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END OF NOTES FOR 2022-2023 SEASON
April 3, 2023
My wonderful and dear friends,
You can tell my life was very crazy and busy the week of our final concert – because I never got this final farewell email out to all of you! But now the time has come.
Where can I begin? All I can say is that being able to make that music with you was pure heaven for me. We did it. We changed the world. There are countless people your music has touched – around 686, to be precise (at least that’s how many tickets were sold, 250 more than last year’s March concert). Let me just mention six people who you touched specifically:
-A 93-year-old man, a father of one of the chorus members, who cried through most of the concert livestreamed to his home in Minnesota, saying it was just wonderful to watch and hear.
-One of our own ranks who hasn’t sung in a choir for 20 years and didn’t realize how much she missed it until she sang with us.
-Another chorus member who was able to join after years of chemotherapy and has felt the joy of singing again – and whose friends begged her to let them know about the next concert, so they could come again!
-A couple who was so inspired by the concert that they wrote a letter to GVCC. They specifically mentioned loving Tamara’s solo and “Cheesy Chicken Deluxe.” Included in the letter was a $200 donation, given, as they said, “in gratitude for providing such fine entertainment for the community.”
-My wife, who was completely enraptured by the entire performance and wishes she could give you the recipe for “Cheesy Chicken Deluxe”, if only she remembered what she did (yes, she pretty much improvised both the first dish last year and the dish she made for you in rehearsals – both were different from each other yet equally sublime, in my opinion).
And lastly, you’ve touched me. Your goodness has been such a strength to me in what has been an up-and-down first year of doctoral school. I really do have the best choir in the world. And for Priscilla, Tamara, Brenda, and everyone on our phenomenal board – WOW. That is all I can say.
I can’t wait to see many of you in the fall for our next season – I’m been going through the surveys and salivating at the possibilities. In the meantime, don’t be a stranger – I’ll be in Tucson nearly the whole summer and would love to hear from you! Hope a lot of you can participate in Summer Chorus with Tamara. Until we see each other again – keep singing, and keep changing the world!
CJ
March 15, 2023
Hi, Choir!
Some of you suggested that in addition to that video I made of the choralography of “76 Trombones”, a written document with measure numbers would be helpful, saying which sections do what when. That is now given below.
And now there should be no excuse for not knowing your choralography – you have a plethora of resources to practice with.
CJ
SEVENTY-SIX TROMBONE CHORALOGRAPHY DIRECTIONS
Intro – stand at attention when CJ shouts “attention!” march after CJ says, “forward march”, step with LEFT FOOT first, march “left right, left right, left right STOP”
Then sing pgs 16-18 with no actions whatsoever
Letter Y (top of page 19)
SA: sing as normal – NO ACTIONS
TB: do drum action for 8 measures and then (bottom of page 19) do trumpet action – always start LEFT HAND (or LEFT SIDE) first
Letter Z (middle of page 20)
SA: do drum action for 8 measures and then (at top of page 21) do trumpet action – always start LEFT HAND (or LEFT SIDE) first
TB: drop hands and sing as normal – NO ACTIONS
SA: STOP ACTIONS on the measure in the middle of page 21 where the Altos begin singing, “Ra-ta-ta-ta”; the next 3 measures are done with NO ACTIONS in any part of the choir
On the last measure of page 21, all singers put their hands up into Trombone position
On the first measure of page 22, begin Trombone action – on the fifth measure of page 22 (with the words “march rang”), begin marching as well (LEFT FOOT first)
Ron – begin gong action at rehearsal marking V2 (“big bang bong”)
Marching and trombone actions (and gong action for Ron) stop at letter W2 (top of page 23); at that point, begin trumpet action (LEFT SIDE first)
On first measure of page 24, hold the trumpet position in the center of the body and bend up and down with the knees for 6 measures. (I will do fancy kicks – don’t do that element.) Stop all actions and put hands down on the word “square” (middle of page 24)
On the final line of the song (word “man”) slowly raise arms up and to the side in triumph formation.
March 13, 2023
Friends,
What an incredible time we had together today! Thank you for the time and energy you put into every note you sing. This will be an unforgettable concert.
Between now and Friday, I invite you to spend time tightening up your weak spots – choralography for some, German for others, looking up and out of the music for others. And make that final round of invitations – we are on our way to 600 tickets sold!
CJ
March 8, 2022
Hello, wonderful choir!
I LOVED our rehearsal this past Monday! Thanks to all of you for your hard work and focus – we made huge strides with our program, and I am feeling like we’re in the driver’s seat with this concert.
