Change is Constant but Wine is Forever!

Each season Jubilate loses some members due to personal reasons. Someone may take a sabbatical or move to a different part of the world. There is illness and unfortunately, sometimes a passing from this life.

Change can be difficult, but each season, we have new auditionees who want to share their voices with us.

The Jubilate “sound” doesn’t change with the membership, but the underlying “notes” do. (OK, I’m comparing us to one of my favorite things – WINE.) As the singers change with the seasons, our undertones range from mellow rum to bright pear.

Each singer brings a different flavor to the Jubilate table. Some years, our undertones are polished, round, and focused while the next season finds us singing with spicy, elegant footnotes. Sometimes we have a cool berry finish, at other times we have the elegant perfume of ripe currants underneath the surface of creamy, rich sound.

Here’s to the musicians of Jubilate then and now, old and new, woodsy and sweet. May your voices ring out with joy this season!




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The Laryngospasms

Here's the link to the Laryngospasms' website in case you'd like to hear more from these melodious medical men.

If you're getting these posts by email and can't listen to the videos, just amble on over to the blog to hear them.

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Waking Up Is Hard To Do

This one's for Harry, our dubious director. Found it over on Allegra Martin's blog, http://currentconductor.blogspot.com. These are real gas guys!

Happy Halloween! Be Very Afraid!

Make 'Em Laugh - Singing in the Rain

Make 'Em Laugh!

That last post was pretty negative. I find myself wondering if I should censor what I say here. I have a few Utah readers who probably know the people I know (it's a very small world chorally-speaking.) I don't name names, but if you live in Salt Lake, it's not hard to figure out.

However, what's the point of writing about how I feel if I don't say what I really think?

Some directors, like the one mentioned in my last post, wonder why their choirs don't survive and thrive. These are the stern taskmasters who expect miracles from choristers, be they newbies who haven't sung since high school, or are more seasoned singers who hold full-time non-choral jobs and sing as an avocation. These baton-waving starched shirts are set on glory! They want a 200 voice chorus and full orchestra and they want to perform Handel's Messiah with unseasoned voices in four rehearsals AND they want an audience of 1000 people cheering them on. (Spiffy run-on sentence, huh? I can do it again.) For these directors, it's all about THEM.

Hey, what happened to the music, dude?

So, let's talk expectations. Choristers want to feel successful, first and foremost. They want a good experience, both in rehearsals and in concert. So it's valuable to choose music that fits a choir's abilities. A first concert of Christmas carols at the local nursing home can feel wildly successful for a new community choir! Give 'em success and they'll keep coming back AND they'll bring you some tenors!

And lets face it, the least a director can do is crack a lame joke once in awhile. Jubilate's director has lame jokes up the wazoo! Sometimes they're so lame we have to stuff them back UP his wazoo! So store a few jokes in your arsenal and lighten up, if you want to keep a choir loyal and working hard.

And remember the music? Oh, yeah, it's NOT all about the director. Or for that matter, recording CD's or going on tours. It's about conveying passion and beauty to your audience with the most miraculous instrument on God's earth, the human voice. Voices weaving in, out, and through, creating astonishing harmonies and bonding people for a lifetime.

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Call Me A Whining Ass

If you're wondering at the dearth of posts lately, wander on over to Puddle. Explains everything.

Rehearsals for Christmas have begun and our director was there for the first half last Monday night. He's still kinda peaked (peek-ED in Southern speak) but is getting better each week.

Jubilate has been asked to "help" another choir in the city that's floundering a bit due to lack of singers. Sigh. Yes, 'Stir the Pot" me has an issue with this. I'm all for genuine collaborations but this seems like nothing more than boosting their numbers.

AND it adds EIGHT more nights to our Christmas schedule, all within a two-week period! And Jubilate's concert is at the END. We'll be exhausted for our own concert! I mean, call me a whining ass, but that's extreme!

Our director said "Sure, we can do that" without consulting with the board! Yes, I love him, but sometimes I want to poke his eyes out.

So we've asked the group to send an email to our board chair if anyone feels they can't do it.

The director of the other group (they also have an orchestra) has a reputation for being very difficult. No one wants to sing for him, hence the lack of singers. People go a few times and then find more fun things to do with their free time.

Might it possibly be fun? HAH! Is stepping into a bear trap FUN?! Sure, it only hurts when I breathe!

The good news? I'll get a few posts out of it!!

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"It Might Get Loud" Trailer

And here's a trailer of the movie. I have to see it again! Seriously.

It Might Get Loud

As most of you know, I sing mostly classical music, but I like a lot of different kinds and styles of music. Last night, two of my daughters and I went to the Broadway Theater here in Salt Lake City to see the movie "It Might Get Loud." And it did!

Hang onto your hats - or guitars! This movie is billed as kind of a history of the guitar as it relates to rock music, but it's REALLY about bringing together three guitar "put 'em on a pedestal" icons from three different generations of rock music, stirring the pot, and watching what happens!

Who are these three super-duper heros of the six string electric wonder instrument? JIMMY PAGE (Led Zeppelin), THE EDGE (U2), and JACK WHITE (the White Stripes).

The movie shows background on all three wunderkinds. There was some wonderful footage from when they were very young and just starting out. I thought I had seen every bit of footage out there on U2, but there was a clip from when they were still at Mt. Temple School that had the whole audience guffawing. They did NOT wear those outfits!!

And watching Jimmy Page play air guitar was funny, but still graceful. He has always looked like he and the guitar were born together.

The movie begins with Jack White in a cow pasture and he's hammering pieces of wood together, attaching a coke bottle, strings and wire to the wood. He plugs it in and "voila!" He states, "Who says you have to BUY a guitar?"

The best parts of the movie came in the middle when Jimmy Page began playing riffs from "Whole Lotta Love." Jack White and The Edge were pretty starstruck themselves at this point. The other great part came at the end when they jammed together on an acoustic rendition of "The Weight."

At times my heart hurt because it was so beautiful.

Here's the place to see it in Salt Lake City.

And here's where you can buy the DVD when it becomes available or sign up now to be notified.

You can rent the DVD here when it becomes available.