The Acorn - Oak City Sound's Weekly Newsletter - Mar 2, 2023 - UPDATED

Type of post: Chorus news item
Sub-type: No sub-type
Posted By: Nic Cols
Status: Current
Date Posted: Thu, Mar 2 2023

0. Made a couple of corrections...

1. Notes for this week

  • Feb 27:  Our regular chorus meeting. We had 17 men on the risers this past Monday. 
    • Good Afterglow at The Corner Tavern with 6 in attendance (30%)!
  • Mar 6: Our next Chorus meeting will be held at our regular location Searstone Retirement Community. 7pm to 9:30pm.
  • Mar 10: Contest in Spartanburg, SC. The Contest Agenda will be available next Monday (3/6) providing specific details for Friday night & Saturday. Our songs: Ova the Rainbow followed by Almost Like Being in Love
 

2. Carol's Korner

  • WHAT A DIFFERENCE!! You all heard the instant change we had with that forward, clear sound after we spent some time on lip buzz/bubble/motorcycle exercises. This is where we always want to start so that all of our vowels and consonants stay clear, bright, and crisp! Keep building on consistent forward placement and we'll be ringing chords like crazy!
  • Keep letting yourself tell a story with every one of our songs. Don't confuse that with spitting out consonants. Sing in ideas and the sound and your emotions will flow out of you. Always prioritize having fun...as long as it doesn't get in the way of good singing.
  • Let's all work on getting off the sheet music for all 4 of the new songs. As was pointed out by people other than your nagging director, there is so much more we can do when our eyes are up. And we won't get caught up in reading all of the syncopated rhythms that look so daunting on the page. I'll work on that, too!
  • Song list for March 6:
    • Ova the Rainbow
    • Ahmost Like Being in Lava
    • Honesty
    • Desperado
    • You've Got a Friend in Me
    • Hih comes thah Saaaaaahn
    • A Hanukkah Song in a Major Key
    • The Longest Time

3. Ben's Buzz

Hey - This is a long buzz, but tell me if it was worth it.

Let's take a short break from the 10-Steps to a Note series to talk about Stage Presence - after all, we have a competition coming up in just a few days! Below are a few pointers to keep in mind as we approach and enjoy the stage during competition, and for all of our concerts!

  • Focus.
    Stage presence for competition begins in the hallway, while we're waiting to first walk onto the stage to sing. It's a time to be quiet and focus on what we're about the do, all the rehearsals we've worked so hard on, and that we'd like to do really well - even if only to entertain. It's not a time to chat and tell jokes - that takes us away from our music and performace plan, and can also be disruptive to the chorus and audience as well. Begin to focus - and keep the focus until we've left the stage.

  • Be Precise.
    As you enter the stage look forward rather than looking all around the arena (you'll have ample time for that after we sing) and "march" onto the stage to your riser spot as if you're in a miltary drill team rather than slumped over out for a casual stroll in the park. Follow a direct line, square your corners, be precise. At the same time, don't overdo it. Precision can also be overdone.

  • Smile! ... and connect with the audience.
    As a chorus we don't smile much. Look at our past videos! We shouldn't grin, although we do want to present an enjoyable time - that we're having fun and want to share our fun with them - invite your audience into it - into you!!

