SCVA Newsletter (on-line version) – November/December 2002
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Welcome back
everyone! As a “junior” Board member, I hope to do as good a job producing a
quality event as my predecessors, who have all done admirable work in the past.
The Vocal Solo Festival is a respected tradition in SCVA (I remember competing
when I was in high school), and I hope that you will encourage your students to
participate. Through the Vocal Solo Festival, SCVA awards over $1,000 in
scholarships to some of the best young singers in Southern California each
year. Supporting solo performances by our singers can only serve to enhance our
ensembles.
Application Info
Participation is open to both Junior High/Middle School and Senior High students. The application fee remains at $20. Applications must be accompanied by a school check or money order payable to SCVA. (Sorry! No purchase orders or personal checks.) Make sure that applicants note the title and composer of the piece on each application. (If it becomes necessary to change the selection, they can notify the site host.) Each applicant needs to include with their application a self-addressed - but not stamped - envelope for notification. Participants must be enrolled in a choral ensemble. (Church, temple and community groups meet this requirement.) Finally, the application must be signed by a member of SCVA - presumably by the choral director, but if the director is not a member, then by the private voice instructor.
Performance Info
Each participant will sing one selection of a classical nature (art song or aria). The total performance time is 5 minutes, including the soloist’s performance and work with the adjudicator. Singers must provide their own accompanists. The preliminary and final rounds will take the form of master classes, which will last approximately 3 to 4 hours, including a break. Participants are expected to arrive at the beginning of the class and remain until the end to receive their certificates and adjudication forms. (Encourage your students to view this as a learning opportunity!) Please remind participants to make sure that they are available for all dates before completing the application. Up to five finalists may be selected from each preliminary site at the Senior High level, with one Junior High/Middle School finalist to be selected from each site. (NB: Singers selected to continue to the final round may either perform the same piece they performed in the preliminary round or prepare another.)
Dates to Remember
Mail applications to:
Colleen Kennedy
Hawthorne High School
4859 W. El Segundo Blvd.
Hawthorne, CA 90250
Re: Vocal Solo Competition
Vocal Solo Competition Application
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Barbershop News - Mark Freedkin, SPEBSQSA
Representative
We are pleased to announce another unique opportunity for your young male singers which we hope will provide a positive boost for choral music at your school and throughout Southern California. To build on our highly successful Young Men's Honor Chorus programs during the past four years, the local chapters of SPEBSQSA and the Southern California Vocal Association (SCVA) are organizing a Young Men's Harmony Festival starting at 10:00am on Saturday, February 15, 2003 at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa. The day-long event will consist of a morning and afternoon clinic and rehearsal, followed by a public performance in the evening with the Masters of Harmony, five-time International Barbershop Chorus Champions. In addition to providing an outstanding musical experience for your singers, all of the proceeds from this event will go to support choral music education program in our schools.
About 30 days prior to the event, we will provide sheet music and voice-dominant practice tapes for several songs in the Barbershop style.
The cost is only $20 per singer. Local Barbershop sponsors will cover the remaining costs for sheet music, practice tapes, rehearsal facilities, guest clinicians, and special performance costumes. A commemorative T-shirt will be provided to each singer. We will also provide lunch and dinner for the singers, as well as a catered dinner for any music educators who attend the rehearsal and clinic.
Please complete the enclosed application form for each singer and send payment by cash, check or money order payable to "Masters of Harmony" to the address below NO LATER THAN DECEMBER 31, 2002. Any male student who is currently enrolled in a school choral music program is eligible to participate. There is no limit to the number of students you can nominate from your choral program. We request that you select your better singers to represent your school. We can accommodate a maximum of 200 singers, so don't delay!
The Barbershop Harmony Society is dedicated to preserving and encouraging vocal music of all kinds in our schools and our communities, through financial support and by being strong advocates for the arts. In partnership with the Music Educators National Conference (MENC), the American Choral Directors Association (ACDA) and other organizations, the Society is actively involved in the effort to help revitalize music education and to "Get America Singing...Again". Support from local Barbershop harmony programs has earned the enthusiastic endorsement of the SCVA.
We look forward to receiving your applications. Please contact me if you have any questions about the Young Men's Harmony Festival or any of our Young Men In Harmony programs.
Barbershop Festival Application
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Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir – Jeff Huls, Vice President
- Junior High/Middle School Honor Choir
Greetings one and all! Plans for the 2003 Junior High / Middle School Choir are well underway. I am going to keep this article short and sweet. First of all here are the important dates to jot on your calendars:
Auditions
Saturday,
January 25, 2003
Saturday, February 1, 2003
Rehearsals
Saturday,
April 27, 2003
Saturday, May 3, 2003
Performance
Sunday, May
4, 2003 at 3:30 p.m.
I am looking for audition sites and adjudicators for the above dates, so please contact me if you are eager and willing to be involved as s site host or adjudicator.
Please note that the Junior High / Middle School Honor Choir is open to grades 7, 8 and 9, as well as sixth graders who are part of a Middle School program. This is really a wonderful opportunity for some of your outstanding students to work with a master instructor and with other talented students from across the southland.
Please look for an audition application and more information in future newsletters.
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Show Choir Spectacular – Erin Terreri, Vice President – Show
Choir
Don’t forget to mark your calendars for Saturday, May 3, 2003 for the SCVA Show Choir Spectacular at Long Beach Poly High School Auditorium. This venue suited the competition nicely with its large stage and storage area. Pacifica High School will serve as site hosts this year and the PHS Choir Boosters will offer a concession stand to serve your appetite!
We will follow the same format as last year, starting with the Junior High/Middle School division and ending with the High School division. The time frame will depend on how many choirs are in each division. Junior High/Middle School choirs will be given ratings: Superior, Excellent and Good, and will not be ranked. You will also receive constructive and helpful comments from the adjudicators. High School choirs have the choice of getting ranked: First, Second, Third or comments only.
Look for further details and the application in future newsletters. Happy Holidays!
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Other Important Information
SCVA Membership Application
Show Choir Application Form
Festival Host Application Form