SCVA Newsletter (on-line version) – December 2005
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Message from the President – Grace Sheldon-Williams, President
Seasons Greetings from SCVA!
Can you name these tunes?
1. Delight for the third planet.
2. Embellish the corridors.
3. My sole desire for the Yuletide season is receipt of a pair of central
incisors.
4. The autocratic troika originating near the ascent of Apollo.
5. Are you detecting the same aural sensations I am?
6. Thrice enable the precipitation of crystalline ice structures.
7. Who’s the mystery kid?
8. Perambulating through awe-inspiring terrain from Dec. 21 to March 21.
9. May a jovial, petite Yuletide be experienced by you personally.
10. Father Christmas is en route to the borough.
11. I apprehended my maternal parent osculating with a corpulent unshaven male
in crimson disguise.
12. Valentino, the wapiti with cerise proboscis.
13. Endocarps oxidizing on an unenclosed conflagration.
14. Clappered, inverted cups, amalgamated.
15. In a distant bovine diner.
16. The bantam percussionist lad.
17. At the zenith of the domicile.
18. The dozen festive earthly rotations of Yuletide.
19. Personal hallucinations of an alabaster Dec. 25
20. During the vigilant nocturnal observance of pastoral woolies by herdsmen.
Answers: 1. Joy to the World 2. Deck the Halls 3. All I Want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth 4. We Three Kings of Orient Are 5. Do You Hear What I Hear? 6. Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! 7. What Child Is This? 8. (Walking in a) Winter Wonderland 9. Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas 10. Santa Claus Is Coming to Town 11. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus 12. Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer 13. Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire 14. Silver Bells 15. Away in a Manger 16. The Little Drummer Boy 17. Up on the Housetop 18. The Twelve Days of Christmas 19. (I’m Dreaming of a) White Christmas 20. While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks By Night.
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JUNIOR HIGH HONOR CHOIR – Tony Azeltine, VP Jr. High Honor Choir
It’s time to prepare your best singers and musicians to auditions for
the Junior High Honor Choir! We
are honored to have Lori Marie Rios as our guest conductor this year. If you have seen Lori work with youth,
you know what a treat your students will be in for.
The Honor Choir is open to all 7, 8, and 9th graders, as well as 6th graders
IF they are in a middle school choral program. High school BOYS in 9th grade are especially encouraged to
audition, so we may have a solid bass/baritone section. Boys with unchanged voices are also
encouraged to audition. There is a
$5 audition fee and a $45 participation fee for students accepted into the
choir. Singers will again have a
rehearsal CD to help them learn and memorize their music.
The Audition Process
Teach your students the following for a few minutes every day between
now and January. They will become
more confident musicians and will do well at the audition. They must be able to sing the
following:
- “America” (“My Country ‘Tis
of Thee”) a cappella
- Major scale (using solfege,
numbers, or any vowel, with accuracy)
- Major and minor triads
- Tonal Memory Patterns
- Rhythmic sight reading (clap,
tap, ta-ti, the correct rhythms)
- Melodic sight reading (solfege
or any syllable)
It is extremely important that directors understand that your signature on a
student’s application indicates your confidence that the student will be a
responsible and dedicated member of the Honor Choir. Rehearsal dates are MANDATORY and are NOT negotiable. Students who have a conflict with any
of the dates on the applications should NOT apply or audition! (Directors with school conflicts must
contact me right away.) If a
student drops out or is dismissed from an SCVA Honor Choir, the student’s school may not be allowed to
participate in Honor Choir the following school year. Please understand that these rules were made with the good
of the choir in mind. Someone who
misses 25% or more of the scheduled rehearsals cannot be considered a valuable
member if they are not present.
This is an HONOR CHOIR, and the students selected to be in it must be
honorable and responsible.
Rehearsal Dates (Location TBA):
March 18, April 29, May 6, and Performance May 7, 2006
There are a myriad of details in creating a successful Honor Choir experience for all. I cannot do this without the assistance of you, the membership. Please, step forward to adjudicate, host a rehearsal, run a sectional, check-in students, assist with crowd control, tickets, etc. etc. ANY assistance you can lend, however small, will be greatly appreciated.
