SCVA Newsletter (on-line version) – December 2007

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Vocal Solo News – Colleen Kennedy, VP - Vocal Solo Competition
** The online application for the Vocal Solo Competition is now available at www.scvachoral.net. **

Application Info
 - Participation is open to students in grades 6 – 12
 - The non-refundable application fee remains $20.
 - Applications must be accompanied by a school check or money order payable to SCVA, or an SCVA e-Payments receipt.
 - Include a self-addressed envelope with the application for notification.
 - Participants must be active members of a choral group; religious and community choruses meet this requirement.
 - The application must be signed by the choral director to confirm chorus membership.
 - Directors or sponsors must be current members of SCVA, having paid their 2007-08 dues, in order for their students to participate.

Performance Info
 - Each participant will sing one classical piece (art song or aria).
 - Selections should be appropriate to the singer’s age and experience level.
 - Participants will have a total of 8 minutes to perform and work with the adjudicator.
 - Singers must provide their own skilled accompanists for the preliminary and final rounds.
 - The preliminary and final rounds are in master-class format, lasting approximately 3 to 4 hours, including breaks.
 - Participants are expected to check in before the master class starts and remain until the end to receive their certificates and adjudication forms.
 - Please remind participants to make sure that they are available for all dates and times before completing the application.
 - Scholarships will be awarded, and final placement of the high school finalists will be announced, at the Jr. High/Middle School Honor Choir concert.

Dates to Remember:
 - Applications submitted/postmarked no later than Saturday 12/08/07
 - Preliminary rounds (various sites, see application): 9am – 1:00pm, Saturday January 12, 2008
 - Final round (site TBD): 9am – 2:00pm, Saturday March 8, 2008
 - Finalists perform at the Jr. High/Middle School Honor Choir concert Sunday May 4, 2008

Mail applications to:
Colleen Kennedy – Vocal Solo Competition
3425 Jasmine Ave. #1  Los Angeles, CA 90034

On-Line Vocal Solo Competition Application

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Vocal Jazz – Jamie Shew, VP – Jazz Choir
So many people ask me for suggestions on hip beginning-medium level vocal jazz charts.  Well, I’ve compiled a list with the help of some great friends!!!  Also, for ssa, ssaa, ttb, ttbb tunes, check out michmusic.com or jenniferbarnesmusic.com – they’ve got some wonderful charts to check out!  If you’d like the publisher information on any of the tunes below, please feel free to email me at jshew@fullcoll.edu.

Beginning-Medium Level Vocal Jazz Charts
Recommendations by Jamie Shew, Cindy Bourquin, Christine Guter, Matt Falker, Kate Reid, & Michele Weir
Like Someone in Love                          April Arabian-Tini
I Could Write A Book                          Jennifer Barnes
I’m Beginning to See the Light               Jennifer Barnes
Old Devil Moon                                   Jennifer Barnes
Sugar                                                   Dayru
How Deep is the Ocean                        Rosana Eckert
Telephone Song                                    Rosana Eckert
Come Back to Me                                Matt Falker
Comes Love                                         Matt Falker
Moondance                                          Jeremy Fox
Shenandoah                                          Derrick Johnson
Autumn Leaves                                     Ken Kraintz
Danny Boy                                           Kirk Marcy
Just One of Those Things                      Kirk Marcy
Never So In Love                                 Kerry Marsh
Shout Blues                                          Kerry Marsh
Sing a Song of Song                             Kerry Marsh
If I Loved You                                     Phil Mattson
I’ve Got You Under My Skin               Phil Mattson
Danny Boy                                           Phil Mattson
I’ll Be Seeing You                                Phil Mattson
Drive                                                    Bobby McFerrin
Do Nothin’ Till You Hear From Me      Darmon Meador
Brazil                                                    Paris Rutherford
Dahoud                                                Paris Rutherford
Flor de Lis                                            Paris Rutherford
Love Letters                                         Paris Rutherford
Old Devil Moon                                   Paris Rutherford
Caravan                                               Vijay Singh
Before I Gaze at You Again                  Vijay Singh
Embraceable You                                 Kirby Shaw
Stolen Moments                                   Kirby Shaw
Sway                                                    Kirby Shaw
Cinnamon and Clove                            Michele Weir
At the End of the Day                           Michele Weir
I’ve Got the World on a String              Michele Weir
James                                                   Michele Weir
Mas Que Nada                                    Steve Zegree
This Masquerade                                  Steve Zegree

Vocal Jazz Ensemble Recordings
Beachfront Property                             Beachfront Property & Straight Up
Genesis (Mt. Hood CC)
Gold Company (WMU)                       While We Were Young, 20, & 25
Just 4 Kicks                                         Side By Side & Kick in the Pants
LA Jazz Choir                                      From All Sides
Lambert, Hendricks, & Ross                Everybody’s Boppin’, Sing a Song of Basie, &
The Hottest New Group In Jazz
M-pact                                                 Live at the Triple Door
Manhattan Transfer                               Anthology: Down in Birdland & Vocalese
Bobby McFerrin w/ Voicestra              Circle Songs
New York Voices                                Sing Sing Sing
Soundsation (Edmonds CC)
Take Six                                               Take Six
The Boswell Sisters                              Shout, Sister, Shout! 1925-1934
The Hi-Lo’s                                         Suddenly It’s The Hi-Lo’s/Harmony In Jazz &
Cherries and Other Delights
The PM Singers                                    Jubilee
The Real Group                                    In the Middle of Life, Nothing But the Real Group, & Live in Stockholm
The Singers Unlimited                           Magic Voices
The Swingle Singers                              Retrospective & Mood Swings
Vocalogy                                              Distilled
Voice Trek                                           An A Cappella Trek
Vox One                                              Pure Imagination & Chameleon

