Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus
What can I do to get the most out of rehearsal time?
- Get to rehearsal early enough that you can be in your seat ready to sing by 7:00. Be sure to allow enough time to pick up new music.
- Bring your tools of the trade; three pencils, a highlighter, your tuning fork (on a leash), a tape recorder if you like, and don't forget your MUSIC!
- Rehearsal starts with the warm-ups. Please treat this time with respect by being in your seat ready to work promptly at 7:00.
- Please don't talk during rehearsal, and please do not interrupt Cheryl during rehearsal with questions. It impedes the flow of the rehearsal. Check with your section leader at break if you have a question.
- Please watch the conductor. It's amazing how helpful she can be!
Where can I get some help with my music?
Your Section Leader is your friend! Your Section Leader can help you with problems and can let Cheryl know where people are having difficulties. Section Leaders also set up sectional rehearsals to go over difficult parts. You can talk to the people around you (please wait until the break or before or after rehearsal). All of us get lost from time to time, and everyone will be glad to help you. Sometimes a recording of the music we are singing is on file in the Cabrillo music lab. You can go into the lab and listen to the music and, if you like, make a tape of the recording for your own home study. Sometimes, for major pieces, a member of chorus will donate personal time to make rehearsal tapes available for the cost of the tape. Commercial practice tapes are available for major works.
How many concerts do we have each year?
- Our fall semester concert is Music for the Feast. This concert
features a major choral work, and interspersed between our pieces are audience
sing-alongs of traditional Christmas carols.
We
are often accompanied by an orchestra or brass. We offer three
performances; Friday night, Saturday night, and Sunday evening.
We sell out every year, so be sure you get tickets for your friends and
family early! - In the spring, we collaborate with the Santa Cruz County Symphony to perform a major choral work. In the past we have performed works such as Beethoven's 9th Symphony, Prokofiev's Alexander Nevsky, Brahms' Ein Deutches Requiem, Walton's Belshazzar's Feast, Mozart's Mass in C minor, the Verdi Requiem, and the Poulenc Gloria.
What do we wear for concerts?
For Men: Concert dress for men consists of a black tuxedo , white tuxedo wing collar shirt, black bow tie, black socks, and black shoes. Dress shoes are best, but all black leather athletic shoes are acceptable as long as lighter colored soles have been blackened.
For
Women: Concert dress for women
consists of a stylish black dress with a velvet bodice, sweetheart
neckline, empire waist and crepe skirt. Accessories include specific
earings and necklace, black stockings and underclothing and black closed-toe
shoes. Purchase your main costume through the chorus or from members who
have left the chorus. Informal concert dress for women consists of a black
or jewel toned long-sleeved blouse over black palazzo pants.
What else do I need to know about concerts?
Do not wear perfume, cologne, aftershave, or perfumed hairspray before a concert. Do wear unscented deodorant! Do not smoke or indulge in aromatic food or drink before we sing. We are in very close quarters during concerts, breathing deeply, and we need all the clear oxygen we can get! Do not drink alcohol before a performance for a myriad of obvious reasons. Leave celebration util after a brilliant concert.
Who produces the concerts?
- We produce Music for the Feast in December. A tremendous amount of work goes into producing Music for the Feast. Some of the responsibilities include arranging performance and rehearsal facilities, contracting with instrumentalists, hiring and working with stage managers, arranging payment for materials and labor, coordinating publicity, arranging for the program to be recorded, and preparing the printed programs. Much of this work is done by volunteers from the chorus, including members of the Steering Committee. A concert costs several thousand dollars to produce, and our goal is to break even or better. To help cover our costs, we sell advertising in the programs, ask our friends and family members to usher, and get as much material donated as possible. We can't afford to give complimentary tickets to friends and family members of chorus members, but we do try to keep ticket prices reasonable.
- The Santa Cruz County Symphony produces its own concert in the spring in which we participate.
Why do I have to buy my own music?
Cabrillo College provides a minimal amount of funding to purchase music for the choral program. To have enough music to go around and to provide new and exciting pieces, each singer must buy his or her own music. We try to keep the prices as low as possible.
Ten Things You Can Do to Keep Your Librarians Happy
- Come to our table only to get music or ask questions. We do not take roll. Please refrain from socializing in front of the librarian's table and holding up the line.
