Christmas Concert, December 23, 2012

In Support of Cold-Eeze

I can't think of many worse situations for the spreading of airborne viruses than a choir, where we not only stand close to one another, but we're breathing deeply. I suppose if we were kissing that would be worse, but we're not going there.

When Cory and other chorus members were talking about Cold-Eeze Sunday night, I thought it was one of those powdered products that you mix with water and drink, like AireBorne, or Tamaflu. I have tried a couple of those and not only hated the taste, but found them ineffective.

Last night I started getting a sore throat and feeling achy. I checked my temperature and, sure enough, I had a low-grade fever. I sent Paul to the store for Cold-Eeze, because Cory swears by it and I really need to not be sick--as we all do. When he came home with this package of what looked like cough drops, I told him he got the wrong thing and actually sent him to another store in search of what existed only in my imagination. Fortunately, while he was gone, I looked Cold-Eeze up on the Internet and discovered that he had, indeed purchased the right product. I sheepishly called him & admitted my mistake.

I decided I had nothing to lose and stuck a lozenge in my mouth. They taste great--better than cough drops! By the time I was done editing the audio files, my fever was gone and with it, the sore throat. I'm not getting paid to say this, and Cory knows nothing about it either. This morning I have a slight runny nose, and I'm sucking on more of these things in hopes to be rid of that too.

I think the trick of taking this medicine is taking it within 48 hours of your first symptoms. If you start to come down with a cold, give it a try. It might just work for you like it did for me.

Christmas 2012 Program Outline

Harold Nufer

1. Angels From the Realms of Glory

Shirley Gibson

2. Once Upon a Wintertime
3. Sing We Now of Christmas
4. Fear Not
5. Born Where the Shadows Lie

Mitch Swenson

6. The First Noel
7. Come, Shepherds, come
8. How Great Our Joy!

Michelle & Andre Dupaix

9. On With the Snow

Jodie Visker

10. Listen!
11. Silent is the Night
12. Dear Little Stranger
13. O Holy Night

Joe Belnap

14. No Time to Diet
15. My Wish For You This Christmas

Cindy Pearson

16. Angels We Have Heard on High

Congratulations, Basses!

The basses won the coveted Stunning Section Award this week! Congratulations!

The Sopranos Win the Award!

Congratulations to the soprano section for winning the Stunning Section Award on Saturday the 8th!

Stunning Section Award Adventures

The Stunning Section Award ended up at the Dupaix house recently. It discovered a bin full of dress-up clothes and immediately set out trying on new outfits. The first it tried was a construction worker's get-up.

The next outfit was not as successful--something like Rapunzel-jester-baker.

Then it decided to go for a more seasonal look--Santa's elf.

This was a favorite--royalty robes!

In its spare time, the award enjoyed a bit of knitting, made some new friends,

And chilled with its peeps, listening to music.

When Michelle suggested baking bread, the award was so excited, it jumped right into her apron pocket.

Here's Michelle and the award getting ready to bake bread. Aren't they cute together?

 The Stunning Section Award was invited to eat with the Dupaix family. It enjoyed a bowl of chili and rice.

 That night, it buckled up safely for a night on the town!

It had a chocolate-peppermint milkshake with Michelle...

and a second one with Andre!

Program Song Order

For the program on the 23rd, we will sing our songs in the following order:

1. Angels From the Realms of Glory
2. Once Upon a Wintertime
3. Sing We Now of Christmas
4. Fear Not
5. Born Where the Shadows Lie
6. The First Noel
7. Come, Shepherds, come
8. How Great Our Joy!
9. On With the Snow
10. Listen!
11. Silent is the Night
12. Dear Little Stranger
13. O Holy Night
14. No Time to Diet
15. My Wish For You This Christmas
16. Angels We Have Heard on High

Pull Two More Titles

In case you didn't get the message at our last couple of rehearsals, we have officially pulled "Lullaby Carol" and "In the Bleak Midwinter" from our repertoire. Please remove those two pieces from your folders.

These are the last two pull pieces. Everything else in your binder will be performed, so work hard on them! See you Thursday.

Almond Cake Recipe

This recipe is out of my Tooele 4th Ward Favorite Recipes Cookbook. It was contributed by Jeannette Bunn, of Tooele.

Almond Cake

3 eggs
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure almond flavoring
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt (optional--I added this ingredient)
Sliced almonds for top (optional)

Mix all ingredients together and pour into 9 x 9-inch square pan. You can double this for a 9 x 13-inch pan size. It is a moist cake. Bake at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes.

Note: Sister Nufer told me that when she tried this recipe, her cake fell. I remembered then that I had to bake it longer than the recipe says. I kept adding a couple of minutes until the center looked solid.

Stunning Section Award Adventures

Well, it seems our illustrious award had quite the adventurous weekend. Here are some pictures Jared took of its many activities.

The award started Thanksgiving day by eating a healthy (?) breakfast...

 

before heading out to the farm.

 

At the farm it met some cows,

and a horse...

hung out on the clothesline for a while,

and went for a ride in the 4-wheeler!

 After enjoying a delicious Thanksgiving dinner,

it played with the kids. It slid down the slide,

 

swung on the swing,

 played a little Hide and Seek,

and climbed a tree.

By the end of the day, the Stunning Section award was happy, but exhausted, so Buttons helped it get around until bedtime.

A Rehearsal to Remember

Hi Chorus,

Sunday night's rehearsal was one for the books. I dare say it rivals the Halloween party for entertainment value! I'm so sorry a few of you had to miss it. Truly.

