E-mail messages from Deeji to the choir
3/16/24 Happy Opening Night Day!!!
Rehearsal Wednesday, March 20th 7:00-9:15, St John. No costumes, but performance shoes recommended.
There is absolutely and most definitely a pick up rehearsal on Wednesday March 20th. It will be shorter than usual, but it is SUPER IMPORTANT that we do a run through of the show TOGETHER!! The quality of the performances next weekend depend on it! The rehearsal will be at 7:00 at ST. John. Please be sure to attend.
In addition to doing a run through of the show on Wednesday, we will be voting on our tour destination for late June early July of 2025! There will be 3 options. I'll let you know what they are tonight and the vote will be on Wednesday! You must be present to vote.
Fantastic rehearsal last night! Amy made a few notes for us and I wanted to pass on a couple of them:
1) She said our diction was much better! Yay! Please keep workin' it!
2) Basses and Tenors, please take a look at Impossible Dream measures 33-35. Please review today and we will take a look tonight.
While I'm up, as per usual we will rehearse on March 27th, which is the Wednesday following closing night. It will be our first rehearsal of the new quarter. I'm feeling quite excited about the music for our Spring program "Love, Lost and Found!" I can't wait to share it with you!
Remember to park on the street tonight and for all performances!
3/6/24 Deeji will be out
I apparently have a blocked saliva gland in my jaw and it has become infected. I’m on a heavy duty antibiotic and lots of ibuprofen for pain, inflammation and fever. I know… TMI!! 😬
I am very sorry to say I won’t be there with you tonight. My 2nd missed rehearsal in 14 years. 😞 However, you will be in the very capable hands of professional conductor, our own Carol Burton, who will lead the rehearsal, along with help from Clint and Catherine. Please be patient and extra kind to them and to each other!
Asking questions and having discussions eats away in a major way to rehearsal time.Please only ask for clarification when absolutely necessary.
Our saxophone player will be there tonight. His name s David Barns. Please give him a most friendly and sparkling welcome!
Oh, and some sparkles for me would be great. I look like half human half chipmunk and am feeling not the greatest. Hopefully the antibiotics will do the trick and hopefully the gland will drain itself on its own. Otherwise there will be a procedure to deal with.
I hope to be back up and about very soon!
Have a blast with Carol tonight. Smile, laugh, be focused and work hard. I know you will! I will miss you all terribly!
3/6/24 program order
Someone in the Crowd
Singin' in the Rain medley
A Cover Is Not the Book
They Can't Take That Away from Me (ensemble)
Disney Dazzle
A Whale of a Tale (ensemble)
Steam Heat (ensemble)
Pure Imagination
Evermore (ensemble)
Dancing Queen (ensemble)
Let the River Run
Do You Hear the People Sing?
Unruly Heart
My Funny Valentine (ensemble)
The Call (ensemble)
The Impossible Dream
Encore
3/5/24 We are down to our last few rehearsals. We will be adding a bit of extra time to our regular rehearsals in order to get done what needs getting done in time!
Gillian will be in the sanctuary from 6:45-7:00 tomorrow to give us some important updates and answer questions. Please do your best to be there! After the meeting you can head downstairs for rehearsal.
Rehearsal will likely go until 10:00 tomorrow. If you must leave early no need to tell me ahead of time. Just slip out quietly.
Schedule for final rehearsals:
Tomorrow March 6th: 6:45-10:00 Rehearsal. St John .
Monday, March 11th: Full dress/tech rehearsal. 6:30-10:00 CCMI
Wednesday, March 13th. Rehearsal 7:00-10:00 St. John
Friday, March 15th. Final Full Dress Rehearsal. 6:30-10:00 CCMI
READ: All updated fundraiser emails sent out by Gillian and the teams!
3/2/24
We are 2 weeks away from opening night! I would say that we are in fairly good shape, however, I would really like us to be in great shape, and we will get there if we all put in the needed time to solidly memorize all the music and moves between now and when we rehearse together on Wednesday. The goal is to get so solid on your music and moves that you would be able to teach others. This will allow you a kind of joyful confidence in your performance, and will lift up and inspire not only yourself and your fellow choir mates, but our audiences as well with your magnificent performances! YOU CAN DO THIS!!!
