Fasten your seatbelts – here we go!
Tomorrow is the long-awaited first UD CHORALE rehearsal of the 2023-24 season. As I’ve been watching the roster come together while finalizing the rep list, I feel a bit like a kid on Christmas Eve. As I’ve said before, I believe this will be the first edition of the UD CHORALE functioning at the level of the pre-pandemic era.
I’m VERY excited about that.
I’m hoping you’ve already been to the website to visit the repertoire page where I posted YouTube videos of our core program about a week ago. You especially want to give Claviante a listen, and maybe the Lavoy O Great Beyond as well. (Those are fairly abstract pieces and you need to have them in your ear.) I’ve now posted links to all the music that’s arrived to date which is ready for download for those using e-readers. (We’re still waiting for scores to the Dove Gloria and the Arnesen Infinity. I suspect they’ll arrive any day now.)
To access the repertoire page, as well as the other ensemble specific pages of the website, you will need the UD CHORALE password, which is “chorale-2023” Please write that down in a safe place.
For tomorrow, if you indicated you’re a hard copy person, we’ve prepared a folder of hard copies for you that will be ready for you when you arrive at rehearsal.
If you indicated that you are a music reading device person, WE EXPECT THAT YOU WILL HAVE DOWNLOADED ALL THE SCORES AND HAVE YOUR DEVICE READY FOR REHEARSAL TOMORROW. I’ve revised my syllabus, but suffice it to say, you are expected to have your own music in your hands at EVERY rehearsal – beginning tomorrow.
We’ve also posted the roster of the entire UD CHORALE so you know who you’ll be singing with this semester. We’re a bit smaller this year, but I’m really pleased with the balance and the collective musicianship of the group, which is why I chose really challenging music for our fall tour.
Finally, we’re keeping a close eye on the weather for Friday, as well as the situation with the escaped convict who’s still at large out here in rural Chester country. I’m confident that the Chorale BBQ will come off without a hitch, which is one of the rare opportunities you’ll have this year to meet the famous Charley the Dog. This is the stuff dreams are made of! 🙂
In the meantime, I’ll see you tomorrow at 4:40 with scores and a writing utensil in hand. I hope you are as excited about the upcoming season as I am – which, I might say, is quite a lot!
pdh