Yesterday the Emeritus Ladies of the Tabernacle Choir had a luncheon. It was a marvelous gathering where we got to see old friends and welcome ladies who are newly retired from the choir. The ones in charge wisely gave us an hour to get our name tags on and go about chatting and smiling but mostly hugging. After we ate and the special guest gave his talk, we got to sing together.
Craig Jessop was our guest conductor. He had formerly led the choir and many of us were thrilled to get to sing under his baton once more. He was so nice to compliment us and say, "You've still got it!" Then he jokingly said, "Okay, the concert is tomorrow. Let's tape and time it." (Crowd erupts in giggles!)
Craig Jessop was our guest conductor. He had formerly led the choir and many of us were thrilled to get to sing under his baton once more. He was so nice to compliment us and say, "You've still got it!" Then he jokingly said, "Okay, the concert is tomorrow. Let's tape and time it." (Crowd erupts in giggles!)
During Thursday night rehearsals for the Music and the Spoken Word broadcasts, the standard practice is to do a run through of each song while the sound guys record it to make sure all the timings for the broadcast work. The best part though is that the recordings are made available online to the choir members. That way, they can listen for a few more days to get the songs memorized.
The way choral conductors often rehearse is to break up the songs into sections. He (or she) may just spot rehearse certain parts, then go on to the next piece and do the same. Most are under a time crunch to get things learned before a concert. They are just trying to get through all of the material and make sure all the spots that need help are addressed. It is so easy to just run out of time.
At the latest concert I performed in, I really don't think we ever sang some of the songs from start to finish. We only sang bits and pieces in a disjointed order. I realized that at the performance was the first time I had sung some of our repertoire from beginning to end without stopping to work on something. That's when I really appreciated the Tabernacle Choir's mandatory "Tape and Time."
The way choral conductors often rehearse is to break up the songs into sections. He (or she) may just spot rehearse certain parts, then go on to the next piece and do the same. Most are under a time crunch to get things learned before a concert. They are just trying to get through all of the material and make sure all the spots that need help are addressed. It is so easy to just run out of time.
At the latest concert I performed in, I really don't think we ever sang some of the songs from start to finish. We only sang bits and pieces in a disjointed order. I realized that at the performance was the first time I had sung some of our repertoire from beginning to end without stopping to work on something. That's when I really appreciated the Tabernacle Choir's mandatory "Tape and Time."
Time management when planning a concert and projecting how much time it will take to get the choir to learn everything can be daunting. Sometimes a director may be a bit too ambitious. Your choir will appreciate the idea of a Tape and Time. It's always nice for the choir's sake to get to sing all of their songs all the way through from start to finish before the performance!
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