Important Choir Performance Updates!

THURSDAY: SPRING CONCERT

Call Time: 6:00pm in the Lecture Hall

Please be ready to warm-up and sing at 6:00pm

Song Order:

1) Spring (women's)

2) Nuit D'Etoiles (women's)

3) Christus Factus Est

4) Selig Sind Die Reines Herzens Sind

5) Just as the Tide Was Flowing

6) If Love Should Count You Worthy

7) Sail Away

FRIDAY: MICCA

We will leave right at the end of the school day.  Please meet in the orchestra room in your concert attire and ready to board the bus.  We will leave as soon as everyone is present.  

Note: Admission cost for any parents/family/friends attending is $10 for Adults, $5 for Students!

Choral MICCA Festival Information Can Be Found Here: MICCA 2016 Information

The times/performances are as follows

- (3:30 Warmup) 4:00-4:20pm (Foxboro Women's Choir)

Spring, Nuit D'Etoiles, Sail Away

- (5:00 Warmup) 5:20-5:40 (Ahern Middle School)

- 5:40-6:30  Afternoon Awards

- (6:00 Warmup) 6:30-6:50 (Foxboro Concert Choir)

Ubi Caritas , If Love should Count You Worthy, Just as the Tide Was Flowing

- 9:00 Evening Awards

All performances will be followed by a brief clinic.  Awards are at 9:00pm.  After our performance we will stay and listen to other schools prior to the evening awards.  We will return to Foxboro around approximately 10:00pm.  Students may leave with parents provided that they check in with me first!

MICCA/Spring Concert Week!

Exciting week ahead!  We will be rehearsing with accompanist Mrs Fortin on Monday and Wednesday.  

Make sure you get lots of rest and are taking care of your voice this week!!!

- Regular Sectionals All Week

Sop-Mon, Alto-Tues, Tenor-Wed, Bass-Thurs

- Spring Concert Thursday!  Call Time TBA

- MICCA Friday! 
MICCA 2016 Performance Schedule: CLICK HERE for Performance Times

Choral MICCA Festival Information Can Be Found Here: MICCA 2016 Information

MICCA Friday Night April 1st

The times/performances are as follows

4:00-4:20pm (Foxboro Women's Choir)

Spring

Nuit D'Etoiles

Sail Away

5:20-5:40 (Ahern Middle School)

6:30-6:50 (Foxboro Concert Choir)

Ubi Caritas 

If Love should Count You Worthy

Just as the Tide Was Flowing

Any questions, email me: raymondb@foxborough.k12.ma.us

-Mr. Raymond

Reminder: Choir Clinic Thursday 6-8pm

Just a friendly reminder of the Choir Clinic with Jonathan Richter tomorrow (Thursday) from 6-8pm.  

We will do the clinic in the Choir Room 122.  Please do not be late!  Also there will be very limited warm ups so we can spend most of our time on the music.  I would highly encourage all of you to come early and warmup and then be in your seats ready to start right at 6:00pm.

This is a very important rehearsal.  You must contact me if you are going to be late, otherwise I expect to see you on time.  If you are not going to be there, I would like an email or signed letter from a parent.

One week to go until our Spring Concert and MICCA!  I will post detailed information regarding MICCA by the end of the week.  See you tomorrow!

Mr. Raymond

Clinic Thursday

Choir students, the clinic is on for 6-8pm Thursday.  This is perhaps the most important rehearsal all year.  Please make sure you attend.  We will be working with guest choral director from New England Conservatory, Jonathan Richter!  This will be a great event.  

I apologize for my absences this week.  I've been recovering from the flu.  I will be there for the jazz choir trip to Hingham tonight, as well as the remaining rehearsals this week.

Keep practicing and holding sectionals and make sure you keep Thursday night 6-8 free!

Mr Raymond

Rehearsal Thursday Updates

Singers:

Our next two rehearsals Thursday and Friday are very important! We will be in the auditorium for both rehearsals. I will be doing an audio and video recording using both my phone, iPod, and soundboard/condenser mics.

I would like some help tomorrow with the setup of risers and audio equipment. I will be there at 6:30. If some of you could get there early tomorrow maybe 6:45 or so, it would be very helpful.

I want everyone by the end of the week to carefully review all the lyrics of every song on your own and think about the meanings and what expression to portray. As we rehearse tomorrow I want everyone to focus on: text, energy, expression, matching vowels, dynamic shaping, as well as all the comments from the previous email!

Both ensembles have gold level potential, however if you want to earn it, everyone must be dedicated 100% to expressing the meaning of the text with emotion and clarity of diction, shaping every phrase, and singing confidently with your best fundamentals!