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Young Women’s and Young Men’s Harmony Festivals
Mark Freedkin, SPEBSQSA

ALL APPLICATIONS/FORMS AVAILABLE AT SCVACHORAL.ORG

We are pleased to invite you to this year’s Barbershop Harmony Festivals for Young Women and Young Men.  Both events will be held at the Robert B. Moore Theater on the campus of Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa.  The 3rd annual “Diva Day” Young Women in Harmony Festival, sponsored by the Harborlites Chorus will be held on Saturday, February 2, and the 8th annual “Young Men’s Harmony Festival” will be held on Saturday, February 23, sponsored by the Masters of Harmony. Both of these events will provide a unique musical opportunity for your singers and will provide a positive boost to your choral music program.

Each event will consist of morning and afternoon clinics and rehearsals, followed by a public performance in the evening with the respective adult choruses.  There will also clinic for music educators who would like to participate in a hands-on demonstration of how the barbershop style is taught and how it can be used to attract more young men and women into your program.

The cost to attend is only $25 per singer. The sponsoring choruses will cover the remaining costs for all sheet music, practice CDs, rehearsal facilities, guest clinicians and performance costumes. Each singer will receive a commemorative t-shirt. We will also provide lunch and dinner for the singers, choral directors and any parent chaperones accompanying the singers.

Please visit the SCVA website, scvachoral.org, to download and print the appropriate applications/forms for each student. Please complete and return these, along with payment by cash, check or money order payable to Harborlites (for the Young Women’s Festival) or Masters of Harmony (for the Young Men’s Festival).  Both events will be limited to a maximum of 250 participants, so be sure to submit your applications early.  Note that these festivals are separate events, and you must send the appropriate forms and payments to the proper recipient.

Young Women’s Festival Only:
In order to accommodate more schools, we are limiting the number of singers per school to twelve (12). Ideally we suggest 1-2 tenors, 3-4, leads, 2-3 baritones and 3-4 basses. This will allow you to perform the music as a group and use this group to help your other students learn the joy of singing four-part harmony barbershop style. Send applications for all students you wish to participate, indicating those students beyond the initial 12 that you wish to put on the Waiting List. We will try to accommodate as many as we can.

Young Men’s Festival Only:
There is no limit to the number of singers from your school who wish to participate, but please submit your applications early to ensure that all of your singers can be accommodated.

We look forward to receiving your applications. Please contact us if you have any questions about our festivals.

Karen Ridout                                                                            Mark Freedkin
Harborlites Chorus                                                                   Masters of Harmony
Home: 714-847-0787                                                              Home: (949) 559-9621
Cell: 714-319-2325                                                                 Cell: (714) 357-1187
Email: kridout@socal.rr.com                                                     Email: mfreedkin@yahoo.com

Application Forms (require Adobe Acrobat Reader)
Diva Day - Student Application Form
Diva Day - Parental Consent/Medical Form
Diva Day – Music Educator Application Form

Young Men's Festival – Student Application & Parental Consent/Medical Form

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JUST DO IT – ATTEND A CHORAL FESTIVAL THIS YEAR!
by Jennifer Stanley, VP of High School Festivals, and Maria Fritts, VP of Middle School/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 44 festivals in many different locations throughout March, April, and May. 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 application deadline is March 1, 2008, 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, festival host guide, and list of recommended choral literature are there for your use. Please let us know if we can post other useful information for you.  For more information or questions, please contact Maria Fritts at MFRITTS@temeculaprep.com or (951) 926-6776; contact Jennifer Stanley at jstanley@emuhsd.k12.ca.us or (626) 258-5292.We are pleased to announce that this year’s conductor will be Dr. Ricardo Soto of Orange Coast College!

Festival Listings

SCVA Choral Festival Code of Conduct
Directors are strongly encouraged to read the Code of Conduct to all students who participate in SCVA festivals.  A choral music festival sponsored by SCVA provides the opportunity for a satisfying experience in listening as well as in performing.  These rules are designed to encourage concert behavior in which everyone may take pride.  They are not meant to stifle enthusiasm or to detract from the enjoyment of a festival.

1. Each student is a guest of the host school and will follow the rules of that school.  He/she will not leave the auditorium without permission of their director.
2. Each student will be seated with his choir prior to the opening of the festival and will remain in his place until its conclusion.  Personal needs must be satisfied before the festival begins.
3. A courteous listener will sit up in his seat and will refrain from talking, chewing gum, eating, combing hair, applying make-up or doing homework.
4. Applause at the proper time is encouraged.  However, activities such as standing, shouting and whistling are obviously inappropriate in a concert hall.  Adjudicators may downgrade any performing group that displays poor concert behavior, or may withhold adjudication for obviously disruptive conduct.
5. California State Law prohibits smoking on school grounds.

Festival Application Form

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Other Important Information
On-Line SCVA Membership Application