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Handouts
Letter to Students, Parents, and Teachers - 10/26/09
Letter to Teachers - 10/26/09
Letter #2 to Teachers from
Lillie Feierabend - 11/3/09
Letter #3 to Teachers and Students from
Lillie Feierabend - 1/17/10
Letter #4 to Teachers from Lillie Feierabend - 1/22/10
Info Alert from Dr. Quilichini, posted
1/27/10
Letter #5 to Teachers from Lillie Feierabend - 2/2/10
Please use these links to access the handouts for the 2010 Children's Honor Choir.
Letter from Lillie Feierabend, Children's Choir Coordinator, sent 10/26/09:
Dear 2010 Eastern Division Children's Honor Choir Members, Parents,
and Teachers,
Congratulations and welcome to a very special choir. You are an
important member and should be proud of the excellent musicianship and
commitment you demonstrated on your audition CD. We are very
excited that our director will be Elaine Quilichini, an internationally
known, well-respected choral director from Calgary, Canada. As
founder and conductor of the Calgary Girl's Choir, she has many CDs and
awards to her credit. She has conducted choirs of all shapes and sizes
throughout the world.
Your teachers should have already received your music and rehearsal CD.
They are making a huge commitment to help you learn your music so you
will be thoroughly prepared. I cannot stress enough that you need to
listen to your teachers and learn your notes, so you and Dr. Quilichini
can make magic together in February in Philadelphia. The magic can only
begin when the notes are learned. The music she has selected is
outstanding and so very beautiful. It will be a wonderful
experience, not only for you, but also for all who hear you perform.
There are wonderful opportunities planned for the choir, singing with
the world famous Wanamaker organ, singing at the Liberty Bell, and our
concert at Trinity, a beautiful jewel on the corner of Rittenhouse
Square. In between we have some fun things planned that we know you will
enjoy. You will have the most fun if you come prepared.
Everyone has a part to play. Study your music, listen to your
teachers, and be appreciative of your parents. Your parents and
teachers have made a huge commitment to support you in your dream of
going to Philadelphia and singing in this choir.
All students in the Children's Honor Choir will wear long black dress
pants (please no jeans) with white, long sleeved buttoned down shirts,
dark socks and dark shoes. It is a morning concert, it is chilly
in Philly in February, and we will either walk to our concert venue or
take the underground trolley. I think you will all look crisp and sharp.
Philadelphia is a walking city with great architectural and historical
landmarks. Our plan is to walk between all the venues. In addition
to your concert attire, please be sure to check the weather reports.
Bring jackets, scarves, hats and mittens for our invigorating brisk
jaunts between venues.
I can't wait to see you in person on Wednesday, February 10. Please come
prepared because there will be part checks before our first rehearsal.
Let's make magic.
Sincerely,
Lillie Feierabend
Children's Honor Choir Manager
Letter to Teachers from Lillie Feierabend, Children's Choir Coordinator, sent 10/26/09:
Dear Teachers,
Thank you so much for your help, guidance and commitment. You
should be very proud of your students and their fine showing at
auditions. It was a pleasure to hear them.
INFO ALERT
A German pronunciation guide and phonetics for Ich steh' and
Laughing and Shouting for Joy (Ich Jauchze) should have been
included in the packet of music.
I am providing four additional resources from Elaine. Even
though you have the printed music, she would like you to have her notes
for further clarification and, as she states,
"...they include solfa. I believe if teachers
can use them when preparing students, it will help me work with them in
that way during rehearsal. I always hope some solfa work has been
done to help with tuning and to be able to adjust tuning problems more
quickly and easily."
These four resources,
are available by clicking on these links.
As soon as the schedule is finalized, I will send out a sign-up
request for chaperones for the following; registration, part checks, one
to two hour shifts during rehearsals, lunch chaperones, and walking
chaperones.
I look forward to meeting you all in Philly.