Junior High Honor Choir Application Form
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2006 Vocal Solo Competition Information –Rodger Guerrero, VP Vocal
Solo Competition
Remember that the postmark deadline for submitting applications for the
2006 SCVA Vocal Solo Competition is Saturday, December 10, 2005. Participation is open to both junior
high/middle school and high school students, although the two levels do not
compete against each other. The
following marvelous people have already agreed to serve as site hosts:
- Tammi Alderman (Crescenta
Valley HS-San Gabriel/Santa Clarita Valleys)
- Melanie Alpert (Alta Loma School
District-Inland Empire)
- Sandra Cupp (Niguel Hills Middle
School-Orange County Coastal)
- Heather Gold (Manhattan Beach
Middle School-South Bay)
- Rodger Guerrero
(Harvard-Westlake School-San Fernando Valley)
- Scott Hedgecock (Fullerton
HS-Orange County)
- Irene Messaloras (Malibu
HS-Ventura County Coastal)
- Bill Wagner (Nordoff
HS-Simi/Conejo Valleys)
This is a great opportunity for your students to experience something new,
something potentially life-altering!
They will surely grow by participating, and if they benefit from it,
then your choral programs will profit as well! It’s easy to apply, as all the information and application
forms are available at http://www.scvachoral.org
or in the October and November newsletters. If you have any questions, please
feel free to call me at (818) 487-6513.
Lastly, apply early and avoid the last minute rush!
Dates to Remember
- Applications postmarked
no later than Sat, December 10, 2005
- Preliminary rounds (at above
sites): 9am-1:30pm, Sat, January 14, 2006
- Semi-final round (Santa Monica
1st Presbyterian): 9am-2:30pm, Sat, February 25, 2006
- Final performances/scholarship awards
(Junior High Honor Choir Concert, May 7, 2006 – Site and Time TBA)
Mail application packets to:
Rodger Guerrero
SCVA Vocal Solo Competition
3700 Coldwater Canyon
North Hollywood, CA 91604
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Young Men’s Barbershop Harmony Festival – Mark Freedkin, Barbershop
Harmony Society (SPEBSQSA)
This is a reminder that the early application deadline is December
20. After that date and through
January 13, we will still accept applications, but the registration fee will be
increased to $25. We will have
several new songs this year, and we will have some of our finest adult quartets
serving as coaches and role models.
Please also keep in mind that this event fills up quickly, and we may
not be able to accommodate all of the applications that are submitted after
December 20. We would also
appreciate your timely response, since we have an enormous amount of
behind-the-scenes preparation to do for this event.
For more information, please contact:
Mark Freedkin
Home: (949) 559-9621
Work: (949) 470-3117
e-mail: mfreedkin@yahoo.com
Young Men’s Barbershop Harmony Festival Application -- please be sure to print both pages (application and parental/medical form).
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JUST DO IT – ATTEND A CHORAL FESTIVAL THIS YEAR!
Jennifer Stanley, VP- High School Festivals and Linda Nason, VP- Junior
High Festivals
As music educators, we are in a very unique position for assessment because
of festivals. No other discipline
allows teachers to have their students assessed by experts in their field and
receive instant feedback. Choral
directors who attend festivals have positive experiences with adjudicators who
understand their teaching situations, and the adjudicators actively work to
reinforce their teaching.
Attending festivals is an excellent way to expose your students to great
choral literature, and for them to see other students working on the same
choral concepts you are teaching.
Since it is a positive experience for everyone involved, make sure that
you ATTEND A CHORAL FESTIVAL THIS YEAR!
Thank you to all the directors who are hosting festivals! With our festival
hosts, we have been able to schedule festivals in many different locations
throughout March, April, and May. We are working to make the festival process
easier for everyone. The festival
application follows this article.
Applying early will increase your chances of being accepted to your
first choice festival. As a
courtesy to others, please do not bring more than two choirs to one
festival. The postmark application
deadline is March 1, 2006, and late applications will not be accepted. Please check your school’s testing schedule
and spring break when scheduling your festival. Please be aware of the location of your festival so you can
begin planning for transportation.
The SCVA website has information to assist you and your students in your festival preparation. The schedule of festivals, festival application form, PayPal payment system, festival adjudication form, adjudication scoring scale, festival code of conduct, festival listening guide, list of recommended choral literature, festival FAQs and other festival information is there for your use. If there is other information you would find helpful, please let us know and we will post it for you.
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Vocal Jazz Fall Festival - Matt Falker, VP Jazz Choir
This year’s Fall Vocal Jazz Festival was a definite success! Roger
Estrada and Upland H.S. were wonderful hosts as the day featured eleven high
school vocal jazz ensembles from the area. Guest performances were also given
by the USC Vocal Jazz Ensemble and professional vocal ensemble m-pact. Trist
Curless of m‑pact and SCVA Chair Matt Falker served as clinicians for the day,
and m-pact also provided a clinic and mini-performance in preparation for their
evening concert at Upland Christian H.S.
