Happy New Year, all!
The semester has started and it is FLYING! I can’t believe January is almost over! Here’s what is happening in our corner of the building, and some dates to add to your calendar! :)
Chesnee Singers
We have a brand new choir in our school! Chesnee Singers has been designed to serve as the “everyone come sing” choir! Next year, this will be the starting place for all incoming freshmen, and any new singers. Right now we are learning all of the basic fundamentals of music and singing. The class has a wide range of music experience, from absolutely none to singing in choir since 3rd grade! They have been doing well so far, and I look forward to seeing what they will achieve this semester!
Viva Voce
These girls picked up right where they left off in December! I am amazed by how much they retained and how much they have grown as musicians! They have made quite a dent in their music, and I’ll probably have to get more for them because they are learning so quickly. In fact, Mrs. Burrows invited us to sing in the CHS Orchestra Sacred Music Concert, and they learned the arrangement in A WEEK! I’m so proud of their work!
Since they are now receiving honors credit, we will be putting together an Honors Concert. We are going to be exploring the topic of “Beauty” through music, art, and poetry. The first part of this project is finding songs, art, poems, and essays that we can include in our production. Next, they will have several written reflection assignments about their definition of beauty, and an essay on someone they think is beautiful. We will use those to write our script for the evening.
The date for that concert is April 16th! Definitely keep it on your radar! :) I am considering doing a preview concert during the day if you think this is something you could tie into what you are doing in your own class!
Coffee House Auditions/Coffee House
Our coffee house auditions are happening in class next week, which is one of my favorite parts of the semester! It’s fun to see what kinds of acts appear, and it’s always a treat to hear them sing alone or in a group!
MARK YOUR CALENDARS! Coffee House will be Tuesday, February 26th at 6:30pm in the choir room! $5 admission which includes all the treats and coffee you would like! :)
Voices of Chesnee
After much reflecting and staring at my calendar, I sadly had to put Voices of Chesnee on hiatus this semester. I am in the beginning stages of writing my dissertation, and I have to make it a priority in the little free time I have! It was a troubling decision because they sang so beautifully last semester, but I so badly want to be done with my degree! SSR has become my sacred 20 minutes of reading/writing, and I have told my class that as long as they are working/being silent that I will thank them in the acknowledgements section! HAHA!
February will be an exciting month preparing for all the fun things we have going on this semester! Viva Voce will be going to Clemson TWICE! Once for a clinic and concert, and once to sing in the Clemson Choirs Concert, with the college groups!
I hope the semester is treating you well thus far! We are happy and working hard here in choir land!
-LB