The 2008 Cantilena Singers performed at Coolidge Park this fall. (photo by Gail Gann)
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LAST UPDATE: November 18, 2008
Current 'High Notes' newsletter (in pdf format)
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Click here for our Photo Archive. (last photos added 9/2004)
NEW NEWS:
| ! | UPCOMING PERFORMANCES
Fri., Dec. 5 - Concert Choir Rock City performance. Call time 6:30, perform 7:00. Thurs., Dec. 18 - ALL CHOIRS Dress Rehearsal, Hayes Hall, 4:30 - 7:30 pm. Please arrive in full concert attire. Wardrobe check 4:30 to 4:45pm. Rehearsal start time 4:45pm sharp. Fri., Dec. 19 - Winter Concert Evening Performance, Hayes Hall, 6:30 pm call time. Sat., Dec. 20 - Winter Concert Matinee Performance, Hayes Hall, 1:00 pm call time. |
| ! | TOUR FUNDRAISING NEWS
The tour choir is planning to hold an indoor yard sale/bake sale on Saturday, November 22nd from 8:00 am - 1:00 pm at Northminster Presbyterian Church (off Hwy 58). Call the choir office or see the rehearsal desk to reserve your space. NOTE: As of 11/18, only two tour choir members and their families have responded to the above announcement. If you are interested in participating and have not notified the choir office please do so ASAP as the choir will be making a decision on 11/19 on whether there is enough interest to continue with the event or not. If the event is canceled another email to all choir members will be sent. There will be an aluminum can drive on Saturday, Dec. 6th. All choir members are asked to support the tour choir by bringing in empty cans to be recycled. |
| ! | *** ALL CHOIR PARENTS MEETING ***
Parents of all choir members are asked to attend a meeting on Monday, December 1st. It will be held from 5:00 - 5:45 pm in the Fellowship Hall. We will be discussing the upcoming holiday performances and update you on the choir's accomplishments. |
| ! | WINTER CONCERT TICKETS
Pre-sales will run through Friday, November 21st. Order your tickets early to ensure a good seat! Tickets are $11 each and payment is due with your order. Pre-ordered tickets will be distributed beginning December 8th. If you prefer to order your tickets directly from the box office, they will be available on December 8th. |
RECENT NEWS:
 | PARKING AT FIRST BAPTIST
All Girls Choir members should be using the church entry at the Fellowship Hall, so please park closer to the Fellowship Hall and on up the hill, leaving the spaces closest to the Kindermusik entrance free for those families with small children (toddlers and younger). Thank you! |
| 2008 SUMMER TOUR CHOIR:
The tour choir went to West Virginia last summer where they participated in the Appalachian Festival for Young Voices. Please see the 2008 Summer Tour page for a daily journal and photos! |
| SPRING CONCERT VIDEO:
The 2008 Spring Concert was again recorded by Tri-Vision Productions. A DVD video is available for $20 and a CD (audio only) is $10. They also have a special deal where you get a CD free if you purchase two DVDs. You may contact Tri-Vision at 423-478-6490 or email them at info@trivisionpro.com. |
| Facebook group:
One of the Grace Moore members recently started a Chattanooga Girls Choir group on Facebook.com, and so far over 50 girls have joined, both alums and current singers. Those of you with a Facebook account may want to check it out and join in the discussions! |
| Annual Newsletter:
The Girls Choir will be sending out a brief newsletter once or twice a year to choir alums and other friends in the community. If you are an alum or know of someone who would like to be kept informed of the choir's activities, please call the choir office and leave the name and address. If you are a volunteer and would like to assist with this letter, please contact the choir office. |
| Photography volunteer needed:
We are in need of one or more parent volunteers to take photos (preferably digital) of the choirs at performances for use on the choir web site and in the semiannual newsletter. Please contact the choir office if you might be able to help out. |
REMINDERS and PAST NEWS:
| >> | 2008 ALUMNAE CHOIR:
This year was the 21st anniversary of the founding of the Chattanooga Girls Choir, and to celebrate the new "adulthood" of the CGC, alumnae of the choir gathered together on June 7 for a concert in the First Baptist chapel. Three of the four current/past Artistic Directors of the choir were able to participate (1997-2000 director Ed Huey had a gig at Riverbend!), and over 40 girls (women!) came together to rehearse all day on a Saturday and perform that evening. The pieces performed included many favorites from years past, including "How Can I Keep From Singing?", "Children, Go Where I Send Thee", "Oh, Mio Bambino Caro", "Battle Hymn of the Republic", and others, as well as two new favorites by Z. Randall Stroope, "Omnia Sol" and "Psalm 23". The concert was fantastic! Two of the alums, Janel Frazee and Holli Harrison, are currently professional opera singers, and each of them wowed the audience with their individual performances. (Note to those who participated: An audio recording was made of the concert, and we will mail you a CD as soon as it has been edited.) If you have ever been a member of the Chattanooga Girls Choir and are older than high school age, you are considered an alumna of the CGC, so please make sure the office has current contact information for you. We'd like to keep in touch with you to keep you updated on choir and alum events, and we also want to be sure to invite you to participate in the next alumnae concert on our 25th anniversary! |