BE that person you'd want to stand next to...inspired, joyful, totally confident, and compliant free at all times! And remember: Choir is a team sport. Are you hoping the person next to you has it down so that you can lean on them for support? Instead BE the person others can lean on for support! Can you imagine if we all did this?? WOW!!!
Wednesday, March 6th: ALL MUSIC AND ALL MOVES MEMORIZED. This rehearsal will be off book. It's time to refine and polish.
General notes: We need to be at a place now where we are telling the stories of each song with full out sparkling facial expressions to the MAX!! Right now, most of us look like we are trying to think of the words or the moves. Remember the theater saying: "What's on your mind is on your face." Get to a place of such confidence that you are fully living the story of each song, in your minds, bodies, and hearts, and giving generously through your facial expressions. We are not there yet!
Practice pure vowels, particularly on the slower pieces. Be sure that you are committing to a single vowel sound, and that the vowel is on the palate, not in the jaw. It will always feel free and easy to crescendo when you are doing it correctly.
Some of us struggle more with rhythms than others. You know who you are! Spend the time needed to make sure all rhythms are correct. Incorrect rhythms make a choir sound sloppy!
Some of us struggle with memorizing moves more than others. The moves enhance the music and ultimately help you to both remember your words, and communicate the story to your audience. Plus, when you get them down...it's fun to do them! Repetition is key. No way around it. Plus, who doesn't need the exercise??
Some specific notes:
Encore: Memorize it!
MGM: Movements and Rhythms need to be sharper.
Someone In The Crowd: It sounds great! Work on your 4 poses in front of a mirror. be clear as to the order you are doing them in. This takes REPETITION.
Disney Dazzle: Needs to be more deeply memorized. Moves need to look sharper. Give extra attention to correcting the rhythms on "Under The Sea." Get comfy with the moves!
A Cover Is Not The Book: This has the potential to be quite a real stand out, however, clearly we aren't there yet. Can you say that you are solidly memorized on this piece? Spend the needed time to get it down and this piece will blow everyone away! Make sure you understand the entire story of the rap section and how your part fits in. If it's nonsense to you it will be much harder to memorize.
Do You Hear The People Sing? When we first had this memorized it sounded fantastic! It went backwards this last week, which means not everyone had continued to run the piece. You must run all of the music daily at this point or you will have to re-memorize, which takes extra time.
Unruly Heart: make sure to practice pure vowels in particular on the sustained noted. This promises to be a moving piece for all of us. We want it to sound beautiful!
Impossible Dream: This has the potential to be quite the stunning piece for us. Be sure to practice keeping palate lifted on all of those "nasals." "Dream" "Wrong" etc. All "Ah" vowels on palate, not in jaw.
Let The River Run. It's sounding great and you know it best of all of all, but it needs much more facial expressions! Be Passionate!!
Pure Imagination: Pure vowels!
Happy singing and dancing and expressing yourself!!
2/29/24 Fundraiser Updates
Happy Leap Year Day!
This email contains brand new exciting and important updates, so please read it all!
Before you get to the good stuff…the team leads and I collaborate to send out one consolidated email update each Mondays (and the occasional Thursday, if necessary) until the fundraiser concerts are over and done. This is meant to keep you up-to-date and informed without clogging up your in box. Several people discovered that their NWFC emails were stuck in their junk/spam filters, so if you are feeling like you missed some information, please check your spam filter to see if you’ve missed an email. There’s not enough time during rehearsals to share all this information, so email is our best tool for keeping everyone informed. Remember to check for the next email, I will send it out Monday night.
Thank you!
Gillian
Dessert Sign Up!
We are asking you lovely Firelighters to sign up to bring desserts for the dessert buffet for our fundraiser! Check out the SignUpGenius link below to sign up today. The priority is BEAUTIFUL and TASTY desserts! With that in mind:
We are asking for 2 dozen portions/pieces if possible, per sign up slot. Ideally already portioned or easy to portion desserts (i.e., round cakes that need to be sliced would be tricky). Think mini cupcakes, cookies, bars, mini tarts, brownie bites, mini cakes/petit fours, etc.