First, let me announce that I have uploaded new audio files for the following songs:

• Angels We Have Heard on High (too bad we didn't have a video of that one)
• Born Where the Shadows Lie
• Come, Shepherds, Come
• How Great Our Joy
• Listen!
• My Wish For You This Christmas
• O Holy Night
• Silent is the Night
• Sing We Now of Christmas

But wait, there's more. I also uploaded three files of Cory telling stories about his trip to Detroit, and a fourth file of him explaining what happened to his gum during "Angels We Have Heard on High," which still cracks me up!

But wait, there's still more. The basses won the Stunning Section Award and, I don't know what Jared fed that darned thing, but it has taken on a life of its own and has been seen in some very interesting situations. Fortunately, we can document this with pictures. Observe:

It started out innocently enough, with Jared, proud section leader, posing with the award.

Then things started getting a little weird. The award jumped down his shirt.

The award decided to play "Hide and Seek," and hid behind Harold.

But, the Stunning Section Award is fearless!

It wanted a chair of its own...

Or is it trying to give a talk?

Maybe it could fill in for Teresa, whose fingers caught fire.

Dan managed to hold it for a few minutes. He looks thrilled.

It also let Dave take a turn...

And Mark...I think it's getting a little too friendly with Mark.

And it's definitely too friendly with Paul! Should I be jealous?

Dan was thrilled when it returned to him!

Strangest of all, the award decided to get a dental checkup. No cavities!

Once Upon a Wintertime

Hi Chorus,

As promised, here's a link to Once Upon a Wintertime

Enjoy!

Oh, and for those who missed it or weren't there, we pulled, "He is Born" last night, so please take it out of your binders.

Congratulations, Tenors!

Our latest recipients of the coveted "Stunning Section Award" is the tenor section! And here's the really amazing thing: they won it with two of their members missing. Way to suck it up, tenors!

Since we didn't get a recording of last week's rehearsal, I asked Cory what he wanted me to put on the blog for the chorus. Here's what he said (it will sound familiar):

"Just remind them to practice, practice, practice!! Sops need to make sure to have a nice warm tone and get those tones nice and round. And support the upper notes. Altos need to keep the tone warm, but not dark. And they need some more vibrato. Support your notes and sing out. Tenors same thing as altos. Basses more volume, without going dark and heavy. Watch your pitch. They are running flat. Stay on top of the note. Don't hang on the note. That's it in a nut shell."

See you all Sunday--6 pm sharp! Karen

Music Quote

Paul and I just finished watching, "The Music Never Stopped," a movie based on the true experiences of a young man whose brain was damaged by a tumor and how music helped heal his brain and served as a link for his memory. I highly recommend it as a reminder of the incredible power of music and its effect on people's brains and souls. As a chorus, we bring this kind of amazing power to those who listen. Here's a quote I found while doing a little research about the power of music (author unknown):

 

I AM MUSIC

Servant and Master am I; Servant of those dead and Master of those living. Through me, spirits of immortals speak the message that makes the world weep and laugh, and wonder and worship. I tell the story of love, the story of hate, the story that saves, and the story that damns. I am the incense upon which prayers float to Heaven. I am the smoke which palls over the field of battle where men are dying with me on their lips. I am close to the marriage altar, and when the graves open, I stand nearby. I call the wanderer home, I rescue the soul from the depths, I open the lips of the lovers, and through the dead, whisper to the living. One I serve as I serve all, and the king I make my slave as easily as I subject his slave. I speak through the birds of the air, the insects of the fields, the crash of water on rock-ribbed shores. I am even heard by the soul that knows me in the clatter of wheels on city streets. I know no brother, yet all men are my brothers: I am the father of the best that is in them, and they are the father of the best that is in me. I am the instrument of God. I AM MUSIC. 

November Rehearsal Schedule

IMPORTANT: There will not be rehearsal on Thursday, November 15, as Cory will be out of town. Instead, we will have rehearsal on Sunday, November 18, starting at 6 pm and going until about 9 pm. This is a mandatory rehearsal.There will, of course, be no rehearsal on Thursday, November 22, due to it being Thanksgiving Day. We will discuss on the 18th, whether or not we will have a rehearsal that next Sunday, the 25th, so stayed tuned. I will be updating the blog with the new information as soon as I get it.

What is a Musette?

I know you're just dying to know.

My research shows that a musette could be one of a couple of different musical instruments. The first, and most likely definition in our song (He is Born), is the Musette de cour, or baroque musette. This instrument is like a complicated bagpipe. The words "de cour," refer to its being used by French aristocracy or associated with the French court in the 17th century. It was used widely, in small productions and even in operas, where it was typically played by shepherds in pastoral scenes. Here's a picture:




The other kind of musette is the oboe musette, or piccolo oboe, which is simply a high-pitched, soprano oboe. Here's a picture of the oboe musette:

So, now you know. Go impress your friends. :)

Congratulations, Altos!

This week the alto section won the "Stunning Section" award. Don't they look excited to win this award?

Songs We Have Pulled

The following songs have been pulled from our list and should be removed from your binders...which will make them lighter, yay!

• We Need a Little Christmas/Mr. Santa
• Oh Come, All Ye Faithful
• A Family Christmas Spectacular
• Nativity
• And the Angels Sang

Remember to work hard on "Sing We Now of Christmas." If it isn't much improved, we will have to pull that one too.

Rehearsal This Thursday

Hi Chorus,

In case you didn't get Cory's email, we will be having rehearsal as usual on Thursday, November 1st. Cory's business trip was canceled because of hurricane Sandy. Please come Thursday. There will not be a rehearsal on Sunday the 4th of Nov.

Halloween Party Fun

We had a great time at the Halloween party on Saturday! My feet still hurt from running around a circle of chairs in high heels. We will long remember all the places Brother Nufer's "never been," and boy, did we learn a lot about Joe! I want to write your life story, Joe. Thank you to all those who brought the yummy food we ate. We missed those of you who couldn't be there.

Here are some pictures from that night: