Saturday, August 3, 2024
Summer Sing Newsletter
WOW! What a Great Concert! |
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- Katie's Korner
- From Ed
- Lost and Found
- Where are You Singing This Fall?
- Voice Exercises and Warmups
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Dear Summer Sing,
Wow! What a concert! You sang just beautifully - I received so many compliments from audience members about how much they enjoyed the songs and your singing, and especially how engaged and expressive you were. They loved hearing your beautiful voices and watching your faces, and so did I!
A huge thank you from the bottom of my heart goes to Ed Olmstead, the master of all things Summer Sing. Ed, you are just THE BEST. I just can't thank you enough.
Thank you also to the set-up committee - everything looked great when I came in, and all went so smoothly!
Thank you so much to the amazing Julia Phillips! You are such a pleasure to work with, and you really made the concert a success. The only complaint I have is that you played J'entends le Moulin so well, it was reported to me that one of the chorus members was distracted by listening to one of your amazing solo sections and forgot to come back in! That is impressive.
Thank you so much to ALL of you, for your gorgeous singing and positive spirit, and also for the thoughtful things you all wrote in the card and the extremely generous gift of money! I feel so lucky to get to work with all of you. Most years, my family takes a camping trip in August, and I have been known to use the extra money you've given me to buy large amounts of ice cream or to fund an extra activity (such as sea kayaking last year - so much fun!), but this year will be a little different.
Many of you know that my mother died two years ago. She was a teacher and a poet and a painter in addition to being a fantastic mom. She was a very adventurous person mentally, but definitely was not adventurous physically! She suffered from anxiety about many things, including flying, so she and her spouse were limited in the trips they took together. Kathy, my stepmother (or "other mother" as I called her for decades before gay marriage was legalized), is her opposite in many ways - very physically adventurous and always wanting to go and do something! Kathy lived in Guatemala for 8 years as a young woman, working as a missionary and doing a variety of jobs. She then came back to the states, where she went to college and graduate school to become a therapist and crisis counselor, and to meet my mother who was also in grad school. While my mother and father's divorce was difficult, I have always been beyond grateful that my mom was brave enough to take this step and bring Kathy into our lives - she is truly another mother to me and has changed my life for the better in a thousand ways. I love her more than I can say.
Kathy has been very unhappy since my mother died. In spite of her adventurous early life and her profession, she is not adventurous emotionally and has struggled to let people into her life, other than my sister and I and a few very close friends. She is trying to find happiness again, though - learning to fly kites (the big, stunt variety you see on beaches) and working with wood to make spoons, spatulas, bowls, and other lovely things. And this coming week we are going to fulfil one of her life goals and travel in a way that she couldn't do with my mother. My sister, Jen (many of you met her a few weeks ago when she was up for a visit) and I pushed her to take a trip with us that she has always wanted to take but never could with our mom - going to Europe for her very first time!
Kathy was originally interested in seeing Paris, but we all decided to steer clear once we remembered the Olympics would be there this summer! Instead, the three of us will be arriving in Amsterdam on Wednesday morning where we will stay for a week, and then will fly to London for another week after that. There are so many exciting things to do in both those cities! It is definitely a trip of a lifetime, and the extra money you gave me will come in very handy. Thank you so much.
I hope you all have a wonderful summer, and look forward to singing together again next year!
All the best,
Katie
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What a great concert! Sue and I thoroughly enjoyed ourselves, especially watching your engagement with the music and the audience. Clearly, you were into the music and having fun. The Lansing students were the perfect addition to the concert and we are sure we will see them in upcoming Lansing music events.
Once again, Katie has led us through 8 weeks of music and friendship. We are so fortunate to have her as our director and to benefit from her passionate love of music. Well done, Katie!
I do want to thank all of you who have helped through the past 8-weeks with picking up after rehearsal and especially the assistance in setting up for the concert and the reception and the after-concert cleanup. It is very much appreciated.
I hope to see you again next summer and hopefully this fall in one of our other ACI choruses. Enjoy the rest of the summer!
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The umbrellas that were found after rehearsal on the July 31st concert have not been claimed, so they are now on the coat rack shelf marked lost and found in the lounge outside of the rehearsal room. If you are missing your umbrella, you can go to St. Paul's anytime to retrieve it. Here is the link to the pictures of the umbrellas - https://ymlp.com/zO8vU9
After the concert, we found a cheese knife laying on the tables in the reception area. If it is yours, send an email to Ed at musicinfo@acithaca.org and we will work out the return.
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| Where are You Singing This Fall?... |
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The Affiliated Choruses of Ithaca offers singers diverse opportunities for enjoying choral music. Here is the information for ICC&CS and Voices for the coming fall.
Ithaca community Chorus and Chamber Singers, Wednesday, September 18, 2024, St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, 402 N. Aurora Street. Under the direction of Gerald Wolfe, ICC&CS will rehearse and perform Mozart's “Requiem”. The concert will be on Saturday, January 18, 2024. We are now offering a reduced registration fee for students.
Voices Multicultural Chorus, Monday, September 9, 2024, Ithaca Unitarian Annex, 208 East Buffalo Street. Under the direction of Ross Mizrahi, singing is a vibrant and essential part of celebration across cultures and around the world. Whether it’s a soulful hymn, a seasonal holiday song, or a rousing dance tune, music has the remarkable ability to evoke emotions, foster connections, and make celebrations truly memorable. Join VOICES this fall as we “Sing of Celebration!” The concert will be on Saturday, December 7.
Register online HERE or at first rehearsal
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Voice Exercises and Warmups...
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Looking for a way to exercise your voice between rehearsals? Cyberbass is free website that has a selection of vocal warmups that play on your computer, smartphone or tablet. You can also purchase CD's with various exercises and warmups if you choose.
Go to
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Questions, Comments and Newsletter Items...
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If you have a question about Summer Sing, comments or suggestions for the newsletter, or do you have an item for the newsletter (items should be related to the chorus or the local music community), send it to musicinfo@ACIthaca.org. PLEASE - if you have an item for the newsletter, send it in completed form so we can copy and paste - we do not write material for you. |
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