Feel free to sign up for one night or all three!
If you don’t know what you want to make initially, please make sure to go back and add details once you know and make sure we don't have too much overlap.
Preference for homemade desserts, but if baking isn’t your talent quality (beautiful and tasty) store bought goods are welcome!
For non-bakers we will also have some spots to sign up to bring snack sized/fun sized classic movie candies (milk duds, junior mints, sour patch kids, M&Ms)
If you can tastefully include a classic movie candy in your dessert-go for it! Think adding milk duds on top of a chocolate salted caramel cupcake or junior mints on top of a chocolate mint brownie bite. Maybe even sour patch kids on top of funfetti cupcakes? Please, there is no reason to include Raisinets in anything!
Please reach out with any questions or if you want to discuss any dessert ideas you have! lisahann1986@gmail.com
NWFC Sign-Up Genius
It takes a freaking village to put on our fundraiser shows and there is no better village than you people. You will find all sorts of opportunities to share the load in the sign-up sheet. Just click on the link today! https://www.signupgenius.com/go/60B0948A9A92FABF49-48136806-lets
Ticket update!
March 16th show is SOLD OUT!!! Woohoo!
We will not be able to add additional seating to any evenings, so PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE encourage your people to buy their tickets for the Friday, March 22nd or Saturday, March 23rd shows NOW. They WILL sell out. (I REALLY need to stop capitalizing everything!)
Don’t know if your people have purchased their tickets? Siobhan downloads ticket sales once a week and we send it out with the Fundraiser Updates each Monday. Check your email from 2/26/24 for the latest ticket sales information.
Questions – Who to ask my fundraising questions?
I’ve attached the Team Leads list (and their members) again so that you can first check to see who is leading up different parts of the fundraising machinery. But I’ve also pulled out some likely candidates for the most common areas below:
Costumes: Diane/Emily – email missdk@gmail.com or e.l.heindsmann@gmail.com
Non-singing volunteers: Suzy suzymillerseattle@hotmail.com
Seating questions/meal changes - email tickets@nwfirelightchoral.org
All other questions: Gillian – email gillian@grandcentralbakery.com
Please do not direct fundraiser-related questions to Deeji!
FAQ – Keep asking! No questions is too silly!
Event Tickets and Seating
Q. My friends didn’t purchase tickets for a specific night and now it’s sold out. Can we fit them in? A. Unfortunately, we can’t add more tables without impacting our performance and the guests’ experience. A first come/first-serve waitlist will be made, but we cannot guarantee that guests can be accommodated.
Video Tickets
Q.I have family in Europe... If they buy a video link ticket, can they view the performance at a later time and date? Our performance is at 8pm, which is 4am over there....and I don't think they love me THAT much...:) A.CORRECTION FROM PREVIOUS EMAIL. Purchasers of our Video Viewing link will be able to view it "on demand" at their convenience, March 28 - April 30, 2024 (a whole month!). NWFC will not be offering a livestream during our in person events. Our "on demand" approach provides our viewers with a convenient, quality video experience with opportunities to donate if they wish (our video will include a short "raise the paddle" snippet, in lieu of the full in-person experience).
Food
Q. Will we be able to accommodate dietary requests? A. David Martin is finalizing the menu which we will share with everyone soon. We always try to accommodate to best of our ability, so please ask your guests to forward their dietary questions to tickets@nwfirelightchorale.org and they will be forwarded to David.
