This Day in Music      

September 3,1955 - Band leader Mitch Miller had the US No.1 with a  song that was written in 1853, The Yellow Rose Of Texas.

Video of the Week     

The Turtle Creek Chorale performs Last Words of David by Randall Thompson at the 2005 ACDA National Convention in Los Angeles, California.

Excerpts from the Nashville Singers Member Manual  

Vocal Standards: The chorus member must demonstrate the ability to perform the song with musical accuracy, proper intonation, accurate vowel targets and precise attacks and releases. All aspects of the chorus member's vocal performance must contribute to and blend within the performance of the section and the chorus as a whole.

Visual Standards: Certain song selections will include choreographed movements, gestures, and focal points. The chorus member must demonstrate the ability to perform such movements with accuracy. All movement should be non-mechanical, natural, and believable. The movement and the timing of the movement must contribute to the unity of the chorus performance.

Emotional Standards: Through vocal quality, facial expression, and limited body movement, the chorus member must visually and vocally convey appropriate emotions and moods of the lyrical message of the song. The performance must come from the heart. It must be natural and believable and contribute to the unity of the chorus performance. There must be total involvement throughout the song.

Objective and Subjective Standards: It is impossible to judge any artistic performance in a totally objective way. Our statement of standards contains both objective and subjective elements. One can judge objectively whether the member sings the word "love" instead of "life" or sings an F rather than a G or uses his left hand instead of his right hand. It is much more subjective to judge at what point a note is flat, or when a vowel target is acceptable or unacceptable, or whether a facial expression adequately expresses the emotion.

Breathing in the Middle of Phrases: We are frequently asked to stagger our breathing to carry over between phrases. It is therefore acceptable to breathe in the middle of a phrase and miss singing a couple of words. This is NOT a "mistake." However, when taking such breaths, it is important that the member does not detract from the unit sound of his section and the chorus as a whole. The breath should be inaudible, without gasping, and the member should come back in subtlety, not abruptly. It is best to plan ahead, and breathe between words.

Limited Body Movement: A performer visually conveys emotion not only with his face but with his entire body, through posture, placement of the arms and hands, etc. However, if a chorus performer uses too much extraneous body movement, he can draw attention to himself instead of contributing to a unified ensemble performance. Members should perform within the confines of their space on the risers, and keep their movements similar in size to those around them.

Participation: It is expected that members will participate in all required events except for situations beyond their control such as business travel, illness, weddings, funerals, graduations, etc. It is up tothe member to determine what constitutes an acceptable reason for absence. In the vast majority of cases, single absences will be excused automatically. The music team will evaluate members with multiple absences on a case by case basis.