NOTES for BC Boot Camp (Saturday, 3/21)

Dear friends,

A few announcements regarding this weekend's Boot Camp rehearsal.

1.       Time is 9:30 am to 3:30 pm. 

2.        There is a change of venue. 

• It will be held at the Club House at Rancho de Calistoga. The address is 2412 Foothill Boulevard, Calistoga, CA. You can use your GPS, but if you're familiar with Calistoga, you proceed on Hwy. 29 past the main street sturn off and proceed to the light, which if you turn left will take you to Santa Rosa. Instead, turn right and proceed a few yards, and it will be on the left.
• Parking is in front, but is somewhat limited, so carpooling is better (saves gas too.)

3.        Bring a lunch and plenty of water. Coffee, tea, etc., is fine as well

4.        Dress comfortably for the weather. The morning will be cool, but should warm up by lunch time,            so layers are good.

5.        Of course, remember you music and a couple of pencils.

6.        We will be singing primarily in the round, somethimes in sections and sometimes in mixed                   formation. Make sure your know you music so you're not dependent on your neighbor of the                   same part. 

7.        We will be going through all the repertoire over the course of the day.

I look forward to seeing you all.

WEEK of March 15, 2026

Hello friends,

I would like everyone to be moving to the point of mastery of the pitches and rhythms and begin the process of singing musically.

• Double check all pitches and rhythms
• Highlight and sing observant of all expression marks
• Pay attention to the words and express them as well

Enfold Us

• Work on singing phrases rather than counting beats, especially in the mixed meter sections.
• Sopranos, be ready to breathe (when appropriate) and move on in the phrases following my direction.
• Sopranos and Altos practice the key change transition in m. 29 and 30, respectively
• Tenor stagger from mm. 33-37, being rhythmically stead on the quarter notes in m. 34.
• ALL stagger from mm. 37-41.
• Sopranos no breat in m. 58.

Dumela

• Make the dim section more consonant than vowel.
• ALL soften when the soloist comes in. Larry, if you can give us more volume, that would be great. I'd rather not mic you.
• Memorize.

Meet Me in the Afterglow

• I'd like this sung with a light, breathy, non-vibrato jazz tone--not pop.
• Listen for the melody which is predominantly in the alto part. 
• Keep the syncopation accurate but don't accent.

Evocation

• Energize all sustained pitches. Be careful not to drop on pitches. Keep intonation up.
• Don't oversing ff at m. 46. Sing with fullness, not loudness.
• There will be rubato at a cappella section starting m. 61. Watch me.
• Tenors be careful to balance other voices at m. 68. You're medium high in your range and they're all low.
• Keep repeated B-flats in mm. 71-72 high.

All of Us

• pp. 6-10 should be sung with energy and liveliness. Round, clear tone.
• Starting at the chorale on p. 11, work on a rich, full tone and though slow, keep flow to it. 
• Breathe together at rests and breath marks, otherwise, stagger.
• NOTE: Dynamics at mm. 71-74 are piano. Then crescendo to mp.
• Choir II, make sure of your parts and sing with vigor.

For TUESDAY, March 17

• Rutter: #'s 1, 2, 3, and 5
• My Soul's Been Anchored
• City Called Heaven

WEEK of February 22, 2026

Hello friends,

Requiem Aeternam

• Cut-offs need to be precise. Some are still holding onto the tied 1/8th-notes. 
• Make sure dynamics are demonstrably observed.
• E needs to be clean and fluid in SAT voices. Tenors keep it light.

Out of the Deep

• Sing the rhythms with flowing intensity. 
• Sing the text. Let it inform your rhythms.

Lux Aeterna

• Should sound like a blessing (words of comfort) - so tone needs to be warm.

All of Us

• Clean up any pitches and rhythms between pp. 6-13.

City Called Heaven

• Highlight and memorize all dynamics.
• Write in mezza di voce (< >) in mm. 10, 15, 32. Note tenuto marks and sing them throughout.
• Sing last home with exaggerated "h."  
• Close to "m" on cue in penultimate and last measures.

Evocation

• Write phonetic pronunciations of each word throughout the score even when repeated. Oh is an open o as in Latin glo-ri-a. 

For TUESDAY, February 24 Rehearsal

Evocation to the end with Korean

All of Us p. 14 to the end

Dumela

Enfold Us

My Soul's Been Anchored

Meet Me in the Afterglow

WEEK of February 15, 2025

Dear friends,

We had our bi-annual Bel Canto board meeting yesterday and talked over many things. Joanna will be providing a brief update on some of the things we discussed during our next rehearsal.

