Choir Midweek Updates!

Upcoming Dates

Next Thursday (10/19), all FHS singers and orchestra members will travel by bus to King Philip HS for an evening combined rehearsal.  Bus will leave at 5:30pm from FHS and return around 8:00pm (possibly slightly after).  If any of you have a sports game that night and are planning to go after, you must be driven by a parent.  Students can carpool together provided a parent is driving, and permission is given for each student riding via email.

Friday (10/20), Annual FMA Cookout for all FHS and 8th Grade Musicians and Singers.  Please wear your new choir shirts (arriving next Wednesday).  Meeting at Ahern at 5:00, there will be a cookout, followed by combined national anthem at the football game!

Thursday (10/26) Voices and Strings Concert!

Rehearsal that afternoon for all performers, 3-5pm

Dinner, 5-6pm for all performers

6:30 Warmup, 7:00 Concert

Choir Performance Attire

Choir dresses/blouses that were ordered should arrive on Monday.  Ties for the men were already distributed--these should be worn with a black suit, plain white dress shirt, and black dress shoes with dark socks.  Once I distribute the ladies' concert attire, please try on the concert attire to make sure it fits comfortably.  Sometimes the floor length dresses need to be hemmed.  If something doesn't fit, we can send it back for a better size, but we may need to wait until after the first concert.

Vocal Health!

The next three weeks contain a lot of singing!  Just like athletes, we must take care of our bodies to ensure we can perform at a high level!  This means making healthy decisions, balancing your time effectively, and getting proper sleep.  

Sight Singing Factory (we will discuss this Friday!)

Our choral program at the middle and high school levels is beginning a new initiative this year aimed at improving music reading for singers at all levels.  We are implementing a very useful online tool called "Sight Singing Factory" that provides an endless supply of melodies for students to sight-read and sing (with customized difficulty levels made into "assignments").  Each student will get a code that they will use to register an email address.  There will be simple "homework" assignments (weekly or bi-weekly) to sing a melody into your phones/ipads/computer that will get recorded and then submitted directly to me (only to be accessed by me).  This will allow me to help singers to improve their reading abilities.  This program has already started at Ahern Middle, and will be starting up for FHS singers at the end of this week.  Students at this point will only be graded on completion of the assignments.

See you in rehearsals!

-Mr. Raymond