do re mi

So today was my third year at UW-Platteville's High School Choral Festival. Choral as in singing, not coral like in the ocean... lol A little joke we had today thanks to Mr. Marx.
We started out the day - 9 of us plus Miss Lemanski - leaving school at 8.  Ka$ha and I played MARSH on the way there - over an hour busride since our driver was going 55 the entire way! Ick. Then I dozed off and it wasn't that memorable. When we got there, my throat started to bug me - must've been a mental thing, even though I've have a scratchy throat since Wednesday afternoon. I didn't feel ready to sing the entire day and put on a concert. But I had a yummy doughnut and bland orange juice and was then ready to SING! :)

After getting 140+ high school and college girls into formation, we started warming up with one of our two conductors. She was new this year and (besides her mullet and odd choices of outfits) I really liked her. A lot better than the other one who we had the past two years. She was NOT FUN. Anyway... The first song we sang was a Latin piece by Vivaldi entitled Esurientes Implevit Bonis (He Fills the Hungry With Truly Good Things). It's a quick, light, fun piece that flies by and has some challenging sixteenth note runs and some higher register stuff for the altos (me!). But fun all around. At first, we sang it just on Loo and Doo and stuff, then added the Latin text. It was actually pretty simple.

Our next song with this conductor was a beautiful, flowing piece called Silent the Forests by Eugene Butler. It's just amazing how well written the parts are (even though there are only three). The altos pretty much only sing awesome minor tension stuff which I LOVE. Of course (what they do every year), they made us guess the meaning of the song and relate it to our own lives - not going into much detail, but gosh. Every year it's different in my mind and can get quite annoying, but it does help everyone sing the song.

Ah yes, then after we worked with the other conductor - really funny, pudgy man who can sing higher than I can. Yeah, kinda awkward too when he walks around and conducts - I was in the front row and he always stood like two feet in front of me and it was just awkward. I simply just didn't look at him - I kept my eyes in my music and just sang.... lol But we did some really fun pieces with him. The first was Dance on My Heart written by Allen Koepke. It's a really cute narration/story song about this girl who wants to get married. There are guys who want to marry her, too. The first one is like "oh yeah, I'm stronger than anyone you've met, I'm really sweet, blah blah blah." The second guy is like "I'm so rich I'll buy you anything you want." She's like "no, I can't marry you guys - you never danced on my heart or sang to my soul. Sorry." But then the third guy is like "I promise to love you, I'll stay by your side, I'll be your faithful companion, etc." Of course, she picks him. Aw how sweet. lol Fun song to sing - I loved it!

The last song we worked on was No Time, a traditional arranged by Susan Brumfield. This was sort-of a gospel piece, but not at all. It was beautiful, powerful, about seven parts in some places, amazing chords, etc. I'm pretty sure it was during this song that, when we were rehearsing, a girl passed out. It was the first time that I've seen some one actually pass out in real life and really freaked me out. She was fine, of course - just locking her knees when she was standing. If you are standing in a hot concert hall for hours, making your brain scream for oxygen as you hold out your phrases, and lock your knees on top of that, it's a given that you'll pass out. That's why I kept bending my knees and keeping loose - I looked like an oompa loompa, but at least I didn't pass out. Last year, a girl on the top bleacher passed out and fell off the back. Scary stuff in choir, huh?

Then we had lunch - YUS! We went upstairs in the building and ate there. I got ahold of one of my friends from band camp, who now goes to college at P'Ville and she met me. That was SOO nice cause I never get to see her, now she lives closer to me! Yay! We got to talk for about half an hour and are planning to meet up again sometime when I head over to P'Ville for Trombone Choir.

After lunch, we had more rehearsing, going through each piece, working out tough spots, then doing it again and again. A cello player played the Latin piece with us and it added so much to the song - so pretty! No one passed out - thank goodness. Let's see, what else? Oh, we got to watch two students from the University sing solos during our break - it was pretty much another part of their speech saying "Hey come to Plattville for college!" Yeah, sure... But the singers were very good, of course. Then we had another quick rehearsal, performed for the boys, then the boys (about 100 or so men's choir=HEAVENLY) performed for us. Yeah, men's choir is pretty much one of the best things on this planet. Not kidding. One of my friends was hearing a men's choir for the first time ever and when they started she just said - quite loudly - "HOLY CRAP!" Cause it's that cool. Yep. Not kidding. Shall I say it again? I LOVE MEN'S CHOIRS!!!!!!!!! Then we finally had supper, and our group went to Steve's Pizza Place - yummy!

At the concert that evening, we not only got to perform, but we also got to see all of the choirs at UW-P sing. My friend from band camp was in Concert Choir, then there was the University Singers, Concert Choir, Coro D' Angeli (elite women's choir), and the Singing Pioneers (elite men's choir - which I love). Then us girls sang our four pieces and the boys sang their four pieces after us. My favorite piece they did was called Till the Stars Fall From the Skies by Sally Albrecht. GAH IT WAS AMAZING! Again, it was a men's choir singing, so that makes it 100 times better already, but the lyrics are just so great. I love that song so much!

Overall, I had a great day, didn't loose my voice too much - we'll see how it is tomorrow! I missed Glee AGAIN which makes me mad, because I heard that it was one of the best episodes yet. Plus, they're singing some awesome songs that I love! I didn't get any of my Pre-Calc done (who cares?!). So now since it's getting late and I have to be at vocal ensemble tomorrow at 7:10, I might as well get going to bed.

Listen to Esurientes Implevit Bonis Here
See some of the music for Silent the Forests Here
See a lame recording of Dance on My Heart Here
Watch a recording of No Time Here
If you start the video at about 30 secs, you can see Till the Stars Fall From the Skies Here. Sadly, I couldn't find a men's choir singing it, but the lyrics are just amazing!
Here is a quartet singing Till the Stars Fall From the Skies 


I have some pictures that I'll post sometime... If I'm ever up to it... Or feel like it... Or whatever...