I will also be addressing you in person on Tuesday about something that I feel is important as we continue to strive to do our absolute best in rehearsal and performance. It has to do with how I approach issues of pitch and rhythm accuracy, intonation, tonal matching, vowel formation and uniformity, and vibrato in the rehearsal setting. I was made aware that I tend to direct comments towards the group or a section, rather than towards the specific person who may need to adjust, and that isn't always helpful. I hope you know me well enough (at least most of you) that the last thing I want to do is embarrass or diminish anyone. That being said, I will begin to correct individuals when the need arises. If there are specific issues that a singer consistently deals with, I will personally communicate with them in note or email, rather than in rehearsal. This is to benefit the group. 

My Soul's Been Anchored

• Mark and observe all dynamics when rehearsing and let that be part of your memorization process.
• Make sure you know exactly when entrances are syncopated and when they're not.
• The sfp in the penultimate measure is achieved by strongly singing the word in and then immediately closing to the 'n'. After doing so, begain the crescendo.

Meet Me in the Afterglow

• This should have a gentle, rhythmic feel to it. Be precise with all the syncopated rhythms while avoiding accenting them. Altos and Tenors need to unify your rhythms as a section and then with the other part.
• Sing with a gentle, fairly non-vibrato tone.

Enfold Us

• Work in a dynamic level one level lower than written for anything above mf and strive for a clean, non-vibrato tone.
• Vowels should be pure and rounded.
• Mark and observe all dynamics. Especially on the word lean.

All of Us

• Practice slowly with broad vowels and clear consonants
• On slower, hymnlike sections, ex: pp. 11-12, 14-19, make sure to stretch the vowels and bite the consonants. Diction is very important.

Evocation

• Write this phonetic pronunciation of the Korean by the words in your score, each time they appear. What's there is meant to be close to it, but there are some variances based on what I heard listening to it carefully.

Mon-nee-joh            [as written]

Saeng-ga-ghee         [seng-kah-ghee]

Gh-ruhn-dae-ro       [koo-rohn-teh-roh]  - koo as in "book", rohn as in "bon vivant"

Han-sae-sang          [hahn-seh-sahng]

Ghee-naesi-gu-ryo  [chee-neh-shee-koo-ryoh]

Sa-noh-ra-myum     [sah-noh-rah-myuhm]

Eeh-tsil-nal             [Ee-chil-nahl]

Eeh-ssuh-ree-da      [Ee-suh-'ree-dah]

Sae-whol-mahn       [Say-wohl-mahn]

Ga-ra-see-guh-ryo  [Kah-rah-shee-hoo-ree-oh]

Mon-nee-joh-do      [Moh-nee-joh-doh]

Duh-ruh-nuhn         [Tuh-'ruh-nuhn] - tuh is more "ah" than "uh"

Eeh-chee-oh-ri-da   [Ee'-'chee'oh-ree-dah]

Guh-ruh-na              [Kuh-noh-nah]

Tto-han-goot            [Too-hahn-goot] - double Tt in Tto is dentalized like Latin/Italian.

Eeh-ruh tsee yo        [Ee-root chee oh]

Guh-rhee-woh          [Koo-ree-woh]

Sal-ttul-hee               [Sahl-tuhl-ee]

Moht-eet-nun-dae     [Moht-ee-nuhn-deh]

Uh-zhuh-myun          [Oht-chuh-myuhn]

Ttuh-ghee-na-yo       [Toht-chee-nI-yoh] the nI is like nigh

For TUESDAY, February 17

Evocation (Mon-Nee-Joh) - to page 8 (top) with the Korean

Requiem - Movements 1, 2, 6

All of Us - pp. 6-13

City Called Heaven

WEEK of February 8, 2026

Friends,

I'm not sure I can spend the time playing out the parts of All of Us due to the fact the voices are constantly jumping from one part to another. I'd have to make about 15 tracks just for this song. Below are the assignments and notes for this song. It's a doosy. Pencils for arrows as well as highlighters are paramount.

Soloists are #1 = Anna, #2 = Brittany, #3 = Susan throughout. Jump to regular parts when possible.

Divisi pp. 6-10
Soprano I         Melody, Suzanne, Carissa, Hunter
Soprano II        Joanna, Cassi, Vania, Lisa, (Brittany and Anna)
Alto                  Cyndi, Michele, Yuko, Toni (Susan)
Tenor                Jean, Chuck, James, Dan
Baritone           Thom, Dana, David, Frank
Bass                  John, Matthew, Larry, Gregory

Pp. 11-12 - There needs to be equal balance and some pitches are repeated in other voices, so I'm omitting some and having the mezzos and bari-tenors shift.

M. 34-35         as noted

M. 36              Cassi, Joanna, and Brittany go up and join seconds: Anna, Vania, and Lisa

                        Tenors sing the baritone A on beat 4 (altos will sing the D)

                        Basses will sing G, D, E-flat F

M. 37              Baritones will sing the G's on beats 1&2, the A on beat 4 is sung by the Tenors

M. 39              Baritones cross out the F# and G (they're sung by the Tenors). Only the F-natural is a                                Baritone note.