Next Monday‘s rehearsal will begin with a full run-through of the program to see where everything stands and to see what needs polishing on Friday’s rehearsal. If you have time to prepare, I suggest practicing, in order of importance:
1. Memory and choralography for “76 Trombones”
2. Singing the correct German for the Brahms and the Bach
3. Practicing the rhythms in “Cheesy Chicken Deluxe Surprise” at a faster speed
4. Working on looking up more from your music, in general – you know the music better than you think you do!
And don’t forget our goal to try to sell 4-5 more tickets this week! It’s been amazing to see all the hard work you’ve been putting in!
CJ
February 28, 2023
Hello Everyone!
Wow! What a fun rehearsal we had today. Thanks to all of you for the spirit you brought.
Next week we polish up more and more, preparing for our first full sing-through on March 13. Next week will also be our last time rehearsing at CPAC – starting March 13 we rehearse at the Valley Presbyterian Church. I invite you to focus your practicing on these songs – our weak links right now (but not for long!):
Cheesy Chicken Deluxe (notes and rhythms)
Phantom (notes and rhythms of final two sections)
Bluebird (for the quintet, solidifying notes)
76 Trombones (memory)
Ein Dunkeler Schacht (German)
Zion Hort (German)
I will send you “Cheesy Chicken Deluxe” practice recordings later this week, to help you.
T-minus 4 rehearsals till our performances
Bring it on!
CJ
February 22, 2023
My dear friends,
Thank you for a sweet and tender rehearsal on Monday. To bring up to speed those who missed, we had great progress with our pieces and also discussed the expectation of memorization that had been communicated in an email last week. Please read the following email carefully, as it contains important adjustments.
Memorizing
In light of wonderfully helpful feedback from all of you, and recognizing the needs of many members of our Chorus, I now put in writing the FINAL WORD regarding memory. All should read this, as there are some slight adjustments to what I said Monday:
1. The ONLY piece that will be off-book (meaning memorized AND your folders down on your chairs) is “Seventy-Six Trombones.”
2. For the following pieces, we will all have our books open (for the sake of those who can’t memorize easily), but I invite all who are capable to memorize these pieces and have your books open but not look at the score while we sing.
My Favorite Things
Bluebird
Hallelujah
Non Nobis
Maria
Cheesy Chicken Deluxe
3. For this final group of pieces, I will not have any expectation for you to memorize them, and we will not do any memorizing work in rehearsal. I apologize if any of you have already spent chunks of time memorizing these based off my instructions last week – I take full responsibility.
For the Beauty of the Earth
Sure On This Shining Night
How Can I Keep From Singing
Zion Hort die Wachter Singen
Ein Dunkeler Schacht
Phantom of the Opera
THANK YOU, all of you, for your feedback and support. As I mentioned in rehearsal, I say it again here: I apologize for making a decision about memory last week that was not considerate of the needs of my ensemble. This past week has been a growing experience for me, and I feel better for it. If you have any lingering concerns or hurt feelings over how things transpired in the last week, I plead with you to reach out to me and let me know, so we can work toward healing.
Better Scores for “Non Nobis” and “Maria”
Another area I need to now apologize for is my poor preparation for the season regarding “Maria” and “Non Nobis.” I know that for many of you, wading through the dozens of changes I have made to those scores has been an incredible hassle and source of frustration. So I have decided to create fresh versions of the “Non Nobis” and “Maria” scores in my music notation software that reflect all the cuts and adjustments – you won’t have to worry about any page-skipping, note-adding, or whatever. You will receive these scores on Monday. Again, I apologize for the problems my approach to these pieces has caused – you live and learn, right?
Preparation for Monday’s Rehearsal
From here on out, we polish and prepare our program for our concert – notes are pretty much learned (with a few exceptions we will tackle Monday). You know what spots are your Achilles heels, so I invite you, if you have time to practice, to work on whatever spots need polishing.
I love you all. I am so grateful to be in this group – I feel like I have the most amazing job in the whole world. Let’s keep preparing these “Favorite Things” and change the world with our music, come March 20 and 21!
CJ Madsen
February 16, 2023
Hello again, Choir!
I just wanted to finally announce what pieces I would love to have memorized for the concert, so you can begin work on memory. I assure you I have factored in tons of rehearsal time to work on memory, so between your own efforts and working in rehearsal, I am confident this can be accomplished. And if worse comes to worse, I assure you I will let you use music, if some pieces just aren’t quite ready for the concert.
I truly believe having a piece memorized not only changes the audience’s perception of the piece but creates an avenue for a piece to sound better and improve faster. I am excited for this challenge and am fully confident in all of your abilities to memorize and to rely on others when your memory slips here and there. This will be an incredible concert – and don’t forget to invite your fresh 5 names to the concert that you wrote down!