Lillie
Letter #2 to Teachers from Lillie Feierabend, sent 11/3/09:
Dear Teachers,
Thank you for your great questions and observations. Can’t wait to
meet you all in Philly. I will be there this weekend to go over
our routes, double check the rehearsal room and breakfast room, have
lunch at Buca di Beppo and Hard Rock Café, ride the underground
trolleys, and oh yes, celebrate my son’s 26th birthday.
He used to have an unchanged voice!
Info Alert
Klee Wyck and Land of the Silver Birch are definitely on the concert, even though they are not on the rehearsal CD. Two additional pieces were requested after the CD was made and Elaine selected these beautiful odes to nature to round out the program.
Some of you did receive the Joy Ondra Hirokawa arrangement of My Favorite Things, (Hal Leonard #08745422) in your packet. If you DID NOT receive this arrangement, please e-mail me at lhfmusic@aol.com ASAP. We will get the correct version to you as quickly as possible.
On Elaine’s manuscript note for Ich Steh’, there is a solfa error in
the second to the last measure. It should read M F S
FM (not SF).
Have a great day.
Lillie
Letter #3 to Teachers and Students from Lillie Feierabend, sent 1/17/10:
Greetings in January,
The excitement is growing, and I picture each of you learning and
rehearsing your part in isolation in anticipation of coming together
with 132 other beautiful voices to create something that no one can
accomplish alone … harmony. Every one of you is needed, every one of
you is essential and every one of you was invited to join this group
to make musical magic.
In these last few weeks, we all need to be even more focused and
dedicated. Please come well prepared so that you and Dr. Quilichini
can create an unforgettable musical experience for us all.
Following is additional information for you, your teachers, and your
parents. The Honor Choir schedule is posted on the ACDA-ED website,
at
http://acdaeast.org/2010_phila/schedules_hc.html. It will be
"tweaked" in Philadelphia, but these are the broad time frames that
we will follow.
REGISTRATION
A parent must register her/his child upon arrival at the hotel,
since we will be collecting additional contact information and
verification. Please arrive at the Registration Desk in the Marriott
Courtyard Grand Ballroom Lobby on the 3rd floor between 2 PM and 5
PM; our first rehearsal will begin promptly at 6 PM.
TEACHER MONITORS
In a few days I will send out a MONITOR SIGN-UP SHEET for all
teachers. In the meantime, please look over the ACDA conference
presentation schedule to see where you may have time slots available
to share with the Children's Honor Choir. We are looking for
monitors to assist during registration, rehearsals, the concert,
meals and sightseeing as well as during all transitions between the
various locales we will be visiting. We have tried to break the
commitment into manageable lengths. Meals and entrance fees will be
provided to all monitors where appropriate!
PART CHECKS
Having said all of the above about being prepared when you arrive,
we will still need to have a part check system as has been done in
past years. Dr. Quilichini, our accompanist (Kathleen Bartowski),
and our instrumental soloists are rehearsed and ready to go. Each
student needs to be ready to create music at the very highest level.
From past years, there has been a slight change in the way we will
conduct the part checks. Instead of having individual part checks
during registration, we will have cluster part checks at the
beginning of our first rehearsal on Wednesday. Students will be
asked to sing in small groups, with different parts being checked
simultaneously. Your ability to hold your own against another part
will be very revealing, so come prepared to sing and shine! Teachers
will be present to monitor part checks.
REHEARSALS
Each singer will pick up an ACDA Children's Honor Choir t-shirt at
Registration. Wear your t-shirt to each rehearsal with the exception
of the final dress rehearsal before the concert. Parents, please
provide snacks if you wish, but PLEASE NO PEANUT PRODUCTS OF
ANY KIND. Each singer will receive a water bottle and there
will be a water station in our rehearsal room at all times.
Rehearsals will start promptly. Be in your seat before the
designated time, so at the designated time, you can begin making
music. All business and non-music questions should be dealt with
before/after rehearsal.