- Please form a single line and allow us to help one person at a time. Five people talking at once makes for mass confusion.
- Sometimes we remember your name, sometimes we don't. Be kind to our disappearing brain cells, and tell us who you are.
- Be patient. There are so many of us that sometimes we run out of music. We try very hard to have more the next week, but sometimes the demand is more than we anticipate.
- Please do not go through our box and take out music on your own. This destroys our record keeping.
- Collecting music is your responsibility. If you are absent, check the next week to see if you missed any new music. Please allow yourself enough time to get your music before rehearsal starts.
- Write your full name, legibly, in pencil only, at the top of each piece of music. Erase all other names.
- Only make marks on your music in pencil. Highlighting your part is OK, too.
- Treat music gently; do not fold, spindle, or mutilate. If you have borrowed music, do not rip off covers, tear pages, punch more holes than necessary, or spill food and drink on it.
- Turn in your music on time (usually directly after a concert).
Thanks a bunch!
Winnie Baer and Leslie Karst, Librarians
What is the Steering Committee and how can I get in on the fun?
The Steering Committee is an informal group of people who have volunteered to help with the behind-the-scenes work for chorus. Meetings are held as needed, and ANY member of chorus, especially YOU, is welcome to attend. The Steering Committee does a lot of the work producing concerts, tracking chorus funds, setting up the snack bar, thinking things through, and planning ahead. Steering Committee meetings are usually announced or mentioned in The Town Crier, so feel free to attend a meeting if you want to try it out. There'sa lot of work to do, we have a great time together, and we would love to have you join us.
How can I find out what's going on?
Rehearsal time is precious, and we try to eliminate as many verbal announcements as possible.
- Important information appears in the Cabrillo Chorus Town Crier, the chorus weekly newsletter. Read it every week for vital information like concert dates and times, information on upcoming events, helpful hints on memorizing music, and other things you need to know. The Town Crier is also available online. Issues for the current semester remain available online.
- Ask your section leader.
- Join the Steering Committee. Minutes from the Steering Committee are kept in a notebook at the front of the rehearsal room. This is a good place to look if you wonder what activities are being planned for the future, how much money we made (or lost) on the last concert, or who is in charge of a committee or a chorus event. Part of the job of each member of the Steering Committee is to act as a communications conduit between members of the choir and the director and the other members of the Steering Committee. We want to know what your hopes and dreams are for the chorus so that we can make them a reality. Please feel free to talk to anyone on the Steering Committee with any ideas, concerns, fears, or dreams you may have. Ask anyone to point you towards a Steering Committee member.
How does the snack bar work?
The snack bar is a voluntary, fun way of raising money for the chorus. It is also a way for chorus members to socialize and get to know each other. Each year some wonderful chorus members (angels, actually) volunteer to be the coordinators. They get here early and set up the coffee and hot water pots and they organize and put the pots and supplies away after rehearsal. Please help clean up and take care of your own leftovers. Snacks are donated by chorus member Stephanie Raugust, Alto I, of Whale City Bakery in Davenport, and can range from wonderful homemade brownies to croissants, juice, tea, coffee, etc. YOU can support the chorus and bring fame, honor, and glory to your name by contributing to the snack bar. Payment is by the honor system. Please pay for what you take. The suggested donation is 50 cents for a cookie or brownie and another 50 cents for a drink. Please take money with you when you go on break and make a contribution each time.
Thank you (and thank Steffie!)
How to be a Better Singer
- Take private voice lessons. They're fun, and you can get better fast with a good teacher. Ask your section leader who is teaching locally.
- Take a voice class or musicianship class at Cabrillo College.
- Come to sectionals.
- Study your music outside of rehearsal. Get together and practice with friends.
- Bring a tape recorder to rehearsal and then go over the rehearsal at home.
- Buy and use a practice CD.
- Sometimes a recording of the music we are singing is on file in the Cabrillo music lab.
- Purchase music notation software to produce your own practice files.
- Check out our music download section to see what practice downloads are available.
Volunteer
Ask your section leader or someone on the Steering Committee if there is anything you can do to help. Often there are short-term projects, like getting mailings out, or longer-term jobs that anyone can do. Getting involved makes it more YOUR chorus. You can sell ads, decorate for the party after concerts, or help the librarians. Together, we all make it happen!