2/27/24 Video links from Saturday’s practice
Hi Deeji,
I took some videos when you were teaching the Disney moves on Saturday. They're super helpful for reviewing the moves! If you'd like to share with the choir, here is a link to the videos: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/19cXcjkmW05UC4udBcz8Yb4SOFHeEZ-so?usp=drive_link
2/24/24 Cover is Not the Book, practice notes
Cover is Not The Book Practice Notes"
When not speaking/singing, continue to be engaged facially in the story, try to reflect the words being spoken, but no body movement.
m5-14: Paula solo, look interested!
m15: We enter, mentally prepare for upcoming moves.
m19: "Prayer" hands on "book".
m20: Open the book on "up".
m21: Look down at the "book" on "look".:
m22: Hands to sides, look forward on 1.
m22-35: Continue singing, expressing.
m36: Prepare for upcoming marching.
m37: Start marching on "lee" with right foot.
m37-42: Continue marching.
m38: Look quickly at your partner on 1, turn front and stop on 3.
m44-61: Continue singing/expressing.
m62: "Prayer" hands on "book".
m63: Open book on "up".
m64: Look down at the "book" on "look".
m65: Hands to sides, look forward on 1.:
m65-79: Continue singing, expressing.
m80-83: Look at each other, communicate about the text.:
m83-87: Facial warm up exercises. Be outrageous and silly!
m87-127: When not speaking, be engaged in the story.
m132: "Prayer" hands on "book".
m133: "Open" the book on "up".
m134: Look down at the "book" on "look".
m135: Hands to sides, look forward on 1.
m135-152: Continue singing, expressing.
m152: Mentally prepare for upcoming marching.
m153: Start marching with right foot on 1.
m153-160: Continue marching, end on beat 3 with the last note. Hold.
2/23/24 Someone in the Crowd, practice notes
Hi everyone!
I hope this helps with your practice. I would suggest practicing in front of a mirror
until you feel comfortable with the expressions. What you feel may not be what the audience sees!
Opening: m 1-34, solos. look involved!
m35: walking, not side to side
m41: "scooping" lift with both hands on "ground"
m43: continue walking
m49: trebles turn entire body to see men
m52: face front, express the lyrics!
m61: hands lift up to the stars
m62: continue expressing the lyrics
m69: expressive whisper with one/two hands
m71: "search" the crowd for the "someone"
m73: continue looking into the "crowd"
m75: all choir starts with a first pose; coy/dramatic/handsome/surprised
depending on your number, continue poses, changing every 2m to m98
m99: slowly resolve to front as Katy sings solo
m111: begin expressing "have I been discovered?" through m116
m117: walking
m123: as before, "scooping" on "ground"
m125: walking
m131: "prep" as if you might be discovered
m135: walking
m141: as before, "scooping" on "ground"
m143: walking
m147: express the lyrics!
m154: right foot steps right
m155: left foot steps left
m156: right hand opens down to right side, palm forward
m157: left hand opens down to left side, palm forward
m158: start poses, change every 2m
m164: final quick pose
2/14/24 Memorization schedule for the rest of our music
Wed. 2/14—Someone In The Crowd and A Cover Is Not The Book-through pg. 9
Wed. 2/21—Do You Hear The People Sing, and from "Disney Dazzle" Be Our Guest-Under The Sea-Kiss The Girl
Saturday 2/24 (CCMI 10:00-2:00)—All Of the rest of Disney Dazzle
Wed. 2/28—A Cover Is Not The Book-full song
MGM
Wed. 3/6—Unruly Heart and Impossible Dream
Remember that writing out the lyrics by hand is a great tool for memorization, as is "dramatizing" the words by speaking them dramatically whilst making strong gestures that match the words as much as possible. You may feel silly...and want to do it in private...but if you let yourself go and have fun with it,...it really works!
2/10/24 Questionnaire requiring your response
The message below with a link to a questionnaire was sent to section leaders on Saturday, 2/10. This was forwarded to the Alto section distribution list.
Can you send this form out to your beautiful and talented section members to fill out by the end of this weekend? https://forms.gle/cTjh3qNouqgD53w8A
This will help costuming order the right number of dresses and accessories and get out the appropriate info in time for our performance.
2/7/24 Pieces to memorize
I hope you are taken in the beauty of this glorious day!
Remember to have "Pure Imagination" memorized for tonight's rehearsal. We are going to learn "Impossible Dream."
For next week I would like you to memorize all of "Someone In The Crowd" and through pg. 9 of "A Cover Is Not The Book."
Hoping to run through everything tonight if possible!
2/5/24 Diane’s fundraiser reminders and updates
Please see below for fundraiser-related reminders and updates. We will be sending weekly emails on Mondays so stay tuned for more information each week!