Favorite Things
Bluebird (just the small group)
Sure On This Shining Night
Zion Hort
Hallelujah
Ein Dunkeler
Non Nobis
Maria
Seventy-Six Trombones
Phantom (but be sure to see the “Plan of Attack” segment for that – we’re only doing half the medley as printed in the score – I’ll explain why on Monday)
Cheesy Chicken Deluxe Surprise
CJ
February 14, 2023
Dear Green Valley Community Chorus,
I want to thank you and commend you for your incredible work this past week – WOW! We have covered so much ground. Thank you for all you are doing to invite to our concerts and learn and memorize. I truly believe this will be an unforgettable experience.
This upcoming Monday we learn the final notes of our pieces and continue chipping away at memory on several of our songs. Those spots are listed below. Any time you can spend on this before rehearsal Monday would be a huge step forward, but no worries if you can’t – just whatever you have time for.
Favorite Things – Learn notes to m. 1-48 – We will also be memorizing this section on Monday (not hard; we’ve seen this text before)
For the Beauty of the Earth – Take a rest on this one!
Bluebird – Learn notes to pgs. 3-4
Sure On This Shining Night – learn notes for pages 1-3 – we will also work memory from letter E to the end
How Can I Keep – review entire piece
Zion Hort – go over the German recordings from last week, working on speaking and singing the German. We will focus on the first two lines and last two lines of the song next week.
Hallelujah – Learn notes to m. 1-41 – We will also be polishing and memorizing m. 69-81
Ein Dunkeler – Go over the German recordings from last week, working on speaking and singing the German.
Non Nobis – Go through the “Plan of Attack” sheet and the song and work on fluidly getting the transitions of the piece smoothly. We will also be memorizing the last line of the song.
Maria – Learn notes to m. 1-12 – also review the “Plan of Attack” sheet and make sure your score is marked accordingly
Trombones – Learn notes to pg. 16-18 (Starting from pickup to U, “Seventy-six”) – also work on memory for pgs. 16-18 – again, hopefully very familiar to many of us already
Phantom – Learn notes for “All I Ask of You” (pgs 16-19) and “The Point of No Return” (pg. 21-end); use the “Plan of Attack” sheet for reference (for instance, you sing “oo”s for a portion of All I Ask of You)
Cheesy Chicken – Learn notes for the final page
CJ
February 7, 2023
Hello, Green Valley friends!
What wonderful progress we have been making with our music – please keep up the amazing wrk. . Please see the information below for measures to practice as well as IMPORTANT links to learn the rest of the German:
My Favorite Things – m. 49-84, retain memory on last 2 pages
“For the Beauty of the Earth” p. 12
Bluebird – Practice the first two pages
Sure On This Shining – m. 27-39, retain memory on final page
“How Can I Keep from Singing?” pgs. 7-8
Zion Hort – Bach German Help 2 – Please Watch, review notes on first page
Hallelujah – m.42-end
Ein Dunkeler – Brahms German Help 2 – Please Watch, review notes on first two pages
Non Nobis – review whole thing – “map” for the revised arrangement coming next week
Maria – m. 12-end; “map” for the revised arrangement coming next week
Trombones – pg. 19-end
Phantom – review “Phantom” and “Think of Me” sections – “map for revised arrangement coming next week
Cheesy – Review notes learned – full choral score coming next week
CJ
January 31, 2023
Green Valley Singers,
Wonderful work today! We made huge progress, and I am getting more and more excited for our concert. Please review the following sections in preparation for next week:
-My Favorite Things, m. 49-84
-For the Beauty of the Earth, TBA
-Sure On This Shining, m. 27-39
-Bluebird – m.1-21, for those who make it (all who auditioned will get a notification email by Wednesday, at the latest)
-Keep From Singing, TBA
-Zion Hort, m. 13-43 (the first page, just on a doo)
-Hallelujah, m. 42-end
-Ein Dunkeler, m. 1-18 (first two pages, just on a doo)
-Non Nobis,. 1-34 (but 19-26 omitted)
-Maria, m. 12-end
-Trombones, pgs. 16-21
-Phantom, m. 57-91
-Cheesy Chicken, review bottom system
CJ
January 24, 2023
Hello, Green Valley friends!
What wonderful progress we have been making with our music – please keep up the amazing progress. We will be learning lots of new music next week as well as working on the German. Please see the information below for measures to practice as well as IMPORTANT links to learn some of the German:
My Favorite Things – m. 49-84
For the Beauty – pgs. 5-7 and 10-12
Bluebird – Practice the first page, in preparation for the audition this Monday!