    How do we smile, even if my hip hurts like hell? Well, some pointers ...
    • Don't do a wide toothy grin - that looks fake to the audience.
    • Part your lips, just enough to show your first 2-4 upper teeth.
    • Lift your cheeks, just like when we sing!
    • Eliminate the frown lines from between your eyes.
    • Think of something happy, exciting, and put that gleam in your eyes.
    • If you can, remove your glasses - they hide your bright eyes.
    • Think of your expresstion as one of a subtle laugh, hee-hee - not overdone - happy.
    • Do that while you enter or exit the stage, between songs - any time when you're not producing musical vocal sound.
    • Once you're on stage, hang-10 with your feet, as if you're surfing, place one foot slightly in front of the other, whichever is more comfortible, look "down the tiles" toward the the back of the room where the wall meets the floor. Feel free to lightly and slowly look slightly "off tile", so as to look compfortible and not rigid. After all, you're having a blast, right! ... and your audience is why you're there.
    • Again, Smile - make it look real, and if it's not (my hip hurts), the above tips will help. The tips also help in moving us keep from looking like we're only concentating on the songs.
  • Have your own story.
    Prepare a real story for you (ahead of time).
    Think about the song you're about to sing - What is your rainbow? What is over your rainbow that puts hope in your heart and energy in your step like nothing else? Put that into your mind and heart and feeling and sing it into your song. Each person in the audience will replace your deep presence with their own presemce. That's the connection we're striving for, but it first must to be in you.

    Think about Almost Like Being in Love. What is your story? What relationship or event or driving hope puts you in that amazing place, and keep that in you as you voice the music. Your music will come alive like never before!

  • Enjoy!
    Above all, have fun! That is the greater part as to why we to this barbershop shop. Harmony comes in many flavors and in many places. This competition is only one of them. That doesn't make any of the bullets above any less important, while it does remind us that even in the heat of competition, let's have fun!
  • I love the songs we're doing, and sharing them! Let's enjoy together, and be present in all the beneficial ways we can be as we compete - and have fun!

4. Future Notes

  • March 10 and 11, 2023: Carolinas District Spring Convention in Spartanburg, SC.
    • Our contest song set: Almost Like Being in Love and Ova the Rainbow. 
    • All contests and performances will be held at Spartanburg High School in their state-of-the-art District 7 Fine Arts Center: 2250 E Main Street, Spartanburg, SC 29307. This is a 12-minute drive from the Convention Hotel.
    • Convention headquarters hotel is the Spartanburg Marriott, 299 N Church Street, Spartanburg, SC 29306. All fellowship events (Greek Night and District Afterglow) will be hosted at the Marriott in the Presidential Suite.
    • OCS Dress Requiement: Competition full dress: jeans, blue checkered shirt, black jacket, oxford (or brown shoes) for competition.  Gray polo for casual dress at Spartanburg.
    • All attendees are expected as a matter of goodwill toward our singing community to:
      • Take a PCR test (regular or rapid/NAAT) no earlier than the day before picking up credentials (48 hours); or 
      • Take an antigen test the day of event.
    • Two steps to register:
    • Do not delay any longer!
  • March 20 - Our next guest night. Our focus will be on reaching out to the Hispanic community.

5. Long Range

  • April 3: Oak City Sound concert at Springmoor.
  • Apr 29: Cary Spring Daze booth AND concert (timing tbd).
  • May 8: Oak City Sound in concert at Templeton Retirement Village. Vern Pike lives there now and is our contact. The Templeton is located at 215 Brightmore Dr, Cary, NC 27518, across Kildaire Farm Rd from WakeMed Cary.
  • Monday May 29: Is Memorial Day. Searstone is not available to us. Make suggestions on what would be fun to do.
  • June 5: 7:15pm: Concert at Searstone! Please show up at 6:30. 
  • August 4 to 6, 2023. At Clemson University Campus in Clemson, SC. The Carolinas District is now partnering with the Dixie District to run a single Harmony Education Program ("HEP") in the summer for both NSC and DIX districts. This tot fab educational weekend will be held at Clemson University in Clemson, SC. Absolutely top-tier faculty is assembled for this training event. I can personally attest that this is a GREAT weekend of singing education, for individual singers, quartets, entire choruses, and chorus directors. Pencil this weekend into your calendar for now. Over the winter, we as a chorus will develop plans, as appropriate and beneficial, to attend this, if possible.

6. Champagne Room
  • New membership badges were given out to new (or returning) members Steve McGehee and Bill Andrusic. We are all glad you're a part of our team.