Who to talk to!
- Costumes: Diane/Emily
- Non-singing volunteers: Suzy
- Seating questions/meal changes - email tickets@nwfirelightchoral.org
- All other questions: Gillian/Lauren
- DO NOT ASK DEEJI! Please do not direct fundraiser-related questions to Deeji, instead please direct music-related questions to your sectional leaders and all other logistic questions to Gillian/Lauren.
Costumes:Costume info coming in the next two days! Don't fret. You'll have all the details you need by Wednesday's rehearsal 💃
Graphic Design help needed! Team Decor is looking for some graphic design assistance to size and format digital images. Contact Emily <e.l.heindsmann@gmail.com> and Amanda <beanosaurusrex@gmail.com>
Decor wish list: Do you have the below items? If so, please email a photo/description to Emily <e.l.heindsmann@gmail.com> and Amanda <beanosaurusrex@gmail.com>
Director's Chair
Director's megaphone
Light Umbrella
Potted Palms
Cardboard Cutout Movie Stars or Paparazzi
8x10 Black or Brass/Gold picture frames
Anything else inspired by this list...!
Alcohol Donations: We are looking for alcohol donations to offset the cost of the bar. If you have any connections to someone in the beer/wine industry, please let us know! We can help you draft a request for donations. *Beer and wine only, please! We will not have hard alcohol at the event.
Ticket Sales: The attached lists reflect ticket sales as of 4:30 pm on Saturday (Feb 3). If you don't see your people on the list, it might be time to reach out to them! If you or your guests need to make changes to your tickets (switching dates, correcting meal or seating preferences, etc.) please email tickets@nwfirelightchorale.org and we'll be sure to help.
We have also attached a choir roster that identifies team leads as well as each person's volunteer role.
Send us your questions! We’re going to put together an FAQ sheet and every single question (even those from Chuck) is welcome!
1/25/24 Saturday’s retreat
Dear Sparkling Firelighters,
Another excellent rehearsal last night! I'm pleased with how quickly we are learning the new music!
Our winter retreat is only 2 days away! Here are the details:
WINTER RETREAT:
When: Saturday, Jan. 27th
Where: Congregational Church Mercer Island (CCMI) 4545 Island Crest Way, Mercer Island
When: 10:30-5:30
Bring: all music, pencil, costumes for Photo shoot, lunch, water, optional: food for "shared food table." Oh and most of all...bring your "complaint free" and open hearted self!
We will spend the day together, singing, dancing, eating, learning fun stuff, frolicking, etc.
We will also be doing our promo photo shoot so be sure to bring your costumes and make up!
Have you met all the new members yet?? If not, please be sure to go up to each person you don't know and introduce yourself on Saturday!
Can't make it? Be sure to email me and your section leader. The goal is to get through all of the music that we haven't looked at yet. If you miss the retreat you will need to be sure to practice with the video in order to stay caught up.
As always, if you are feeling ill please stay home.
1/24/24 Deeji sent a message with an updated Roster
Sorry, I don’t know how to attach the roster. Please ask someone if you need a roster re-sent.
1/18/24 Recap/reminders after 2nd rehearsal
Last night we worked on parts of the "Disney Dazzle" and "Someone In The Crowd." be sure to continue to move forward on those pieces and work any problem areas you have, paying close attention to fixing those tricky rhythms. As I mentioned we have lots of music to learn and we don't have time for me to reteach what we have already worked on. You won't want to hold the group back from moving forward each week!
Next week I'm hoping to have us learn the rest of "Disney Dazzle", and also learn "A Cover Is Not The Book." It would be helpful if you could take look at that music before next Wednesday's rehearsal.
Be sure to continue to run all pieces we have worked on. Memorization will begin soon and will come quickly if you practice your music regularly.
Note—Deeji’s message also included a letter from Gene, an example invitation for the fundraiser show. Please contact Gene or Deeji if you need it resent.
1/18/24 Partial message from Diane and Emily about photoshoot/fundraiser costumes
Diane Kerstein missdk@gmail.com / 206.653.5971
Emily Heindsmann e.l.heindsmann@gmail.com / 206.501.1325
Scene
Movie starlets and stars, extras, and cast of characters in a classic big studio backlot. A day in the life of making movie magic!