DISMISSAL
With the exception of lunches, parents are responsible for picking
up their children at the end of each rehearsal and immediately
following the final concert at Church of the Holy Trinity. For
lunches, Teacher Monitors will escort the singers from rehearsal to
lunch and on to the next afternoon activity: rehearsal, sightseeing,
et cetera.
MEALS
Breakfast and lunch will be provided for the students and monitors.
Breakfast will be served in the Grand Ballroom Lobby beginning at
7:30 AM. We will walk to our lunch venues each day. Remember to
bring hats, gloves, scarves, boots and warm coats. Check the weather
before you come; it may be quite cold.
PROCEDURES
Announcements will be given verbally and also posted in writing in
the Grand Ballroom Lobby area on a designated Children's Honor Choir
Notice Board. We ask that parents hold all questions for the first
thirty minutes and the last thirty minutes of each rehearsal. Those
are transition times and the ACDA Honor Choir staff will need to be
available to Dr. Quilichini and the students as important decisions
are made.
CONCERT
All students in the Children's Honor Choir will wear long black
dress pants (please no jeans) with white, long-sleeved buttoned down
shirts, dark socks and dark shoes. It is a morning concert, it is
chilly in Philly in February, and we will most likely walk to the
concert venue. Immediately following the concert, each singer will
be released to a parent.
Thank you for all of your hard work, dedication and attention. All
of your efforts will be realized when we gather in Philadelphia to
raise our voices in song. Your beautiful music will certainly sweep
away the winter chill and may even hasten the coming of spring.
-Lillie
Letter #4 to Teachers from Lillie Feierabend, sent 1/22/10:
As you might imagine, we will need help from you at various times
throughout the conference with chaperoning. If everyone will
volunteer for one time slot, we should have ample coverage.
Here you will find a
schedule of chaperone times and the number of teachers we will
need. Please check the times you can work, and send an email
to the choir coordinator, Lillie Feierabend, at
lhfmusic@aol.com. As an
added bonus, those that chaperone during lunch will have
a free meal!!!
Thanks for you help in making the Children's Choir an outstanding
experience for our students.
Sincerely,
Lillie
Dr. Quilichini has just sent in this additional information about
the splits:
Here are my thoughts on the sop 2 /alto 1 divisi issue: please
feel free to pass it on ...and to also pass on that if someone has
learned it differently than this...but they know their part...it
will not be a problem. They should not worry now and try to re-learn
things.
America the Beautiful
Sop 2's who are also alternate alto 1 should sing the sop 2 part and
then at mm 11-12 they should go down to sing the upper part of the
alto split. In mm 60-61 they should sing the lower part of the sop 2
split
In the last mm. we will split sop 1 for the last note...they can
choose that ahead of time and then I will work out the final balance
in rehearsal.
Reel a Bouche
At the beginning mm 5-17 it is in 2 parts but will be best if all
sop 1 and 2 sing the top. Any sop 2's who are alternate alto ones
would be welcome to learn alto in this piece but if they have
already learned sop 2 that will also be just fine as well.
In mm. 66-72 sop 1's should split into two parts. Top voice should
be done only by those s1 voices who can easily manage the higher
part with ease. All others who feel more comfortable a bit lower
should take the lower S1 part. Sop 2 should stay on S2 in this
section.
The descant can be learned by all sop 1's who can easily manage a
free and open high A, otherwise they should continue singing the sop
1 part. I will work with the balance when we rehearse and may move a
few voices up or down in the descant section.
My Favorite Things
Although this is marked as 3-part treble it is really best to read
it throughout as if it were 4 part divisi.
When the music is in 2 parts it would be best if the singers split
into the 4 part choir divisions...sop 1 and sop 2 on the top staff
and alto 1 and 2 on the bottom staff. Then when the music moves into
3 parts...sop 2's would stay in the middle voice and alto 1's would
stay on the bottom. for ex. at mm 63, sop 1 and sop 2 in unison and
then in two parts, while alto 1 and alto 2 would be in unison until
mm. 68 . The divisions work best if alto voices unite or divide only
on the lower staff and not try to move up to sing sop 2 when it is
in 3 parts.
