Choir Notes - 9/30/14

Hello Parents!

                      Welcome to "Choir Notes" on our Mississippi Boychoir Website!

                 

                 Assignments for next Tuesday's Rehearsal, 9 /30/14                          

Training Choir: 

- Continue practicing Ms Womack's assignments on "Getting to Know You" 

 

Concert Choir:

- Have all words memorized to Narration #2 in Hodie. This is on page 11 and begins with "Now the Birth of Jesus Christ" 

- Practice ALL music rehearsed and presented at Fall Camp!

             

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** Remember this coming Saturday, October 4 is our Saturday Day Camp for the month. Training Choir from 9 a.m. to noon and Concert Choir from 9 a.m. to  4 p.m.

Please have your son bring his labeled water bottle, a sack lunch and his music folder with music inside.

               

*** Exciting New Mississippi Boychoir Christmas CD nearing completion and soon available!       

 

* For Performance and Event schedule, see Calendar (bottom of page)                           

 

*** Please note additional Tosca Performance in Hattiesburg added in March (only boys who performed in it last year). Also, please see calendar for 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).                                      

                                          

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. 

 

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. It will be a privilege to, once again, have the renowned director and composer, Bob Chilcotte as a guest conductor to share his knowledge and expertise with our boys. Mr. Chilcotte is one of the foremost composer's of Choral Music for Children in the world. 

 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. 30 -  Regular Rehearsal, Covenant Church, Jackson
  • Sat, Oct. 4 - 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. - Mini-Camp Day at Ascension Lutheran Church, 6481 Old Canton Rd, Jackson (Training Choir from 9 a.m. to noon)
  • Sat, Oct. 25 - 7 p.m. - Matthews Wedding - New Orleans, LA 
  • Sat, Nov. 1 - Mini-Camp Day at Ascension Lutheran Church, 6481 Old Canton Rd, Jackson 
  • 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 at First Baptist Church, Ridgeland, MS
  • 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 - Fri, June 26 - Tues, June 30

*** Regular weekly rehearsal is on Tuesday evening from 6 to 7:30 p.m. 

 

*  Interested in voice and/or piano lessons for your son? I love teaching and have over 30 years of experience teaching all ages and grade levels, (including adults). I studied and trained at the Metropolitan Opera Studios in New York City and performed leading roles in Opera and Musical Theatre in New York City,  New Jersey, and Connecticut. Locally, I have performed leading roles with the Mississippi Opera, Mississippi Symphony and New Stage Theatre, as well as performing as the Tenor Soloist in the Messiah with the Mississippi Symphony.                                                    

Please see me for more details, or call 601-906-3329.

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"Say what you mean, mean what you say, but don't say it mean."

- Unknown