Sure On This Shining – m. 27-39
How Can I – pg. 7 and 10-12
Zion Hort – Bach German Help – Please Watch
Hallelujah – m.42-end
Ein Dunkeler – Brahms German Help – Please Watch
Non Nobis – m. 11-18 and 27-34
Maria – m. 12-end; you can practice with the audio track sent out earlier last week
Trombones – pg. 19-21
Phantom – m. 1-90 (pages 1-9, ending at the end of the “Think of Me” Section)
Cheesy – Review notes learned
CJ
January 18, 2023
Hello, Green Valley!
We’re going to do one more week of review with our pieces before moving on to new notes and rhythms, so spend your practice time reviewing pitches and rhythms for the following pieces and sections. Also a reminder that I will be holding auditions for “The Bluebird” at the end of the January 30 rehearsal – for those of you auditioning, you can focus your preparation time on the first page, as the audition will consist of singing just that first page.
My Favorite Things – m. 85-end
For the Beauty – pp 12-16 (especially rhythm on last page)
Bluebird – First page, if you want to audition on January 30
Sure On This Shining – m. 39-end;
How Can I Keep – pp 8-12
Zion Hort – m. 50-end (German being added this next week!)
Hallelujah – m. 22-32, 41-51, and 69-74
Ein dunkeler – m. 20-end (German being added this next week!)
Non nobis – Letter E to the end; we will review the sequence of singing the revisions in rehearsal
Maria – Refrain (bottom of page 4 to the end)
Music Man – pgs. 19-21
Phantom – m. 1-50
Cheesy Chicken – first three lines of music
Also, I had a wonderful time seeing the premiere of two new choral arrangements of mine at BYU yesterday – thank you for your support and encouragement! If you’d like to watch them, you can go to this link to watch the devotional broadcast. My arrangements happen at 3:45 and 36:10.
CJ Madsen
January 13, 2023
Dear Wonderful Green Valley Community Chorus,
Well done on the massive bite we took out of our music this past rehearsal. For the next two weeks, we will be primarily reviewing everything that you learned in the first rehearsal, with a few exceptions. If you are able, you can practice the sections below on your own time.
Also, a reminder that I will be holding auditions for “The Bluebird” during rehearsal on Monday, January 30. Looking forward to hearing you!
My Favorite Things – m. 85-end
For the Beauty – pp 3-7.
Bluebird – Feel free to start working on your part for this, if you want to audition for the small group. Auditions will be during the January 30 rehearsal.
Sure On This Shining – m. 39-end; note that all tenors will be on the TENOR 1 notes; we are not singing any Tenor 2 line in this section.
How Can I Keep – pp 6-12
Zion Hort – m. 50-end; don’t worry about the German yet, just notes and rhythms sung on a “doo”
Hallelujah – m. 22-32, 41-51, and 69-74
Ein dunkeler – m. 20-end; don’t worry about the German yet, just notes and rhythms sung on a “doo”
Non nobis – Letter E to the end; we will review the sequence of singing the revisions in rehearsal
Maria – Refrain (bottom of page 4 to the end) – don’t worry about the little tiny soprano grace notes at the top of 5. Also don’t worry about the notes in the final measure of the piece.
Music Man – pgs. 19-21
Phantom – m. 1-50
Cheesy Chicken – learn the whole page of notes; take note that whenever you say “surprise”, you will actually speak that, not sing on the E-flat.
CJ
January 5, 2023
Dear Wonderful Green Valley Community Chorus,
What a wonderful opening rehearsal we had! I am absolutely thrilled at what we will be accomplishing.
Each week you will receive an email from me giving you a heads up of what will be covered in the upcoming rehearsal. Feel free to practice any of the sections below in preparation.
My Favorite Things – m. 85-end
For the Beauty – pp 8-10.
Bluebird – Feel free to start working on your part for this, if you want to audition for the small group. Auditions will be during the January 30 rehearsal.
Sure On This Shining – m. 39-end; note that all tenors will be on the TENOR 1 notes; we are not singing any Tenor 2 line in this section.
How Can I Keep – pp 3-5
Zion Hort – m. 50-end; don’t worry about the German yet, just notes and rhythms sung on a “doo”
Hallelujah – m. 22-32, 41-51, and 69-74
Ein dunkeler – m. 20-end; don’t worry about the German yet, just notes and rhythms sung on a “doo”
Non nobis – You don’t have it yet, so no need to practice it!
Maria – Refrain (bottom of page 4 to the end) – don’t worry about the little tiny soprano grace notes at the top of 5. Also don’t worry about the notes in the final measure of the piece.
Music Man – pgs. 19-21; note the next-to-last measure on pg. 21 should be a B-natural for the altos.
Phantom – m. 1-50
Cheesy Chicken – learn the whole page of notes; take note that whenever you say “surprise”, you will actually speak that, not sing on the E-flat.
CJ
Green Valley Community Chorus 