M. 40              Baritones cross out the 1st B-flat and the C (doubled by tenors)

M. 41-42         Baritones cross out the pitches on And know we (doubled)

M. 44              Baritones cross out the B-flat on beat 4

M. 48              Baritones cross out the notes on beats 3&4

P. 13                M. 50 Tenors (not Baritones) will sing the baritone pitches on Loe that lifts us up!. Jean                         sing the tenor part. 

                        M. 52 - same thing as m. 50.

Pp. 14-15        Baritones cross out pitches on ev-er - (m. 54) and this and Now (m. 55)

P. 17                Baritones cross out pitches on to be (m. 59)

Pp. 19-22        SI=Melody, Carissa, SII=Suzanne, Hunter, SIII=Lisa, Vania

                        AI=Cassi, Joanna, AII=Toni, Yuko, AIII=Cyndi, Michele

                        TI=James, Jean, TII=Dan, Chuck, TIII=Frank, Dana

                        BI=David, Thom, BII=John, Gregory, BIII=Matthew, Larry

Pp. 23-end     CHOIR I

                        SI=Suzanne, Hunter, SII=Lisa, Vania

                        Al=Joanna, Toni, AII=Yuko, Michele

                        TI=Chuck, Jean, TII=Dana, Frank

                        BI=Gregory, Thom, BII=Matthew, John

                        CHOIR II

                        S=Melody, Carissa (II)

                        A=Cassi, Cyndi (II)

                        T=James, Dan (II)

                        B=David, Larry (II)

For TUESDAY, February 10

All of Us

My Soul's Been Anchored

Meet Me in the Afterglow

Enfold Us

Week of February 1, 2026

Dear Friends,

Sorry this is late. I'm still playing catch up from vacation and two weeks with a cold/flu. 

• I appreciate the work that you're doing so far. Continue thinking about ensemble: blend and intonation. 
• For those of you who weren't there on Tuesday evening, we are rehearsing in a classroom in the hall adjacent to the church building, upstairs and to the left.

Requiem

• Throughout the score (English publishing) there are notes tied to an 1/8th note. That's an indication to cut on that beat, i.e., the 1/8th note doesn't sound. For ease in recognition and precision, please mark out all tied 1/8th notes. 
• Highlight and observe all expression markings (ex. pp, crescendo marks) and articulation marks (accents > and tenuto - marks) and words (Slow and solemn, dolce e legato). NOTE: Curious that Rutter mixes languages when using expression terms.
• Please mark your music so that you clearly see which pitches/rhythms are assigned to the Latin text as opposed to the English.

Evocation

• Pp. 4-5, Trebles no breath in mm. 14 or 22. T/B no breath in mm. 23 and 29.
• P. 7, All luftpause in m. 42 before Duh-ruh-nuhn
• P. 9, All no breath in mm. 48 and 50 (after -joh)
• P. 10, All no breath in m. 55
• Highlight all expression marks and breath marks.

Dumela

• Dim is pronounced deem
• There will be no part recording made for this. 
• Begin Memorization

City Called Heaven

• Highlight expression and articulation marks.
• There will be no part recording made for this.
• We will Memorize this. Very simple and repetitive.

For TUESDAY, February 3 - Rehearsal

Requiem

• Review #1 Requiem Aeternam and work to the end of the movement.
• #3 Pie Jesu - p. 21
• #7 Lux Aeterna

Meet Me in the Afterglow

Enfold Us

Dumelo

• Review and work to the end 

Week of January 25, 2026

Dear Friends,

It was great to reconnect after a month and a half at our 1st rehearsal. Also great to welcome new singers, David Irvine and Frank Stevens, as well as returning singers, Lisa van Stuijvenberg and James Ball.

A couple of things about rehearsals: 

1) We're looking into seeing if we can move into one of the classrooms in Adams Hall, the adjacent building. There is concern that the choir room is too small and too acoustically live to best serve our needs. Hopefully we can work that out by Tuesday's rehearsal.

2) Because the doors are locked during the rehearsal time, everyone needs to be there no later than 6:30 to insure no one is locked out. 

FOR TUESDAY, January 27 Rehearsal please review:

Dumela - I won't be making parts recordings of this. The parts are simple and can be learned by rote in rehearsal. Before Tuesday, look at the words and the repetitive rhythm. Once you have that, the notes are a breeze. 

• Tenor/Bass On 3-part divisi section shift on the 5-part chords to TI: Chuck and Jean, TII: Dan and James, Aux Pitch: Dana and Frank. Basses will sing the main pitches as BI: David and Thom; and BII: Matthew, Gregory, and John.

Evocation (Mon-Nee--Joh) Work on pitches and rhythm on "doo". Listen to the pronunciation of the words to begin getting a handle on the diction.

REQUIEM: 1. Requiem Aeternam and 4. Sanctus: Listen to the recording and then work on your parts.

City Called Heaven - you'll get the music on Tuesday.