Psalm 150
This piece can be sung with 4 part divisi throughout...all altos
staying on the bottom staff in unison or splitting into 2 parts as
required. All sopranos staying on the top staff and splitting into 2
parts as required. This means that in the 3-part work the lowest
voice is strongest...and that is always helpful I think.
However, my dear singers, if as you learned this you did the 3 part
divisi differently than that and some voices move from one staff to
the other to cover the second soprano etc. that is fine too. It will
be fine...not to worry. Just know whatever you know very well!
Silver Birch
2 part choir (4 part choir divisions)
s1 and s2 combined
alto 1 and alto 2 combined
3 part choir
S1
S2
Alto
Letter #5 to Teachers from Lillie Feierabend, sent 2/2/10:
Ten days to go! Thank you so much for volunteering your time
and expertise.
Here is an updated schedule. As you can see, there are still a
few slots left to fill. We are trying to entice you with food,
tickets, a little history, and a great time with your students. I
know this is a great conference, full of wonderful pertinent sessions
that will help us in our quest to become even better teachers.
Please see if you have a slot or two available to come and help your
students in a different setting. New information is
highlighted.
Thanks again for all of your help. I can’t wait to finally put the
kids in the same room with Elaine and that glorious music and see what
they do together.
Take care,
Lillie
Dear Teachers,
Some final, final thoughts as we enter this exciting time. Please
pass the information on to parents and students.
1. The expectation is that all music will be sung from memory.
For the rehearsals, please bring a black folder.
2. We wanted to give the students an opportunity to see three of
Philadelphia's and our country's most outstanding historical landmarks;
The National Constitution Center, the Liberty Bell and Independence
Hall. We built in a large chunk of time on Thursday to do this.
After our lunch at Buca di Beppo, the choir will walk to the National
Constitution Center where they will sing upon arrival and then tour the
exhibits, including the wonderful multimedia presentation Freedom
Rising (entrance fee for the Center is included for each singer).
After about an hour, we will walk to the Liberty Bell and Independence
Hall. If parents want to tour the Constitution Center, Liberty Bell and
Independence Hall with their child, they certainly can. They would need
to purchase a ticket for each member of their party for the Constitution
Center (the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall are free). If you plan to
take your child, please sign them out with me at the Constitution
Center, enjoy the time together, have dinner and then have your child
back to the Courtyard for our 7 PM Rehearsal. If you do not plan to take
your child, you are still welcome to come hear them sing at the
Constitution Center. We will have all students back to the
Courtyard by 5 PM to have dinner with parents.
3. Singers will be given an ACDA T-Shirt at registration. It should be
worn at all rehearsals and the performances at the Constitution Center
and Macys. That's a lot of wear (and a lot of meals). Please
try to eat carefully. The long sleeved shirts are navy blue. Bring
a pair of jeans for these two additional performances. Our concert
attire will be long black pants (no jeans) and crisp white button down
shirts, dark socks and dark shoes. We want to look crisp and neat,
even in the middle of a Philly February.
4. I want to stress that at the end of all evening rehearsals and the
last concert, students will be dismissed to parents only. Thank you in
advance for your understanding. Not only is this for safety reasons, but
important information will be given at these times, as well.
4. Long range forecast, which is now not so long range: Highs in the 30s
and lows in the 20s. We expect to walk to all of our lunches and
venues. Please check and double check the weather and pack
accordingly, comfortable boots, shoes, coats. scarves, gloves, hats.
We will walk to the Church of the Holy Trinity in our performance
clothes. There will be room backstage for coats and boots, but not
to change, and there is no time to change there anyway.
Thank you so much.
I can't wait to meet you all on Wednesday.
Lillie
Last revised
June 26, 2010