Participating high schools were Rialto, Upland Christian, Rancho Verde
(Riverside), Valencia (Placentia), Hamilton, Nogales, Fullerton Union, Downey,
and Royal & Santa Susana (Simi Valley). The overall level of the ensembles
was extremely high, especially considering the October date. If you didn’t
bring your choir this year, we look forward to your participation next fall!
(Anyone else interested in hosting, please contact me…)
Updated – Spring Vocal Jazz Festival Guide
March 3-4 Columbia
College VJ Festival Sonora,
CA
Saturday, March 18 Royal
H.S. VJ Festival Simi
Valley, CA
Friday, March 24 Val
Verde Jazz Festival Rancho
Verde H.S.
Friday, March 31 Fullerton
Jazz Festival Fullerton,
CA
Saturday, April 1 (two
days)
Thursday, April 20 Univ.
of Northern Colorado Festival Greeley,
CO
April 21-23 Monterey
Jazz Festival Monterey,
CA
April 28-29 Reno
Jazz Festival (UNR) Reno,
NV
Here are the contacts for the three Southern California festivals:
Royal H.S. Festival – Bonnie Graeve bgraeve@simi.k12.ca.us
Val Verde Jazz Festival – Kelli
Dower valverdemusicfestival@valverde.edu
Fullerton Jazz Festival – Jamie
Shew http://fcfinearts.fullcoll.edu/jazzfest
This Month’s Tip: Finding Useful Texts For Your Ensemble or Soloists
A number of informative jazz texts exist that can be helpful to you or
your students. Here’s a few recommendations:
Running an ensemble / program:
The Complete Guide To Teaching Jazz by Steve Zegree.
Solo singing: The Jazz Singer’s
Handbook by Michele Weir
Improvisation (individual &
ensemble): Vocal Improvisation by Michele Weir
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Show Choir Spectacular - Tammi Alderman, VP Show Choir
The date and location for are set for the 2006 SCVA Show Choir
Spectacular Competition. Mark your
calendars for Saturday, April 1st, 2006 at San Pasqual High School. I hope this
works for all those who are interested in coming. The format will be the same as it has been, starting with
the Jr. High/Middle School groups in the morning. After the completion of the
Jr. High/MS groups, the High School choirs will compete in three divisions:
Novice, Intermediate, and Advanced respectively. This competition is open to women’s, men’s, and mixed
choirs. San Pasqual High School will be the host school as well as the location
for this year’s competition.
In this newsletter you will find the guidelines for the event and the
application. Please fill out the
application completely and do not send it without the entry fee. One check may be written for all of
your groups. Passes for your
entourage will be sold at the door for $5.00. However, if you have more than 40 participants, including
students, band, crew, director and choreographer, then you must include $5.00
for each additional person (think about your chaperones).
The deadline for the application is February 24th, however, the sooner I get
your applications, the sooner I can let you know what your performance times
will be! Please check your
calendars before sending in your applications. There have been problems in the past with groups just
deciding not to show up. We expect
commitment from our students, so please be the example by checking all other
conflicts before sending in your application. I hope you’re having a great year and happy holidays.
SCVA Show Choir Spectacular Guidelines
1. Each group will be allowed a maximum of 20 minutes including set up
and tear down. Groups exceeding this limit will take a 10 point penalty per
minute.
2. Taped accompaniment IS allowed for this competition
3. We will provide a drum set and piano. PLEASE DO NOT BRING THESE ITEMS.
4. Directors who wish to conduct may do so from a designated area of the house.
5. Any special effects must be cleared in advance of the competition.
6. General area micing as well as solo mics on stands will be provided for each
performance. We will also provide
general stage lighting. No spot will be provided. No group will be permitted to use their own sound/lighting
equipment.
7. Note to directors of women’s choirs: There may be no male participants on
stage even if they are used essentially as a “prop.”
8. Each group will have a designated area for placement of props, etc. Take all
props, etc. to busses or cars immediately following your performance.
9. Choirs are to be seated in the theater at the start of their session and
will be escorted to a warm-up area while the group immediately prior to yours
moves to the stage.
10. Directors need not provide scores for adjudicators.
11. Missed performance times will not be rescheduled.
Scoring: 240 points possible
(30 points per category)
Tone Quality Dynamics
Intonation Interpretation
Blend/Balance Visual Effect
Diction Overall
Presentation
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Other Important Information
SCVA Membership Application