News for ICC&CS        Thursday, February 5, 2026 
 
Director:  Gerald Wolfe
Visit the ACI website:  ACIthaca.org
Contact the ICC&CS Steering Committee:  ICCCSBoard@ACIthaca.org
Please email all newsletter related items to: ICCNews@ACIthaca.org

From the Director
HOMEWORK FOR 2/11:  No. 4 "The Explorers" (SA parts m. 103-111 and 125-133 are for the Chamber Singers)
On our website, you will find an assortment of practice aids:
 
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Since we are using several different scores, it is essential that you insert (write in) bar numbers at the beginning of each system:
     In No. 4 "The Explorers," bar 1 is actually where the chorus begins, “O vast Rondure.”  Then, for your reference:
     [A] 17, [B] 40, [C] 59, [D] 79, [E] 100, [F] 121, [G] 144, [H] 163, m. 185 is [I],
     there is no [J], [K] 205, [L] 222, [M] 261, there is no [N], [O] 280, [P] 299, 
     [Q] 321, [R] 342, [S] 360, [T] 382, [U] 404, [V] 424, [W] 445, [X] 466, [Y] 486,
     [Z] 507, [Aa] 522, [Bb] 542, [Cc] 561
 
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The repertoire for the Chamber Singers will be American composer Samuel Barber’s The Coolin’, Let Down the Bars, O Death!, and To be Sung on the Water.  All those interested should stay for brief, painless auditions after the chorus rehearsal next week.

Digital Score
If you don't yet have your copy of this semester's musical score, there's a free online .pdf version available at https://clara.imslp.org/work/58145 that can be printed out or downloaded (e.g., onto a tablet) to bring with you to rehearsal.
 
Tech Help Needed
Many of ICC's past performances were recorded, but we need help converting CDs into digital audio files.  Let Kate know if you are interested in helping our chorus in this way.  Thanks! 
 
Kate's Corner

The excitement of starting a new semester of the chorus brings back memories of starting a new school year during my teaching career at Ithaca High School.  We have squeaky-clean scores instead of squeaky-clean sneakers, but we do have nice sharp pencils and bright smiles to be together once again!

This is YOUR chorus now, so if you have ideas for what can make our chorus stronger or better in any way, please share them with me whenever you see me, or email me through the chorus website.  Also, I try to arrive by 6:30 pm to each rehearsal, so if you are ever able to arrive early, we can hang out, chat and get to know each other better.  This is also a good time to get help with difficult music passages or perhaps to write down any new notations in your score if you had to miss a rehearsal.

I love our theme for this semester:  the sea!  The mystery, the grandeur, the enduring power.  I had the chance to teach Earth Science for several years, and I know that while land masses crash together, erode back to sediment, and transform over the millennia, the sea is a constant.  Yes, adapting to the new landforms, but always THERE.  This theme of the sea, adapting and enduring, seems highly appropriate for our 50th anniversary year.

“We may all have come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”  ~ Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

We, all of us, put the “community” into Ithaca Community Chorus!  Looking forward to sharing glorious music with you this Spring!


Newsletter Items?
If you would like to include a brief item in the ICC&CS e-newsletter, send text ready to copy and paste by Thursdays at 6pm to ICCNews@ACIthaca.org. Notices should be related to the chorus or the local music community.
 
Affiliated Choruses of Ithaca
P.O. Box 622
Ithaca, NY  14851