See you bright and early, PLEASE don't be late tomorrow, be in the auditorium by 7:30am ready to rock! :-) 

Mr. Raymond

Tuesday's Rehearsal Notes

The 3 recorded pieces from Tuesday's Rehearsal are now on dropbox.  Please listen through each and think about the scored categories from the MICCA Rubric.

I've discussed and shared recordings from today and Friday with Mr. Massey and he had some great insight.  He had three key comments in particular that I completely agree with:

1) Men on "Just as the Tide": should have a "sweeter" texture.  The whole song in generally should have more of a lilt...it's a little too aggressive and harsh

2) Women on Nuit D'Etoiles...need to do a better job of emphasizing the French text.  Think as if you were a French speaker and know what you are singing about at all times.  Room for more dynamic range and attention to text.  Lower voice parts could be a bit stronger.

3)  Ubi Caritas needs more stretch and pull in terms of dynamics and tempo.  It sounds like basically one dynamic and tempo throughout.  We will need to work on stretching the time and dynamics more.  MEN--be careful, there are some notes out of tune in the middle of some phrases, keep working on developing a higher quality blend through good tone.

...............................................................................................................

There was a lot more energy and life in the rehearsal this morning!!

Don't forget about your student-led sectionals.  Section leaders, feel free to share any additional comments you have with your section.

Keep working hard!  It's getting better and better, let's continue to work for more dynamic shapes in the phrases, clean onsets and phrase endings, text pronunciation, and expression.

See you in Sectionals and Rehearsals!

-Mr. Raymond

MICCA Updates!

MICCA 2016 Performance Schedule: CLICK HERE for Performance Times

Choral MICCA Festival Information Can Be Found Here: MICCA 2016 Information

Then MICCA Friday Night April 1st

The times/performances are as follows

4:00-4:20pm (Foxboro Women's Choir)

Spring

Nuit D'Etoiles

Sail Away

5:20-5:40 (Ahern Middle School)

6:30-6:50 (Foxboro Concert Choir)

Ubi Caritas 

If Love should Count You Worthy

Just as the Tide Was Flowing

Any questions, email me: raymondb@foxborough.k12.ma.us

-Mr. Raymond

Weekly Updates

Concert Choir:

- If you haven't done so, please listen through the Friday recordings and read through the comments from Friday's email.

- We are on a regular schedule for sectionals this week:

Monday-Sop, Tues-Alto, Wed-Tenor, Thurs-Bass

- Remember to hold your student led sectionals! So far only the Sop and Altos have emailed me that they've met (and a few students from those sections weren't present). Each section needs to meet twice by the end of the month.

- We are just under three weeks away from MICCA. Make sure you are practicing, listening to recordings, and taking proper care of your voice.

- Keep an eye out this week, we will have some of our morning rehearsals in the auditorium to begin working on our visual presence.

Let's have a great, productive week,

Mr. Raymond

Weekly Choir Updates

Singers:

Congrats on a successful Choralpalooza! There were many positive comments and compliments received and overall I am quite pleased with the way everything turned out! More 8th grade singers decided to join Choir and Jazz Choir for next year!

This a key week in preparation for the Spring Concert (March 31) and MICCA (April 1)...

- Everyone needs to be "off music" (memorized) by the end of the week.

- In order to make sure we put on the highest quality performance possible, I want each section to hold at least 2 student-led sectionals before the March 31st Spring Concert.  These sectionals will be in addition to the regular weekly sectionals, and will count in your grade.  I would like a section leader to coordinate a sectional and email me once you've met and let me know who came and what pieces you worked on.

- Weekly Regular Sectionals, Mon=Sop, Tues=Alto, Wed=Tenor, Thurs=Bass

- Make sure you are practicing daily and incorporating healthy habits: Warmups, drinking water, balanced tension free body positioning, vocal rest between practice, plenty of sleep at night, etc.

- Focus particularly on "Selig Sind" and "If Love..." this week

As always, questions/comments please email me!

Happy Practicing!

Mr. Raymond

Choralpalooza! Thursday 6:30pm FHS Auditorium

FHS choir students: 

- Please arrive in concert dress between 5-5:30 (no later than 5:30)

- Meeting in Orchestra Room 5:30 for Warmups

- Ahern Middle School singers arrive at 6:00pm

- Please hang out, chat with, and assist middle school singers!

High school program order: Spring, Terrified, Sail Away, We Are the World

Let me know if you have any questions

(Reminder: Bass Sectional Thursday)

See you tomorrow!

Mr. Raymond