1930s to 1980s Hollywood movie eras
Wide variety of movie stars and characters in colorful outfits
Clearly recognizable looks and characters from that era. You’d get a double take on a Seattle street!
Next Steps
Come up with a costume idea and era! See inspiration section for ideas
Email Diane and Emily for sign-off on your costume and any support. The costume team will keep track of costumes to avoid duplicates and ensure a diversity of characters from multiple eras
Source your costume! Time is short - Start now 🕚 and borrow as much as you can. Note that costume may change for the performance, so don’t become too attached or spend too much 💰
Have a costume to share? Please add it to our costume inventory sheet so people can contact you! Or email Diane and Emily and we'll do it for you
1/18/24 Messages about healing—from Bob and Catherine
Dear Firelighters,
Another excellent rehearsal last night!
We are most fortunate to have as one of our members Catherine Sparks, Dr. of Chiropractic and a Naturopathic Doctor. Catherine serves on our Health and Wellness team and wants to help teach us how to live a healthy lifestyle! Please see the link at the end of this email to her Cornerstones of Health Part 2.
And...enjoy this inspiring article that Bob found! At 93, he's as fit...
Please contact Deeji for Catherine’s article.
1/9/24 Welcome new members, first rehearsal
I'm so looking forward to seeing you all tomorrow for our first rehearsal of the new quarter! We have several wonderful new members! Please make sure you try and welcome them all before rehearsal begins!
Here are their names and sections. Try and memorize the names of those in your section:
Axel-Bass
Paul Scanlon-Tenor
Paul Boulet-Tenor
Maya-Soprano
Chris-bass
Max-Bass
Lizzie-Soprano
Julia-Alto
Lloyd-Bass
We also welcome back Ivan, Jo, Rich, and Paula!
Please look over these important reminders:
When? Arrive no later than 6:50. Be ready to begin at 7:00 sharp.
Where? St. John United Lutheran. Corner of 55th and Phinney. Park in the lot in back and enter there at the double doors.
Bring? Your water bottles and an upbeat and loving presence.
What if I can't make a rehearsal? ALWAYS email me and your section leader right away.
What if I'm going to be late to rehearsal? Email me and your section leader. If it's after 6:15 text Marc. If you arrive after we have moved upstairs you will need to text Marc at (206) 484-3681 to come and let you in.
1/12/24 email after first rehearsal
We are off to a fantastic start of our winter quarter! Loving the sound, the energy, and our new members!
A big thank you to Amanda and Leann for organizing the music returns and delivering new packets!
We learned the following pieces:
Let The River Run
Pure Imagination
For you to approach each rehearsal with joy and confidence, practice your music in between rehearsals. Your section leaders will be sending out part recordings soon (some have already been sent) for you to practice to. You can also practice along with the videos Scott makes of our rehearsals. If you miss a rehearsal you will most definitely want to do this!
Regular practice not only makes our weekly rehearsals way more fun, but will make all of the difference when you begin to memorize your music, which will start happening in a couple of weeks. For those who are regularly practicing their music throughout the week, memorization comes quickly and much more easily.
I expect the choir to move forward on the music we've spent time on each week. If I have to reteach music/moves, it puts us behind. You'll feel much better about yourself and your choir experience if you are a member who is a strong support for those around you, and who helps us move forward as a group from week to week, rather than someone who slows us down by not knowing your music. This means regular practice. Plus...what a cool way to spend one's time! I recommend finding a regular practice time and sticking to it.
We will spend time looking at "Disney Dazzle" next week as well as "Someone In The Crowd." It will be helpful if you can take a look at those piece on your own between now and next Wednesday. As always we will continue to run the pieces we worked on the week before.
Music:
Be sure to write your number in pencil in the upper right hand corner of ALL of your music. Write your name somewhere on the cover as well. If there is already a number (Let The River Run) cross out the number and write in your own.
Remember: You are responsible for all of your music. There is a $4.00 charge for each piece of music not turned in at the end of the quarter.