| >> | 2007 Summer Tour: The tour choir traveled to beautiful Ireland in the summer of 2007. For more information, go to the 2007 Summer Tour page. |
| >> | Successful Summer Camp: In June 2006, the Chattanooga Girls Choir held a special summer music camp at St. Andrew's Center that was attended by approximately 20 girls who live in the Highland Park area. The program was led by David Kammerdiener (the talented accompanist for our Bella Voce choir), with assistance from CGC Artistic Director LuAnn Holden. Also providing a helping hand were several members of the CGC 2006 Tour Choir who volunteered their afternoons for a week to work with the campers. To see the complete article about the camp from the Chattanooga Times-Free Press, click on the small image here:
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| >> | Spring Concert: The Spring Concert on May 12, 2006 at First Baptist was one of the best yet, thanks to the efforts of our parent volunteers and our hard-working directors and singers. A special thanks to the Boys Choir for their wonderful contribution to our program. And of course, the Mother's Day weekend concert was extra special because of our brave and talented singing moms!
  (Click on each to see the larger photo) |
| >> | New choir office: The Girls Choir office relocated in May 2006 after spending more than ten years downtown in the the Maclellan Building. After much searching, we found good space and friendly neighbors in the St. Andrew's Center at 1918 Union Avenue in Highland Park, right next to Tennessee Temple University. Please note that the doors into St.Andrew's are usually locked, but the choir office staff will come open the door if you give them a call at 629-6188. Please stop by and visit!
Photos and maps of our new office home (click to see larger photos):
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| >> | The attendance policy is in your handbook and is also listed at the bottom of this page. Please note that there is no need to write excuses when a choir member is absent from rehearsal, since the policy states that up to four rehearsal absences are permitted, regardless of whether or not the absences are "excused". Five or more absences during one semester will mean the member will be subject to exclusion from upcoming performances. Any performance absences do still require a written excuse. |
| >> | A CD of the Chattanooga Girls Choir was released in Spring 2000, and it's wonderful! Songs come from concerts during 1997-2000 and include such favorites as "Edelweiss","This Christmastide", "Festival Sanctus", "Shenandoah", "Hello Girls", and more. It's only $12 and may be ordered at rehearsals. Proceeds benefit the Chattanooga Girls Choir. |
| >> | We desperately need original fund-raising ideas for the choir. We would like to buy our own risers, help pay for our new uniforms, and cut the cost of touring for our over-burdened families. If you have suggestions, please contact the choir office. |
| >> | Delores Beery-Norwood, director of the Cantilena Choir, gives private voice lessons, and Penny Tullock, the wonderful accompanist for the Concert Choir, gives private voice and piano lessons. Please call the Music Department of the First Baptist Church at 265-2257 for details. |
ATTENDANCE POLICY:
There have been problems in the past with girls trickling into or leaving rehearsal at various times, costing those members valuable practice time and disrupting the concentration of the rest of the choir. Therefore, for the good of the whole choir, a strict attendance policy was implemented in 1997.
The rules are:
* Five or more rehearsal absences in one semester means the singer is subject to exclusion from upcoming performances.
* Three "incompletes" (arriving late to rehearsal or leaving early from rehearsal) equals one absence.
Remind your choir member that she must check in with a rehearsal chaperone when she arrives - the chaperones cannot be expected to remember later whether or not she was there. A singer will be counted tardy (an "incomplete" rehearsal) if she is not in her seat and ready to sing at the assigned starting time. In addition, if a singer leaves rehearsal early (usually permitted only if a parent's note is shown or if the parent comes and gets the singer), this will be recorded as an early departure and will count in her total of "incomplete" rehearsals.
If you anticipate a persistent problem with arriving on time or leaving early , please discuss this with the chaperones and/or the choir director so that a satisfactory arrangement can be made.
Please note that a singer is expected to participate in ALL performances unless specifically told by the director that a performance is optional. If a singer cannot perform, she must notify the director or the office in advance if at all possible and bring a written note explaining her absence to the next rehearsal.
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Click here to read the 2007-2008 Choir Handbook.
(Note: requires the free Adobe Acrobat reader, available here at the
Adobe web site.)
Click here for information on the Choir's Board of Directors and Parents Support Organization.
Click here for important contact information.
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