Hello Parents!
Welcome to "Choir Notes" on our Mississippi Boychoir Website!
Assignments for next Tuesday's Rehearsal, 9/16/'14
Training Choir
- BEGIN to memorize the lyrics (words) to the first two pages of "The Swing" ( page 3, 4 and top of 5, ending with measure 24)
- Continue to have ALL of the lyrics (words) to "Getting to Know You" memorized. Since there is so much repetition of the lyrics, memorizing is fairly easy.
Concert Choir -
- Memorize words (lyrics) to "Keep America Beautiful" from beginning (page 2) to top of page 6, measure 34
- Continue to have ALL lyrics (words) to "Christmastime Is Here" and "River in Judea" memorized,
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* For Performance and Event schedule, see Calendar below "Choir Notes"
*** Please note additional Tosca Performance in Hattiesburg added in March (only boys who performed in it last year) and change of dates for Summer Song Camp in early June (due to our recent discovery that the last day of school this year will be later than usual in several school systems).
Thank you for your patience as we complete the process of recording and preparing the Study Cds for this year. This is a time consuming process which requires hours of work in recording each voice part (1st soprano, 2nd Soprano, 1st Alto, 2nd Alto, Tenor, Bass, etc...) for every piece that we will perform this year. You can just imagine how long it takes to complete this for 15 to 20 pieces of music!
We have a wonderful season lining up so far. Performances include a wedding in New Orleans, and collaborations with the Mississippi Chorus, the Metropolitan Male Chorus and more performances in the Natchez Opera's production of the opera, Tosca! We can also look forward to our Fall and Winter Camps at Wesley Pines, a concert at St. Catherine's Village, the Old Capitol Museum at Christmas, our Spring Tour, Spring Concert and tentative Summer Festival trip to New Orleans.
We also have a number of exciting and important additions to our program this year! Two big ones are our once a month “Saturday Mini - Camps” and our week long “Summer Song Camp”. These will allow for much needed extra rehearsal time, as we have realized that a hour and a half rehearsal time once a week on Tuesday evenings is not adequate to have the boys repertoire thoroughly prepared and ready for performances. The Saturday Song Camps will occur once a month throughout the season, mainly on the first Saturday of each month EXCEPT for August (too early for Saturday Song Camp), September (fall camp @ Wesley Pines), January (winter camp @ Wesley Pines), and April (first Saturday is Easter weekend)).
Our week long Summer Song Camp will occur immediately after the school season ends and just before the summer vacation season sets in. The tentantive dates are Monday, June 8 through Saturday, June 13 from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m (Training Choir will meet from 9 a.m. until around noon). In addition to training, rehearsal time and fun for our returning boys, we also plan to promote and publicize the Summer Song Camp as an opportunity for potential new Boychoir members to attend and participate so that they can decide if they are interested in auditioning and joining us.
*** Our staff and board are very excited about our new Mississippi Boychoir Christmas CD! We are in the final stages of production of his high quality, professional CD and are super proud of how it is turning out! It is a major part of the promotional plans being developed to propel the Mississippi Boychoir even more into the limelight as an Arts organization of excellence, not only in the state of Mississippi, but nationally and internationally. Thank you, Parents for your important role in achieving this MAjOR Milestone for our organization and for supporting your sons and the mission and standards of the Mississippi Boychoir!
Your sons made quite an impression on Jay Dean, the Director of the Natchez Opera’s production of Tosca that they performed last season. So much so, that he has invited the same ensemble of boys to perform again in the Tosca productions that will occur Tuesday, March 24 in Hattiesburg, Friday, March 27th in Jackson and Sunday, March 29th in Meridian.
I am tentatively planning to take members of MS Boychoir to the Crescent City Choral Festival in New Orleans again this June. We have attended this festival twice in recent summers, and it is by far the most popular with the boys (exciting Mass Concert in St. Louis Cathedral, great International guest conductors, dinner and dance on Mississippi Riverboat, hotel pool and fun train ride to and from New Orleans. It is also the most affordable for more of our families and has proved to be an exciting and excellent educational, musical and interpersonal experience for our boys.
Thanks parents, for all that you do for your sons and for helping to make them and this very special organization the vital and prominent arts organization that we are becoming for our state, as well as nationally and internationally!
Many Thanks,
Mr. Thompson
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Event / Performance Calendar
- Tues, Sept. 9, 6 p.m. - Rehearsal, Covenant Church, Jackson
- Tues, Sept. 16, 6 p.m. - Rehearsal, Covenant Church, Jackson
- Fri, Sept. 19 - Sun, Sept. 21 - Fall Concert Choir Camp - Wesley Pines
- Sun, Sept. 21 - Fall Training Choir Day Camp - Wesley Pines
- Sun, Sept. 21 - Fall Parents Association Meeting
- Sat, Oct. 4 - Mini-Camp Day, time and location TBA
- Sat, Oct. 25 - 7 p.m. - Matthews Wedding - New Orleans, LA
- Sat, Nov. 1 - Mini-Camp Day, time / location TBA
- Fri, Dec 5 - 5:30 p.m. - Christmas Concert at Old Capitol Museum, Call Time - 4:45 p.m.
- Sat, Dec. 6 - Mini-Camp Day time / location TBA
- Mon, Dec. 15, 6:30 p.m. - Rehearsal, "Hodie", with MS Chorus, location TBA
- Thurs, Dec. 18, 6 p.m. - Dress Rehearsal, "Hodie, with MS Chorus, location TBA
- Fri, Dec. 19, 7 p.m. - Performance of "Hodie" with MS Chorus, location TBA
- Fri. Jan. 9 - Sun. Jan 11, Winter Concert Choir Camp - Wesley Pines
- Sun, Jan. 11, Winter Training Choir Day Camp - Wesley Pines
- Sun. Jan. 11 - Winter Parents Association Meeting
- Sat, Feb. 7 - Mini-Camp Day, time and location TBA
- Sun, Feb. 22 - Performance Collaboration, Metropolitan Male Chorus, United Methodist Church, Yazoo City , Time - TBA
- Tues, Mar. 3 - Concert, St. Catherine's Village - Call time 6:15 for 6:45 Performance
- Sat, Mar. 7 - Mini-Camp Day, time and location TBA
- Fri, Mar. 20 - Spring Tour, time and locations TBA
- Tues, Mar. 24 - Tosca Performance. Hattiesburg, time/location TBA - selected boys only
- Fri, Mar. 27 - Tosca Performance, Jackson, time/location TBA - selected boys only
- Sun, Mar. 29 -Tosca Performance, Meridian, time/location TBA - selected boys only
- Sat, April 11 - Mini-Camp Day, time and location TBA
- Sat. May 2 - Mini-Camp Day, time and location TBA
- Sat, May 16 - Spring Concert, 6 p.m.
- Mon, June 8 through Sat, June 13 - "Summer Song Camp"
- Crescent City Choral Festival, New Orleans - June, exact date and details TBA
*** Weekly rehearsal is on Tuesday evening from 6 to 7:30 p.m.
* If you are interested in voice and/or piano lessons for your son on a regular basis, I teach from my home studio. I have over 30 years of experience teaching all ages and grade levels, (including adults). If interested, please see me for more details, or call 601-906-3329.
"When you play, play hard;
when you work, don't play at all."
Theodore Roosevelt
