Added by Holly M - 1358 views - 0 comments
You are here because you have an interest in choral music. I'm here because it is my passion. I compose, sing, direct and arrange choral music -- my choir, The Stairwell Carollers, is my instrument. I've been tuning this instrument now for nearly 40 years, and it never gets old. They... read more
Added by Holly M - 1887 views - 0 comments
(adapted from a post in The Stairwell Carollers Choir Blog) David Rain, tenor: How on earth do you hear everyone, including our mistakes, while singing along at full throttle? Pierre: I'm not sure, but you're definitely right about my being able to hear everything. It's not necessari... read more
Added by Holly M - 1171 views - 0 comments
"Amor Vittorioso" was written in 1591 as part of a musical Commedia dell'arte. What could that have to do with half hour TV comedies? Well, I'll tell you. Did you know that Renaissance Madrigals helped birth Opera and Operettas? Yeah, I didn't either and it explains a lot. All those Fa la la la las and ot... read more
Added by Holly M - 1235 views - 0 comments
Wow 40 years! Where did the time go? I've always been one of the oldest members of the Stairwell Carollers - if not the OLDEST - at our choir's 20th anniversary in 1997 I was 41, but still didn't look a day over 30. Pierre had HAIR - and I shampooed out my grey at home in 20 minutes. This was our 4th a... read more
Added by Chris Rowbury - 2845 views - 0 comments
[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Choir leaders often ask me where I source my songs. I’ve written about this in previous posts: Finding songs for your choir and Easy songs for your choir. One place you can get some tried a... read more
Added by Holly M - 2559 views - 0 comments
Relax, research and ready yourself. A good audition can get be your ticket to sing in your fave group. Whether you are booking an audition for the Stairwell Carollers, or Googling "how to audition for a choir", I want to help you do your best at any choir tryout. Our choir holds auditions tw... read more
Added by Holly M - 1025 views - 0 comments
Update - Auditions closed for the season -- thanks to all who came out! Searching for just the right choir? Do you sing bass or tenor? Do you live within driving distance of the Ottawa, Canada's Capital region? Join us! Tenor and bass auditions continue this Wed - A... read more
Added by Chris Rowbury - 2056 views - 0 comments
[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] I often get asked this at workshops after people have struggled to get their tongues around a few foreign songs. I point out that my speciality is “traditional songs from around the world i... read more
Added by Alena Mejstrikova - 1451 views - 0 comments
Dear friends, 50 years ago, in 1968 an International Festival of Academic Choirs in Pardubice came into existence. It has already welcome not only various Czech choirs but also a lot of choirs from 30 foreign countries. Let us thank very much to all of you who have participated in our IFAS festival and helped make it... read more
Added by Chris Rowbury - 1871 views - 0 comments
[A version of this article first appeared as a post on my blog From the Front of the Choir] Many of us don’t like the sound of our singing voice. Some people won’t even sing in front of others because they don’t want to inflict their ‘horrible’ voice on them. photo... read more
