be just chapter members working the concession. Family and friends can help out, too..
  • Tim will provide more details as we get close. Meanwhile, click Concession to sign up as you are able.
  • Here is the entire remaining schedule, as far as we know right now:
    • Sep 10 - Kickoff @ 12:30pm    Report to work @ 9:30am
    • Sep 17 - Kickoff @  7:00pm    Report to work @  4:30pm
    • Sep 24 - time TBA
    • Oct  8 - time TBA
    • Oct 27 - Kickoff @  7:30pm    Report to work @  5:00pm
    • Nov  5 - time TBA
    • Nov 12 - time TBA
• September 26: Concert at Springmoor in north Raleigh. 
  • Step out quartets: In the Springmoor concert, we will also include all of the quartets and their songs that were part of  our performance at Searstone.
  • Please confirm your quartet membership, participation, and song selection with the Music Team (Carol and Mike).
  • You are responsible to arrange your own quartet rehearsals for those songs, and be performance ready .
• October 14 and 15: NSC District will hold this Fall's Convention at Asbury UMC Church at 6612 Creedmoor Rd, in Raleigh.
  • Volunteering: HCA/HOC Choruses in Durham are the hosting chapter. with Jason Kekas as the Convention  Planner and Chairman. Let Nic know if you are available to help as well. 
  • Particpating: We will compete at the Convention with The Bare Necessities and Over the Rainbow. Look for future announcements about the qualifying process!
  • Please register up this week to participate in the Fall District Convention and Competition. Save $$$ by registering before Sept 26! Go to https://www.carolinasdistrict.org/2022/08/28/register-for-the-fall-convention/ to register.

4. Long Range

• Christmas Season:
  • Dec 1:: Possible concert at Holly Springs, early evening. Stay tuned.
  • Dec 5: Show at Searstone. Full Christmas Concert Christmas Tree Lighting
  • 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 10:: Possible Concert at Holly Springs Christmas Paraade. 10AM til Noon. Stay tuned.
  • Dec 12: Possible concert in Selma, NC. Stay tuned.
  • Dec 19:  Christmas Concert at Springmoor Retirement Community in north Raleigh off Creedmoor Rd. This is HUGE. 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.

5. Champagne Room

• Susan Fields, widow of long-time member RC Fields (former Bass section leader, quartet man, and pecan-sales champion) passed away in May, but we did not find out about it until this week.